Wednesday 15 August 2012

Movin' on up

Well, I've finally found somewhere to live that met with my approval. I went to look at it on Thursday night and pretty much made the decision right there and then. I should be able to sign the lease next week.

It's in the Yonge and St Clair area, a neighbourhood I've always liked. I discovered Yonge/St Clair and Summerhill the first year I lived in Toronto. I was living in the Forest Laneway complex, way the hell up in North York, and commuting to work on the Yonge line every day, and there's a stretch between Davisville and St Clair where the subway is above-ground. You can see Mount Pleasant Cemetery and the Belt Line bike/walking bath and those big apartment buildings on Lascelles. And I thought it looked like an interesting neighbourhood, so one Saturday afternoon, I took the subway to Davisville and walked south and explored the area, walked up all the side-streets and looked at the houses, went for a stroll in the cemetery, went down into the ravine, came up out of the ravine in Rosedale, gawked at the houses there. And then I just started coming down to Yonge and St Clair every weekend, just to walk around and hang out at the Starbucks near the CHUM building. It was summer, so I would sit on the patio and read the newspapers and watch the world go by, and it was great. Bear in mind that I didn't know much about Toronto at this time and I was living at Yonge and Sheppard, which is a cross between a suburb and a downtown area - not flaneur-friendly at all.

I ended up renting my current apartment partly based on its proximity to that neighbourhood, but I stopped hanging out in Yonge and St Clair and started hanging out in the Annex because by that time, I was at the Faculty of Information Studies working my tail off every weekend, and FIS is in the Annex. So there you go.

I was up in Yonge and St Clair after work about a month ago, apartment hunting on foot - you know, taking note of For Rent signs and amenities like grocery stores and dry cleaners - and I thought, "You know, I really like this area. I want to live here." It has everything I want, anyway: grocery stores, a Toronto Public Library branch (Deer Park), parks, cafes, restaurants, a book store (Book City), a health food store, biking and walking trails, access to public transit. All the good things in life.

And of course the local rentals come with a matching pricetag. I didn't think I'd find anything in my price range in the area. I wanted an above-ground, one bedroom apartment, preferably with a balcony, 5-10 minutes away from the subway, for $1000/month or less, including utilities (heat, electricity and water). I wanted to stay away from highrises (there's something soul-destroying about living in a box in a concrete tower full of identical boxes - been there, done that), carpeting (a bitch to keep clean), northern exposure (kind of gloomy in the daytime), and obnoxious landlords/superintendents.

Well, I found it. A one-bedroom, 6th floor apartment in a seven-storey building, five minutes' walk to the St Clair subway, with parquet floors, southern exposure, a balcony, heat, a/c and water included in the $995/mo rent (I have to pay for the electricity), and so far, the super and her husband have been really friendly and helpful.

If all goes well, I move in April 1st. And I'm not foolin'.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

We were on a break!

I guess you can tell that I used to watch a lot of NBC in the late 90s. How many posts have I titled with a catchphrase from Must-See-Teevee? Too many. I don't watch television any more. I got a DVD player and a flat-tube TV for Christmas and I watch DVDs of Curb Your Enthusiasm when I get home from work, which is almost always in the late evening, like, after 8, because I go to the gym and/or get stuck in snowstorms. Occasionally I rent movies and today I'll probably crack open the first two seasons of Seinfeld that my dad gave me for my birthday.

About my birthday. My thirtieth. It was a bit of a watershed for me. It is for a lot of people, women especially. Because biology makes it a watershed for those of us who want children before we are officially classified as AMA. Advanced Maternal Age. Or, my personal favourite, "elderly primagravida." And do you know when almightly medical science has decided that is?

Age 35.

Thirty fucking five.

Still young, in my humble opinion. But that's when having kids becomes a much riskier enterprise. Not overnight, of course. This stupid biological clock crap, tick-tock, tick-tock - please. Everybody is different. But it gets harder and riskier and that's just somewhere I don't really see myself going. Somewhere I would prefer not to go, if I can.

Anyway. So now that 35 is that much closer, and I've been with the same guy, my best friend, for four years, and I have a great job (actually, jobs plural - I'm almost done consulting on one project and have been approached to consult on a second), and I'll be starting management courses soon, and I'm well on my way to the joys of saving for a downpayment on a condo and retirement planning and other joys of grown-up life, I feel it's time to make a decision and take some kind of action. Because, even though I love this guy, I am unhappy with the current arrangement, which was tolerable when I was 26 and had oodles of time and no money and no career. Of just living day by day and not making plans.

And we've talked and talked about it and cried buckets and argued, and this has intensified in the last six months, the last year, and now we've reached the breaking point. I can't wait around much longer. It is not fair to me. It is not what I want anymore. It is not what I ever wanted. It was enough, before. But things are very different now.

Actually, despite this, this...blip, this not-broken-up-not-on-a-break-yet-not-sure-if-we're-getting-married thing that has me waking up at 4 in the morning in floods of tears, life really has never been better. I am not inflexible. I am willing to make compromises. But not if they're going to make me miserable, or bitter, or angry, in the long run.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

RIP laptop

So my laptop really appears to have kicked it this time. It's been playing Lazarus for awhile but now it can't download my Norton Antivirus definitions and live updates without totally freezing. It's reboot, work for two minutes, freeze. Wait three minutes, reboot, work for two minutes, freeze. Arghhhh. I hope it's just the motherboard and not the hard drive. Anyway. I'm shopping for a desktop and I hope to purchase one next weekend. Although next weekend is going to be very busy because Phil's parents are celebrating their 50th and there's a big weekend-long celebration planned with all the cousins and 'lations coming up from the U S of A. Phil's family is mostly RC so you can imagine how many cousins and 'lations there are.

I scored a kickass retro 50's style sundress at Winners (College Park - apparently the best Winners location) yesterday to wear to the renewal-of-vows and reception on Saturday, that I would totally post pictures of except I'm in some Internet cafe on Spadina right now. So it will have to wait. I also took pictures of Harry and Marmalade checking out my new cat shoes from TUK that Phil ordered for me after I fell in love with them in Montreal.

Anyway. I'm going to check my e-mail with my last 15 minutes on the computer. Posting will be light for the next couple of weeks, unfortunately. Grrrr.

Thursday 16 February 2012

Lindsy Clark - Resume

Howdy! I happen to be one of many crew organizers of FoxyStilezArticles, a hungry young article writing group. We write content in English for world-wide internet audiences, and are readily available for article content building for your webpage. Down the page you can find my CV, and you'll also be able to check out other crew organizers and team members' resumes on this website. At the end of my CV, you will notice some illustrations of our publicized articles. For job inquiries, you should contact us using the contactform on this web site and we will answer as soon as can be.



CV


Lindsy Clark

10563 Jacque Circle

Hawaii Honolulu

lindsy_1996@gmail.com




Summary of Qualifications


Graduated With Special Honors from Northwest University

10 years of article writing experience (directly for Electronic audiences)

Exquisite competency in Spanish and Latin

Committed, group-oriented member of staff with a taste for specifics




Business Experience


FoxyStilezArticles, New York City USA

1999 - Present

Crew Supervisor

Accountable for planning a worldwide crew of internet writers to meet a challenging set of development goals and objectives.

- Set unprecedented records for output, raising output by 12% throughout the world

- Properly maintained dependable records of task distribution

- Managed QC for worldwide creation over a considerable crew of authors




Extra Skillsets


Proficient in Spanish and Latin

Advanced skills with a wide choice of office computer software




Samples of Publicized Works




cottage rental in ontario | tires columbus ohio | auto tire st. louis | tire rotation | change tire | tire mounting | brake fluid flush | transmissions | most fuel efficient cars | customize your own car | how to paint car | cheapest oil change | water heater problems | how to fix a leaky shower faucet | file taxes online free | college degree | toilet is clogged | cheap braces | how to find network gateway | tax due date 2012 | christie ebooks | teaching styles | picture of food | mud tires | interior auto accessories

Harry

I had Harry's blood and urine tested this week. Yesterday I got the results. He has some liver and kidney damage that is atypical in a 23 month old cat. Specificially his creatinine and ALT levels are way too high.

Harry was not a huge fan of the Iams and Nutro cat pouches, but I always offered him half a pouch, same as Marmie, and he would take two bites and fart off somewhere.  Often he drank the gravy - both cats loved the gravy.  And we all know what was in the gravy. So I think it's pretty obvious why he has some organ damage.  Harry's other food was Iams dry, which I will also never use again but which I will be hanging onto nonetheless.  Just in case.

We can manage his condition with a special diet and some vitamins for his liver.  He is not in pain and otherwise seems quite healthy.  He's clearly lonely for Marmalade - still looks for him and calls for him -  but as stress can increase these levels, I will hold off on introducing a new friend into the household until we have it under control.

And, oh, it isn't free.  Oh no.  So far, this little adventure has cost me one cat and over $1600 in vet bills.  With Harry's special food and vitamins, and new tests scheduled for April, the meter is still running.

When I adopted kittens, I knew there would be expenses.  I knew that it would cost money to neuter them, to get them vaccinated and dewormed, and I knew that somewhere down the road, they might get sick - for example, diabetes and kidney problems are not uncommon in older cats. And I was prepared to meet those expenses when and if they arose.

But this?  I didn't sign on for this.  Somebody owes me and thousands of other pet owners big time.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Jimmy Brown - CV

Hello there! I am one of many staff managers of FoxyStilezArticles, a globally distributed web writing collective. We all write content in English and Spanish for global web readers, and are at your disposal for content building for your site. Below you will find my CV, and you might be able to read other staff managers and team members' CV's on this web-site. At the bottom of my CV, you'll notice some illustrations of our published works. For job inquiries, you should mail us using the contactform on this website and one of us will reply as soon as feasible.



CV


Jimmy Brown

12481 High View Drive

Oregon Salem

jimmy_1989@gmail.com




Summary of Qualifications


Graduated With Honors from York University

10 years of writing experience (specifically for Online readers)

Exquisite fluency in English

Committed, team-oriented staff member with a knack for specifics




Job Experience


FoxyStilezArticles, Dallas USA

1998 - Present

Staff Senior Officer

Answerable for planning a worldwide crew of freelance writers to suit a complex set of growth aims.

- Set unprecedented records for efficiency, growing production by 19% throughout the world

- Correctly maintained steady logs of job distribution

- Cared for QC for world wide creation over a substantial crew of authors




Special Skills and Abilities


Fluent in English

State-of-the-art skills using a full range of office computer software




Examples of Released Posts




toyota corolla parts | how to remove tint from car windows | timing chain replacement cost | oem nissan parts | subaru oem parts | mazda parts | mazda oem parts | flood damaged cars | contractorsontario.org | window installation toronto | discount area rugs in Toronto | fine sectional sofas in Toronto | heart stent | pennsylvania cabin rentals | internet providers | Dallas universities and colleges | new york state college | what is the ged | timing belt symptoms | head gasket repair cost | baby nursery decorating ideas | mold test | bathroom magazine racks | fireplace mantels | basement flooring | cheap apartment decorating ideas | walk in closet design ideas | deep conditioning treatment | chinese recipe | installing attic insulation | decoratingideasforbathrooms.com | nemschoff | asbestos in homes | asbestos in homes | home decorating catalog | wallpaper for walls | dehumidifier rental | waterproofing a basement | decorating living room ideas | fireplace decorating ideas | drainage solutions | hotels in eugene oregon

The voluntary recall affects the US only.

Looks like Purina has also joined the voluntary recall party - around midnight, no less.  They too used gluten from the same mystery wheat gluten supplier. The affected product is Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy (a dog food) - but read the release for the details.

My question is: Who else is using  this gluten, and why isn't this public knowledge?