OMG all but one of my friends have returned to within local calling distance of me--I'm so happy I could almost cry! :') I missed you all sooo much!

OMG! OMG! I've finally written enough so that not all of my entries can be viewed on one page! I feel like I've reached my first milestone here with blogger! (I wonder how many more sentences I can write that will also end appropriately with exclamation marks?!) Now you'll HAVE to use my "archives" links to see what I'd written before--suckers! Wait! Uh-oh...aw crap; that also means that you'll HAVE to take notice of the fact that I can't get those damned links to line upvertically on that side! Please don't make fun of me because I'm HTML illiterate--I really didn't mean to call you a sucker...

Things I Learned Today:
- due to reasons having to do with atmospheric pressure, you cannot drink liquid through a vertically positioned straw longer than 10 feet (if you drink with the straw on its side, it's cheating).
- "laminate flooring" is actually wooden slats of flooring with pictures of wood laminated onto them.
- there are no plurals in either the Japanese or Chinese language.
- the movie Le Divorce is a comedy of manners in the non-humorous sense.
and finally,
- your passenger's bum will feel the vibrations of your car just as violently as your own when you drive on the grooved edges of the shoulders of the QEW.

You're supposed to learn a new thing everyday; I hope I've enlightened someone out there...

I love to chat late at night. It's ridiculously relaxing--the sound of someone else's voice there in the darkness just melts away the loneliness that the late hours can spring on me. I'll snuggle down under my sheets and just listen to the other person babble away for a while, and then I'll take my turn at it when they're done. That's what it's comes down to at those hours: babbling. I mean, some of those conversations get to be resoundingly intellectual, but in the end, the hours wear down our intellects and we're just left exchanging random ideas, just to keep hearing each other's soothing voices over the line. That's when you get the nonsencial talk:
    "Do you like Christmas?"
    "Yeah, Santa Claus is a cool guy,"
    "Yeah, he IS a nice guy,"
That usually happens at the point when both of us are on the verge of sleep but still refuse to hang up the phone in an attempt to fend off the sound of the waking birds a little longer. It takes a while until one of us finally musters up enough energy to suggest hanging up and then when we finally do, I just pass out; my mind contentedly exhausted.

But then there's the other kind of late night phone conversation: the one during which I don't say anything at all. Just the sound of the other person breathing softly on the other line is still enough to ward of the cold darkness of my room at night. Even though he's asleep, that's all I need at that hour--to know that someone else is there and I'm not completely alone...besides, every once in a while, I can hear the soft rustling of sheets and a deep sigh as he rolls over without fully waking up. Both kinds of late night phone talk is soothing, and sometimes I have trouble deciding on whether or not I want to stay awake, or just doze with the phone off the hook...I never like to choose, so I don't think I'll ever try to...

Patios: rooftop patios, poolside patios, backyard patios, restaurant patios, outdoor patios...there's just something about sitting and chatting on a patio that makes chillin' a little more--chillin'.
...
Sitting out on the rooftop patio of Club Menage tonight with yet another Chong was just the thing to unwind from yet another marathon of work days. Our conversation ranged from the mathematical theory of non-movement to our own creative theories of why-the-guy-eating-a-burger-in-the-window-across-the-alleyway-hadn't-noticed-us-staring-
at-him-chow-down-yet. But though our topic coverage was broad, the chat was relaxing, in spite of the occasional brain-fart. As we chatted the hours away (and yes, they did fly), we slowly came to the mutual conclusion that there's no place like Toronto; what else did you need that you couldn't already find here? We decided that Toronto had it all...where else would parking vendors steal business from one another by having their attendants wave potential parkers in from convenient looking street corners, only to have the drivers hop the street-curb (in their stylishly low Preludes), drive through the competitor's parking lot, squeeze between two misplaced parking-curbs and into their own hideaway lot for a flat rate of $5? And where else would you be able to have your choice of 8 different patios to choose from to chill at--including ones with such names as Big Daddy's, Joe Mamas, and Menage--all within a 30 second walking distance from your roundabout parking spot? Where else would you go to have dinner on a rooftop patio where the owners pack up all the furniture on a forecast of severe rainstorms provided by friends "out west" (I bet they were from Sauga), only to bring all of it out again 15 minutes later when they realize skies are as clear as ever? And finally, where else would you go to find someone who won't tease you about having a phobia of knees or about hitting your head on the door frame on your way out of the car? Yes, I tell you, Toronto has it all! (Thanks for the chat, Chong)

Friday was not an exceptionally sunny day. In fact, it was really grey and overcast, threatening to rain the entire morning. But somehow, as we got out of our cars and trekked across the grass a bit, the rain managed to hold itself off...and it could have been just my imagination, but I was sure the sun brightened, just for that little while. And also for that little while, there were butterflies; lots of them. I'd been to the Butterfly Conservatory before and during my whole visit there, not a single butterfly landed on a soul, no matter how still one stood. But now suddenly, there was at least a handful of butterflies fluttering in and amongst our gathered crowd; little flashes of colour twirling playfully around us. They settled on shoulders, tickled arms, and danced across cheeks. Some of the adults glanced about and smiled; the children giggled and tried to catch them. The butterflies added to serenity of the subtle rays of sun that broke through that morning. They eased the difficulty of having to say our final farewells to someone that had been a part of our lives so long. The butterflies were there with us that day and I believe she was there too.

Rest in Peace, Great-Grandma
1908-2003