tuesday december 30

today i was sitting in our living room at around 12:30 am, watching television with my roommate, when she received and text message and loudly gasped: "ryan gosling is at [nearby bar] sweaty betty's!!" within ten minutes, she had transformed from unkempt and uninterested in leaving the house to heading out the door. this left me alone to watch muchmoremusic's your fave videos of the 1990s feature, which i subsequently lost interest in around the time they were showing george michael's "freedom."

monday december 29

today i took the greyhound bus back to toronto from london. a girl sat down in the seat beside me just before the bus pulled out of the london terminal. as the bus was pulling away, i heard her say, hesitantly, "luke?" and experienced a feeling of horror. if one of my best friends were to sit beside me on the bus, fine, but someone who knows me so little that she has to question whether it's actually me?? that's gonna make for an awkward two hours. i began to turn towards her, then realized a split-second later that she was still talking, not to me, but into her cell phone, apparently to someone who shared my name.

sunday december 28

today i headed downtown in the evening, to meet a couple friends for drinks before going to call the office. not wanting to bring a bag, i decided to carry my two tallboys -- one in each pocket. though my coat pockets are generously sized, certainly sufficient to make this work, it created a predicament: lacking gloves, my hands were cold enough that it was uncomfortable to walk to the bus without shoving them in my pockets. when i put my hands in my pockets, however, they got even colder, due to the fact that i had to hold them against the previously refrigerated cans that were taking up most of my pocket space.

saturday december 27

today i presented a third installment of "another thing i did on these days."

monday december 15
today i went over to no frills to pick up a few groceries. i was coming out of one aisle and about to enter the next one, when suddenly there was a loud noise that sounded like something large and metallic clattering to the ground near the front of the store. "what the hellll," the employee stocking shelves at the end of the aisle mumbled. i turned towards him, aware that i was the closest customer to him, and wondering if he was talking for my benefit. when i saw that he was making eye contact with me, i chuckled and shook my head in disbelief, as if it to say "seriously!" i turned back to my next aisle, hoping to make a quick getaway, to avoid lingering. unfortunately, two grocery carts, side by side, blocked the way to the aisle, forcing me to wait an extra two or three seconds before sliding through, creating what seemed like an awkward silence with the employee, with me feeling as if i should add something to the 'conversation.'

thursday december 18
today i was doing our sports talk show on chrw for the first time in a couple months. a little rusty, we forgot to turn off the microphones during the commercial break, at which time the host immediately admitted, 'off air,' that he wished he had a better knowledge of the sports we'd just talked about for the last half hour.

thursday december 25
today i listened to my parents and grandparents have a 20-minute conversation about the merits of facebook, which culminated in my grandparents looking through my brother's facebook photos and my grandmother asking who his "fat" friend was.

friday december 26
today i attempted to keep a look of horror off my face when my grandmother suggested across the room at our family's christmas that my parents (in the midst of cooing over my cousin's baby) probably wanted some grandchildren.

friday december 26

today i was walking down the street at about 10:30ish pm in the rain, to catch a bus downtown. when i was still about one minute from making it to the stop where the bus sat, just across the street, it put on its blinker and began to pull away. a second later, however, it stopped! realizing that i was the only person or car in sight, and that the driver must have seen my wet, pathetic figure in his rear view mirror, i broke into a run, nearly wiping out in epic fashion twice on the ice before making it to the bus. upon entering, i was informed by the driver that he had to leave a few minutes early because the sunday/holiday schedule was in effect. i thanked him for stopping for me, and, after sitting down, realized how lucky i'd been -- had i missed this bus, not knowing that that schedule was in effect, i likely would've shrugged and waited for the next one, which never would've come, since the schedule ends early on holidays. a christmas miracle!!

thursday december 25

today i celebrated my 1000th day on last.fm. and also christmas. merry christmas, readers!!

wednesday december 24

today i opened my garage door in preparation to take the car out, and the first sight i saw outdoors was a ups truck zooming past my house, down the road -- in reverse.

tuesday december 23

today i had a dream in which i showed up at a new year's party that had a dress code which required all those present to wear nice shoes; dress shoes. when i looked down at my feet, not only was i not wearing dress shoes, but the shoes i was wearing didn't even match -- a running shoe on one foot and a boot on the other!!

monday december 22

today i went to the mall, intending to finish my christmas shopping, and ended up buying three times as many things for myself as for others.

sunday december 21

today i drove to a friend's house to pick her up. i'd driven to the house dozens of times in the past, knowing exactly which turns to make, and where it was on the street: the second driveway on the left after turning onto the street. this time, however, the first driveway on the left was covered with snow, its house vacant, after being the site of a drug bust earlier in the year. not recognizing the spot where that driveway was, i managed to drive right past my friend's driveway before clumsily pulling back around in the snow, startling a pedestrian who was walking along the road nearby.

saturday december 20

today i watched the second half of the canadian film too cool for christmas with a friend. it wasn't until the movie had finished that i became aware we'd watched it all with the volume turned to a barely audible level, and had entirely filled in the plot based on our running commentary of our perception of what was happening, and based on the brief, one-sentence description in the 'guide' section

friday december 19

today i went out for dinner with my parents, to east side mario's. when the waiter first approached our table, the first thing he asked was whether we'd been to the restaurant before, to which my mother replied "not this location." this prompted the waiter to go into detail about their features and specials and so forth, while i concernedly remembered a time when we had, in fact, been to the restaurant before. for the next few minutes, i felt we ought to set the record straight with the waiter, though it seemed unlikely that he'd be interested.

thursday december 18

today i took a bus home to london to surprise my mom on her birthday. when she arrived home, i wasn't sure exactly how to "pop out" and surprise her: whether i should do it immediately upon her walking in the door, or if i should wait a couple minutes and then casually walk out while she was talking to my dad, potentially risking overhearing conversation i wouldn't want to hear (involving christmas present surprises or worse). i eventually chose the latter option, assuming that they wouldn't launch into those hypothetical conversations immediately anyway.

wednesday december 17

today i watched the season finale of stylista by myself. i bought myself snacks, and laughed out loud once or twice in an otherwise empty house. it was a pretty sad picture.

tuesday december 16

today i had a sore hand for a good five minutes or so after multiple failed attempts to untwist the top off a container of pasta sauce. the endeavour also left me feeling a little down about my overall strength, though i'm pretty sure it was the jar's fault, and even if i were 15% or 20% stronger, it wouldn't have helped.

monday december 15

today i bought gift wrap as a christmas present for someone.

sunday december 14

today i felt an enormous sense of accomplishment when i temporarily quieted the barking of the dog we were dog-sitting by realizing that he just wanted some food. this was one of the few times when his barking didn't seem entirely illogical. it really felt like we were communicating.

saturday december 13

today i decided to showcase some of the blogs that i link on my sidebar. rather than discuss them all, i'll focus on the ten that have been most recently updated. after all, the ones that update the most often are the best right???

http://canadianlovesong.blogspot.com/
this is my roommate lisa's blog. she likes new order and 90s movies. some of her blog's main themes are: nostalgia, the seasons, exclusive-never-seen-on-facebook photos.

http://transientchildinthewild.blogspot.com/
this is rakhee's blog. she likes love actually and (secretly) friday night lights. she asks hard-hitting questions about pop culture, and frequently embeds youtube videos.

http://www.stuartathompson.com/
this blog, as the url suggests, belongs to stuart a. thompson. he likes wine and hating bill o'reilly. his blog navigates everything from the american political landscape to life in london, and at western. also he posts his essays from class a lot.

http://biasbigadventures.blogspot.com/
this is bianca's blog. she likes british television and the name butch. her blog also discusses life in london, at western, in personal and anecdotal form, with some pop culture thrown in there. watch out for the embedded music player, it starts automatically!!

http://sixty-six.blogspot.com/
this blog belongs to sarah. she likes ska music and dr. mario. also mostly personal and anecdotal, her blog focuses on her life in vancouver; i have to admit that i enjoyed it more when it was about london and i recognized more of the references, but it's still a good read.

http://nonnapower.blogspot.com/
this blog belongs to maria and her sister. they sort of alternate. using the same account. it can be very confusing sometimes. anyway, i don't know her sister (though she seems very nice), but maria dislikes seinfeld. have you ever heard of such a thing? this blog's primary purpose is for the sisters to keep one another apprised of music and movie recommendations.

http://devanboomen.blogspot.com/
it's devan's blog. devan likes doing dishes and my roommate leslie. he didn't update this thing for months, but he's going nuts on it lately. probably exam procrastination or something. my favourite entry he made was when he wondered aloud why the t-rex has "those useless little arms." this is something i've discussed extensively before, though mostly as a punchline in my unwritten dinosaur-themed pilot.

http://electricshuffle.blogspot.com/
this is one of lulu's blogs. she likes giving people rides home from the bar, after taking unflattering photos of them. but we'll get into her other blog another time. this is the one where she posts playlists from her radio show and sometimes mp3s and things like that. look at the colours!!

http://kattekylling.vox.com/library/posts/page/1/
i wonder why the url is that lengthy. weird. anyway, this is kat's blog. she likes the band grizzly bear and maybe actual grizzly bears too, who knows!! a surprise addition to this list, kat only updates this thing about once a month. it's usually pretty entertaining though. her latest post, about her visit to a quack doctor, is MUST-READ.

http://5000songs.blogspot.com/
this is my friend dan's blog. he likes chicago sports and whiskey. he started this "gimmick blog" after seeing the success of mine, but so far hasn't had the same self-discipline for constant updates that i do. when he does update though, it provides an in-depth look into his itunes library, a good chunk of which i've provided him.

friday december 12

today i was finishing off a bag of skittles that i'd bought yesterday. i poured what i thought were the remaining few into my hand while sitting at my computer, checked out a couple of websites, went downstairs to brush my teeth and shave, then came back upstairs. when i came back into my room, i noticed a lone red skittle sitting on my computer chair. i was torn. on one hand, i'd just brushed my teeth, and the fact that the skittle had been lying there for a good amount of time already (during which i may have been sitting on it, for a little while) was unappealing. and i felt uncomfortable setting it aside to save for later. on the other hand, red skittles are delicious. after a good 20 seconds of deliberation, i threw it in the garbage and immediately regretted it.

thursday december 11

today i had an exchange with the girl who checked me out (that is...rang me through) at shopper's drug mart that i was sure would be blog-worthy. however, when i replayed it, looking for a potentially awkward and self-deprecating moment in the conversation, i realized that i'd really played the whole thing rather suavely (particularly, my reaction to whether or not she should open a new roll of pennies to give me the one cent in change she owed me got a solid laugh). while this was ultimately good for my ego, it did little in helping to create an interesting blog entry.

wednesday december 10

today i experienced my first semi-lengthy power-out since owning a laptop, rather than a desktop computer. while my initial reaction was one of excitement -- that i'd finally have SOMETHING to do in the dark, something that didn't rely on the power! -- i quickly realized that the outage took both the internet and my speakers out of play, leaving little of interest to actually do with the functioning computer.

tuesday december 9

today i sat in the laundromat waiting for my clothes to dry. i was reading the fountainhead while the girl sitting next to me blasted beyonce's "single ladies (put a ring on it)" on her ipod, so loudly that it was practically acting as a 'boom box.'

monday december 8

today i went to the dufferin mall, intending to find a 'telephone booth' store that i'd heard was in the building, in order to get my broken cell phone fixed or replaced. i entered at one end of the mall, and wandered through, keeping an eye out for the store all the way. eventually, i arrived at the other end, having not come across the store at all. perturbed, i decided to finally look at one of those maps of the mall, and discovered that the store had actually been the third one i'd passed, about 100 feet from where i originally entered the mall. walking all the way back there made me so grumpy that i didn't even do the other shopping in the mall that i had originally planned.

sunday december 7

today i watched the dramatic and emotional season 1 finale of friday night lights while the girl living on the floor below us was throwing a party which featured music with bass-heavy beats. it ruined the mood slightly.

saturday december 6

today i presented the second installment of the aforementioned "another thing i did on these days" feature. it still doesn't have a better name than that.

tuesday november 25
today i walked into my neighbourhood shoppers drug mart to buy bread and milk. i headed over to the milk section and noticed that polaris prize nominated musician basia bulat was buying milk next to me. though i'd had a class or two with her at western and met her multiple times before, i had no idea if she'd remember who i was, and froze up, unsure of whether to say anything or not. over the course of the next few minutes, we made eye contact, then waited next to one another in the checkout line, while i continued to say nothing the entire time. it was awkward. i don't think she noticed.

friday november 28
today i was standing in line in the lcbo when i heard a discussion from a group behind me, about the appeal of celebrity-endorsed wines. the conversation seemed to mostly come to an end when one girl loudly declared "like my mom needs ANOTHER excuse to be a wino!"

wednesday december 3
today i accidentally sent a text to the wrong person for the third time (to the third different wrong person) since buying my new cell phone, a little more than a month ago. the phone is making me so nervous that i now intend, whenever i remember, to click on 'add recipient' at the end of the message to be 100% sure i have the right name checked off, rather than just clicking 'send.'

friday december 5
today i was walking by myself to a nearby pizza pizza shortly after 1:00 am. along the way, a large group of teenagers -- about 25 maybe -- were taking up most of the majority of the sidewalk space outside one building (not even a bar!), making me slightly nervous, in light of recent incidents in the area. when i was almost past them all, one girl called in my direction: "excuse me, sir. sir??" i pretended not to hear and power-walked my way through to the other side.

friday december 5

today i was walking through downtown toronto when i saw a black pickup truck in a parking lot with the words "mammoth erection" in bright yellow on the side. it was unclear, from the truck, what kind of company this "mammoth erection" was, assuming they are, in fact, a company.

thursday december 4

today i went downstairs to use the bathroom at the bar 'beaconsfield.' rather than having multi-person men's and women's washrooms, the bar features three single-toilet unisex bathrooms; you know, the kind that one person uses at a time and locks behind them. while lining up to wait for a bathroom to become available, a guy came out of one of the three, followed a few seconds later by a girl, and then another 30 seconds later by a second guy -- all out of the same bathroom. baffled at the fact that the three of them even managed to fit into the cramped room, i was slightly uncomfortable to be the one using it next.

wednesday december 3

today i stood on the side of the road, attempting to cross the road to my house, for so long, that a passerby asked me if i was waiting for the bus, even though i was not standing at the bus stop.

tuesday december 2

today i noticed, for the first time ever, the microwave instructions on the side of the pop tarts box, which advise putting it in on 'high' for three seconds. my incredulous reaction to the fact that three seconds, even on 'high', would do anything brought back a long-lost memory from my childhood, when i used to watch the bugs bunny & tweety show every sunday afternoon. one of the commercials/public service announcements that constantly played during the show's advertisements featured tweety bird cautioning against making the water too hot in the shower or bath, offering that "hot water can burn in less than twee (3) seconds." if i remember correctly, this made me terrified to step into the shower for weeks, for fear that i'd be perma-scalded.

monday december 1

today i wanted to charge my phone while sitting at my computer, without missing any potential calls or texts. unfortunately, the power outlet next to me was full: one socket with my bedside clock and the other with the computer's power bar. the power bar, while not full, had its available outlets blocked by oversized power plugs, leaving me to unplug the bedside clock to charge the phone. when i fell asleep later in the day, i had a dream in which i rearranged the power bar's plugs, sticking the huge ones on either side, so that the available outlets were freed up. while this dream plan makes perfect sense and would take approximately 30 seconds to execute, i've yet to implement it, as if doing so would mean my acknowledging that my unconscious is a better problem solver than my conscious.

sunday november 30

today i was home by myself and sitting with our cat in the living room, watching football. all of the sudden, i heard several loud crashes from the kitchen, which sounded alarmingly like breaking dishes. when the noises subsided and it became clear that i'd have to go investigate, my first concern wasn't the mess and the prospect of cleaning it up, but rather that my roommates would hold me responsible for whatever had happened in the kitchen, despite my being on the other side of the house.