tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25638068001068945482024-02-07T14:29:16.169-05:00quintessencedreamer, thinker, humanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-60946095037907928942016-07-31T17:04:00.000-04:002016-07-31T17:04:28.796-04:00Indie Coffee Passport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back in 2013, I started compiling a list of indie coffeeshops in Toronto that I wanted to check out. The list, scrawled on a sticky note stuck to the wall in front of my desk, continued to grow longer and longer until it had surpassed 30 different coffeeshops.<br />
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Yet somehow I found myself back at Starbucks, time after time.<br />
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This afternoon I picked up an <a href="http://www.indiecoffeepassport.com/" target="_blank">Indie Coffee Passport</a>. It's an initiative that's available in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vermont, Chicago, East Bay, Washington DC and Oakland. A bunch of indie coffeeshops participate; you pick up a passport and then you get to sample a coffee (out of a limited list) from each of the places participating.<br />
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Pretty excited to check out some local indie coffee spots over the next few months.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-84579331956396883862014-09-28T19:46:00.002-04:002014-10-01T21:24:08.296-04:00Ellie Goulding & HAIM @ Massey Hall (Rdio & TIFF)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"<i><span style="color: #444444;">Why don't you be the artist and make me out of clay? Why don't you be the writer and decide the words I say?</span></i>"<br />
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- Ellie Goulding, <i>The Writer</i></div>
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On September 6th, Rdio and TIFF presented a live concert featuring Ellie Goulding and HAIM. Checked it out with <a href="http://www.inlieuof.ca/" target="_blank">C</a> - was overall a pretty awesome evening!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-82764276450985769352014-08-25T23:55:00.000-04:002014-08-25T23:55:08.878-04:00It always comes to this:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's just never enough time.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-12538206857168431072014-07-20T21:04:00.003-04:002014-07-20T21:06:45.681-04:00Bannock: Summerlicious 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For the last day of Summerlicious 2014, D and I decided to have lunch at <a href="http://oliverbonacini.com/bannock.aspx" target="_blank">Bannock</a> (401 Bay St.), the Oliver & Bonacini restaurant branded as "Canadian comfort food." Although it was D's first time there, I'd previously been (and blogged about it) for <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2014/02/bannock-winterlicious-2014.html" target="_blank">Winterlicious 2014</a> and <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/04/weekends-end.html" target="_blank">brunch</a>. Bannock tends to be consistently good, so it's usually a pretty safe bet. </div>
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To start, we both opted for the Iced Bloody Caesar Soup (Montreal steak spice, clams, celery), which turned out spicier than expected, but was still really good. As far as soups go, it was quite interesting in that: a) it was a cold soup, and b) it's a Caesar. (No vodka though!)<br />
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For the main, I went with the Roast Peameal Bacon Melt (Bannock sauerkraut, cheddar, smoked tomato marmalade), which was also excellent. Bannock uses thick slices of (Canadian?) bacon, it's great. The chips are always fantastic to have on the side as well. This was slightly spicy, but a good level of spicy.<br />
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D went for the Spelt Fusilli (mushroom fauxlognese, spinach greens, thunder oak Gouda) - he said it was fantastic as well. <br />
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To finish it all off, we both had the O&B Artisan Croissant Bread Pudding (spiced chocolate, peanut butter, kaffir lime). The chocolate sauce was very fluffy, and complemented the texture of the bread pudding really well (although we were both confused about the croissant part). Neither of us detected the peanut butter either. The garnishing fruits were really fresh, and overall it was pretty yummy.<br />
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We also both really liked the decor; it has a very rustic/homey Canadian vibe. I thought the vacation moose with parasol figurines were hilarious. Another successful Summerlicious meal!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-68802801830802201022014-07-19T23:33:00.003-04:002014-07-19T23:33:39.532-04:00Bangkok Garden: Summerlicious 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since today was the second last day of Summerlicious, S and I decided to go for lunch. Initially we were planning on going to <a href="http://chelsea.eatonhotels.com/restaurants/chelsea-dining-t-bar.htm" target="_blank">T|Bar</a>, but it turned out that they don't do Summerlicious lunch on weekends (same with <a href="http://www.cafelagaffe.com/" target="_blank">Cafe La Gaffe</a>, which C and I had originally tried for before ending up at Midi Bistro <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2014/07/midi-bistro-summerlicious-2014.html" target="_blank">last weekend</a>), so we walked over to Matagali, which was closed altogether. Ultimately we ended up at <a href="http://www.bangkokgarden.ca/" target="_blank">Bangkok Garden</a> (18 Elm St.) - which, ironically, my roommate at the time and I had tried to check out last year for Summerlicious on a Sunday, and they'd been closed. </div>
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We both started with the Mango Salad to start with (mango, shallots, coriander, red pepper, mint, fish sauce and peanuts). I was a little surprised upon tasting peanuts in the salad, and S made fun of me for ordering by only looking at the titles, and not actually reading the menu. In my defence, I was hungry, okay. Luckily all the courses arrived in a very timely fashion. <br />
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Then we both had the Basil Beef Stir-Fry as the main (flat-iron beef, vegetables, chili garlic & oyster sauce, served with jasmine rice). Before ordering, we'd been joking around about how tears may or may not be involved, depending on how spicy the food was; it didn't end up being spicy at all (I'd asked for mine to be mild, not sure if both had been made such though). <br />
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On dessert we finally diverged - he went for the Coconut Tapioca and I went for the Banana Fritters. Both were pretty good. Overall, the food was decent; it wasn't spectacular or anything, but good enough to fill you up.<br />
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The decor was probably the coolest part though. The restaurant doesn't look that big from the outside, but once you get in, it's actually quite large. There are two primary dining areas: the front half is airy and bright, very appropriate for brunch. The back half is actually separated into two floors, a ground level and an upstairs balcony area, which is a bit more Thai regal in terms of decor and has ambient lighting. (Which is also why the photos above weren't captured in the greatest light.) Interesting atmosphere for sure, and with all the plants in front of the ceiling-level windows and the rain outside as a backdrop today, there was definitely a bit of a Thai jungle vibe going on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-58520675224492535512014-07-15T23:56:00.002-04:002014-07-15T23:56:12.321-04:00Midi Bistro: Summerlicious 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSC_m0BBwCaQOqfF7KJhkNlt2q0bUZ7hVz8r1yBaKeazmbnnVXJwkg8IDkHd_EgWyLTyubhkfdbIz8F1KenfUSQyRto5fVYetiKtjPUDDQ0x72XIEqxj1ZSrxjAZY-kRxCqWT05-B35A/s1600/midi1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSC_m0BBwCaQOqfF7KJhkNlt2q0bUZ7hVz8r1yBaKeazmbnnVXJwkg8IDkHd_EgWyLTyubhkfdbIz8F1KenfUSQyRto5fVYetiKtjPUDDQ0x72XIEqxj1ZSrxjAZY-kRxCqWT05-B35A/s1600/midi1.JPG" height="400" width="320" /></a></div>
This year Summerlicious is taking place from July 4th to 20th. With major food events in Toronto like Summerlicious and Winterlicious, it's always hit-or-miss. Sometimes you'll find a fantastic restaurant with great food (and for a great price!) that you may not have thought of trying otherwise; other times, you'll walk into a place expecting something delicious, only to be disappointed by a sub-par meal. Luckily, <a href="http://www.midibistro.ca/" target="_blank">Midi Bistro</a> (168 McCaul St.) definitely fell into the former category of being <i>fantastic</i> for us this time around.<br />
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C and I decided to grab some lunch before heading to an Irish pub for the FIFA World Cup Final match between Germany and Argentina, and ended up at Midi. To start, she got the Tomato Salad (mixed greens, tomato, bocconcini, olive oil & balsamic reduction) and I got the Beef Carpaccio (with caspers, Asiago, lemon & olive oil).<br />
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We were both really impressed by how well-prepared both appetizers were. The beef carpaccio was especially great; it was just the right level of thin (pounded?), not drippy with rawness, and the flavours blended together wonderfully.<br />
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On the server's recommendation, we both ordered the Seafood Pasta as the main - fettuccine with bay scallops, black tiger shrimp, roasted red peppers, spinach and white wine rosé sauce. It was good, for sure, but the appetizer and desert were spectacular, so...<br />
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We decided to order different deserts so that we could share and each try both. I went for the vanilla & cardamom crème brûlée, while she decided to tackle the poached* pears (served with vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce).<br />
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Both were extremely worthy choices. The crème brûlée was perfectly crisped on top, and luxuriously smooth beneath. Probably one of <i>the</i> best crème brûlées either of us have ever had - absolutely divine. The pears were pretty close to perfect too - just the right degree of substance, enough texture to be interesting, and not overly sweet. The ice cream and chocolate were the perfect complement.<br />
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In addition to the scrumptious food, our server was very nice, and the atmosphere was decidedly cute in a quaint way. All in all, an awesome meal. Would definitely recommend trying Midi. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*The menu actually lists this desert item as "parched pears" but presumably that's a typo...</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-58675516871984300022014-07-12T23:09:00.002-04:002014-07-12T23:09:53.767-04:00First Night in Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Because I'm feeling nostalgic about Europe, because I didn't finish re-capping my summer adventures from 2012, because I finally found stracciatella gelato in Toronto, and because it's been exactly two years to the day, I figured I'd do a bit of reminiscing.</div>
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July 12th fell on a Thursday back in 2012. L dropped me off at the train station after work (timing was tight - she had to run back to the office right as we were about to leave to grab some documents proving that she was single in preparation for her upcoming marriage to her German beau. #internationalmarriageproblems? - but luckily we made it with a bit of time to spare). As we zipped down the Autobahn, she told me about how nervous a bunch of the other people in the office were about her driving. Yeah...<br />
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The Thalys train takes just over three hours to reach Paris from Cologne. The bright red and pink seats were a little jarring. And because Thalys services France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, all the announcements were made four times: in English, French, German and Dutch.<br />
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It was already dark by the time we reached Paris Nord station, since it was past 10pm by this point. A few months prior to this, a few of us had been joking late one night about how it'd be pretty cool to spend Bastille Day in Paris. That toss-up plan was about to materialize - S and L were set to arrive in Paris the following day. <br />
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Since I was spending the first night in Paris solo, I ended up CouchSurfing. By the looks of Google Maps' directions, the host's place wasn't that far from the station, so I figured I'd just walk. Upon exiting the station though, there was an unfortunate discovery that it was pouring rain. It was still really nice to see Paris by night though, and my CS host and I had some fantastic conversations that night. All in all, an excellent introduction to Paris.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Street art photo previously featured as part of <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/09/art-on-brick-mortar.html" target="_blank">this post</a>.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-81869425160260576972014-06-26T21:47:00.002-04:002014-06-26T21:48:25.741-04:00Burger Week 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Burger Week is an annual event in Toronto wherein various restaurants offer up $5 burgers. This year it took place from May 28th to 31st, and was a pretty fantastic run.</div>
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<a href="http://bigsmokeburger.com/" target="_blank">Big Smoke Burger</a> (Eaton Centre) - Blazing Pineapple and onion rings. To be honest, the burger wasn't anything to write home about (the glazed pineapple came this-close to being sickeningly sweet), but the onion rings were <i>fantastic</i>. Perfectly crunchy on the outside, but somehow still crisp and super-fresh on the inside, these were among the best onion rings I've had. Went with C.<br />
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<a href="http://therudeboy.ca/" target="_blank">The Rude Boy</a> (397 Roncesvalles Ave.) - Just looked up what the Burger Week special was, and apparently it consisted of "Brisket/chuck patty with house-cured tongue pastrami, bacon, Thousand Island dressing, Gruyere, and Rude Boy sauerkraut." This was pretty good, and the house chips and pickle strip were wonderful additions. The Parm Fries on the left (which are "triple cooked thick hand cut fries, herbs, shaved parm, jalapeno ketchup") were a wonderful complement too. Went with two of the guys from work, T & Z.<br />
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<a href="http://www.burgerbrats.ca/" target="_blank">Burger Brats</a> (254 Adelaide St. W) - Can't actually remember which of their burgers this was, but it was <i>delicious</i>. From the photo, it doesn't seem like much to look at, but the <i>flavour </i>was just <i>spot-on</i>. Went with L & S - we cut it dangerously close to closing time (we got there at like 9:50pm), but it was so worth it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-25895957180741066672014-05-06T16:12:00.002-04:002014-05-06T16:12:45.316-04:00Food in Toronto: 2Not ready to write about all the major changes and events that have happened over the last couple of weeks/months yet, so here's another barrage of backlogged food photos (yay!) from various student-budget-friendly places around Toronto. (Part 1 can be found <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2014/03/food-in-toronto-1.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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Valens (19 Baldwin St.), Summerlicious 2013.<br />Went with the then-roommates M & J. <br />Top to bottom: tuna bruschetta on French baguette, pan roasted chicken breast stuffed with butternut squash and topped with strawberry cream sauce, strawberry panna cotta.</div>
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Say Cheese (337 Bloor St. W.)</div>
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They have a fantastic selection of "gourmet" grilled cheese sandwiches. </div>
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Photo from my first time there, with L.</div>
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Somewhere on Queen St. W. for M's birthday last year - Oyster Boy, maybe?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIDMCAFYhjMrwpUPnii-K92dtEOilHD5qIaPrMZrUbEazTreqtQZmGb86ul6KxZsGeL0DZXo8vmxFaxzG2CgNVT9QTTamxXPkd3coJornMnN3S9MCA9rN263sG-iXEYhplP8mS2uEzBo/s1600/food23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIDMCAFYhjMrwpUPnii-K92dtEOilHD5qIaPrMZrUbEazTreqtQZmGb86ul6KxZsGeL0DZXo8vmxFaxzG2CgNVT9QTTamxXPkd3coJornMnN3S9MCA9rN263sG-iXEYhplP8mS2uEzBo/s1600/food23.JPG" height="327" width="400" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://firkinpubs.com/firkinonking" target="_blank">Firkin on King</a> (461 King St. W.). </div>
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Butter Chicken Pie. Sounds like a strange combination, but was surprisingly good.</div>
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Some sushi place in Baldwin Village.<br />Impromptu, went with M & S after helping S film stuff for her student group.</div>
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Some seafood place in Baldwin Village (either Hua Sang or Wah Sing).</div>
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With M, M & S.</div>
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The <a href="http://www.thebedfordacademy.com/" target="_blank">Bedford Academy</a> (36 Prince Arthur Avenue)</div>
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Yay for patio food. This was delicious. Went after the frosh week concert (2013) with M. M, S, & A.</div>
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Eki-Bento on Yonge - looks like they've since closed.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sambucas.ca/" target="_blank">Sambuca Grill</a> (21 Baldwin St.)</div>
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Went for S's 21st birthday, along with M & M.</div>
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From top to bottom (from prix-fixe menu): mussels, jambalaya, tiramisu.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-69313447501196228262014-03-07T23:18:00.001-05:002014-03-07T23:19:44.306-05:00Food in Toronto: 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Confession time: I'm one of those people who takes photos of their food (sometimes). But I don't have Instagram, so people have asked me a number of times what I end up doing with these food photos. (A lot of the time, nothing - they just sit there on my phone or laptop.) Since I'm stranded/procrastinating right now anyway, I ended up going through some old photo archives in search of food pictures, and figured I'd put in a shout-out for some Toronto restaurants that are student-budget-friendly, so here we go:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cOfqH7VFt_XxiThNBR2oMZAuHR3USWZ4_9CDLWGIpSz5CPxrcubQgj2s_hItrVkjo2lqzZvoAY-gpKVHZmddlk2U7XgdeSaY1Gp0cb1DUO6h1a1FbOcvWhx0T4LDYCPNuNCloDCMz3Y/s1600/food1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cOfqH7VFt_XxiThNBR2oMZAuHR3USWZ4_9CDLWGIpSz5CPxrcubQgj2s_hItrVkjo2lqzZvoAY-gpKVHZmddlk2U7XgdeSaY1Gp0cb1DUO6h1a1FbOcvWhx0T4LDYCPNuNCloDCMz3Y/s1600/food1.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.saladking.com/" target="_blank">Salad King</a>. Classic. This particular photo was from when I went with L, a family friend whom I've known since I was like five years old. She was in town on co-op, and it was really nice to catch up, especially since it had been a couple years since we'd last met up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzyeCZ_2FD5Yk5-9r50m3RKSd-NIaNijynQ9YokPg7WMoobX6aYskyEmR5Tx93FM9nLYdqCU_KsE7JyPZNp91I3CXPaBCcMZH7PHKu7zhxTlzqr_OHEQukXj08nk4_AVnqa_hwEV_WTU/s1600/food2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzyeCZ_2FD5Yk5-9r50m3RKSd-NIaNijynQ9YokPg7WMoobX6aYskyEmR5Tx93FM9nLYdqCU_KsE7JyPZNp91I3CXPaBCcMZH7PHKu7zhxTlzqr_OHEQukXj08nk4_AVnqa_hwEV_WTU/s1600/food2.JPG" height="213" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.harbordhouse.ca/" target="_blank">Harbord House</a> (150 Harbord St.) - Chicken Pot Pie. Delicious. A had his sister come visit, so a bunch of us joined them for a late dinner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc_j7sfD9vyMzBWAwXVLUnYFTkob1MLhzt_lwupVXCCAJ7eOhmRp-QJwpFGU9MLv20PUna8OuYvUjNIKbomLVfI_tskyo3_jWQtZJQthIU5-9Yu1_6C7npXgvUEGscmyx1G9Cttp1nmI/s1600/food3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc_j7sfD9vyMzBWAwXVLUnYFTkob1MLhzt_lwupVXCCAJ7eOhmRp-QJwpFGU9MLv20PUna8OuYvUjNIKbomLVfI_tskyo3_jWQtZJQthIU5-9Yu1_6C7npXgvUEGscmyx1G9Cttp1nmI/s1600/food3.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jimmythegreek.com/" target="_blank">Jimmy the Greek</a> at the Eaton Centre.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRlCwP49-6sP5QZZNzTtf3MFP-7ifV8iLDPahm7Zkel7AUsj5utuwk3D1QYqk5mgZpdcpjM0j59vHfIDgLDP3QANR9aDPv5TKXuc4y5a3A95cry8XuyakuQ5hRSBHehVS2Vdor-Z5EyI/s1600/food4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRlCwP49-6sP5QZZNzTtf3MFP-7ifV8iLDPahm7Zkel7AUsj5utuwk3D1QYqk5mgZpdcpjM0j59vHfIDgLDP3QANR9aDPv5TKXuc4y5a3A95cry8XuyakuQ5hRSBHehVS2Vdor-Z5EyI/s1600/food4.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ramenraijin.com/" target="_blank">Ramen Raijin</a> (3 Gerrard St. East) - pretty sure this is the first time I tried ramen. S's birthday, also with M and A.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdZXy6IoHhwvni8VkP6ouexqfMf1N9fy9c_CZ-8V84kMtR-HXma4XPX8D2KkHZYteSnpi4jaQJCys4FNeYNy_g4InvjOIZVFG7YigKQotogUZpo7SosC_rz8gG8JLRspQmvbUOCNV08k/s1600/food5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdZXy6IoHhwvni8VkP6ouexqfMf1N9fy9c_CZ-8V84kMtR-HXma4XPX8D2KkHZYteSnpi4jaQJCys4FNeYNy_g4InvjOIZVFG7YigKQotogUZpo7SosC_rz8gG8JLRspQmvbUOCNV08k/s1600/food5.JPG" height="400" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.justdessert.ca/" target="_blank">Just Desserts</a> (578 Yonge St.) - they have an excellent selection of desserts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4t-rhKGec2u_qxxUnN0ztLOmBB9DhiHPvtT7bNUuOiKRn8sdWCGGI_KyMVG3D3EvKxCZGuyRqSYHZvq8w25kZ2XtxzXiUII0sbnkK4ojGua5Jfalfw4BSDXYMzWtATXzklTS7SRsft4/s1600/food6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4t-rhKGec2u_qxxUnN0ztLOmBB9DhiHPvtT7bNUuOiKRn8sdWCGGI_KyMVG3D3EvKxCZGuyRqSYHZvq8w25kZ2XtxzXiUII0sbnkK4ojGua5Jfalfw4BSDXYMzWtATXzklTS7SRsft4/s1600/food6.JPG" height="222" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dondonizakaya.com/" target="_blank">Don Don Izakaya</a> (130 Dundas St. West) - mackerel, maybe? There was a ton of food ordered, but I took a photo of this because they literally came out with a blow torch and smoked it right in front of us, which was pretty cool.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidot-RdZMCOXm-A7d2MRqkib9pwqaFtTo0NIRBD5DrZDleZE-R1ioRlLxpQGQdvaZ3v297hLHce5EP-B8JwLzacTsIHA3f6CL4iudsu2epoRm1SKVxswHORBVy7kotmFXIt__SbiP9Uk0/s1600/food7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidot-RdZMCOXm-A7d2MRqkib9pwqaFtTo0NIRBD5DrZDleZE-R1ioRlLxpQGQdvaZ3v297hLHce5EP-B8JwLzacTsIHA3f6CL4iudsu2epoRm1SKVxswHORBVy7kotmFXIt__SbiP9Uk0/s1600/food7.JPG" height="400" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dtbistro.com/DT_BISTRO/" target="_blank">Dessert Trends Bistro</a> (154 Harbord St.) - chicken pie: scrumptious. We went for brunch for J's birthday, and they had an excellent selection of both food and desserts. The atmosphere is super cute as well. Additional desert photo can be found on this old <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-week-already.html" target="_blank">post</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWSjj6IfBK5a-7gsgNivK5PQu3sBjfx2NLeb78sn3bk0ulCHEe0NKA1OffhCBj1dbYp3UD9paAzK2R1ht_306FrgXwvh5xO1TJN7mu5BZZYw7TJMwytPK_7EbzTcThFg2fYcjhQZ3hkU/s1600/food8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWSjj6IfBK5a-7gsgNivK5PQu3sBjfx2NLeb78sn3bk0ulCHEe0NKA1OffhCBj1dbYp3UD9paAzK2R1ht_306FrgXwvh5xO1TJN7mu5BZZYw7TJMwytPK_7EbzTcThFg2fYcjhQZ3hkU/s1600/food8.JPG" height="400" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pickle Barrel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusgadtlKGvu0L2zJwkOndQ6s4N-Ayd6nGKVx1KdPdGJ3nkjtEDQBlRMIVIVKl6yhFd9MTaGKefgLr4nYqfhXp5nh9VKLbzRni4UzwsbZ4T6huh-zvyOUyVvk3pwM0y24Uby7T1qrj_E4/s1600/food9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusgadtlKGvu0L2zJwkOndQ6s4N-Ayd6nGKVx1KdPdGJ3nkjtEDQBlRMIVIVKl6yhFd9MTaGKefgLr4nYqfhXp5nh9VKLbzRni4UzwsbZ4T6huh-zvyOUyVvk3pwM0y24Uby7T1qrj_E4/s1600/food9.JPG" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sushishop.com/" target="_blank">Sushi Shop</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkl9RrkTFyDkFEFTtYioS4P7PoDkeyed5VxChJGqJau-dGHfp4QzrTJXT-5SgxrwfrnykvsVK03WoQECVpmbiFX3f6jBtw8FBiWl3lePizR2pO1ANY3m8SSbov3Rvs5NC4M3I30yNcKQ/s1600/food10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkl9RrkTFyDkFEFTtYioS4P7PoDkeyed5VxChJGqJau-dGHfp4QzrTJXT-5SgxrwfrnykvsVK03WoQECVpmbiFX3f6jBtw8FBiWl3lePizR2pO1ANY3m8SSbov3Rvs5NC4M3I30yNcKQ/s1600/food10.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bnbtoronto.com/" target="_blank">BnB Toronto</a> - Bistro and Bar (123 Queen St. West, inside the Sheraton Centre) - Bison Burger and some sort of brussel sprouts side. This was part of Burger Week.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW3NLRtQOEP4JRo72Mi5zpeLsRjKFgcrHxlsYXmnk9AiixMnjuUgE3pxl4b6HyRNMMa14mzRWIAEXy_KgbdkvPUMAKB-_hZHuMWL36DMgXTXYLVvrskp2LTjqgnxXNAKTwZZ-OrnIKkc/s1600/food11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW3NLRtQOEP4JRo72Mi5zpeLsRjKFgcrHxlsYXmnk9AiixMnjuUgE3pxl4b6HyRNMMa14mzRWIAEXy_KgbdkvPUMAKB-_hZHuMWL36DMgXTXYLVvrskp2LTjqgnxXNAKTwZZ-OrnIKkc/s1600/food11.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blackskirtrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Black Skirt</a> (974 College St.) - can't recall exactly what this is, but it may have been the veal panini. Went with J, M, S and S on J's suggestion; the place has a very unique atmosphere (very homey/rustic), and pretty good food too. The cannoli I got for desert was yummy as well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkkCAFgrPdYwCFleayLLe8tGis98YWDViiBAwOVViDLHSgE6fMFnrZyASHefUDLT2kI5Xbfz6MzaviSKFPJNQhWvXR_26U7YrtSSZRLICk0giU-fGNn8SpWEtPe8bxcDqvNg1CyaJbp8/s1600/food12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkkCAFgrPdYwCFleayLLe8tGis98YWDViiBAwOVViDLHSgE6fMFnrZyASHefUDLT2kI5Xbfz6MzaviSKFPJNQhWvXR_26U7YrtSSZRLICk0giU-fGNn8SpWEtPe8bxcDqvNg1CyaJbp8/s1600/food12.JPG" height="318" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fairly sure that this is <a href="http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/" target="_blank">Santouka Ramen</a> (91 Dundas St. East), although I'm not entirely certain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcForRbd8O0TO14Y_r7joTsSMin3IH1-EfyZBZjw9_L9WzCIKBxlvw_NXqUr8BTubfTBYeug7u5vFm9F4Hw8IbdLZPCqymzBRSeoBcrqpfV6W_Gp-jYIpy6eVFjLqtbPPttR8GzqNkiv8/s1600/food13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcForRbd8O0TO14Y_r7joTsSMin3IH1-EfyZBZjw9_L9WzCIKBxlvw_NXqUr8BTubfTBYeug7u5vFm9F4Hw8IbdLZPCqymzBRSeoBcrqpfV6W_Gp-jYIpy6eVFjLqtbPPttR8GzqNkiv8/s1600/food13.JPG" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://yakitoribar.ca/" target="_blank">Yakitori Bar</a> (1 Baldwin St.) - Baldwin Village has a bunch of really cute places to eat. Went with J and M on a weeknight during the summer. Portions tend to be on the "healthier" side, in that they fill you up just the right amount at the time when you finish eating, but you'll probably get hungry again later during the night. Food is good though.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHzGd83vBTa5xYCkh0gfN2utY1Q7eePPlWxpjepbI_XqGdS3CroMCQp12gJ6lTrVBnSxFzDxRr6DADqDSB0CGG7_Nz5iyaXPebwkqHj0I0ouLEFxx2U3dtfe-jdZAnQ66HGNTwdmCkMw/s1600/food14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHzGd83vBTa5xYCkh0gfN2utY1Q7eePPlWxpjepbI_XqGdS3CroMCQp12gJ6lTrVBnSxFzDxRr6DADqDSB0CGG7_Nz5iyaXPebwkqHj0I0ouLEFxx2U3dtfe-jdZAnQ66HGNTwdmCkMw/s1600/food14.JPG" height="293" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ryojiofcanada.com/" target="_blank">Ryoji</a> [Ramen & Izakay] (690 College St.) - Taco Rice. Located in Little Italy, they specialize in food from Okinawa. Went during the summer with M, A and S. (Was literally looking at the menu just now and noticed that they have fried cream cheese wontons. Wow, will have to get some next time.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6djpXTMxUifgtWcwn4KbKPe8DSnKomAi2YJcDFobYmMPLkTAQ1gD84hPxrs35ZR9ahowjqoYo74ZDE8FDmNngih9oAQsW6BIl54idkrPSp35YBt6GGwcpQXFA19DV50LhsHyqd-ff8g/s1600/food15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6djpXTMxUifgtWcwn4KbKPe8DSnKomAi2YJcDFobYmMPLkTAQ1gD84hPxrs35ZR9ahowjqoYo74ZDE8FDmNngih9oAQsW6BIl54idkrPSp35YBt6GGwcpQXFA19DV50LhsHyqd-ff8g/s1600/food15.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tonesushi.com/" target="_blank">To-ne</a> Sushi (414 Queen St. West). Usually a pretty safe bet for sushi. Some interesting music choices. The staff are quite nice as well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfxsamtwzcNRsPE9CdneeO7h46M_y85dla3iAarH9anZb1xm2GbUmCnKAeBPS00hLNIwuE6O2g3BI0nQ_1chjzAaR6zRTcBa1rJdcbR8lp-N_qeEud5bnOgWJgggBHwtbT-xcBdZ5DLw/s1600/coffee1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfxsamtwzcNRsPE9CdneeO7h46M_y85dla3iAarH9anZb1xm2GbUmCnKAeBPS00hLNIwuE6O2g3BI0nQ_1chjzAaR6zRTcBa1rJdcbR8lp-N_qeEud5bnOgWJgggBHwtbT-xcBdZ5DLw/s1600/coffee1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And as a bonus, a photo from the first time I went to <a href="http://www.darkhorseespresso.com/" target="_blank">Dark Horse</a> (with J and M). The quest to find the best hot chocolate in the city is still ongoing. </td></tr>
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So... are you hungry now? ;)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-26766884176054592014-02-28T23:36:00.004-05:002014-02-28T23:36:30.882-05:00we'll make it through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrn-mJjYW48mB-zjNHeZaUA_YWaClPJywMis2izil-8uxR2qcHB_YbhvkP6Xoh8MJPenihQxxP6JwsH0nPh4v9-QEVol2cPvju6fm6sO-9-HDBdAG8g788-YUS15b-HInPzKhQfQQsWt0/s1600/guerilla1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrn-mJjYW48mB-zjNHeZaUA_YWaClPJywMis2izil-8uxR2qcHB_YbhvkP6Xoh8MJPenihQxxP6JwsH0nPh4v9-QEVol2cPvju6fm6sO-9-HDBdAG8g788-YUS15b-HInPzKhQfQQsWt0/s1600/guerilla1.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
In my fourth year/graduate seminar on Thursday, the professor ruminated on an interesting human behavioral psychology phenomenon. With the Olympics having taken place recently, it's obviously something that's been on everyone's mind. But in any case, as we were speaking about [social science research] methodologies and how some decisions and constraints are, at the core of it, arbitrarily chosen, she brought up the point that it's a human construct that we have three medal places. Way back, it used to be only gold and silver. Later on, bronze was added in. And stemming from that, to place in the top three is to medal - to come fourth suddenly seems like a significant difference.<br />
<br />
And even more interestingly - as a result of this - people who win bronze tend to be happier than people who win silver. Because those who come second <i>almost</i> came first, so it's a bittersweet mix of being proud of the accomplishment, and disappointed at being so close. But for those who get bronze, it's <i>yay, placed</i>!<br />
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Some interesting thoughts. Anyway. Not that this is entirely align-able, but February is the second month of the year, and this one has been very rough, to say the least. But there's no point in letting what can't be controlled create a pervasive negative influence, and focus instead on making that which can be controlled as positive as possible.<br />
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As always, tomorrow's a new day.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Photo of a sticky note found in a bathroom stall on campus. Cute.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-71219889531322724072014-02-09T23:52:00.001-05:002014-02-09T23:56:09.360-05:00Bannock: Winterlicious 2014<span style="font-family: inherit;">So Toronto has annual themed food festivals: Winterlicious and Summerlicious, wherein participating restaurants offer prix fixe menus for lunch and/or dinner. One of my exec teams and I hit up <a href="http://www.oliverbonacini.com/bannock.aspx" target="_blank">Bannock</a> today, and the food was very good, especially considering the price. Bannock is known for "Canadian comfort food" - I've actually been once <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/04/weekends-end.html" target="_blank">before</a>, albeit for their regular menu. On the note of Oliver & Bonacini restaurants, I've also been to <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/04/floor-feels-empty.html" target="_blank">Biff's Bistro</a> previously.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg741OuIya0FaKZkYDHxtNlnjR0aH-iT3LQNAnwFL1u1ktrs8v7TUDRKYHpb-rRNuRweyTB030cgfNXHbXVA1oLNPee5d8d3Pel9YTzVe9r6qUdFptSz5eZmAo3CSaRoq4CfzxYdjErp-Y/s1600/bannock1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg741OuIya0FaKZkYDHxtNlnjR0aH-iT3LQNAnwFL1u1ktrs8v7TUDRKYHpb-rRNuRweyTB030cgfNXHbXVA1oLNPee5d8d3Pel9YTzVe9r6qUdFptSz5eZmAo3CSaRoq4CfzxYdjErp-Y/s1600/bannock1.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kale caesar salad, with dulse, horseradish and Bannock croutons</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilXmsSzCQw9NmB1NNSLeJVGzjlbkN-ifDlCi0vXrLn2z7OsfEDqArnDE2-_u50QK188ZMr_RubzZaVa55pZmHbc3Kif6Mv0mLDby0YOud2SWcLJLzxyYCI8y_roG-AOixJ-q5_LdGeG0/s1600/bannock2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilXmsSzCQw9NmB1NNSLeJVGzjlbkN-ifDlCi0vXrLn2z7OsfEDqArnDE2-_u50QK188ZMr_RubzZaVa55pZmHbc3Kif6Mv0mLDby0YOud2SWcLJLzxyYCI8y_roG-AOixJ-q5_LdGeG0/s1600/bannock2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pig + chips, with Ontario pork shoulder, roasted garlic fries and mustard greens kimchi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dr2SDvEhULF6RzOumv5WtWJ9LrEosUUpmsvDzjSU9VNvCSPIa_dYKSa4Y0p1V808i07pPMJyPG7ZiP2VBhE5KMbkauo1phUsXxwwL1rcTJblnUZVRKkg2I2x-CNlkJBK4nQXnMnUFeM/s1600/bannock3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dr2SDvEhULF6RzOumv5WtWJ9LrEosUUpmsvDzjSU9VNvCSPIa_dYKSa4Y0p1V808i07pPMJyPG7ZiP2VBhE5KMbkauo1phUsXxwwL1rcTJblnUZVRKkg2I2x-CNlkJBK4nQXnMnUFeM/s1600/bannock3.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cheesy chocolate cannoli, with chocolate peanut sauce, brittle, and Ontario cream cheese</td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNYMKKnCGyxw_XluUfLzuQkYfY_armUF0xg3aguz7Fi_PvvXpa1PqIOYzPuKqXduWN9ciY2RNPK-Va5SjWYFIkoWVQli4C7Zvj0qznqD-EhDdH_p366Q6VVUaeG1BY8Co_nxM1WGoNVw/s1600/bannock4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNYMKKnCGyxw_XluUfLzuQkYfY_armUF0xg3aguz7Fi_PvvXpa1PqIOYzPuKqXduWN9ciY2RNPK-Va5SjWYFIkoWVQli4C7Zvj0qznqD-EhDdH_p366Q6VVUaeG1BY8Co_nxM1WGoNVw/s1600/bannock4.JPG" height="400" width="373" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So there were seven of us (H, R, L, N, F, M and I), and there was a bit of a wait (although honestly, it really wasn't that bad, and we managed to keep ourselves occupied so we didn't really mind), and they gave us two of these complimentary s'mores cakes to make up for it, which was a super pleasant surprise. And super delicious! The marshmallows were the perfect degree of melted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The staff were friendly, the food was good, and the atmosphere was nice. Plus the Winterlicious lunch menu is only $15 to boot! Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of locally sourced ingredients.</span></div>
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-10732221268089761972014-01-21T20:34:00.000-05:002014-01-21T20:34:33.251-05:00not much, just meh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dktrIV8GCOPLiWOfESAlX4ly9qVfvZaWBWv1rFdiaTRhRw7FWqNklsXBXekXm0AoBc7GpoMyResFUCmnUGyC_ocasW6XpCG3GYeGy5qh5WGGSCPRV7k2KedAsP45IUhhNgcGnd9zLOo/s1600/cocohand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dktrIV8GCOPLiWOfESAlX4ly9qVfvZaWBWv1rFdiaTRhRw7FWqNklsXBXekXm0AoBc7GpoMyResFUCmnUGyC_ocasW6XpCG3GYeGy5qh5WGGSCPRV7k2KedAsP45IUhhNgcGnd9zLOo/s1600/cocohand.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
First post of 2014. Feels like it should be something deep, or thoughtful, or aspirational. But I got nothing. I didn't even come up with a list of New Year's Resolutions this time around. Which is okay. It's going to be a phenomenal year regardless of whether or not I scribble down a series of random thoughts now that I probably won't even remember by December. But that's enough cliché ruminating on start-of-the-year stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIjlf6uqwNd4ymfoc5OUzsxdw396w8usqhN_I4UC6_X-pehfC9masKnQuY4b4oaAGcBX4cpcl6f_av_Ygo6PTC8p7LP_mioLYYsCklJwdKF0Y90rZrPtERJ51xgEEAJUN7wS5VDC9J4wU/s1600/saladking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIjlf6uqwNd4ymfoc5OUzsxdw396w8usqhN_I4UC6_X-pehfC9masKnQuY4b4oaAGcBX4cpcl6f_av_Ygo6PTC8p7LP_mioLYYsCklJwdKF0Y90rZrPtERJ51xgEEAJUN7wS5VDC9J4wU/s1600/saladking.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
Twenty-first of January, three weeks in, a little over three months of undergrad left. A lot of things are beyond my control at the moment, a lot of waiting left to do.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The top photo is of my sister's hamster Coco, whom she spent months saving up for, and then purchased on her birthday. Sadly, Coco passed away last week. </span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-31714346279396478872013-12-31T17:30:00.003-05:002013-12-31T17:30:41.390-05:002013 in Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2URu9Ko1TkgvX5nMCGVCxBSmjccb8yAWWZr-y-fV2iE6s3WI1tgFBHFD4Xdr4xZslZurmqw8DfIk0HClJ6FZF9aVci9kM_mWsvuTHh9wkSiUaDi8EUR6vE-sUNHJArRnhKCKf10U6WHU/s1600/2013review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2URu9Ko1TkgvX5nMCGVCxBSmjccb8yAWWZr-y-fV2iE6s3WI1tgFBHFD4Xdr4xZslZurmqw8DfIk0HClJ6FZF9aVci9kM_mWsvuTHh9wkSiUaDi8EUR6vE-sUNHJArRnhKCKf10U6WHU/s400/2013review.png" width="400" /></a></div>
As a follow-up to <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-in-review.html" target="_blank">2012 in review</a>, it's time to recap 2013:<br />
<br />
<h4>
JANUARY</h4>
<ul>
<li>There was no reprieve to be found in January; right from the beginning, the year started off as <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/01/landing-in-midst.html" target="_blank">go-go-go</a></li>
<li>Made some <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/01/feeling-foolish.html" target="_blank">foolish mistakes</a>, but at the end of the day, it was still a good learning experience</li>
<li>Ended the month feeling optimistic and resolving to do <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/01/climbing.html" target="_blank">better</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
<h4>
FEBRUARY</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>School basically dominated February</li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/02/in-flux.html" target="_blank">Contemplated</a> things</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
MARCH</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Received an <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/03/marching-forward.html" target="_blank">award</a> that mattered a lot on a personal level</li>
<li>Saw <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/03/zedd-sound-academy.html" target="_blank">Zedd</a> perform a live set @ Sound Academy</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
APRIL</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Had an existential <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/04/this-cant-be-it.html" target="_blank">crisis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/04/two-down.html" target="_blank">Met</a> Beth Revis (author of the <i>Across the Universe</i> trilogy)</li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/04/two-down.html" target="_blank">Explored</a> Kensington for the first time</li>
<li>Finished <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-day-or-mayday.html" target="_blank">third</a> year</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
MAY</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Turned <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/05/21.html" target="_blank">21</a></li>
<li>Started an internship at a tech startup</li>
<li>Started a Research Assistant position with a professor</li>
<li>Started summer school classes</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
JUNE</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Decided to <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/06/from-here-on-out.html" target="_blank">resume</a> a project; in the chaos of other commitments, said project was soon abandoned again</li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/06/359-am.html" target="_blank">Mused</a> on random things</li>
<li>Work, research, class, friends, chilling - June zoomed by</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
JULY</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>July zoomed by <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/07/have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too.html" target="_blank">as well</a>, in much the same fashion as June</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
AUGUST</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finished the internship, the research position, & summer school classes</li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-was-summer.html" target="_blank">Went</a> home for a week and got caught up on sleep and home-cooked food</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
SEPTEMBER</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Started fourth/final year</li>
<li>The semester got off to a crazy start right from Frosh Week</li>
<li>Saw TOKiMONSTA & Flume <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/09/tokimonsta-flume-opera-house.html" target="_blank">perform</a> live @ The Opera House, then hit up TOKiMONSTA's after-party @ The Hoxton</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
OCTOBER</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>October was a <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/10/lately-ive-been-losing-sleep.html" target="_blank">crazy-busy</a> month</li>
<li>First piece on Medium (<i><a href="https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/1feb3fc86ff6" target="_blank">Greatness or Nothing</a></i>)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
NOVEMBER</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Also an insanely busy month, <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/11/247-in-morning.html" target="_blank">lots</a> of <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/11/should-be-right-but-feels-so-wrong.html" target="_blank">thinking</a></li>
<li>Resolved to go <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/11/best-or-bust.html" target="_blank">all in</a> </li>
<li>Aced the GREs</li>
<li>Received some excellent news (as well as some not-so-excellent news); but on balance, the positive news outweighed the negative</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<h4>
DECEMBER</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Had a similar unfortunate scenario as last year, where everything was crammed into the span of one week (except worse, because there was even more to do this time around)</li>
<li><a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/12/this-time-last-year.html" target="_blank">Finished</a> the semester, <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/12/waiting.html" target="_blank">chillaxed</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
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I didn't do the greatest job at keeping up with blogging this year, so there's probably a ton of stuff that I've missed in this summary, but oh well, it is what it is.<br />
<br />
Here's to 2014!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-56473405304725974732013-12-28T21:52:00.001-05:002013-12-28T21:52:10.373-05:00waiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You know in television shows, where they have those filler episodes? How they're still important, because they wrap up things that have already happened, or set the groundwork for things to come? Comparatively speaking, 2013 is a bit like that. Bookended by two very important years, to some extent, it was a bit inevitable that it be a bit more tame in terms of major changes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bACb1J12-Qyq_DuaKZwacYyQAJsH5H3H38c-nuagWApCSkCUTWXG-ghM3diJJe8jhnbmdMwJYPNz3PLFdbn2Mzgh7VbhJw09DVP0-kjGYcowfITNxq8qWv05cvitYkRcOdBOIRNq7Mg/s1600/aromatemp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bACb1J12-Qyq_DuaKZwacYyQAJsH5H3H38c-nuagWApCSkCUTWXG-ghM3diJJe8jhnbmdMwJYPNz3PLFdbn2Mzgh7VbhJw09DVP0-kjGYcowfITNxq8qWv05cvitYkRcOdBOIRNq7Mg/s400/aromatemp.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-in-review.html" target="_blank">2012</a> was huge for a number of reasons (mostly because of the many firsts that took place): living on my own for the first time, taking my first solo international flight, moving to Germany, being in Europe for the first time, backpacking around, traveling to five new countries, etc. 2014 is already set to be a monumental year, if not <i>the</i> most monumental year yet - finishing university (undergraduate studies, anyway), convocation, moving... (There'll [almost definitely] be [at least] one major move [if not two] this upcoming year.)<br />
<br />
To pull a line from my first <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/01/landing-in-midst.html" target="_blank">post</a> of 2013: "<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">But 2013 is a learning year, an improving year, an ongoing process."</span> I think it's fair to say that in hindsight, that statement has held true. 2014 will still be a work in progress (but then again, isn't everything? Isn't there always room for improvement?), but it's also set to be full of the greatest adventures yet. Beyond excited for sure.<br />
<br />
Here we go :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-23340066536021639772013-12-09T23:17:00.002-05:002013-12-09T23:17:23.505-05:00this time last year...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
...I'd had the [mis]fortune of all my end-of-term assessments crammed into the last week of classes/first week of December, and it was <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2012/11/stressmaxseason.html" target="_blank">not good</a> times. This year, the timeline was even worse - six (6!) assessments (an assortment of exams and papers) crammed into the span of a week. I seem to have emerged on the other side though, so success! In any case, updates have been really sparse this semester, so here are a few photos:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JxKc1FctsgSxReXXXMxvfDF0hr4JDVy7dRhXywXLWkW7l9a40IyC3LHDfKESwT4OEUMbxf9C79w7Y88RTChCKfG_tevfAnoqcEYReDlxM8Tuh49s-BIaDOClPjl9l4yo6V0N5ALWDTI/s1600/decr0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JxKc1FctsgSxReXXXMxvfDF0hr4JDVy7dRhXywXLWkW7l9a40IyC3LHDfKESwT4OEUMbxf9C79w7Y88RTChCKfG_tevfAnoqcEYReDlxM8Tuh49s-BIaDOClPjl9l4yo6V0N5ALWDTI/s400/decr0.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
^ Found <i>the best</i> white hot chocolate, guys. <a href="http://www.aroma.ca/" target="_blank">aroma expresso bar</a> - check them out! (If anyone has any recommendations for fantastic hot chocolate/expresso/winter drinks, I'm open to suggestions.) Met up with A here - it was the first time I'd seen him in months, so it was great catching up. We also ran into C (who lived across the hall from me in residence during my second year and her fourth year) there, which was a pleasant surprise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbp1jqTkNX1l_43fov_270G159ufxOkLWQabEQLgTg_a8G3OONBS7K2HhT7bcLWK3HU_-u1VRr3oETjvKodGa0WinoH_6vo3IOSdE83H_pxE2bW3DGOsp65wxQoi21TBUcFCMoLBb-T8/s1600/decr1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbp1jqTkNX1l_43fov_270G159ufxOkLWQabEQLgTg_a8G3OONBS7K2HhT7bcLWK3HU_-u1VRr3oETjvKodGa0WinoH_6vo3IOSdE83H_pxE2bW3DGOsp65wxQoi21TBUcFCMoLBb-T8/s400/decr1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
^ <a href="http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/" target="_blank">Word on the Street</a>, back in September. J and I had gone together the previous three years, but unfortunately we didn't manage to meet up this time around for round four. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FBjwrt4ZGPo9UsMuHqO2gO-zyqCDytZ7b3BxJEkYWFqSmPSeydb0m-otACH7dl9kZLckgzPYLkWL0QlOiv2IDBbbWdVIRDPXlSIYa3FbX7L0KCVmrOOmdOF-Y4LnSJk30F5_EYmevTs/s1600/decr2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FBjwrt4ZGPo9UsMuHqO2gO-zyqCDytZ7b3BxJEkYWFqSmPSeydb0m-otACH7dl9kZLckgzPYLkWL0QlOiv2IDBbbWdVIRDPXlSIYa3FbX7L0KCVmrOOmdOF-Y4LnSJk30F5_EYmevTs/s400/decr2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Indian food! With M's LMP people. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNrNADvLFRzz0-y_lVSN-gYf3QLQSbzACFml0GtouS8YUhUJHneHqRNQKMlaA9VaYr0efPdrbEwBgJXpsQ7veygfs_7odAUDuIQJWmDebOh3Wp_jqVERvJr9nNpt6KM8KlDAJwCGo9Bs/s1600/decr3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNrNADvLFRzz0-y_lVSN-gYf3QLQSbzACFml0GtouS8YUhUJHneHqRNQKMlaA9VaYr0efPdrbEwBgJXpsQ7veygfs_7odAUDuIQJWmDebOh3Wp_jqVERvJr9nNpt6KM8KlDAJwCGo9Bs/s400/decr3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Sushi! With M & S. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia4lOwLKdLhrB6J80ncpvdYtXUcPNw_LGymFGxOEf8Uwqi5px_3bj63EfMTO34PxfSfOn7sMev1ffR520jiaMVcKuK9-fWEoY1aNrx7uqQAEaME1Z5sE0rOx3vjGAydd-h1MlZFkvuNo/s1600/decr4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia4lOwLKdLhrB6J80ncpvdYtXUcPNw_LGymFGxOEf8Uwqi5px_3bj63EfMTO34PxfSfOn7sMev1ffR520jiaMVcKuK9-fWEoY1aNrx7uqQAEaME1Z5sE0rOx3vjGAydd-h1MlZFkvuNo/s400/decr4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Diner food! With M, S & S.<br />
<br />
Normally, I actually like cooking - it's a doubly beneficial activity in that the act itself is de-stressing, and as an output, you get yummy food. But this semester, I can literally count on one hand the number of times I've cooked in the last three and half months. It's pretty sad. Looking forward to heading home for the winter holidays and having some awesome home-cooked meals.<br />
<br />
(And now that I'm technically done for the term - today, while procrastinating, I made the following: chili, a lemon meringue pie, ribs, pork chop (just one!), and long beans. Yay!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-80074734357976513742013-11-24T00:51:00.001-05:002013-11-24T00:51:39.287-05:00should be right, but feels so wrongWhen you've gone so far down a path already, that the only way is forwardUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-51485124792476447422013-11-12T02:47:00.000-05:002013-11-18T22:33:04.998-05:002:47 in the morning<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-indent: -30px;"><i>"Man is literally split in two: he has an awareness of his own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature with a towering majesty, and yet he goes back into the ground a few feet in order blindly and dumbly to rot and disappear forever.</i>" - Ernest Becker</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-indent: -30px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-indent: -30px;">Another night where sleep is elusive</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-indent: -30px;">Where dreams are evasive </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-indent: -30px;">Where the future is effervescent</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-7411196591228633552013-11-02T22:54:00.000-04:002013-11-03T00:40:14.128-04:00Best or Bust<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_3u5IZJXcZbL762IcqZH7NTzPtUKRG1zgivtewkAzJ-yKWxfvzuV_QSsODw8qc6cSGMFe2Tup0iDwpDKq8Dao6mPhFEoEXLI7JzUGG5ZISDOsd4qa5W4MV2bm1zjvJrBTrDO5Gl43NQ/s1600/bossbux.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_3u5IZJXcZbL762IcqZH7NTzPtUKRG1zgivtewkAzJ-yKWxfvzuV_QSsODw8qc6cSGMFe2Tup0iDwpDKq8Dao6mPhFEoEXLI7JzUGG5ZISDOsd4qa5W4MV2bm1zjvJrBTrDO5Gl43NQ/s400/bossbux.JPG" width="316" /></a></div>
<br />
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All in.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-418741788290349842013-10-18T23:54:00.004-04:002013-10-18T23:54:48.115-04:00Lately I've been losing sleep...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"<i><span style="color: #444444;">Old, but I'm not that old - young, but I'm not that bold. I don't think the world is sold; I'm just doing what we're told. Everything that kills me makes me feel alive. Lately I've been - I've been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be. No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars</span></i>." </div>
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- OneRepublic, <i>Counting Stars</i></div>
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Last night was hard, but we're only going up from here.<br />
<br />
In other news - my first piece on Medium: <i><a href="https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/1feb3fc86ff6" target="_blank">Greatness or Nothing</a></i>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-50872690287976157322013-09-26T20:34:00.003-04:002013-09-26T20:34:10.048-04:00TOKiMONSTA & Flume @ The Opera House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVICK4yFZG3Yu-2vATSNvN3T3xnSvFmuu2N1o2OZdyVccKpH_3cZKbJ0gihIxOVwT2StKSlGaAgb0vG8m8n4a9KHnHrsnMYPZOFxOvf5-k2FTdOBiGXRbqThG8eZKFBJBwaVgweK5fPIA/s1600/flume1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVICK4yFZG3Yu-2vATSNvN3T3xnSvFmuu2N1o2OZdyVccKpH_3cZKbJ0gihIxOVwT2StKSlGaAgb0vG8m8n4a9KHnHrsnMYPZOFxOvf5-k2FTdOBiGXRbqThG8eZKFBJBwaVgweK5fPIA/s400/flume1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Flume (Sydney, Australia) played a live set at The Opera House earlier this month on September 5th, with Touch Sensitive & TOKiMONSTA (LA, California) as special guests. I got there and met up with E just as TOKiMONSTA's set was starting, and then M & <a href="http://jessiejsun.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">J</a> met up with us before Flume's set started.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7guhyphenhyphenGdCsq0Za1PevDWmNlneszK_NIbbYGbaz-lyayjIP1a10_7IK7v9cRR6N9U8TJiY4kLfDWenBRRgiADZttJYFblBuWrF3NlwY-Y0rTcsyT3VpTPYRog0Eadf3fIwWxy21TBKMEXM/s1600/flume2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7guhyphenhyphenGdCsq0Za1PevDWmNlneszK_NIbbYGbaz-lyayjIP1a10_7IK7v9cRR6N9U8TJiY4kLfDWenBRRgiADZttJYFblBuWrF3NlwY-Y0rTcsyT3VpTPYRog0Eadf3fIwWxy21TBKMEXM/s400/flume2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFtqdlKKHCWZgVLSDWr265WmKJYeDzvH3v6NDqRHDs9NByFdtqbOWpQZwofNAvv6EZb8umwDBzWhnu7Yuq1bgT2YsWAJ3BCmIwi8_38HhyphenhyphenfX1ZFehM5iq0qsiL92NM6Zrt2oagB9tAUI/s1600/flume3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFtqdlKKHCWZgVLSDWr265WmKJYeDzvH3v6NDqRHDs9NByFdtqbOWpQZwofNAvv6EZb8umwDBzWhnu7Yuq1bgT2YsWAJ3BCmIwi8_38HhyphenhyphenfX1ZFehM5iq0qsiL92NM6Zrt2oagB9tAUI/s400/flume3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd4t3iIVVcxY9JN0WcoPUUVwlDpx_JvrVGumL5n-A6hb1LaEXpahdmC9dCuE7B_pH8YUmVFuJFfIcCCkzFzhRe15atEL5CsDMsufjv_Dk13tO1kodK0uAazB9d_iC3r9i3g77a99nA4M/s1600/flume4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd4t3iIVVcxY9JN0WcoPUUVwlDpx_JvrVGumL5n-A6hb1LaEXpahdmC9dCuE7B_pH8YUmVFuJFfIcCCkzFzhRe15atEL5CsDMsufjv_Dk13tO1kodK0uAazB9d_iC3r9i3g77a99nA4M/s400/flume4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Both played ridiculously awesome sets; then we finished the night off by heading over to The Hoxton for a second round of TOKiMONSTA at a TIFF after-party. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-37726656562789355472013-09-07T17:01:00.003-04:002013-09-07T17:01:28.176-04:00Q&A with Samantha Shannon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.markpringle.net/photos/shannon/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.markpringle.net/photos/shannon/01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A couple of weeks ago, I <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-bone-season-book-review.html" target="_blank">reviewed</a> a book which has been receiving a ton of buzz recently - <i>The Bone Season</i>, by <a href="http://samantha-shannon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Samantha Shannon</a>. <i>The Bone Season</i> hasn't even been out for a full three weeks yet, but it's already gone into its third print run! With rights sold in 21 languages, film rights already optioned, and an Oxford degree under her belt, this 21-year-old is definitely well on her way to having her seven-part series become the next big thing. Courtesy of <a href="http://www.penguin.ca/" target="_blank">Penguin Canada</a>, here's a brief Q&A with Samantha Shannon:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">When
did you begin writing <i>The Bone Season</i>
and what inspired the story?</span></b></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">I started writing <i>The Bone Season </i>when
I was nineteen years old, shortly after completing an internship at David
Godwin Associates (DGA), a literary agency in Seven Dials, a small district in
London. While I was there,</span><span lang="EN-GB"> I had a vivid image of a
girl having the same day at work as me, but she happened to be clairvoyant –
and <i>The Bone Season </i>was born. </span><span lang="EN-GB">I sent the finished book
to the same agency in April 2012 and it was bought by Bloomsbury a month later.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-GB">You
wrote <i>The Bone Season</i> whilst studying
at Oxford. How did you find the time? Describe your writing
process.</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was mostly an
indoor girl at university. Where other students did drama or music or sport
alongside their degrees, I wrote. I used to work on essays and classwork during
the day and <i>The Bone Season </i>in the
evenings. </span></span> </div>
<div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359659137l/13636400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359659137l/13636400.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">How do you feel about the film? Are you nervous about
the big screen adaptation?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">I’m thrilled about the movie rights being sold, although film can
be an incredibly slow process and I know it will take a while to happen. I
don’t want to write the screenplay – I’ll leave that to a professional
screenwriter – but it’s a huge relief to have consultation rights, and to know
that my opinion will always be taken into account. Andy Serkis, Jonathan
Cavendish and the rest of the team at Imaginarium are passionate, committed,
and always keen to hear what I have to say. It’s incredibly exciting to be
working with such a new, innovative production company, especially as it’s
based in west London, where I live.</span><b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">When can we expect the sequel? Do you know what's
going to happen? Are you excited to be staying in the world of
Scion for the new books? What is the expected time-frame for all seven
books?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The sequel will be largely set in London and will
focus more closely on the clairvoyant syndicate, which I didn’t get to explore
much in the first book. I’m really excited for this one, as I’ll be able to
redesign and transform large parts of London, which is my home city. I’m hoping
to finish a first draft by early 2014 at the latest so you shouldn’t have to
wait too long. </span></span><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Author photo by <a href="http://www.markpringle.net/" target="_blank">Mark Pringle</a> </span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-64717483588759036622013-08-31T23:59:00.000-04:002013-09-01T00:31:54.365-04:00this was summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"<span style="color: #444444;"><i>You only need the light when it's burning low, only miss the sun when it starts to snow[,] only know you've been high when you're feeling low, only hate the road when you're missing home</i>...</span>"</div>
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- Passenger, <i>Let Her Go</i></div>
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Another August passes, and a new September begins. In many ways, this summer embodied 'unplanned' - so many aspects of it came about without being explicitly envisioned first. This was also the last real summer of undergrad - and the next one will be the first one after it. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every time and place we're in, we only get to be in just that one time. The past is there to be learned from, to be remembered (hopefully fondly), to cherish - but never to continue to live in. The future is there to be aimed for, to be moved toward, to exist as an abstraction of what could be - but not to be lived only for. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But the present? This moment - each 'this moment' - is exactly where we're meant to be. This? This is paradise.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-22985820135702637712013-08-19T23:39:00.003-04:002013-08-19T23:40:45.441-04:00The Bone Season (Book Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"<i><span style="color: #444444;">We look like everyone else. Sometimes we act like everyone else. We are everywhere, on every street. We live in a way you might consider normal, provided you don't look too hard. Welcome to Scion. No safer place.</span></i>"</div>
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- Samantha Shannon, <i>The Bone Season</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BR0NneWCUAAlUBE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BR0NneWCUAAlUBE.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Got a nice surprise when I arrived home last week (for the first time in eight months, no less!) - a copy of <i><a href="http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781620401392,00.html" target="_blank">The Bone Season</a> </i>by <a href="http://samantha-shannon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Samantha Shannon</a><i> </i>(set to be published August 20th, 2013 by Bloomsbury) from Penguin Canada, which had come in the mail only a few days before me. I was immediately intrigued by the soft blue, velveteen cover interspersed with bars of golden foil and metallic numbers*. A quick skim of the accompanying press release revealed that this is the first in a seven-part series, rights have sold in 21 languages, and film rights have already been optioned. Shannon also happens to be the same age as me (21), and personally, having struggled to find pockets of time to write during the school year and between interning and RAing during the summer, I was definitely quite impressed, so this shot straight to the top of the TBR list.<br />
<br />
<i>The Bone Season </i>did not disappoint - I ended up devouring it in a little over a day this weekend. There are so many aspects of the story that were very well done. Disbelief suspended, the parallel world Shannon has created is built credibly and realistically. (Having <a href="http://picadaisy.blogspot.ca/search/label/UK" target="_blank">visited London</a> just over a year ago and feeling nostalgic to begin with, it was super cool to be immersed back in city, in a way. I didn't manage to make it out to Oxford while I was there, but it was definitely fascinating to see parts of <i>The Bone Season</i> set there.) The voice is distinct and compelling. The pacing was engaging and entertaining. <br />
<br />
Genre-wise, I'm not too sure where <i>The Bone Season </i>would fit in - with the MC, Paige Mahoney, being 19, it kind of straddles the line between older YA and New Adult (depending on your classification system). There are bits of science fiction, bits of urban fantasy, bits of paranormal romance, bits of speculative... That's maybe one of the most widely appealing facets of <i>The Bone Season </i>- because it transcends genre labels, it will conceivably appeal to a diverse audience.<br />
<br />
There are also cleverly placed bits of intertext and literary allusions. The academic nature of Shannon's Oxford education definitely shines through. It was a bit confusing in the beginning of the story, what with all these unfamiliar terms and slang being tossed around. (There's actually a glossary in the back of the novel - I didn't notice until I was about two-thirds of the way through, but it probably would've come in handy as something to consult earlier on.) There are also quite a few British-isms as well, such as using the term 'torch' instead of 'flashlight', etc. European audiences may be more familiar with these, but for North American readers, this might add an extra level of mysticism.<br />
<br />
With an exhilarating plot, an imaginative alternate world and an ensnaring voice, <i>The Bone Season</i> is an incredible debut novel. If this first installment is an indicator of Shannon's potential, then she's definitely destined for great things. <i>The Bone Season</i> will be one to watch out for in the upcoming season.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Not sure how immediately noticeable it is in the photo, but the number 1 is the only one in metallic gold - the others are all blue.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563806800106894548.post-4169709979527274852013-07-31T23:21:00.000-04:002013-07-31T23:21:44.548-04:00have your cake and eat it too?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54fJGSzmDN2qzH9AfqoTliqvEg0Iwjk2eqqHjhJtSmXJn9Iu8yeDuJdvZGHub_SYJH93jotDMVtz4SJ0k3XcChH1Mi7PywiDmwg37UXpCJVoAfKUbcDOgibCHRQkg2JlNKYu9jQoJi3w/s1600/cakeeat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54fJGSzmDN2qzH9AfqoTliqvEg0Iwjk2eqqHjhJtSmXJn9Iu8yeDuJdvZGHub_SYJH93jotDMVtz4SJ0k3XcChH1Mi7PywiDmwg37UXpCJVoAfKUbcDOgibCHRQkg2JlNKYu9jQoJi3w/s400/cakeeat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The jury's still out on that one. Bit crazy to think that July has basically passed by in its entirely already - and in many ways, it feels like July has passed me by. </div>
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It'll come to light within the next week whether I've actually over-committed (again) this summer. Oscillating between insane optimism and subdued panic. </div>
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But there's so much light at the end of the tunnel. </div>
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August is going to be phenomenal. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo details: It was M & K's birthdays at work, and S picked out a delicious cake :)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1