This evening it was my turn to host “Gnarly Nerd Night.” Three of us Latin-mates congregate to eat way more food than is healthy and attempt to learn about another twenty vocabulary words using every raunchy reference in the book. It was fun. I made lentil pie and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. There was also a cheese platter.

I am ill again. I haven’t really been myself in my classes, but i am very pleased with not having to worry about a test in Italian on Tuesday.

I bought Camus’ The Pest in order to “practice my French.” i bet a lot of it gets read on the bus ride back to Montreal. I am looking forward to it.

I’m enjoying Toronto quite a bit more now, but, then again, I remember an earlier post that was detailing my quest of discovery and how I was enjoying the same phase then too. I will let you know if the novelty of new neighbourhoods wears off again.

I have been walking to and from school – which takes me through some interesting neighbourhoods. Little Korea and the annex on Bloor are one big food court. It’s overwhelming, but the signs in the windows are interesting and colourful. I walk by in the mornings, so I haven’t yet really been regaled by smells, but I am looking forward to it. I also enjoy window grocery shopping as the fruit stores are putting their wares out on the sidewalks.

Little Italy feels much more accessible. Perhaps because the culture being sold is one I am so much more familiar with, but I feel much more comfortable with the prospect of walking into one of these restaurants, cafes or shops. The merchandise on sale piques my interest a bit more too. If I were rich, I think you would find me down on College and Christie on a frequent basis.

The walk also has me seeing some of the “nightlife” landmarks in the middle of the day. They are not particularly inviting places, but I guess no lounges, pubs or other venues are at 10am. I have told Veronica that she is under orders to accompany me to some of these places before I leave Toronto despite her supposed hatred of them as not going just seems dumb.

I visited Honest Ed’s on Bloor at Bathhurst earlier this week. The store is a maze, but it looked fun. I ended up not having to wander around for hours, as apparently you usually have to, because I entered near the carrot peeler I was looking for (and picked up four glasses for fifty cents – whoot!) and left. However, I intend to go back for some of the other random stuff I have convinced myself that I need.

I went to the Loblaws (I usually go to Fiesta Farms because it has a much better priced fruit and veggies section and some interesting imported goods) because I wanted a flowering plant. I came home loaded down with stuff, but no plant. I forgot. I like the Loblaws, but it was very busy. There is an excellent cheese counter, though no St-Paulin in the Quebec cheeses section, and a good selection of lamb. The prepared foods section is HUGE, but I am just not interested in removing one of the prime joys of my life.

Today I made giant mixed-berry muffins (and froze them) and a banana loaf (will freeze half – and don’t make banana loaf with cake flour. It thought it might turn out well, and it isn’t bad, but fluffy just doesn’t go that well with banana loaf. Ah well, you never know until you try). The <em>Joy of Cooking</em> has changed my life. I must go out grocery shopping again on Monday to pick up the ingredients for the menu of Gnarly Nerd Night, but I enjoy grocery shopping so much that this does not bother me in the slightest. Perhaps I will even get a potted plant between now and then.

My apartment is looking more and more homey – but I am feeling more and more defined by my possessions. Ah, the paradoxical nature of comfort! My posters are up, as are my postcards and the pictures from Italy. I need to get on printing out the other “collages” I want to make. There are lots of small surfaces to adorn with cherished memories. I have mixing bowls (hence the frenzy of baking) and magnetic poetry on my fridge. Most importantly, there is food in my freezer, refrigerator and pantry. When there is no food – I get a little freaky.

Quantum, Tantum

There is too much.
There is so much to read that there is nothing to write.
There are too many assignments.
There are too many distractions.
There is so little sleeping.
I am worried.
There is doom, on the horizon… looming.
There is too much.
So much to do.

01/21/08: As heard over the subway intercom system: “I would like to remind passengers that walking between the cars is not permitted… especially for guys in blue hats.”

01/22/08: Things not to do when you have just had your nails coated with acrylic to prevent them from breaking - peeling an orange in the middle of Italian class.

01/23/08: When i woke up this morning, i was not expecting to spend two hours of my afternoon talking to a bona fide symphony conductor… but i did. And now i have ANOTHER date for Sunday.

Scone + muffin = scuffin.
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
two handfuls of frozen berries
1 cup 18% cream

Sift together dry ingredients. Add berries and cream and mix until JUST moist. Plop into an ungreased, unlined muffin tin. Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes (or until turning golden brown on top). To remove, rotate spoon around the edges to loosen and the scoop out.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me in our Boccaccio & Chaucer seminar. I learnt the answer to a question that has been plaguing me for quite a while and it opens many, many doors of research that will likely be fruitful. I am excited. The question was “how do negative examples inspire moral action?” (I work on Nero, remember?). Our professor explained how prudential logic work and how it’s context based - now i need to learn all about prudence, but i now know where to look to answer one of the gaping wholes in my paper.

Another very exciting event was meeting, for the first time ever, another student who works on the LATIN works of Boccaccio. Now, she doesn’t work on the same work as me, the De Casibus Virorum Illustrium (and, frankly, it would not be a good thing if she did), but she does work on the Genealogy of the Gentile Gods. She is in comparative literature and i look forward to some interesting discussions in the future as she too seemed to realize that she had found a similar soul.

I finished His Dark Materials and am mourning its passing. I now have no excuse to not do the insane amount of readings (and writing) i need to complete. I am still on the look-out for a part-time job, but worried that there is no time. Luckily, i did a bit of number crunching and realized that i don’t NEED a job if i can live frugally. Perhaps i will take this avenue.

Lastly, my new home is also exciting. Greg and Veronica were darlings for helping me move in. Prof. Cochelin appears to be a really great landlord and her 19-month-old, Emily, is adorable.

Posts will be a tad sporadic over the next couple of weeks until we figure out how to hook me up to the internet network at the new place. Please feel free to drop me an email or, i know this is revolutionary, call and leave a message if i am not there. I’ve never owned a phone at a place all my own before - and though i hate when people call my cellphone (because inevitably if i am out and about, i am busy), i do love talking! LOL.

I wore my pin-striped hat out on the town last night and had a great evening despite being a cripple - i think crutches may be my next big fashion investment although neoprene braces are pretty stylish.

Veronica and i, the latter adorned with stunning fake eyelashes that aren’t worn nearly enough, took much time and effort preparing and debating for dinner. We decided to go to EAST on Queen St. near John. The wait wasn’t too long for a table, the decor was nice, the service was timely (except for Veronica’s water refill) and the food scrumptuous. The wonton soup was GREAT. I loved the broth and there were many wontons filled with meatie goodness floating in the bowl. It was an appetizer that could have been shared.

I had unique satay pad thai, which was tasty. To get the “house” version, with 3 shrimp added to the chicken, was an extra dollar. I’m not sure it was worth it. I don’t really consider prawns with their tails on to be chopstick food and earlier in the evening i had cut two fingers open… so the satay pad thai sauce on my bandaids was not fun. I enjoyed the meal very much, but think i would try something else next time.

Veronica ordered a mango tango chicken plate - breaded chicken, mango strips and a sweet sauce with other mixed veggies. It was very tasty and she said that she would like go for that order again.

I ordered a coconut milkshake for dessert (yummy) and we have decided that their dessert menu merits a visit in and of itself.

After that, we had a little time to kill, so we wandered into Chapters to purchase books 2 and 3 of the His Dark Materials trilogy. I controlled by bookbuying tendencies for once - the move is expensive and, well, the books are taking up the vast majority of the van (and Veronica dissuaded me - thanks DOLL!). I WANT, NEED, Can’t live without the book on the revitilization of Sade studies and erotica by Roger Shattuck, my favourite author who writes on Proust, and a collection of the interviews given by Primo Levi that was on sale for all of $6. Sniff! I left them behind.

We met up with Harley, Skrud and their two other teammates from an engineering conference, Eric and Alexei, at Smokeless Joes - a pub on John. The pub is pretty small, but a lot of the crowd filtered out after we had been there about 30 minutes. It’s in the basement, but the decor is nice and pubbie and they have over 250 beers available. There were three i liked! I ordered a Kronenburg (all-time fave and classic), Veronica ordered a Mort Subite - which was EXCELLENT, and there was a German cherry beer that Harley ordered and didn’t like so gave to me. Yummy. Beer with codeine = craziness.

Skrud, Harley and Alexei regaled us (and the rest of the club district) with drinking songs. Very raunchy drinking songs. It was fun. Thanks for taking us out boys!

We missed the last train South bound from Osgoode, but decided it would be more economical to take the last train North to Downsview and then take a cab East to the Diamond Shack - it was. I paid $16 with tip in for a cab home instead of the usual $30-something. I pointed out to Veronica that this is the last time we will be stuck needing an expensive cab home - i think the ride from my new house to the downtown core is about $15 (but it’s also totally walkable on a nice night).

I have TONS of work to do, on top of the packing, and two bad knees, so i am going to get on that. Five posts left before the big move to another domain- i know you are excited.

so named for its incredible ability to help one avoid eye-contact when having a conversation and avoid readings and translations that should be completed.

This is a 100% original recipe - be warned. I really liked it though!

Ingredients:
1 lb mild italian sausage
1/2 cup dried lentils, cooked as per package directions
1 can V8 juice (any veggie blend will do)
1/2 small onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup slow-cooking rice
Parmesan cheese

1. Fry italian sausage in a large pan over medium heat, removing the meat from the casings and breaking into small bits with your spatula/wooden sppon. Cook right through and them remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl lined with paper towels (to absorb nasty grease).
2. Meanwhile, cook rice as per package directions substituting a tomato juice for water. Add enough water to follow the directions, but no more.
3. Drain pan of grease and return sausage to pan adding onion, carrots, garlic and curry powder over a medium heat until onion is translucent.
4. Add lentils and rice to pan. Mix quickly.
5. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

I have found a new home and am likely moving in next Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008. It is a very big bachelor apartment (2 1/2) with a brand new gas stove (you can tell this excites me) and a washer all my own. I will be drying stuff on a rack, which i have yet to purchase.
Much of the stuff i need for this move - utensils, pots and pans, etc., is still in the parental homestead, but i am sure that i can make due borrowing from Veronica in the short-term and bringing stuff back in February.
The rent is steep, but in exchange for agreeing to babysit 8 hours a month, it was reduced by $80. If i babysit the 19-month-old more than that, i will find my next month’s rent reduced accordingly. I like kids and the “babysitting” will consist of my listening to a baby monitor while in my own apartment.
The landlord is actually my current social history professor. This seems a tad incestuous, but as she doesn’t feel that it’s a big deal, neither do i. From France, by way of Montreal, she will be excellent practice for my failing French skills. I imagine it will be good for the baby too.
So, i am excited. I am not looking forward to packing up all my stuff and being much poorer, but walking to school in 35 minutes (or 20 minutes by bus) just isn’t beatable. One of the houses on my new street has a huge white elephant out front… i am perplexed.
Though only big question that i have is whether or not i will be able to chip in to their internet account - not that it’s a big deal. I lived without home internet last winter and can do so again (particularly when so close to so many excellent U of T libraries).
Did i mention that there is a brand new gas stove?

The past week has been chock-filled with important events that i have no desire to blog about. They include the beginning of my move to heatherstein.net for my 500th post (very very soon folks), my grandmother’s interment, and much time spent with both friends and family.

Mount-Royal funeral services opened the wrong grave on Friday and then the funeral director proceeded to argue with my father that he didn’t know where the plot was. Of course, both my grandparents’ remains are located in my great-great grandfather’s plot (in the old section of the cemetery) and they had taken us to the new section. 3 hours and much upset later, we returned to discover that the funeral director was no longer going to be providing her services. Hence, yours truly ended up saying a few words as her family balled.

I spent yesterday, my last full day in Montreal, shopping with my mother (who kindly paid the bill) and going out to dinner and a movie with the complete household. We saw The Golden Compass which i thoroughly enjoyed and now wish that i had purchased to read instead of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Alas.

Today i am trying to figure out what to carry back from these two weeks at the homestead and what to put in the magic Fed Ex box which will follow me in a couple days time. Christmas loot must be prioritized.

The semester begins again tomorrow… i am both gladdened and saddened by this event. The recent change in my future plans encourages me to complete this master’s degree ASAP and with vim and vigour, yet, i haven’t done nearly enough work over the break and am worried about finding time to do it all while i am still apartment hunting.

I do not foresee frequent posting in the future, at least until said apartment and a job have been procured. Right now i need to devote some time to loving my Booey and sorting through piles of jewellery.