Singing and Swinging

Today was my first rehearsal for Best of Broadway 2. First off, everyone is really nice. They actually all know each other as most of them were in the show last year and all of them have been in Theatre Cambrian shows in the past. So, I pretty much am the outsider but they didn't make me feel that way. Whenever they referenced something that happened in the show last year, they made sure to let me know what they're talking about. The directors in particular were very inclusive of me and it seems like it's gonna be pretty fun to work with.

Rehearsals will be three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This sort of screws up my plans to go back to Toronto every few weekends, but I understand why we have so many rehearsals. We're gonna be doing over 40 songs! And there are probably gonna be more added later - some choruses maybe added for transitions. Plus, a lot of these songs are full on medleys, so there are actually way more songs than just 41 or whatever the actual number is. CRAZY! Of course we won't be singing each song, as there will be solos and such, but there are usually some chorus parts and whatnot that must be learned by everyone.

The first song that we rehearsed today after we had a quick first meeting of going over the production handbook and introductions (and by introductions, I mean me introducing myself to everyone and everyone else introducing themselves to me), was "Stayin' Alive" from Saturday Night Fever. It went really well. Oh, by the way, there are only 14 of us. 12 were here today, but the show will only have FOURTEEN!

From what I could tell, everyone is really talented. There area few standout people that justifiably have most of the solos. The good thing is that everyone will have at least 7 or 8 solo parts throughout the concert, plus little featured back-up or one-liner parts. The musical director was just going through and informally letting us know what solo parts we have. Nothing's certain yet, but I think have some solo parts in some of the the Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Lion King and Dirt Dancing numbers to name a few. I won't really know what exactly are my parts until we get our music, which will happen little by little as we rehearse them. So, it's pretty exciting.

I'm not starting off on a good note (no pun intended...or is it?), but I'm gonna have to miss the next rehearsal. Since it's the long weekend, and I don't really have any plans here, I've decided to rent a car and go back to Toronto for a bit, but also see some of the surrounding areas. So, my plan is to rent a car on Satruday morning. Drive to Toronto and get there by Saturday afternoon. Maybe catch some Caribana festivities and then head back to Sudbury early Monday morning. Then, on Monday, I'll be back in Sudbury in the afternoon to explore the surrounding areas. Apparently there's a place that has really good fish & chips (shut up! I'll workout, don't you worry!)

Speaking of working out...another reason I want to go back to Toronto this weekend is that I'm gonna get my tennis gear and bring it back with me. There's a tennis league at the Sudbury Indoor Tennis Centre that I'm gonna check out this coming Tuesday. I'm not really sure how I'll do, since I haven't played in over a year. But, I figure it'll all come back to me. It's 2 hours long and you switch every half hour so between singles and doubles. And it's only $7 dollars for the 2 hours, as opposed to $12/hour to rent the court otherwise, and that's if you're a member. If you're not, it's like 30-something bucks! So, I hope that I have all that info down correctly that I don't need a member to play in the league. Anyway, I'll let you know how it all goes.

So long, farewell....(i don't think we're doing that song...pretty much the ONLY Broadway song that's not in the show! I'd let you know what the songs are, but for the people that MAY be coming to see me, I'll keep it a surprise).

A moment on the lips, forever on the hips?

Another good day in Sudbury.

So, I've decided to get my ass in shape, so I joined the Good Life today - and I don't mean that in the philosophical sense...I joined Good Life Fitness. There's one pretty close to me here in Sudbury and there are approximately 3 or 4 billion of them around where I'll be living in downtown Toronto in the fall. So awesome thing is that it's way cheaper to join in Sudbury than in Toronto. Also, i get a corporate discount through the hospital and I also got the first 2 months free! The trade off though, I guess, is that i got suckered into getting a personal trainer package that includes 6 sessions. Basically, that evens out out my two free months, but I rationalized that I don't really know what I'm doing at the gym, and I might as well learn how to do things correctly. The great thing is that my membership is good anywhere in Canada, and there are tons on fitness classes i can take if I don't wanna just do weights. So, I guess all I need to do now is make sure that I make use of this. I got a one year membership, so next to my job, this is the biggest commitment I have in my life right now.

After I signed my life away (I keep on thinking that in a few months from now I'm gonna be like Chandler - "I want to quit the gym! I want to quit the gym!") I went to meet N and a friend of hers for some dinner at Cafe Korea downtown or technically "New Sudbury", I guess. I ordered some Bibimbop and an unagi handroll. For a drink, I ordered "BongBong" because it sounds funny and sorta sounds like my last name, but unfortunately they ran out. I had to settle for a green tea aloe drink. The food was pretty good, but what was really amazing was the fact that the restaurant was connected to an Asian grocery store! YES!!!

During dinner, I kept on looking to see if I could catch a glance at what they had. But, alas, I had to wait until after dinner was over to check out the goods. Ohh...it was worth the wait! They had a bunch of different food from all over Asia, from Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia, etc. But, oh yes, there was Filipino food! More like Filipi-YES!

(Disclaimer: for those who don't know much about Filipino food, this may not be that interesting for you) The first thing I found was Tamarind Soup Base, a.k.a Sinigang. I've never made it before, but I figure now's a good time to start. The next thing I found, which I've never seen before, was a bottle of calamansi, which is a citrus fruit (by the way, it's really good with patis, a.k.a. fish sauce). But, the best was saved for last...the piece de resistance...the cream of the crop...LONGANISA!!! I've said it once, and I'll say it again: you haven't lived 'til you've had Filipino sausage! With garlic fried rice and an over-easy egg...YUMMERS!!!

I was also able to get some rice, and some frozen dim sum for those lazy days when I want to eat, but not really cook. I love this place! I mean, it's actually not that amazing, but for Sudbury, this is the closest thing to culinary familiarity. I'll probably be back again soon just to check to see if they get anything new. Apparently the longanisa is from Toronto. That explains why it's a sort of expensive, but who cares?...work is paying for it and longanisa is an essential. And I can feel a bit more guilt free for eating all this since I can burn it all...errr, most of it...off at the gym now.

C'est tout! I'll blog again tomorrow after my first rehearsal. Like me, I hope you all have calamansi wishes and longanisa dreams...okay, that sounds sorta gross, but I'm sticking with it nonetheless.

Start spreading the news...

Before I spread the news I should do a recap of my week, as I haven't posted in a few days.

Well, last Thursday, I went shopping in the afternoon and invited N to come with me as it was Friends and Family Weekend! My good friends at Banana Republic still remember to send me an invite, but this year it includes the sister stores, Gap and Old Navy. Unfortunately, there's only an Old Navy in Crudbury (not even a Gap!!! WTF!!!). Anyway, bought a couple things (not much) after we had a stop at Starbucks for some cool treats. It finally got sunny after it started to rain, and of course it only started to rain when we were waiting at the bus stop.

After that, we parted ways - N went to her last class for the summer and I went to go pick up my ticket for my trip back to Toronto. After getting it, I decided to check out the new and ONLY Thai restaurant in town. It was pretty decent. Not fabulous, but good enough to go back to, although I suppose they have a monopoly on Thai cuisine there.

Then, I met up with N again in the evening downtown with some friends of hers at the Little Buddha. It's a restaurant with a really nice patio in the back. It sort of reminds me of the Naam with meat dishes in Van City or something like the Green Room in the T-dot. This was my first time actually going out at night, and it didn't start off too well. When I walked in there was this waft of horrible B.O. (not that there's any other kind). It went away, but it might have been one of those things where I just got used to the smell. Anyway, went we went out to the patio, the air was clearer. We found some semi-dry chairs and sat down with N's friends. We had some drinks, a bit of food, and we all just chatted the night away. The people I talked to were really cool and we even got aride home at the end of the night. So, it was very successfull. Really cool people + really cheap drnnks = a great time!

So, it's off to Toronto, but I packed in the morning, cuz I was too lazy after coming home from Little Buddha's. My bus was at 12:45pm, but I actually when into work for a couple hours ( cuz I'm just so dedicated!) and then made my way to the terminal via taxi. I was good and only had an orange juice and a yogurt parfait thing at the Parry Sound McDonald's. I got to Yorkdale a bit later than expected, but did some shopping at the Banana and Gap (not much there, especially at the latter), then I got picked up and had a nice home cooked meal back at my aunt's in Scarborough. Yum!

TENNIS!!! What I came back to Toronto for! We got there and caught a few games before the rain started. So, we decided to throw back a few at Coronaville. But then massive thunderstorm!!! There was so much rain, we could actually see a river form on the pathway. Crazy! But, while others started screaming and running into the tent, we decided to stay outside, protected by our big table umbrella, and our raincoats/ponchos. The great things was the waitress was still serving us and coming out in the rain to do so. So, we took advantage of the service and three rounds later, the sun finally decided to peak through. Just before that though, there was a bit of a break and then people started to walk around again, but then sure enough, the rain started up once more and drenched tennis fans chaotically ran for cover once again.

After all the rain, free milk, yogurt, wine, etc. we actually watched some tennis too. After it was all said and done, Rafael Nadal of Spain (the current #2, but soon to be #1 in the world) won the singles and Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Canada and Serbia, respectively, won the Doubles, solidifying their hold as the #1 doubles team so far this year. So, it was definitely a good idea to come back to Toronto for the weekend for tennis. Even though I didn't get to see Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer, it was a satisfying weekend.

On Monday, I went into work at Toronto Rehab and had a meeting. It went really well ( i was a bit nervous, as we were gonna get feedback on our field notes so far), but it went well. I got a lot of praise for my narrative style and a few pointers on how to make them even that much better. Yes! After work, I caught up with my soci crew for dinner and a movie. We went to Baldwin St. for some Chinese. I felt that I should have some good, authentic Chinese food, since all I've seen in Sudbury so far are those big Chinese buffet restaurants, and if they're anything like I had in other small cities in semi-rural Canada, aren't really gonna satisfy my palette.

After some dins, and a pint at the the bar inside Paramount, we went to watch Dark Knight. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! So good. People kept on telling how great it was and I thought all the high expectations might not be met. I was wrong! I totally get all the Heath Ledger Oscar buzz. he was perfect! Great plot, great visuals, great EVERYTHING! Christopher Nolan is amazing...this was even better than Memento. Then, it was a quick stop at Jess' before I went off to the bus terminal for my 1am bus. I ended up sleeping the whole way pretty much. I didn't even get up at our rest stop, even though it was at Nobel this time instead of Parry Sound. I got back at 5:45am, had a quick nap and then off to work for a 10am appointment.

So, I had a pretty good few days. Since quite a few people were asking me about it, I was actually gonna post tonight to let everyone know that I hadn't heard back from Theatre Cambrian yet...until tonight...

I'M IN!!! I got a mass e-mail a couple of hours ago saying that I got a role and that we'll be having our first meeting/rehearsal on Thursday. So, I don't know what songs will be included in the concert, or what songs I'll be singing, or if I have a solo or anything, but I'll hopefully find out most of those answers on Thursday. I was thinking that they were gonna being asses and not letting me know at all, even though I specifically asked if they'd let us either way. The auditions were over a week ago, so I figures they must have made a decision already.

Anyway, I update y'all on what happens on Thursday. It's exciting! I haven't performed in such a long time!!! It's been over two years since I've done anything, so I'm a bit nervous, but excited. Hopefully everyone's cool and fun, cuz this will be a chance to get to know some more people in town. So, The Best of Broadway 2 Concert will be happening sometime in October. I think there'll be 2 performances the week after Thanksgiving. I'll confirm that for anyone who wants to come up to Sudbury and see me!

Ok, that's all for now.

Picture it, Sicily...

I was actually not gonna blog tonight, as I had a really busy day at work, and have an early and even more busy day tomorrow, but...

Estelle Getty a.k.a. Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls passed away today at the age of 84.

This is really sad...as you can probably tell from reading my blog, I loved GG, ever since I watched it as a child. Rest in peace, Sophia.

P.S.

I'm not sure how many of you know this, but Estelle Getty was actually NOT the oldest. In fact, she was the second youngest on the show. Betty White and Bea Arthur were born in 1922, while Estelle was born in 1923, and finally Rue McClanahan in 1934. GG is only one of 3 sitcoms to have all the main actors win Emmy awards and Estelle was the only one of the four to win a Golden Globe.

Bus-y Weekend

This weekend I got a chance to explore Sudbury a little more.

Friday night was a bit of a snoozefest. Literally. I was gonna go downtown, but then I got too lazy. I was gonna make dinner (chicken adobo, if anyone is interested - or adobo MANAK according to this dude: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=FeIXhLM_93Q, and no, i didn't follow HIS recipe). Anyway, I was gonna make dinner and then I got lazy. So I continued watching my Perfect Stranger DVD and fell asleep. Of course, taking an hour nap at 9pm doesn't really bode well for one's sleeping schedule, so I was up wasting time youtube til about 3am.

On Saturday, I woke up at about 10:30am and watched Balki and Larry get into a few comedic situations before I crawled out of at 11:30. I made a pretty good breakfast, well i guess brunch by that point, consisting of my leftover adobo, some garlic fried rice (I had A LOT of rice leftover from the previous night so it was perfect for some fried rice) and an over-easy egg. YUMMERS!!! For those of you that aren't Filipino, you haven't lived til you've had Filipino breakfast. All I need was some longanisa and it would've perfect!

Then I went with C's daughter, let's call her "N" to New Sudbury for the best shopping in town - New Sudbury Centre. Yes, some of you are probably laughing at what Sudbury has to offer shopping-wise. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as you'd expect. It's a pretty new mall. I'd say it's sort of like Scarborough Town Centre or Richmond Centre for you Vancouver folk. We took the bus there, and it wasn't terrible, I guess. We had a to wait for a bit. It's just annoying cuz it took us over 45 minutes including waiting and one transfer, but it would only take about 15 if we had a car.

Anyway, we stopped off at Starbucks and I got me a Strawberry & Creme. I normally wouldn't get such an extravagant drink, but it's on work, so why the hell not?! Then we did a little more shopping. Again, nothing spectacular. N's friend works at a nutrition store and we hung out for a bit. She's N's "smart" friend. Apparently her other friends are airheads, but this nutrition friend is quite intelligent. We had some enlightening conversations about the state of the world (it must be cuz she studied sociology :) I also got some protein shake stuff there and tried this weird exercise machine that just vibrates. Apparently a 10-minute workout on it is the same as a regular hour. All I know is that it felt weird and I was a bit shaky when I got off of it.

So, after we stopped off at Superior Meats to cure my craving for beek jerky (weird, huh?), we go back home. N and I did have plans to go out that night, but plans sort fell through. I was actually okay with it as I had an AUDITION to rest up for the next day!

Whhhaaatttt?!?!? An audition? Yes, an audition for Theatre Cambrian's Best of Broadway 2. It's a community theatre here in Sudbury and the show is like a musical revue, and it's a basically a concert - no dancing really.

I was a bit nervous. I hadn't auditioned for anything in over 2 years!!! I was on their website and saw that they were having a call for auditions in a few days (the last day of three audition dates) and I thought "Why the hell not?" I had to choose 2 contrasting songs, one slow and one fast. I was mulling over what I was going to sing and didn't decide until this morning. I decided to go with "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" from The Sound of Music and "Light of the World" from Godspell. I was that close to singing "A Whole New World" but decided against it cuz I'd have to do a weird solo thing where I'd have to sing to both parts at once. Anyway, so that's what I decided to go with.

So, it was back on the bus today and off to a new part of town as the audition was in the West End of Sudbury, which I had never been to before. But...the buses only run once an HOUR!!! Awesome! I was organized, however, and decided to head down a little earlier. After having practiced singing out loud (for the first time all week...I was a little shy with C and N hearing me) just before noon, I left just before 1 o'clock even though my audition wasn't until 3. I thought it would be good for me to get downtown early, maybe go the mall a bit, grab some tea and water, and then walk to the audition, which was only about 1.4 kms away from the bus terminal.

Well...the bus actually didn't take that long to get me downtown - only about 15 minutes or so, but the mall downtown was not what I'd expect it to be. It's not like New Sudbury Centre. The biggest department store is called "Hart", which I've never even heard of! And, by the way, sold soap, toothbrushes, floss, but NO toothpaste that I needed to get. What the!?! How do you sell all that other stuff and NOT have toothpaste?! Anyway, half of the stores were closed too, but I guess that's Sudbury on a Sunday!

After already having had my Timmy's grean tea, some Dasani from the dollar store and looking over my sheet music, I decided I'll just walk over to the audition early, well, really early, since I didn't really know how far it was and after discovering that this mall kinda sucks. Luckily, as I'm walking down the street I hear music. Sweet music. I hear music everywhere (m!m). Down the street at Market Square there were two women with guitars singing. They were actually REALLY good. They sang a bunch of different stuff, from Nelly Furtado to Tina Turner. They sorta had a bluesy, rock thing goin' on. It was boiling hot outside, so I decided to go inside and there were a bunch of vendors selling jewellery, etc. When I go back outside to listen to some more music, I notice a sign that says "Blueberry Festival at Market Square". Ummm....where are the blueberries? I don't see any damn blueberries! Don't tell me there are blueberries if there aren't any cuz I'm gonna wanna eat blueberries and then I'll get disappointed!

So, I start talking to this one vendor and she explains to me that it was really busy yesterday at the festival and all the blueberries sold out this morning. Dammit! I actually wanted to go to the Blueberry festival but didn't know where it was. Then I accidentally found it and no luck. But, I end up talking to her for about 5, 10 minutes about Sudbury, how I'm new and about pow wows and First Nations stuff. Then, it's off to my audition!

It actually was only a 15-minute walk from the Market - I thought it'd be longer. But, it was a profusely hot day and I was Professor Pittain by the time I got there (that's a Friends reference - You'll have to find out what that means if you don't already). When I got there, I was sort of confused cuz I passed a church and next door, which is the address I was given, was a regular building with a huge cross on it and a tiny sign for Theatre Cambrian. Hmm....I gingerly rang the doorbell, but luckily a guy (all red and out of breath) came out of the side door of the church and let me in to fill out an audition form.

So, I filled out the form, but of course I can't remember my postal code so I call N. I fill out the regular audition information, like what were the last few shows you were in. The next question was sort of weird: "Defining characteristic: _________________." I wasn't sure what that meant, so I asked the dude and he said, "what makes you distinct from everyone else". All I could think of was that I'm Filipino! So, I put that down. I think that's pretty defining...in Sudbury!

So, it was my turn next. I went to the basement. A little nervous, but I don't think my palms were sweaty when I met the artistic and musical directors - phew! But, to my chagrin, I found out that there was NO PIANIST! The piano, or should I say keyboard, wasn't even plugged in. Everyone had been singing a cappella. WTF!!! So, the two of them awkwardly moved the piano close to an outlet and plugged it in so that I can at least get my first note - I wasn't about to try and play piano AND sing all by myself. They asked me a little about the shows I've done and then it was singing time. I sang both of my songs and I think it went pretty well. I was a bit nervous, and I think that showed a little bit in my voice, but I think I did pretty well considering I wasn't expecting to sing with accompaniment. I was pleased, and relieved, with what I did.

After I was done the musical director, she said that I had a beautiful and that she really likes it, but (uh oh....here comes the but) she wants to hear more versatility. Apparently when they did Best of Broadway last year, there were only 11 people in it and they were all very versatile. One guy went from singing Phantom to a Queen song. So, she wanted me to sing something that showed a "dirty" and "gritty" side!!! YIKES!!!

This really threw me for a loop! I had nothing else prepared! I mean, my other song was "A Whole New World" and I wouldn't call a Disney song "dirty" or "gritty". So, I stood there frantically trying to think of a song to show off that side of me(which I said I could pull off because "I'm an actor, I can do anything", but I'm not actually sure that I could). After all of us start brainstorming what I could sing, they suggest something from Spring Awakening. I try singing that but I sorta butcher the lyrics near the end. What can you expect off the cuff? He also suggests "Hound Dog", but I only knew the first verse, and not too well at that. They ask me if I know Rent, but I only really know "Seasons of Love". That's still a little too "sweet" of a song, but they ask me to sing the solo parts in the middle, which I do. After a bit of a loss for what to do next, they apologize for throwing this at me. The lady says that I have a good voice, but she just wants to know that I can sing something that's not so pretty sounding like Rodgers & Hammerstein and Gilbert & Sullivan, and he says she thinks I might have it in me. Finally, she asks me a little about my choral experiences and they express that they're impressed by my dance background (but I don't think that really means anything in a non-dancing show). And then they said they'd let me know, either way, some time this week.

All in all, I was actually pretty happy with how things went. I sang my songs well and they were impressed with that. They did recognize that I'm a sweet, happy person and I guess that exudes when I'm singing. That'd be great if I'm auditioning for Mary Poppins or seomthing, but if they're gonna have a concert that'll have some rock musicals in there, then who knows? Oh well, I'm a happy guy who likes to smile. That's just me...take it or leave it! But at least they complimented me on my singing. So, if I don't get in (and with such small numbers they're looking for, it would be improbable anyway), it's because I'm just not what they're looking for for this show, and not because I suck :)

After being proud of myself for getting the guts to audition after I hadn't done it in so long, in a new city where I don't know anyone, I decided to celebrate by getting bubble tea! Yes. Bubble in Sudbury. The funny thing is that the Cree lady I was talking to at Market Square asked me if I worked at the bubble tea place - I guess she figured I was Asian. And, it was actually pretty good. Or, the fact that I got a taro slush (which I hadn't had in FOREVER) on a hot, "you're so bluck now" summer day made it taste better than it actually was. Then I went home, where I ran into C on the bus. Later, I ran across the street to get toothpaste at the corner store, went across to "Paris Natural Food Store" and got some organic chicken sausage to BBQ. C and I had an impromptu barbecue, using her brand new grill, and we sat outside sipping mango coolers and conversing about everything from the American government to the politics of organized religion.

So, it was a pretty good weekend.

And to put the cherry on top, I'll see what shenanigans Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia get into now that I'm done with Balki and Larry.

I'm Back...

My apologies for the delay in coloblogging - it's been a busy week!

When I last left off, it was my birthday/first day of work in Sudbury. Then it was back to Toronto to see my sister from Vancouver, who was gonna stay in Toronto after having been in PEI for the 100-year Anne-iversary, and to see my cousin from Montreal. I had a great time..of course. Lots of food, inappropriate pictures, more food, more pictures, and more food.

When I took the bus from Sudbury, I found out that we get dropped off at Yorkdale. I didn't really care because I was planning to meet my sister and cousin downtown. BUT...they ended up not going downtown, so I figure I'll just get off at Yorkdale cuz my other cousin works near there and could drive me home to meet them. One problem: my luggage wasn't with the luggage of the people getting dropped off at Yorkdale! So, what does that mean? It means that I had to crawl into the luggage storage underneath the bus - of course it's buried in the back - to get my stuff. Luckily, I got it (without any help from the bus driver, I might add) and everything worked out. I got picked up at Yorkdale, drove back to Scarborough and came home to a wonderful barbecue prepared by my lovely, food-savvy cousins.

The next day we had some dim sum, and then celebrated my birthday at Jake's in Unionville. I LOVE Unionville. I actually just heard of the area? town? whatever it is, a few weeks ago. It sort reminded me of Niagara on the Lake, with small shops spelled with a "-ppe" (some of you may know about my affinity for "shoPPEs", especially if there is a "ye olde" at the beginning. About nachos, sweet potato fries, ribs, shrimp, 4 pints of beer, a McDonalds sundae run (NOT a fish-a-filet run one might expect), lots more "insert here" pics and some good times, we head back home.

The day after that was downtown day with my sis. We went to Spadina Museum, my new favourite Toronto attraction. Unfortunately my friend (a.k.a. the old lady in the kitchen that tests your knowledge of old-fashioned cookware) wasn't there, but I still had a great time. My sis missed it when she was in Toronto in March'07 cuz it wasn't open yet. Then we had a quick stop at Eaton Centre (so she can buy some hair products) and it was off to see my condo. My sis loved it. Took tons of pics. I especially like the ones she took from the rooftop with the CN Tower in the background. Then it was off for some Thai food, I guess it's our Toronto tradition now. After an amazing lychee martini and an awesome vegetarian 4 course meal, it was back da 'borough to watch Get Smart with my two other cousins. Really funny movie - I recommend it! I laughed out loud a lot and I bought cotton candy, which made the movie that much more enjoyable.

And finally, on my last full day in Toronto before I went back to Sudbury, was NIAGARA FALLS! After a bit of a late start (eating breakfast at Markham Station and some traffic) the 4 of us get to wineryland, a.k.a Niagara-on-the-Lake. We go to Hillebrand and take a tour. My sis and cousin fall in love with ice wine and buy 2 bottles each. 1 free tasting of ice wine in the store and another 3 wine tastings included in the $5 tour (one of which was another ice wine - yes!) . Then we got vouchers for a FREE tasting at Peller Estates! It's beautiful there, by the way. We get our free tasting, which included 3 wines (1 riesling, 1 merlot, 1 riesling ice wine - double yes!). We then go eat (my sis and cousin are starting to feel the wine by this point) and then it's off to the falls. Maid of the Mist = amazingness! I went for the first time last year, but this time was a lot more rough and I got a lot more wet ("that's what she said"). And finally, we drive back home, but not without a stop at our favourite dirty Chinese restaurant and get 4 orders of "#58" - A chicken cutlet, 2 pork skewers on Indonesian fried rice, topped off with a fried egg and tons of teriyaki sauce! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye. At least we got to hang out for a few days, and even have some time to watch some Perfect Strangers. It was really sad (leaving, not Balki), but I know I'll see my Toronto family soon (next week, in fact) but I probably won't see my sister and cousin 'til November for a cousin's wedding :(

So, back to Sudbury I went and I love it! Not so much the place itself, but I love work here! Everyone is super nice. I got my own workspace set up in a shared area with really funny and kind people. My first day on the job I got to go the mall...and I get paid to do this. Amazing! again, I can't go into too much detail, but things are moving along well.

This week, I also got taken for a mini tour around the city. I finally got to see the big nickel! When people first told me to make sure I see it, I thought they were talking about a giant deposit of nickel in the ground or something, but then I saw what it was in a brochure. It's actually a bid Canadian, 5-cent, nickel. I also went to the library, where I got a library card and got some books, including a Filipino cookbook that I'm looking forward to trying out. I finally did some major grocery shopping so I'm not eating out all the time. And, of course, the first day I make my lunch and bring it, there's a BBQ at the hospital!!! I'm not complaining, I mean, I love barbecues! I just wish I didn't waste time making lunch that morning (but I didn't waste it...I ate it today for lunch instead).

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to write more frequently. It's been a busy week, but I'll sure to update everyone on what I'm up to soon, that is, if the mosquitoes here don't eat me alive first!

mr. coloblog

p.s. I'm not sure if anyone saw the View, or at least the clip of it where Elisabeth Hasselbeck was being all stupid when they were discussing the usage of the N-word, but it infuriated me. Why can't she understand the empowerment of taking the word back?! I totally agree with Whoopi that it's taking the word out of the hands of White people and controlling its meaning. Elisabeth is so f*ing dense sometimes and cannot seem to understand anything outside of her own world view. It's simple. If you're not Black, don't use it. If you are, then you have the power to make the meaning whatever you want it to mean. Does that mean to say that its usage in pop culture isn't problematic? No, but at least there is a discussion about who uses it and why. Only then can we begin to address these important issues.

The more you know [cue music, shooting star]

http://perezhilton.com/2008-07-17-it-got-heated

I am 16 going on 17...

...well, now it's more like 25 going on 26...yikes!

25 years old. I used to remember laughing at my sisters when they reached that age, and here I am [sigh].

Well, today was actually a good day. Today (well, I guess it's technically yesterday now) was my first day of work at the hospital and it was my first day of the next 25 years of my life. I won't bore you with the details of work, but it went really well. Everyone is super nice, and warm, and caring, and fun. I had a great time and I think I'll get along with the staff really well. I was a bit anxious, but when I'll be hanging out on the unit next week, I think I'll be pretty comfortable.

After work, my boss came by to check up on where I'll be staying for the next few months and she's really glad everything worked out the way it did. I'm close by and C is really great.

When i got back from work, C, her daughter and I went out to dinner to celebrate my quarter century mark. We went to a diner-ish place. Sorta feels like Denny's, but with a better menu. I had some surf and turf action (steak and some deep-friend prawns...yum!). I also got free cake and a bunch of waitresses awkwardly singing to C until she gestured to them that it's actually my birthday. I don't really care who you sing to, as long as i get my free piece of cake!!! Well, it was actually pie - Chocolate French Silk....yummers!

Then we went to Blockbuster and rented a couple of movies - 10,000B.C. and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I watched former with C, and then spent the rest of the evening writing some field notes and then now I'm writing my blog.

All in all I think it was a very successful day. I wouldn't say overly exciting, but successful. And let's face it, I'm 25 now, I guess i should take success when I can get it and leave excitement for when i was actually 16 going on 17. Well, that's not entirely true...I'm hoping to have an exciting weekend in Toronto. Woohoo! I leave tomorrow by bus and will be in Toronto by early evening.

I'm gonna keep this blog short tonight cuz old age is getting to me and I need to sleep. But, i want to thank everyone that called me, sent a text message, or posted on facebook. I really appreciate all the love and birthday greetings, especially since I'm all the way in Sudbury. Special shout outs to my parents that called me at 5:30am PST! I can't thank you enough, really. I actually was getting really moved by the floods of wall posts I got. It made me feel close to all my friends, even though I'm geographically far.

LOVE YOU ALL!

P.S. Apparently being 25 has also made me more emotional. Hmmm..maybe I'm going through the change. And on that note, time to go search for some Golden Girls episodes online before I go to bed :)

P.P.S. "Thank you for being a friend..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuKZNmY3YDU

Explor-asian

It is humid here in Sudbury. And as most of you know, humidity and I are not friends. But I had a good night's sleep nonetheless. I also have 3 mosquito bites and counting. Could be worse, I guess.

In the morning, C and her daughter left for strawberry picking (I don't think this is a common thing...some outing related to her work). So, I had the house to myself. Took a shower (good water pressure) and dabbled on the piano. Watched some Ellen and decided it was time that I venture out into the streets of Sudbury on my own.



I walked to "Four Corners" which is what the locals call the intersection of Regent and Paris Street. My first order of business was to purchase deodorant, as I forgot to pack one of the TWO that I have in Toronto. And with all the humidity, that is a must. I also bought some bus tickets. It's sort of like the New York metrocard. I bought 2 5-Ride cards. Apparently I just swipe the card and it'll deduct with each ride I take. I also went to the bank (thankfully there's a TD close by).



Then it was time for lunch...and you all know that I'm a sucker for sushi! Yes, SUSHI in Sudbury! I thought, why not?! I live right next to the hospital. And to my surprise, it was actually pretty good. A little (well, a lot) expensive, though. With tax and tip, it cost me about 35 bucks! I did order a lot and doggy-bagged the rest. The miso soup was good (but that's hard to mess up) and the salad (which varies a lot by restaurant) was pretty good too. I also ordered oyako don. That was probably the weakest dish, but not bad at all. I ordered a seaweed salad and scallop nigiri. What really impressed me was the presentation - gorgeous! I didn't take any pics unfortunately, but they did a good job. The seaweed salad was served in a martini glass, and garnished with radish at the bottom, lemon, cucumber, avocado and a leaf which added height and grandeur. I know that a martini glass isn't really traditional Japanese, but it looked great. Good job, Umai.



And speaking of traditional Japanese, the chefs and the waitresses were actually Asian - go figure! There was one White waiter, but I was impressed the represent-asian...no imit-asian here!



So, I departed from the Japanese restaurant, doggy-bag in hand, and went across the street to Southridge Mall. And guess what...more Asians!!! AMAZING! Stereotypically, I spotted them at them working at the nail salon, but still, go diversity!





The mall isn't as small and crappy as I expected. It's still kinda small and crappy, but I expected worse. They have all the cell phone providers in there, a CIBC, Zellers, Dollarama (uber-important!), Sports Check, an Urban Planet and a Payless. That's also where the Goodlife is (shout out to Jess...I'll look into joining soon, I think). Then I walked across the street again and did some grocery shopping at the Food Basics. Got some stuff for breakfast (oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit) since I figure I won't be cooking lunch or dinner between now and when I go back to Toronto for the weekend. Then I walked back.



So, it's only a 15-minute walk to 'Four Corners". Not bad, not bad at all. I suppose i could take the bus, but it would be faster to walk since the bus comes every half-an-hour, or maybe even every hour...not sure. Anyway, I'm glad to be living so close to actual stores and restaurants!

I've come to the conclusion that Sudbury (or at least Southend of Sudbury where I am) is sort of like Scarborough, but White. I mean, there's a Food Basics and a Dollarama, just like Woodside Square in da'Borough. And it seems like things a re far away but you can easily walk to places. So, Sudbury doesn't feel too small town yet. It just feels like a suburb, with a lot of rock (like granite, not music) and lakes.



Later in the afternoon, C walked me over to the hospital. I literally step out, cross a small street and walk across the parking lot. I'm SO close to where I'll be working! She also showed me around Ramsey Lake, which is also right by the hospital. It's a beautiful walk, right by the water, lots of trees, small beaches with lifeguards, beautiful gardens. i didn't bring my camera, so I'll have to go back and take pictures. Also, it was a little overcast today. It sprinkled a bit this morning, so I wanna take some pics when it's nice and sunny out. I'm also excited to to Science North, which we passed by on our stroll.



So, tomorrow is my first day! It's really exciting...more exciting than turning 25. I'll be focusing on the former more than the latter I think. I guess it sorta sucks that I'm working and I'll be alone on my birthday, but I can ramble about that tomorrow. Anyway, I'm excited to see my sister and Montreal cousin when i go back to Toronto on Thursday. So, I'll have lots of time to celebrate the 25 years of my existence with my family very soon.



So, stay tuned for the Special Edition blog tomorrow talking about my first day and my birthday! I've been having trouble with the wireless here. Just today actually. I had no problems last night. I'm hooked up by cable now :( So hopefully I can figure out what's wrong with the wireless soon. But , at least there's internet! Where would be without that?!



Okay. See you next time on So You Think You Can Dance? Okay, I watch FOX too much. Damn you Simon Fuller and your semi-quality reality TV programming!

Flip Out of Water

So, I'm in Sudbury!

It was quite the experience getting here, I must say. The bus was late departing. It was actually quite confusing - not sure if i was in the right line up. But, it all worked out in the end.

The most memorable part of the bus ride was the Amish family that was waiting in the bus line up. I was thinkging to myself, "Omigod! Where am I going? What have I gotten myself into?" But I think they were actually going to Alberta, as Sudbury was the first of many stops. The guy I was sitting next to was going to Saskatoon and wouldn't arrive until Wednesday! Today is Monday! When I got on the bus, there were two seats open: a Black guy and an old White dude. I chose to sit next to the Black guy. i figure I should soak in as much ethnic diversity while I can. Plus, I'd be sitting on the aisle and I figure that the old guy might have to go to the washroom a lot. It turned out to be a good choice. The old man behind us talked WAY too much! The dude sitting next to me and I had some good conversation, but I did't feel obligated to talk the whole. I needz to nap!

Anyway, back to the Amish. The only knowledge I had of Amish people was Weird Al Yankovic's Amish Paradise and a little known movie called Holy Matrimony. So, i was sort bewildered upon seeing a woman in full black and brown Amish garb, bonnet and all (and it was HOT today) and her two sons in black dress pants and vests with straw hats. I later spotted the rest of the family inside the terminal (two men, a woman and a baby). I didn't know the Amish traveled by Greyhound! I thought horse-drawn carriages were their vehicle of choice. And the two men were also talking on the pay telephone for a while. You'll have to excuse my ignorance in the matter, but I thought you can get shunned for all the technological usage!

And I don't even know if they were Amish - I just assumed that they are. They look like they have names like Jebediah and Ezekiel, so i figure I'm correct in my assumptions. And man, the kicker was when the boys took of their hats. I know that the Amish aren't really known for their sense of style, but those were some haircuts they had! They had long hair in a bowl cut, but the bottom of their hair was shaved just above the neck. They sort of looked like a 15th Century Dauphin of France (anyone see the TV movie Joan of Arc? They look like Neil Patrick Harris a.k.a. Doogie in it. Or Milhouse when Lisa was Joan of Arc. Anyone? Anyone?) And the cutting wasn't even straight. I ended up staring at their hair for a good 5 minutes. The probably thought I was some perv, but i was just appalled by their hairstyling. And when one of the mothers passed the baby to the father, he grabbed her with one arm? ONE ARM! He just grabbed the baby's shoulder and plopped him on his lap. Don't the church elders have some sort of rule against that kind of behaviour!?

Anyway, I'm sorry if I offend any Amish people out there, but then again, the Amish wouldn't have computers, right? Or do they?

The rest of the trip consisted of me sleeping, interrupted by a stop at McDonald's (I had fish-a-fillet...yum!) followed by more sleeping. Then i took a taxi to to the town house I'm staying at and voilà, here I am.

The woman I'm renting from (let's just call her "C") is really sweet. I met her daughter who's half Irish and half Indian - she's also very nice. The house is pretty good. It's 3 floors, so lots of space. I've got my room all set up and I'm all unpacked. C took me around the area and she also took me out to dinner, which was really sweet of her. I have an expense account for food, which C knows about, but she wanted to treat me as a nice welcome for me. We went out for Indian food, which apparently she will cook from time to time.

She's actually very interesting. She has Nursing degree but also did a Masters in Environmental Studies, which is more planning based. She's done a lot of innovative work related to health and First Nations. i really like her worldview, or at least what I think her worldview is. She is definitely very culturally aware and knows the limits of common Western biases. She also has a lot of random knowledge about history and stuff, which i LOVE! She's always spitting out facts about Ireland. She takes Irish lessons which I may take part in too.

As for ethnic diversity here...yeah, it's pretty white. But that was to be expected. There was one Asian girl on the bus that got off at Sudbury, but not sure if she's local or not. While driving here, we passed by the "Bridge of Nations" which has the flags of all the countries of origin of Sudbury residents. To my surprise, there were tons of flags. And yes, even a Filipino one!!! So, my goal is to seek out the Filipinos here and maybe they'll cook for me :) C says that there is some ethnic diversity here, albeit relatively small. But apparently there are a couple Indian restaurants, a Korean one and new Thai place. So, I'm not totally isolated from my peoples of colour.

Well, I've rambled enough for now. Tomorrow I'm gonna explore for realz and I'll try to take some pics (I would've taken pics of the Amish family, but I thought that would a be a bit too intrusive). Getting to walk around a bit more tomorrow will give me a better grasp of the kinds of people and places that are here. Apparently the hospital I'll be working at is across the street, so that'll be good for those hard to get up days.

So long for now. Seacrest, out.

Blah Blah Blog...

So this is my first foray into the world of blogging (which is pretty huge considering my relative disgust for anything too technological sounding). I figure, however, that this is would be a good time to start. On a side note, you will have to excuse my ramdomness and rambling I tend to do when I write what's on my mind.

For those who are unaware, I am no longer 'Over-Educated & Under-Employed'. I now work as an Independent Contractor at Toronto Rehab. And no, it's not the rehab that's so "in" in Hollywood...it's a hospital. As part, or my 2 year contract, I'll be collecting data in Sudbury. "What-bury!?", you ask? That was my reaction too! But the research study requires data collection from 2 sites, one of them being in Sudbury. Without getting into too much detail (I'm under some contractual constraints of intellectual property and ethics and all that jazz), I'm doing research on the effect of research-based drama on traumatic brain injury patient care over time. Well, that's not entirely it, but that's the best I can do in one, non-run-on sentence, so hopefully that makes sense.

I leave tomorrow at 12:30pm from the concrete jungle and arrive in the land of mining at 5:30. I'm still packing - of course. I'm also doing a massive clean of my room, since my sister (on her way back to Vancouver from PEI) and cousin (from Montreal) will be in Toronto in a few days. I'll be coming back to Toronto on Thursday for a bit, but then it's back to the 'Bury. So I don't really have to worry about forgetting anything while I'm packing. I did, however, realize how many clothes I actually have. I knew I had a lot, but after refolding and rearranging pretty much every piece of clothing I have here (not including the one's still packed up in a box), I have way too many! I have almost 40 polos! FORTY! POLOS! I don't even know how that's possible...well, I do, I suppose. Two words: Banana Republic. I haven't done a jacket count lately, but I'm pretty sure I have at least 20. And this is just in Toronto. I still have more clothes in Vancouver. Yikes!

Anyway, enough confessions from a shopoholic. I should really stop procrastinating and finish packing. Thank you for those who read/skimmed my first blog entry. There'll be more to come, documenting my experience in Sudbury, which I think is short for Sudburyburywhite :) For those who like those feel-good stories about the trials and tribulations of ethnic minorities, stay tuned.