didn't make it to 7:30

I made it to 4:30. Dominique and I were feeling old because our bodies hurt, but then we realized that we had been walking nonstop since 7pm the night before - that's over 8 hours of SOLID WALKING! No wonder our bodies ached. So glad I bought that all night metro pass...

Went to the airport yesterday to get my Nexus card. Terminal 1 is beautiful, bright and has some really cool features. For example, as you drive down the main lane of the parking garage, there is a sign at each lane telling you how many open parking spaces there are down that lane. No kidding. Each spot has an infrared sensor over it, red occupied, green available (of course the car in the spot will tell you that), but it sends a signal to the main on on the end to report how many open spots there are. Pretty cool. Each spot has a number as well, so no more "somewhere in row H'. I parked in spot e18.

I was walking up and saw the worlds slowest escalator, so I walked the stairs instead. For some reason on the way down I was lazy and took the escalator. As soon as I stepped on it, it beeped and sped up. So it has like an energy saver. I wanted to keep riding it to test the energy saver out, but decided that would be childish, so I did not.

Got my Nexus pass. Took all of 15 minutes. Eyes scan was anticlimactic. It was like getting your drivers licence picture taken. We'll see if it's any better on my flight today.

Went to a wine tasting on Tuesday and met 2 people in my building. I had fun and will definitely do another one with this group.

I'd write all about Nuit Blanche last night, but I'm going to see a lot of you soon, so I'll wait to post it. I probably won't write much next week as I'll be back in SC

Toronto has something in common with Columbia!!

So last night I go to the grocery store to buy some Kasha (Jewish food). I ask for the Kosher food section and was told they do not have one. I have to go to the store in the Jewish part of town!!!

I was angry, disheartened, and disenchanted that my fabulous adopted big city is segregated just like little ol' Columbia, South Carolina. So, at 10pm last night, I drove to the Jewish part of town. I walked into the grocery store, still angry, and went to the Kosher foods section. Where, despite myself, I was in awe. Take very kosher food section you have seen in a store and add them together - that's how big this was. An entire isle - both sides - plus the ends and another half an isle, and a whole refrigerated section. I'm sure there was a freezer section too, but I didn't go there. I spent 20 minutes just walking up and down the isle amazed.

Hope all ya'll have an easy fast.

mad minivan and brave kitty

So Friday night was my first dance class. I am driving on Broadview which is technically 2 lanes, but people can park in the 2nd lane, so it's really 1 lane. This minivan turns left from the other side of the street and starts driving next to me - on the other side of the road! I honk at him (since he is driving the wrong way) and speed up so he can get behind me. The mad minivan wails on his horn and leaves it on as he tailgates, then passes me from (again, driving on the wrong side of the road), gets in front of me and then slams on his brakes in the intersection, which has a green light.

Dance class was good. Although the majority of people in the class should not be in the class. We spent the first 40 minutes working on 8 counts. The next 20 on the next 16 counts, but we didn;t even get to try it with partners. I am focusing on the good which is that doing the same 8 counts so many times lets me really get the steps so I can focus on technique and styling. The teacher is great at the little technique details.

Saturday was the Art Crawl. We froze. It was about 65 and very windy. Lots of artists, but nothing I liked. Thinking of calling Edie again.

Saturday was a party which was fun. I met lots of new people. I don't think I've been in a room with that many Jewish people since Bar Mitvoh season.

Sunday I went fencing with MeetMarket Adventures. I was surprised there were only 3 men and 17 women. But after fencing, I'm glad there were only 3 men because I'd rather spar with someone my size. I have bruises from the 1 guy I did fence with. It was fun, but not very structured. I'd need a lot more lessons before I'd feel comfortable doing it again.

Sunday evening I invited someone over to play cards. We played hand and foot and had a lovely evening. She brought over her little dog who kept trying to get under the couch and see Koshka. About an hour into it, Koshka came out of the couch to say "hi". I swooped her up and put her and her food into my bedroom.

This week is quiet. Yom Kippur does that.

L'Shanah Tova

Happy New Year.

I baked a challah, 2 actually. Went to a friend's house for erev, and cousin's for the day of. 13 miles straight up Bathurst Street - 45 minutes. Gotta love living in a big city. But he did blow the shofar and that was cool.

My first dinner party and Matt Damon

Well, I had my first dinner party Saturday. It was small - only 5 people showed up, but I only wanted friends. I went to the farmer's market Saturday morning and picked up fresh tomatoes and fruit, spent the afternoon cooking. Koshka came out and rubbed up on these people she never met before. It was a very nice party.

I think I found a great dance studio. There was an open house last week at this one place. I took 2 classes and loved them. I learned some technique and have been working on it even when I walk normally. I need that level of detail. So, I start this Friday. My only hesitation is that it's Friday night at 9pm, so my night's pretty much ruined. The swing dancing I like to do is every other Friday 8-11, so I can't really go to that either. We'll see. And, next Friday is Yom Kippur, so can I go to class? There is no temple that late, it's not work, and I won't eat.

Sunday I left the house around 2:30 and just started walking. I got home at 6:30. Yes, I was exhausted. The Toronto International Film Festival is in town and there are celebrities all over. I was walking along the street and saw a big crowd. So I stopped. They said they'd been waiting for Matt Damon for half an hour. Just the Shakira walks by. Not 3 minutes later the crowd starts shouting, "Matt, Matt, Matt." Just then, a streetcar drives by, sees the crowd and stops. groans, because no one I'm standing with can see anymore. So, I leave. As I get past the streetcar, I turn around, and there he is - the adorable Matt Damon.

I am walking about about an hour later, and the crowd is even larger. I have no patience to wait even a few minutes this time, so I walk across the street and keep going. As I get to the island in the middle, the crowd screams. I turn around, guess who's there again.

Lots of stuff planned this week - cards tonight, Rosh Hashanah tomorrow and Thurs, dancing Friday, Art Crawl and a party Saturday, fencing lessons Sunday.

why don't American politicians do this?

There's a candidate here who's running for election (or re-election) by promising to add a new 3-day holiday in February.

The Ontario Liberals have vowed to create a new statutory holiday in February provided they're re-elected on Oct. 10, but critics suggest it's merely a ploy to grab votes and divert attention from the government's many broken promises. Dubbed "Family Day," the third Monday of the calendar's shortest month would be aimed at recognizing the importance of Ontario families by giving people more time to spend with their loved ones.

"Ontarians work very, very hard. Ontario winters are very, very long and Ontarians deserve a statutory holiday in February," Finance Minister and Liberal campaign chairman Greg Sorbara said. "I think this is going to be very, very welcome in Ontario. It's something we've talked about for more than a decade."

While even Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory wouldn't disagree with the fact Ontarians could really use a break in February, he suggested the timing of the announcement is just a tad opportunist. "The gap between New Year's Day and Easter is a long gap and I'm all for family having a day to be together," Tory said just before boarding his campaign bus.

Was it Christmas, or Labour Day?

Had an amazing weekend. Lots of walking and lots of once in a lifetime events. Len and B came to visit. I picked them up at the airport Friday. We came back here. It was L's birthday, so I baked a cheesecake. After cake, we promptly set out on our first of many walks around Toronto.

We went to dinner in Chinatown. We went to the same place I went to with Mom. As we walked up the stairs we heard lots of music. They have ballroom dance lessons on Friday nights. More like ballroom line dancing. They invited us to join them which we did. Then they would not let us sit down the rest of the night.

After dinner, we went in search of a dance club. We walked for what seemed like an hour and finally found a club with music the 3 of us agreed on and had a cover less than $20pp. The club was awesome and I will definitely go back. There is no dance floor; people just dance everywhere - on the booths, tables, walls, stairs... I think we left at 2:30.

Saturday we got up and took the ultra-touristy Hippo Tour where you ride on a big embarrassing yellow and purple amphibious vehicle. But it was fun and very informative. I learned a lot about my new city. Plus we got to see some of the airshow from the water.

We came home and got dressed for Cirque du Soliel's Kooza show. It was incredible. The contortionist walked around herself. The high wire act was the best I have ever seen. I was very tense the whole time they were up there. They even had a teeter board. Great show. We ate dinner after the show in the college section. Another 2am night.

Sunday we went to the ROM - Royal Ontario Museum. Decent, but will be much better when they open up the remaining planned exhibits in the next few years. We ate hot dogs from a stand on the street for lunch.

Then we got in the car and headed towards Niagara Falls. We were very lucky on the way. Traffic had come to a sudden stop. We were in the middle lane and a car in the fast lane was not paying attention to the fact that the cars in front of him were stopped. Luckily, all of us in the car saw this, so I braked more than I had planned, just as the car hit the car in front of him, sending it across the freeway - right in front of me! - and into the car in the right lane. 2 more car lengths, and we would have been hit instead. We pulled over and called 911. It was good to see that 4 other cars pulled over to help. Looked like everyone was going to be fine.

So, we headed back down the road. B was the best tour guide. He showed me places I would never had gone to - whirlpool, rapids, shortcuts to avoid traffic. We at dinner in the Skylon, their tower and got the best seat in the place - right by the window in between the American and Horseshoe Falls. Perfect to view the lights on the falls, which was beautiful.

And we had a special surprise - fireworks. Have you ever looked DOWN onto fireworks? It's pretty cool. After the fireworks, we went to the casino and then drove home. Again, 3am.

Monday we went to the CN Tower. In addition to the normal CN sights, this time we were eye level with the fighter planes for the airshow. Then I drove them to the airport.

Since I was out, I figured I'd go to the mall. It's Labour Day. I drove to the mall - it was closed. I drove to Ikea - closed. Home Depot - closed. Best Buy - closed. Grocery store - closed. Wal mart - CLOSED. Yes, Wal Mart and grocery stores were closed.