Why, hello there blog!

Hello blog world! My apologies for neglecting you so terribly. As nearly always happens in my life, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED except tiny little mundane life events. Read on if you're bored...

1. My dog has Giardia, a protozoan parasite in the gut. While she has no symptoms, the vet said we do need to get rid of it to prevent secondary bacterial infections or any further complications. They gave me little packets of de-worming medication to put in her food for the next 3 days. I'll also have to wash and disinfect her bed and keep her from sniffing other dogs' poop (Mission Impossible!!). I'm just glad she doesn't straight up eat poop, like other dogs we know.

2. Studying is starting to cramp my style. While I enjoy knowing things, I do not enjoy the arduous task of putting those facts in my dinky little brain. Why haven't we found a better way to do this yet? Like some sort of surgery that puts all that knowledge in a hard drive in your brain? Google, I'm lookin' at you.

3. I came up with the best idea for an app the other day while texting Steven: GANGSTA AUTO CORRECT. Let's make it happen, Internet.

4. In my ashtanga practice, I recently got advanced to Bujapidasana, which is a really fun arm balance. However, I'm still not sure I'm ready for it. I'm still huffing and puffing by the end of Navasana, sometimes by the end of Marichiasana C. I'm trying to be worthy of advancing past Navasana, but it's hard when the call of cookies and The Good Wife is so much more delicious than 5 AM wake up calls.

A Response to "Don't Date a Girl Who Travels" from a Girl Who Travels

My Facebook recently exploded with links of this article: Don't Date a Girl Who Travels. And I can totally see the connection between my life and the experiences and opinions expressed in the article. But I can't help but think it's not painting a realistic picture. I've been called a drifter, the least of my family, unambitious, wasting my potential. Everyone is waiting for me to "grow up", or "settle down".

In a way, I wish everyone (like my very traditionally-valued family) could see my life as romantically as Don't Date a Girl who Travels. But these things, "unkempt" (aka possibly  unwashed), wandering, impulsive, restless, adrenalin-high, commitment-shy... these never used to be GOOD things. There needs to be a healthy dialogue about how the values espoused in the article are not necessarily as beautiful and lovely as you think.

From the beginning:

She’s the one with the messy unkempt hair colored by the sun.

Let's face it: unkempt = unwashed. For me, it's not a choice. I often didn't have time/money/didn't care/enjoyed the smell of ocean wafting off my own body. Not a pretty picture, but that's the way it is, folks.

She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

Hard to PLEASE!? Give me a bowl of mashed potatoes and I'll be the happiest clam ever. It's important to differentiate "please" and "excite". Dinner and a movie is nowhere near as exciting as snowboarding or paragliding, but I'm not going to cry over it (part of that whole "growing up" thing). And "unimpressed with your new car"? What am I, a heartless bitch? I would be proud of you saving to purchase your own car.

Chances are, she can’t hold a steady job. Or she’s probably daydreaming about quitting.

People, commitment issues are NOT A GOOD THING. Steady jobs put dinner on the table. I'm trying to buck it up so I'll have broccoli to eat.

She might have wasted her college degree and switched careers entirely. She is now a dive instructor or a yoga teacher. She’s not sure when the next paycheck is coming.

While this is almost completely true (I teach yoga), I don't want to hear that I WASTED four years of my life at university. I made life-long friends and had wonderful experiences in and out of school. While perhaps the schooling could have been foregone, no one, least of all yourself, should belittle those years of work and effort. Also, my next paycheck is coming Tuesday. I know this because it's my friggin paycheck.

Don’t date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn’t have a plan or a permanent address. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. She doesn’t wear a watch. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. When the waves are calling, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. But she has learned that the most important thing in life isn’t surfing.

Nearly all of this quote is true for me. I first began traveling because the certainty and predictability of my future disgusted me. I craved uncertainty, and I still do. I have lost count of how many apartments I've lived in, how many watches I've lost, and how many times I've gone surfing. I have definitely sacrificed for that life, important sacrifices, but I do not regret one second of my life. I'm beginning to learn that the beat of your "drum" can change and evolve. I am beginning to crave other things, like having a 5 year plan (yeah, I said it. FIVE years. Whoa.). But that's what my drum is saying to me now, and I'm listening.

She will never need you. She knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She cooks well and doesn’t need you to pay for her meals. She is too independent and won't care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She’s busy living in the present.

So far, this has always been true (except the dinners I've messed up), and I hope to always hold on to my independence. However, I also realize that mindless drive for independence and self-sustainability can push people away. It can be seen as insecurity and mistrust. I'm working on a good balance.

Most of all, please don't "Don't Date a Girl who Travels". Everyone needs a lover, a partner, a confidante--the drifters need it most of all because nothing else is stable or the same.

Catching up

Since starting my online Anatomy and Physiology course, I've had a lot less time for yoga, coffee, friends, the dog, and basically everything other than studying (including you, blog). On a good day, I spend 3 hours reading, reviewing and quizzing myself. Then I put on 1000000 layers to shovel my car out of the snow, and go to work.

Luckily, I get to learn cool things like why nicotine makes smokers cough, and less cool things like the fact that proteasomes contain numerous enzymes that break down denatured or damaged proteins. Woohoo!! Science!!!!

Hi dog... sorry I've been neglecting you...

On the Green Smoothie front, I've finally reached the point where I'm finally not hungry 20 minutes later. I've begun putting ground flax and some sort of nut butter in my smoothies, which really helps with the fullness factor. In fact, I'm usually not hungry until noon, which is a HUGE change for me! But with my tighter schedule, I'm really happy to be able to sit down and concentrate all morning without a growling stomach.

As for my evenings, I've suddenly had a lot more single-lady-eat-in-front-of-the-tv-nights. I was surprised that a lot of my meals were actually pretty delicious:

Roasted Eggplant and chickpea tomato sauce with spaghettini tossed in pesto.

Mashed potato with salad and leftover falafel.

Grilled eggplant, roasted green beans on a bed of mashed potatoes.

If you can't tell, I've been on a serious mashed potato kick these days. It must be the cold weather. I just bought another bag of potatoes to play with in the next few days, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Life was good before Navasana

I'm taking a lady's holiday and skipping Ashtanga this morning, so I thought I'd pop in and write a little update about how it's all going. In a way, it's going well, and that's why it's also becoming more of a challenge.

Recently, I got "advanced" to Navasana, much to my dismay. If you don't know, this is Navasana:

Source

The picture looks all floaty and happy, but it's actually sweat-inducing and shaky and soul crushing.

Here's what my Navasana looks like:

Yes, that is blood, sweat and tears.

And I've got to do this every morning, 5x, with one breath lift-up inbetween. Uggggghhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrr.

However, Navasana is like the gateway to the cool stuff that comes afterwards, so hopefully I'll be able to levitate and gain mind-control powers soon, like all real yoga people.

My knee is healing well and my hip on that side is feeling looser every week. I'm still too fearful of hurting my knee to pull into a lotus position, but I do feel like I'm getting closer, and that's a good change for me. I've always been so into the "yoga as healing" camp that I've down-played the importance of going forward in the sequence, the "yoga as challenge" camp, let's call it. As I'm healing I feel like it's OK to introduce some more competitiveness and challenge into my practice rather than going easy and holding back.

You certainly can't go "easy" with Navasana.

Gifts galore

We're getting close to the new year and there are still about 700 houses in Toronto out of power from that terrible ice storm last week. Workers are still out there plugging away at the one-off disconnections, but most intersections have been restored. 

If you're in the Toronto area, please donate to the local food banks, like our North York Harvest Food Bank, which is low on it's donations this year due to the fact that so many homes in the area were out of electricity and donating food was probably the last thing on people's minds. 

Now on to some happy stuff!

For Christmas, my sister got me these cute socks with polar bears on them. Only downside is that they won't possibly fit into shoes, so I can't wear them out.

 Then, today, I got the a gift in the mail even more awesome than cute socks:

My new physiology text book!! Woo hoo!! I've signed up for a course at the online university, Athabasca University, starting January. Eventually, I want to enroll in a physiotherapy program somewhere, but I've got a whole staircase of baby steps before I get there. 

Wish me luck! 

Iced in

We were hit with a terrible storm a few days ago here in Toronto, and our public systems are still struggling to restore power and hence, heat, to thousands of homes.

For my humble little home in North Toronto, we were cut out of electricity in the early hours of the 21st. When we got up in the morning, the floors were freezing cold and the dog was shivering. It was pitch black out, but the blue flashes of light in the distance reminded me that we were only one house out of hundreds of thousands out of power and heat.

It was like we were suddenly transported north of the Wall.... without even a stop at Winterfell....

Once the sun came up, I took the dog out. I was surprised to find so much damage even in our neighbourhood.

Also, Two-Two's leash froze solid in the 15 minutes we were outside.































By late afternoon, we knew we needed provisions for dinner... for us and our neighbours. We found a restaurant open quite far north of the city, and ventured out to pick it up. Nearly every single traffic light was out, but we made it there and back.

At home, we had a few families in our neighbourhood come over to our house to eat hot food. We lit candles and kept each other warm. During dinner, the lights did a quick flash, and then the sky struck blue again and power went out. This happened 2 or 3 times, until we stopped cheering and just silently hoped that this time the fix would stick.

Eventually, we got too cold just sitting around the house, so we ventured out again for a hot drink.

By the time we got home, lights were on! We went to bed in the warmth and woke up in the warmth! It was marvelous, but plenty of our friends had to sleep through the night in the cold. So we're currently playing warming shelter and charging station to a bunch of friends until they can get power restored.

What an ordeal. Driving is still a headache as so many intersections are out of power, trees are blocking lanes, and some people are being aggressive assholes. I'm not looking forward to driving to work later today, but I know I'll be glad to be there when I finally get there.

About an hour ago, we got TV and internet back, so now I finally feel like we're back in civilization.

Hoping all of you Torontonians out there are keeping warm!

Winter is here...

Winter is here, and I'm pretty sure I only like it because the cold only makes my daily Starbucks caramel brulee lattee taste SO much better.

Otherwise, my back and arms are getting the workout of a lifetime clearing the snow off my driveway. Snow is FREAKING heavy, people. HEAVY.

At least Two-Two is loving the weather. She jumps through the snow like a little rabbit. I guess that's what you gotta do when there's snow going up higher than you have leg for.

Because of the snow, I joined the rest of North Toronto at Canadian Tire to buy some salt for my walkway and winter windshield wipers so that I can drive and see at the same time. Look at me being all winter safe and responsible!

I saw this sign on the side of the salt tub and literally LOL'd.

I don't have any babies (just the canine one, whom I'm sure can manage to maneuver herself away from a bucket of salt), so I'm sorry for being insensitive, if this comes off as such. But this bucket came up to my KNEE. HOW CAN A BABY FALL INTO A KNEE-HIGH BUCKET?! If the baby is tall enough to climb up the bucket (and not tip it over), fall INTO the bucket (which is conveniently filled with salty drowny liquid), then it should have the capacity to either call for help or muscle itself out.

You've got to admit, the warning sign on the bucket is really REALLY funny. That baby just looks like it's grabbing salt to eat...

ANYWAY, SUBJECT CHANGE....

Green smoothie update?

Still rockin' the smoothe-a-day routine. Sometimes it's breakfast, sometimes it's lunch, and sometimes it's 1/3 of a dinner. But it always, ALWAYS still leaves me hungry about half an hour later.

Plus, that waking up with more energy in the morning thing? Gone.

I'm back to sleepy, reluctant, sore and lazy. Welcome back, my true self.

Will green smoothies help?

Happy December everyone! 

Snow is on the ground and the sun is setting by 5:00! Woohooo Nothing like wearing 3 layers of pants and 5 layers of sweaters to take your dog for a walk....WINTER IS HERE FOLKS! 

So I've noticed in recent days that some of my sweaters no longer fit. I'm 100% positive this has something to do with my increased intake of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, and my decreased desire to do anything outside of my house (it's cold out there people). 

I've heard a lot about the wonders of green smoothies decreasing appetite because you've got your fill of vitamins and stuff, and hence weight loss. Since I'm not big on taking things out of my diet (just makes me want it more), I thought it wouldn't hurt me to add something healthy and filling instead! 

Here's the first few days...

Day 1. 

Avocado, cucumber, Silk soy milk, kale

As a first green smoothie, I decided to be conservative with my serving size. I didn't want to hate it and have this all fail. 

Luckily, this was DELICIOUS! Unluckily, I was starving about 30 minutes after I had the smoothie, and absolutely needed to inhale some real food.

Day 2. 

Apple, avocado, water, lemon, kale. 

Woke up with lots of energy today! I made a bigger smoothie this time to see if I could fill up for longer...nope... hungry again in 30-40 minutes. 

Day 3. 

Still waking up with lots of energy. 

I made the same recipe as yesterday to simplify things. I think I could really start to like this drink. It's definitely not a meal replacement yet for me, but I could try adding some higher protein things...

Day 4. 

I was nearly late for work, so I had no time to sit and enjoy this smoothie (it was more of a gulp and go kind of morning). 

Again, still waking with lots of energy. I may have to start changing up my ingredients soon. I'm getting tired of this apple-y taste.

Anyone out there tried green smoothies? What's your verdict?

Tacos at Grand Electric

Despite the dark, dank picture (it was a rainy day in Pizzaville), Grand Electric is a lighthearted, laid-back, easy-going kind of place. No uniforms, no (purposefully) dimmed lighting, no fancy table stuff, just friendly service and good food. Because we were a party of three, we even got to share our table with another couple. And I say "got to" because I love this kind of dining--unpretentious, no-nonsense, straight to the point. We've got eating to do, people.

My friends and I were around the corner for some shopping, so we stopped here for some lunch afterwards.

With our small, simple order, food came lightning fast (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating. It came within 10 minutes, which is good for a place as busy as this was).

We split the guac and chips (deep fried chips omgomgomgomgomg). The salsa that came with it was also AMAZING; perfect amount of tomato-y-ness and spicy!

My friends split the fish tacos, which they said were very good (we'll all have to take their word on it).

I had the cauliflower tacos. Now, when I ordered these, we made sure to ask if they were fully vegetarian, and they are not. The sauce has some sort of seafood in it, and they don't have anything vegetarian to replace it with. But I wasn't about to go sauceless with my tacos. No sir, not I.

So I said, "Eh, I'm hungry, whatever." And ordered them.

I'm not exactly a fan of tacos (never really had good ones). But I am a fan of eating with my hands, licking saucy cauliflower bits off my palms, and jalapeno slices. These were very good. The saurkraut-y stuff they top it with is wonderfully sour, which cuts into the heavy deep-fry of the cauliflower. Jalapenos, a warm taco shell, onions and lime...really good flavour combos.

However, would I come here again? Probably not.

The tacos were good, but they were still just tacos. Something about the texture of corn-y taco shells bug me. Sorry Grand Electric (and taco shells in general).

My November so far

November so far has been wonderful (yes, it's only been 3 days). 

The weather is turning cooler, which means mashed potatoes and hot tea and blankets and movies and cuddling. Plus, with all the leaves changing colours, its one of the prettiest seasons in Toronto!

I've fallen in love with this wine (and the dog is awesome too... but not with wine...): 

It needs to breathe before it gets awesomely awesome, so let it sit for a bit. It's delicious (I'm no wine connoisseur so "delicious" is all I can say to describe things) just on it's own while watching Vampire Diaries. Yes, yes it is.

Last night, Steven and I saw a much-anticipated movie:

I read the book a couple of years ago and LOVED it.

I was very happy with the interpretation of the themes in the book. And the actor that portrayed Ender, Asa Butterfield, was excellent. And Harrison Ford. And Ben Kinglsey. And the effects. And basically everything in the movie. WOW.

We waited until the end to see if there would be one of those Marvel movie extra scenes, but there wasn't.

Walking out of the theatre, we kept saying how good the movie was. Then, Steven said, "So much better than stupid Gravity," and the guy behind us snickers in aggreement.

In conclusion, people that stay to the very end of movies like Ender's Game also have a disdain for slow, boring movies like Gravity.

Missed Mysore this morning...Oops

Goblins attacked me on the road this morning, so I didn't make it to Mysore.

I had a dream the yoga gods wanted me to sleep instead of Mysore, so I had no choice but to obey their commands.

My dog ate my alarm clock...and cell phone.

I tripped and fell...back into bed.

Ok, truth is, I turned off the alarm (omg 5:30 AM omgomgomgomg) and went back to sleep. And that is why I have time to show you this picture of my dog in a jacket!

HURRAYY!!

All right, I promise I'll actually get out of bed tomorrow.

Back on the Ashtanga bandwagon

I didn't know if I would...

But I did.

I'm back at the Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto.

We will see how this goes.

:)

Les Miserables was Awesome Sauce x a Million

After work last night, Steven and I (and a bunch of friends) had tickets!! 

TICKETS!!! 

To that thing, that I LOVE! 

Les Mis has been my favourite musical for a very long time. Basically, reading the libretto and listening to the CD on repeat was the highlight of my tweens. I even made Steven watch the movie ("Is it ALL singing?" "Yes") when it came out last year.

It was a 7:30 start, so we had a bite to eat at the Tim Horton's next door like real classy folk. (For you non-Canadians, Tim Hortons is our local cheap, quick coffee shop. There's one at nearly every street corner.)

Because of it's location next to the theatre, this Tim Hortons sold Les Mis donuts!!!! DONUTS!!!

I was sooo happy with the cast and staging. It was a really wonderful first-time Les Mis experience for all of us. If you're in Toronto, I'd definitely recommend putting aside some time to see this musical. 

No news is good news?

Sorry for the radio silence on the blog lately. I've been busy catching up to Breaking Bad (still on Season 2). Otherwise nothing very exciting has been happening lately... just a lot of sitting on floors and lounging with dogs...

We had a few "family"/ "neighbourhood" dinners during Thanksgiving weekend, which were nice. Plus, the awesome weather meant lots of romping around outside.

I've been considering signing up for the Toronto Women's 5K or 8K, as it's been nearly a year since I've run a race of any sort. Maybe this would light the fire under my butt and get me off the couch.

Anyways, I've got work later, then we go directly to see Les Miserables! It will be my first time seeing Les Mis on stage despite memorizing the soundtrack and reading the libretto on the internet when I was 12. It will be awesomesauce, I'm sure.

My first run with Bumi, the dog that never pants

I think I've found my new favourite running partner!

His name is Bumi, and he's a friend's very athletic pup. Barely a year old, he has the sweetest disposition and strangest pooping habits (I think he's afraid to go in public...which makes things difficult to say the least). He kept up with me very well, and when he realized how much fun this whole jogging thing is, he basically insisted that we keep going.

Our stats weren't spectacular, but I'm hoping we can drum up some spectacular next week. If my friend doesn't mind (and I'm pretty sure she doesn't), I would love to run with Bumi every week! New running partner + new running parks = awesome sauce!

In other news, I think I've gotten discovered a limit to my sociability. For example, Steven and his friends went to catch up over bubble tea and I opted out. My excuse? I spent all day chatting and gabbing at work, at dinner, and dessert. All I wanted to do was clean the kitchen (ooohhhh yeah feels so good when it's sparkling!) and watch TV. Or, I'm just antisocial and OCD about my kitchen.

Is it weird that I like cleaning so much?

New work clothes

I am so lucky to live in a place where I can run along this little river every morning if I choose: 

I had a text talk today with a friend that just recently adopted a dog. He's a huge mixed breed with the longest legs ever. I've already got a run date with him possibly probably for Saturday. I can't wait! It's going to be a dog-love-sweat fest. :)

I'm totally not being negligent about my own dog though. I'm still chasing her around parks and fields, and bringing her home tired. See?

Can't even lift her head....

In other news, I recently started a new reception/office management job that I'm really excited about. Of course, a new job always means new work attire:

From Dynamite.

And cheap 2 for $20 flats at Ardenes.

Somehow, dressing well for work makes work so much more enjoyable. Agree, disagree?

There's a deer in there!

Coming back to Toronto from nearly a year spent abroad, the jet lag has hit me hard this week. I've been waking up constantly at 4AM, wide awake, unable to fall back asleep.

Luckily, exercise is supposed to help with jet lag, so I went for a run this morning.

I didn't bring this little girl, though. It was still dark outside when I left, and she showed no interest leaving her warm bed.

I'm glad I didn't end up bringing her because I saw two deer on my run (she would've scared them away)! 

It doesn't look like it, but I swear there are deer in these pictures!!!

This one was a young male. I could see the beginning of antlers.

This was a female deer. She's quite deep among the trees, but she's there!

My stats: 

We're coming home, Toronto!

I cannot believe it's been 10 months since we've left home!

And I cannot believe it's time to go back! This last month around Asia has been an absolute whirlwind.

Our paws feet have been all over Asia; Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. And within each of those places, we've truly done our duty as good tourists and took massive amounts of transport/patience/lining up to get that perfect tourist picture. I'm officially DONE with living out of a backpack! DONE!!

I'm looking forward to driving a car again, walking on real sidewalks, practicing yoga daily in a real yoga space (basically, anywhere except a hotel room) and having some good vegetarian home cooked meals.

I'm also beyond excited to see this little lady:

Remember that face? Yup! She'll soon be back regularly on the blog!

Also, running! I can't wait to begin running regularly, along my favourite paths and trails. Add in Two-Two and running all together and I'm probably going to explode with happiness!

See you soon, Toronto!

The Korean DMZ

Last week, Steven and I arrived in Seoul as the last stop to our Asian adventure. Steven has a bunch of friends in Korea that we've been and will be visiting. But I really wanted to come to Korea to see the DMZ, the demilitarized zone, the only border in the world that is heavily patrolled by the military... on both sides! 

It's a fascinating, scary, and sad place. This border separates families--they have absolutely no way to reach their ancestral homes, or contact any surviving members on the other side. Only 4 km wide, but spanning over 200 km in length, the border cuts Korea right in half. For a country that has been through so much war, defended itself in history against Japan, China, Mongols, etc., it's a shame for it to still be fighting itself.

This statue from the War Memorial in Seoul really says it all; Brothers meeting each other on the battlefield and embracing.One is from South Korea, one from North.

You can't really take many photos in the real and proper DMZ, so I don't have much to post about here. But the tour is definitely worth your time if you are ever in the neighbourhood. Even though it's PACKED with tourists from all ends of the world, the infiltration tunnels, the info centres, the observatory, the train station...these are all fascinating to see and learn about. 

Just a note: the DMZ isn't something you can see on your own as a civilian. If you're driving, guards will turn you back far before you get anywhere close to the DMZ. So everyone must sign up for a tour. REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR PASSPORT!!!! I was amazed that so many people would actually forget! Sure, they've made it all nice and easy and pretty for tourists to see, but IT'S A FRIGGIN' MILITARY ZONE. Bring that identification shizzle yo, and keep it on you!

Toeing the "No Photo Line" at the Doresan Observatory. 

Though I'm talking non-stop about the DMZ in this post, the main attraction is really Panmunjom, the Joint Security Area, where guards stand face-to-face like in all those famous photos. Panmunjom is where heads of state gathered to discuss peace, so it is an important location in history. It's also smack dab on the border, where one step either way means you've crossed over to the other jurisdiction (but I doubt they'd allow tourists to even get within stepping distance). 

To book this tour, you will need to reserve a spot 3 days ahead. They require a passport check and have quite a strict dress code. Unluckily for us, the tour was already full so we couldn't go even though we were ready and willing!

Anyway, it's definitely a wake-up-call kind of place. You realize how lucky we are to be safe and happy back in North America, no mandatory military service, no unfriendly neighbour to the North... kind of important, eh?