hm.. the pictures aren’t uploading for some reason… will try again tomorrow.
I’ve never been much of a Halloween person… when I was a kid I didn’t enjoy dressing up… and I’ve never had much fun at the Halloween parties. It seems there are less and less kids coming out trick or treating. However there is something to be said for the anonymous-ness of dressing up for a night… and the trouble (fun) that can be had. And we’re doing candy-o-grams at work, which is kind of fun. My friends get excited about Halloween and their excitement can be infectious.
So I succumbed and found a costume and I went to a Halloween party at a friend’s apartment on Saturday night. It was pretty good- though not as busy as I expected it (I think the pricey cover charge scared most people away) – but I danced my ass off for a good couple of hours – and had fun with my friends. I went as a kick-boxer- wearing the outfit I used to wear when I did kick-boxing (FOUR YEARS ago) and everything still (sort of) fit (surprisingly). We left the party at 4am- which seemed just in time- since apparently a fight broke out at 4:30 and the place shut down. I then slept until nearly 3 the next day. When I recounted my weekend tales to a colleague today- she shared similar experiences… and she is 24. She should be having those experiences at 24. Me on the other hand…
Tonight I continued the Halloween festivities at Jen’s house where we had a delish prime rib dinner (I did not have the prime rib but it looked like what a good prime rib should look like) and we carved pumpkins. My pumpkin rocked-and as soon as Jen posts pics of them I’ll steal it and upload.
And the good times would continue if I still lived in a house. It’s too bad I live in a condo because I’m going to miss the community party that I experienced while living in Cabbagetown- with hundreds of kids running around and people sitting out on porches drinking wine and talking to their neighbours.
Maybe if I look past the whole “worshiping satan, the resurrection of damned souls, and drinking blood for fun” I can see that Halloween really is a magical time of year.
I didn’t realize how often I used tv-links.co.uk until this week when it went down. I really do watch a lot of TV online…
Anyhow – I have found a new site- that’s almost better than tv-links. It’s www.sidereel.com- and it has a host of tv shows (old and new) as well as movies. Enjoy!
Who didn’t love “Good Will Hunting?” And I didn’t just love it because it starred two hot unknowns- but also because those two hot unknowns wrote the (fantastic) screenplay. Being a bit of a writer myself (well this and my journal!) I loved that rags to riches story because it demonstrated to me that it was possible. And not just by good looks or luck- but by will and talent. These were regular guys who “made it” because they worked for it- and were really freakin’ talented.
Then Ben Affleck went and made a gabillion bad movies- like so many that it was unforgivable really- and I started to believe that he was the Joey Fatone of the duo- and Matt Damon the Justin Timberlake. Seriously- in 9 years and 23 films (I just imdb’d him) I think there were just TWO good movies… (Armageddon & Shakespeare in Love).
Now he is writing again- and directing. “Gone Baby Gone”. And it’s good. Seriously. In one project he’s redeemed himself and shed the “Bennifer” ghost (and all that comes with it). Here is a link to the reviews :
It’s really good. I saw this movie and (double feature where we sneak into the next film: yes I’m 12) “Micheal Clayton” and I think “Gone Baby Gone” was better. Maybe because my expectations were lower? But go see it. I highly recommend it.
How quickly we lose perspective… I went out on Saturday afternoon to get a manicure (‘Spa Nails’ @ Yonge and Summerhill) and I was so pissed that the girl doing my nails hacked them all off. I actually got a little bit mad (you know me- I could never really get mad) and ask her why she would cut them so short- and who would ever want nails that short?! And they looked like little kid nails… Anyhow- A week ago I was in India where there were kids LIVING under tarps on the sidewalk who didn’t even wash. And here I was freaking out about my nails being cut too short. What is wrong with me?!
Jen & Kirsti’s wedding was last night. It was soooo much fun. We danced so much (I lasted one hour in the heels and had to change into ballet flats-shameful). Although I have to say it was a pretty weak bunch. Most of everyone (myself included) shut down by 2am. Although I know a couple kept doing-and are paying for it today. The wedding was absolutely beautiful- held at the Spin Gallery. It was all dim and lit by white lights and candles- which suited the exposed ceiling, wooden pillars, art on walls decor perfectly.The ceremony was simple- with a few tears- but mostly cheering, singing and laughs. (Alright, the cheering came at the end- not throughout!). Kirsti and Jen were stunning- but of course I didn’t get a good picture of the two of them together. I was on Jen’s side- so I didn’t get a good picture of Kirsti coming down the isle. My camera died quite early into the night- which was almost a good thing. I usually get so caught up in taking pictures- that I don’t experience the moment.
Last night was all about experiencing moments- and it was awesome. An album is up on facebook but here are some pics…
My friends Jen and Kirsti are getting married tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to the wedding- as it’s going to be a fun fun night. The ceremony and reception are both being held at the Spin Gallery on Queen and it’s going to be a huge celebration.
Tonight was the rehearsal dinner (thank you Jeff and Josh for hosting) and it was just a fun night of friends gathering… we’ve all be globe trotting lately- and doing wedding prep- and not spending loads of time together, so it was really nice to come together and share stories, laugh, and drink some wine (not too much- resting for tomorrow night).
When I was in Roopengarh (the castle) I remember having a very serene moment where I was laying on a bench on one of the balcony’s off of my room- with the sun setting to my right and the moon rising to my left. There was a cool breeze and Indian music playing the background. It was really beautiful. It was then that I got bit. I noticed the next morning on the way to Jaipur that i had a welt on the inside of my thigh. “Oh” I thought, “I must have been bitten by a spider or something.” Off to Jaipur we go. Upon our arrival I thought I would show my roomie my bite mark, only to discover, to my horror, that it had doubled in size. I drew a line around the welt to see if it would continue to grow. It did. The next morning it pretty much covered the entire inside of my thigh- about the size of a… oh I don’t know- a dinner plate?! Oh and I broke out in hives all over my face. I looked like I had elephantitus and should be out on the corner asking for rupees. So Sherry took me to the doctor that day (only because she didn’t want me to start drawing lines around the marks on my face too!). Apparently this was one of the best doctors in town. I was examined by two nurses first. and then the doctor was brought in. I was covered up in a sheet with just a hole cut out that went over the bite mark. Even in medical situations modesty is of utmost importance. The doctor spoke two words of English- “tetanus?” (yes I have had my tetanus shot) and “medicine?” (no I am not on any other medication, but I am allergic to…). He gave me a prescription which I promptly had filled and started to take. By the next day the hives were gone and two days later I was bite mark free. It was also ridiculously cheap- the visit to the doctor was about $2.50 and the drugs And I had wanted an authentic experience…careful what you wish for! : )
Remember when I said i was done with my India posts?? Well I lied…
On the ‘free’ day we had in Varanasi I met a guy. His name was Manish. Basically he came up and started talking to me- and since his English was very good I started chatting with him. This wasn’t unusual- but it was unusual in the market to not have every person approaching you with “Would you like to buy…??” He just asked if we were lost (oh don’t get me wrong- he still wanted to take us to his ‘uncle’s’ shop so we would buy stuff but he was not aggressive or pushy). He just asked us where we were going- we told him where we wanted to go- and he showed us around the old town. We ended up spending the afternoon with him in what would be one of the highlights of the trip. He took us to the tower over the burning ghat where we could witness the ceremony of some burning bodies (where the souls were then directly transported to Nirvana I think I mentioned, circumventing the whole ‘reincarnation’ aspect of life). We could just observe from above as women weren’t allowed down by the pyres. Women were known to cry- which disturbs the souls and prevents them from going to Nirvana. Also – women were known to throw themselves onto the burning pyre and kill themselves along with their sons/husbands. Widows are persona non grata in India (though I’m sure not as much anymore). Anyhow- Manish wrote me a letter today- he addressed it to “hello blond girl in green” as he couldn’t remember my name. He told me about a festival for “Durga” that is happening in Varanasi right now, the weather is getting colder… just chit chat. I can’t think what I’ll write back? Work is slow because we’re waiting for a bunch of briefs to get finalized?! Hmm… I’ll have to think about the reply… Anyhow- I had given him my address not thinking I’d ever hear from him- but how great to now have a friend across the universe. As soon as my friend Colette gets her pictures uploaded I’ll put a pic of Manish. I didn’t have my camera handy. In the meantime- here are a couple more from the trip. (Stolen from my friend Sherry) There is birds in Pushkar. Bathing at the ghat in Varanasi Me in a tower in a castle? Palace? Fort? in Jaipur. (We rode the elephants up here) Dancing in the streets in Pushkar
