Eenager

Today Husband asked me, "what's a 'tween'?  A cross between a teenager and a weenager?"  Niiiice.

Moving to a 2009 Mobile Life

I needed a new cell phone for a while as mine was 2.5 years old and started "expiring" like Sam Bell in the movie, Moon. The ear piece speaker busted so all my friends and family started hearing was, "WHAT? Can you repeat that?!" I don't know why I would yell... their speakers worked just fine I'm sure. My cell phone calls finally turned into, "sorry, my phone is a piece of garbage.. can I call you back in about 10 minutes when I get to a land line?" Enough was enough so Husband and I stopped into a Bell Mobility store at the Eaton Centre after a delicious breakfast at Senator's. I had the Senator breakfast; two fresh Ontario farmed Omega3 eggs fried over-medium with pure unsalted butter, perfectly crispy bacon, mouth-watering baked beans and thickly slicked Challah toast and a coffee... oh sorry, this isn't about food. So, I took my full stomach over to the mall and asked for something called a "smart phone". Have you heard of this new term? I thought my Samsung m500 was prreeeety smart but apparently they come even smarter now.

There were a few things I knew I did and didn't want so it was a matter of narrowing my choices down. I didn't want an iPhone. In fact, I could have used Husbands old 2G iPhone but even the prospect of having a free iPhone didn't even tempt me. I need a keyboard, end of story. I did want html web browsing because that's what I loved most about the iPhone. Drum roll please...

3G Palm Pre

This sweet puppy has everything. It syncs with just about everything (Outlook, iTunes, Google), has full html web browsing, touch screen and slide-out keyboard. I feel like I have finally entered the 2009 mobile world. I know I'm fashionably late but it's nice to be here.

The Hangover = Platitudinous Pabulum

The pretentious title of this post was made possible with the help of a thesaurus. It needed that extra little umph to get across my snobbery for this movie. I swear I've never used either of those words in real conversation in my life.

The night started with french onion soups at The Keg. After I told the waitress we need the bill asap because Husband and I were catching a movie, she asked "what movie are you going to see?" I found myself embarrassed to tell her. I answered sheepishly, "The Hangover" with a roll of my eyes. I was bracing for her to scold me and ask why I didn't have better things to do with my time. Instead, her eyes lit up and she said "oh, it's so good! You're going to have a great time." This was, it turned out, a very common feeling. Husband and I had been hearing buzz about The Hangover from friends to strangers at the gym. One acquaintance said she woke up in the middle of the night still laughing. Normally, this is not the kind of movie we would voluntarily attend but since it was getting "good reviews", we were game.

It was exactly what I was dreading it was going to be. Garbage. This movie played out EXACTLY how I thought it would (juvenile, ridiculous and gratuitous) and nothing more. It was predictable, badly acted and we found the jokes forced. I got no belly laughs. Just chuckles. Chuckles don't pass the muster.

Don't misjudge me here. I love stupid movies as much as the next guy. One of my recent faves was Tropic Thunder. I was laughing long after the movie ended. Now, I know this was not the common consensus. That's why I have appreciation for the wide spectrum of movie fancies out there. And therefore, I will not judge others for their crappy taste.

Now who will sell me OxyClean?

Finally Billy will stop yelling at me. My condolences to his family. Doesn't it seem that there are a crazy number of high-profile deaths this month?

David Carradine (June 3)
Ed McMahon (June 23)
Farrah Fawcett (June 25)
Michael Jackson (June 25)
Billy Mays (June 28)

And the big winner is... South Carolina Governor Sanford. Sorry - I know I'm being cheeky.

Thanks for hanging in there, all you readers out there. I've been blogger MIA for a few weeks but I'm back now and I have plenty of wonderfully useless things to write about.

Talk again shortly.

iLemon

I'm on the top floor of the Mac store on 9th Ave and 14th St. I'm killing time with Husband and Sister while we wait for a genius to become available.

My sister has been using a BlackBerry for the last 6 years. She was the first person I knew who owned a smart phone. My sister is the type of person who is loyal when she likes a brand. She has been using Canon Elf cameras since the ancient times when they used film. This month something amazing happened. She got an iPhone.

Her first impressions were, let's say, not good. "How do I cut and paste on this thing?!?" To which Husband (the iPhone user) replied, "um, yah, you can't. Not yet." He's the eternal iOptimist. Then she asked, "how do I search for a phrase in my emails?" "You can't do that either," Husband replied. My sister then said, "were they asleep at Apple?"

What happens next is really bad so skip the next part if you're a Apple "fanboy/girl" prone to queasiness. Her calls started failing. Once in a while, and now every single call. She tried making a restaurant reservation and had to call them 27 times, one word at a time. She also noticed her battery life was unusually short. Last but not least, the speed was at a crawl and then froze several times.

Now she's at the genius bar getting it swapped out. Her phone will be replaced but I don't know if her faith in the iPhone will ever be restored.

This is not a vacation

We're 2 weeks into this month long New York adventure and you'd think there would be adventures a-plenty to blog about. Apparently, not - since you've been hearing the sounds of crickets from the Debbie from Toronto blog for the last 14 days!

The problem with a month long vacation is that it's not really a vacation at all. We have not taken a break from our responsibilities because we're not retired. We run a business with employees and overhead and a bookkeeper and all. Running it from the front lines in Toronto has its challenges but running it from 767 km (477 miles - are we cool?) away can be very frustrating at times. Our employees are doing a fantastic job handling everything but sometimes you just need to be in front of one another bouncing ideas off of each other. It's just not the same on Gtalk.

Well, that feels better. I think a paragraph of complaining did the trick.

I'm actually having a fantastic time. My girlfriend came for the weekend and just left. It's a long weekend in Canada so that means I'm on a mental long weekend.

Random Update

We left Toronto yesterday at 11:30am (a tad behind our original 5am schedule - lol) and are now here in New York living in Greenwich Village for the month. The cat was a little angel on the 9 hour drive and she's acclimatized pretty well to the new apartment. It's been raining and damp here and will probably continue to be the rest of the week. I don't mind!

Side note, we're returning the Dell Mini. It is PAINFULLY SLOW. It's simply not worth having. It wasn't even that cheap. Unfortunately, Dell makes it far from easy to return. Husband was on the phone with them for an hour (which he doesn't have to spare) while they passed him around from one department to another and back again. The verdict after all that time? "We'll send you an email." We've been waiting for DAYS to get that email now. Are they trying to run out our 30 day return window? I've always used Dell but this is enough to detour me. I like to know that a company is there for you not only during the good times (buying) but the bad times too (returning).

We parked the car here last night so we're going to drive it out to Jersey now and leave it there.

I hope we have a story worthy week so you can read about something interesting!
Lates.

Time Minus 10 hours to New York

We've sublet an apartment near NYU so it's a done deal. May in New York.

Talk to you again soon...

New Computer, Meet Your Little Sister

The 12" Mini Dell came today... finally. Husband bought an external CD drive to install Windows XP pro which we'll return next week. Completely unethical. I know.

It will be great to have a computer at home again. I used to work from home but when Husband and I joined forces and expanded our business into an office, we took our computers with us. That meant for the longest time, I was completely out of touch every evening and weekend. It was very nice for a while. It certainly drew a distinction between work and home. People admired it, even.

Well, I've had enough zen time and I'd like to join the rest of the world again on my off hours. So, this Mini will be our home computer. It will let me check on email and look up recipes and perhaps look up the occasional porn. Just kidding. I don't use recipes. {insert laughter}

The Dell Mini will also be great for short travels to New York, etc.

Welcome to the family, little computer.

Mazel Tov! It's a New Computer!

Old computer, meet new computer.



Old computer, you're not being replaced... you're just not good enough anymore. New computer is younger, shinier and less screwed up than you. I don't know how to say this, but you have a lot of "baggage" - you're littered with useless stray data and old .exe files. It's nothing personal... but it's time you step aside.

New computer with your non-broken screen and you're empty documents folder. I hope I'm not being bold but I think I love you. The rage and disgust will surely come... but let's not think about that while we're in our honeymoon phase.

Ok, back to normal. My new Dell Inspiron arrived yesterday with Purolator. I opened it up and immidiately blemished the beautiful black casing with my smudgy fingerprints. It's taking me all day to upload my files and install software. I'm nowhere near done - it will probably take me another day. I bought a 12" mini at the same time and that has not arrived... when should I start worrying?

By the way, could you tell I was writing this blog post from my new computer? Night and day! ;)

New York in May

When I got back from New York this last time, I told my husband what a great time I had and how much I would love to spend more time there with him. Then he had the most fantastic idea... "why don't we go for a month?" Hell ya! I got the cat vaccinated last week and now all I need is a box to stuff her in and we're ready!

We're driving down and staying in a sublet. We almost had one nailed down yesterday but it all fell apart... I went to the bank and purchased a bank draft for $7.50 to send the funds with express shipping. The envelope was in my hand ready to drop in the mail when I got a call from the girl. "Sorry to bug you but I just want to make sure you don't smoke." "Nooooo", I replied confidently. Then, she went on, "Also, you don't have any pets?" I was caught. I can't completely lie. I told her that we have a small cat and my parents will be watching her but there is a slight chance that we'll have to bring her with us in case my parents are going away. That was a deal breaker. No matter how much I pleaded with her explaining that my cat is exceptionally clean and non-allergenic and I would pay a cleaning lady extra to do a super thorough job when we leave, she said, "I just don't want a cat in my place." Blurg.

So, we're still looking but I'm confident we won't have a problem finding another great place. I think I'll bring myself to lie this time around.

P.S. For those of you who got your panties in a bunch when I said I was going to stuff my cat in a box, you didn't realize what a luxurious box it would be. Here's a photo of the cat carrier I'm picking up tonight from PetSmart:
If we don't find a sublet, the three of us will stay in there.

Toronto Power Saving Blitz

We got a visit at the office today from a electrician contracted by Toronto Hydro. He was part of the Power Saving Blitz program happening in Toronto. It's fantastic - this program goes around to small businesses and replaces their lighting fixtures to more energy efficient ones free of charge. This helps businesses save money on electricity bills and helps the city's power grid.

To learn more, see the Toronto Hydro website.

"When you conserve energy you’re doing more than just helping your business’ bottom line – you are also contributing to a cleaner environment for your customers and the community."

It's good for everybody from the hydro department to the contractor to the business owner to the environment. Love it.

The day the gym lost

No gym for me today. I'm too tired. I didn't sleep very much last night. My husband ran out of Breathe Right strips so he was snoring his face off. Every time it woke me up I would slam my leg down on the mattress to wake him up just enough to stop. At one point when I was at the end of my sanity rope, I shook his shoulder and sweetly said, "honey, you're snoring". He said, "no I'm not! I'm not even sleeping! I think you're mistaken." We had a good laugh in the morning. And then I told him I was going to make his day a living hell.

BTW, it's our one year anniversary today. We're too cool to celebrate/remember.

Flight Control, this is the last 40min you wasted

If you have an iPhone, I'm about to tell you about an extremely addictive game to download. I caution you in advance... it is both highly satisfying and time-wasting.

It's called "Flight Control. The highest score I was able to achieve was eighty-something. My husband just emailed me a screen capture proudly displaying his highest score:


Download if you dare...

Feel free to let me know of other fun/addictive/cool games or apps...

New York Follows Me

As you might know, a lot of footage in movies and television shows set in New York City are filmed in Toronto. It's cheaper and the two cities look similar. While walking in my neighbourhood (that's right, I'm using Canadian spelling - we love our "u"s), King Street East was transformed into a Manhattan scene.

Photo below: the line of New York yellow taxis

Photo below: New York news stand and hot dog cart

It looks like the gods didn't think I had enough New York. And, as it turns out, they're right because Husband and I are going to spend the month of May there. We're planning on subletting an apartment and work remotely. The only thing I worry about is how my cat will do in the car for 8 hours. Oh boy.

New York daily, part 2

I finally have a moment to recap the rest of my trip. Getting back to "real" life in Toronto has been busy so cut me some slack!

Monday night: Lower East Side.
Shang Chinese Restaurant by Toronto chef Susur Lee.
Stanton Social for a drink.

Tuesday: Upper East Side.
Got my eyebrows threaded while my sister got her hair did.
Had a bite at Hot and Crusty. My fave bagel place in NYC.
Mani /Pedi - black nailpolish on toes, translucent pink on fingers.
Kinkos to get business cards printed for sis.
Kate's Paperie - beautiful stationary for the office in our company color.
Really mean taxi driver - so funny.

Tuesday night:
Sister went to work function, I went to Whole Foods (saw Seven Weber).
The W Hotel Store - got two little Jonathan Adler ceramic vases (photo below), a wrap cardigan, Hanky Panky undies and pink "Love Quotes" scarf.
Wednesday: Flatiron district.
Guest on The 404.
Walked by the Shake Shack where they're famous for their long lines. (photo below: Shake Shack is on the left, the line snakes to the right.)
Met up with sister, walked by Baked by Melissa and bought a $1 cupcake.... the size of my thumbnail, or as my sister said, the size of a popcorn kernel. (photo below)
Wednesday night: Gramercy.
The Moth with sister and her 2 roommates. TWO MORE CELEB SIGHTINGS!!
- Lorraine Bracco, aka Dr. Jennifer Melfi from The Sopranos and
- Parker Posey, aka KitLex Luthor's girlfriend from Batman Returns (2006)
Gramercy Tavern Restaurant for dinner

Thursday: Chelsea/Meatpacking/West Village.
Bleeker Street pizza - award winning but not my favorite. The crust was too thin and crispy... like a dry cracker. Majestic still my fav.
Art Galleries at 529 West 20th St. - saw my favorite artist, Marco Maggi at Jose Bienvenue Gallery. Also saw a fantastic photographer, Corey Arnold at Sara Tecchia Gallery. (photo below is my favorite photo from Corey Arnold's show... I want it!)
Delicious canollis from Rocco's Pastry Shop - took a dozen back to Toronto.
Louboutin shoes - drooled over shoes. I'm an 8.5 , hint, hint.
Uminov Guitar store - bought some picks for my guitar teacher, one of my employees who plays guitar and me.


Back to Toronto!

Sitting in the studio

I'm sitting at the 404 studio as we speak. I'm a bit early so I'm here alone spending some time on my laptop before the show starts.

Last night my sister had to go to a work function so I walked over to Whole Foods to get some dinner. This is the scene of my next celebrity sighting. As I was spooning noodles into my eco-friendly take-out container, I looked over to see Steven Weber doing the same. He had his usual long wavy hair, and was wearing a trench coat. If he wasn't famous, I would think he was a creep.

New York daily

To finish off Sunday...
After parting with Ralph, I took a taxi from Newark to Tribeca. It cost $60 after adding tolls and tip. Next time I'll take the train.

After seeing my sis and meeting her new roommates, we went to Bouley Bakery for a snack. I had some fancy macaroni and cheese and for dessert, a chocolate croissant and a green pistachio macaroon. Can you tell I was in need of serious comfort food?

Later that night we got dressed up and went to our 9:30pm reservation at Megu. We're taking full advantage of Restaurant Week here in NYC when normally out of reach restaurants put out a prix fixe menu for just $35/person. It's similar to Toronto's Winterlicious (& Summerlicious) event.

Monday (today):
Sister got a call from her boss - had to do some work this morning. I got a call from Husband at the office - everything was falling apart without me there. Actually, he just needed me to make a couple files and email them off. I also bought Replay Media Catcher for $30 to try recording the live streaming video off of Ustream.tv. I would like to record the preshow when I'm on the 404. Unfortunately, Replay Media Catcher is a piece of shit. This is the second time buying the software - the first time was back in October for my first 404 appearance and I got a refund. I downloaded it again thinking they may have had time to work out the bugs. We'll see if tech support replies to my email. You'd think it wouldn't be so complicated.

We walked over to Century 21 (financial district), tried on some clothes and left with Jelly Belly's. Go figure.

You can't be in New York without having a daily greesy slice. My long standing favorite is Majestic Pizza . I used to only get one slice per trip but now that my sister has moved to Tribeca, we're just a couple blocks away. I'll tell you right now, I will be eating Majestic Pizza till my flight leaves.

I'm best friends with Ralph Fiennes

So, yah, I'm pretty good friends with Ralph Fiennes. And by good friends I mean, we were on the same flight. He's super good-looking in person. I gave him a warm smile followed by a nod. This simple gesture said to Ralph, "I know who you are, I appreciate your work, you are very handsome and I respect your personal space." I'm sure he got all that - I could tell.
The last movie I saw with my close buddy Ralph was the Constant Gardener. As you may know, I don't spend much time reviewing movies on this blog. However, there just so happens to be an entire entry in November completely devoted to reviewing a deserving movie... The Constant Gardener. If you didn't read the review, you can click here to see it. But I wouldn't bother. The details are not important. The fact is, I wrote a review about it. Really, don't read the entry... especially if you're name is Ralph Fiennes.
Anyway, I'm in New York now so stay posted...

Little word, big difference

Today I changed my blog to "from" from "in". In other words, from "in" to "from". Confused?

"Debbie in Toronto" describes my current location and it's not always true. For example, I'm leaving for New York tomorrow. If I wanted to blog while I was in New York, that would make me a big liar. Also, Husband and I are thinking of moving to Los Angeles sometime in the relatively near future. How could I continue to be "Debbie in Toronto" then? So, the decision was made in the spirit of looking ahead and keeping me honest. I am now "Debbie from Toronto". This is true of me anywhere I might be in the world, both literally and philosophically. I feel good about the revision and I hope I haven't lost any readers because of this transition.

I was also able to snag debbiefromtoronto@gmail.com so the transformation is truly complete.

More about my trip to New York later... I'm flying with Porter - can you say "free internet access?" I'm sure I'll blog again at the gate to let you know all the exciting things I have on my list. FYI, I'll be on the 404 podcast on Wednesday.