Toronto star celebrated Toronto's 175th birthday with a list of 175 reasons to love Toronto.

I took a look and wrote the ones I wanted to do this summer.  In no particular order, here they are!
And if you want to come along on one of my little adventures in the city, let me know!

1. Visit little Malta and try some kinnie
2. Visit little Azores and try some churrasco
3. Visit the church in the courtyard of Eaton Centre
4. Visit the prayer labyrinth
5. Visit the footbridge at the mouth of the Humber
6. Go to the newspaper reading room at the Toronto reference library
7. Go to the restaurant devoted to poutine
8. See the local history at mount pleasant cemetery
9. Go check out the private viewing booths at NFB's mediatheque
10. Theatre classics : soulpepper
11. Michael Snow's Canada geese sculpture in Eaton Centre
12. Utopia 401 Richmond and Wychwood Art Barns
13. Humber bay butterfly habitat
14. Sugar Museum
15. Eat across the globe at St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday
16. Flume log ride in Ontario place
17. The Dakota Tavern
18. Colin Partridge tree carvings in High Park
19. Little Korea's sweet walnut cake machines
20. Free summertime promise parties at Cherry beach
21. Deer watching at G. Ross Lord park
22. Indie rock: Apostle of hustle, Woodhands
23. Leslie St. Split - migrating bird watching
24. See the Gorilla compound at the Toronto Zoo
25. See the vehicle free zone that is Ward Island
26. Baldwin St
27. Do Tai Chi at Christie Pitts
28. Attend the Nathan Phillips Square jazz fest
29. Attend a performance by live literati such as Michael Ondaatje or Bryan Lee O'Malley
30. Brookfield Place Atrium
31. Attend a comedy session at Bad Dog, Comedy Bar or Second City
32. Taste some Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream: fig and molasses, chestnut and birch syrup to name a few
33. Massey Hall
34. Try some delicacies in the Distillery District such as Mayan hot chocolate at Soma, organic beer at Mill St brewery, exotic cheese at A Taste of Quebec, Meat Pies from Brick St. Bakery
35. Ride a rickshaw
36. Carlu - listen to live music
37. Eat brunch in leslieville
38. Ron Baird's Steel sculpture on Dufferin St South of Steeles Ave
39. Downtown driving range that doubles as a drive in theatre
40. Attend the Dufferin Grove organic farmers market open every thursday from 3pm to 7pm year round
41. Go for Mojitos at Julies
42. Listen to live Cuban music at Lula lounge
43. Eat some Hakka food in Scarborough
44. Check out an open air ban at Harbourfront
45. Read a book on a slab of granite on Yorkville Ave
46. Try some fresh pupusas on Augusta Ave
47. Jackie Richardson
48. check out Dusk Dances and Shakespeare in the Park
49. Patio time: The Madison, Quigleys, The Rectory
50. Watching glass blowers at York Quay Centre
51. Lying on the grass for a concert at Molson Amphitheatre
52. Sample pa'an-wallah on Gerard St
53. Doors Open
54. Check out the R.C. harris fortress of water filtration
55. York University Glendon campus
56. Cinematheque Ontario
57. Bridle Path
58. Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
59. Trinity Bellwoods Park
60. Taste of Dover at Bluffers Park
61. the new Michael Lee-Chin crystal at the ROM
62. The new AGO.
63. Attend a live theatre show (did you know that Toronto is only behind London and New York for live theatre?)

The reasons I stopped with the links is that it kinda takes the magic away from the place if I already know something about it. 

Today I went hunting for the church in the Eaton Centre courtyard.  Not knowing what it looked like I wandered around until a nice cute female pointed the way for this obvious out-of-towner.    I thought I found it but it was in fact the back of old city hall.  I reversed directions and found a route I didn't know about and came across a nice garden with, surprise, a prayer labyrinth! 



It's in braille for the blind!  How cool is that?



I followed the path with my finger at first but then decided to finish what I started.  I walked the path with one other lady already deep in the labyrinth.  It was nice and relaxing.  Almost theraputic I want to say.  Soon after a Brazilian guy decided to join in and then he was followed by an asian girl and then a young african man followed by a caucasian lady and her husband.  I got to thinking that this labyrinth is symbolic of the journey we all take with all it's twists and turns.  Interesting to note that half was covered in shadow while the other side of it was hot from the day.  Dichotomy of good times/bad times perhaps?  regardless, it was nice and relaxing.  Soothing almost.  Kinda like being rocked to sleep y'know?  That kind of feeling.



Next to it, I found the Holy Trinity Church.  You can't not pray in a place like this and so, sitting on a pew, I said a little prayer.  It kind of felt like the appropriate thing to do after finishing a quest of sorts.

With two of the 63 down, I celebrated by sitting in Nathan Phillips Square with one of the new international food items from the A La Carte food stand.  I got myself some spicy chicken brioni, a Milanese style with a bit of mint sauce on the side (mint sauce recommended to help with the spiciness!). 



More city adventures to come!

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So that was 2008.


Wow.  Some words come to mind.

                    unexpected

    consequence
  
                                   costs of ownership
 
      
                                                              thirty
            Hawaii

                                                                           Malibu

                   Madeline and Matthew

                                                                                           Credit Score

                       Surfing
                                                                                                           Thankful

                                    Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles
 
                                                                                              Grandma
 
                    Braces

   and by the way, none of the above really have much to do with the other but yet are all inter-related someway.  For example, 'unexpected' goes with 'credit score' and 'costs of ownership'.  See?  It's a little game.  'Thankful' goes with the time I had a chance to spend with my niece and nephew 'Madeline and Matthew' this year.

So what happened in '08 that made my life a haiku?  Finally, FINALLY moved into my new condo in April,  had a great but very brief trip to Hawaii where I went on a whim, learned to surf on the ocean, stood on my board, good times.  Went to New York, twice.  Went to LA for Jenny's wedding and it was so great to have all the family there.  Roscoes Chicken and Waffles!  Can't say enough about the place.  A MUST VISIT!  Hanging out poolside with my cousins at a hotel that I wasn't staying at.  Free towels haha suckers.  (of course I didn't take them.)  Grandma's funeral.  My lifestyle finally catching up with me and having to learn to live paycheck to paycheck to pay the bills, for now anyway.  Consequence. 

But it all comes to an end anyway doesn't it?  And then it starts all over again.  Looking forward to '09 as my condo officially becomes 'mine', work is looking as good as it did when I started five years ago and I'm still loving my job.  I'm going to have my braces taken off in April, pay off my dad and my Apple macbook pro becomes fully paid off.  The latter half of '09 is looking especially promising as I'll probably head to Europe this summer or fall.  And oh yes, I'll have the cash to do so.  I hope.

And finally, turning thirty.  It's just a number but it's a BIG number.  scary.  But I live in Toronto and half the people here that are my age are single so it really doesn't matter.  Yep, the relationship thing and the bane of my existence.  But I've learned to let things take their course and spend more time on just enjoying all experiences that come my way.  At the same time however, I am taking initiative to take more responsibility and wanting to learn more about everything. 

So cheers to '09.  Farewell 2008, it's been wild.  2009, here I come. 

Ready or not.

Remember that show back in the eighties called, 'Thirty-something'? 

when it came out I was still in single digits and really didn't care to watch it but I've always remembered the title. 

Maybe the title stood out to me because I wondered, "Who would want to watch a show about people in their thirties?  Maybe to the late twenties, max 26, but after...boring!"  Yeah, I really thought that.  I mean, what would the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers do in their thirties?  Sure that big robot could smash that asian lady but could it pay their mortgage?  That'd be an episode I'd like to see. 

Scene one:  The evil credit bureau headquarters

Credit Monster: Soon....soon I'll have control and no one will be able to qualify for any long term amortization loans!  Muahahahahaa!

anyway.  Good-bye twenties, it was fun.  Hello thirties, please be kind to me.  haha. 

I am somewhat nervous as I fear that mistakes that I make now will have bigger consequences overall than in my younger years.  Relational, financial, occupational etc....the stakes are bigger now.  I have more to lose and for the first time I sense that time is slipping away.  In the past decade it was all about Carpe Diem, 'seizing the day', living each day as if it were your last.  Now comes the realization that the lifestyle I lived comes with a price tag. 

Still soul searching, still trying to find my identity, still so many questions that remain unanswered and many more questions still pile up. 

I am very fortunate.  I have a great job that I love, I have amazing friends, I live in an amazing city, am in good health, have the means to travel, and most importantly, I have many toys to play with.

I guess I have to start growing up sometime.  Now is as good a time as ever.

.....

nah.