Category: Friends

Is 36,000 BTUs enough to cook eggplant?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s been a busy weekend. Yesterday we got up early, went to St. Lawrence Market to pick up some shrimp and scallops and fruit, ran a few errands, picked up some shirts we ordered from American Apparel, did some work (schoolwork, in my case) and went over to CBGB’s place for a barbeque. The barbeque fun didn’t stop there; we zipped around the corner to Home Depot and ordered a barbeque of our own: this one by Vermont Castings [pictured at right].

.:.

The party at CBGB’s (in belated honor of GB’s birthday) was a lot of fun…a packed front porch followed by a packed backyard patio, great food, cold beer, many laughs, and a slight overindulgence in the desserts. What’s better than that?

.:.

Today’s been great so far too: I slept in until 9:00 (the cats practically kicked me off the bed after that), got up, read the paper, went out to find some breakfast and came back raving about the perfect weather: it was warm but not hot, and breezy enough to keep the smog off. I collected Nellie and we headed off on a stroll to the Distillery District. We had a peek in a few galleries, stopped at the Mill Street Brew Pub for some brunch, got some amazing chocolate at Soma and wandered home along the Esplanade, popping up to Front Street so that we could see all the dogs at Woofstock. Now, sadly, it’s back to reality as Nellie has to work all day and I’m catching up on a bunch of stuff. It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning though…

.:.

My comment spam problem is getting worse and worse. Most of you never see it (unless you subscribe to my comment feed) because the comments are buried in old posts, and the vast majority of it gets caught, but when you get 1300/day a few are bound to slip past my spam filter. What does slip past is often very nasty too, so if you’re reading the comments and you see unpleasantness, I apoligize.

[tags]st. lawrence market, american apparel, home depot, vermont castings, distillery district, mill street brew pub, soma chocolate, woofstock, comment spam, akismet[/tags]

I wonder how her husband feels about that

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Today is my friend Marney’s birthday. Today is also Old Maid’s Day. I’m sure those two things are just coincidence.

.:.

Sad, Rebecca Eckler, sad. Only someone deep in the throes of hubris could think that someone stole the plot of Knocked Up from them. Quill & Quire offers their own take on the [ahem] story:

“A warning to comedy writers out there: if you’re working on a gag in which someone has to buy something embarrassing at the supermarket and the cashier calls for a price check on the store PA system, you better make sure Eckler hasn’t used that one – if she has, she’ll think you nicked it from her.”

Tee hee.

.:.

For the sake of my blood pressure, Christopher Hume needs to stop writing articles like this one about the Toronto waterfront.

[tags]old maid’s day, rebecca eckler, christopher hume, toronto waterfront[/tags]

Stoopid WordPress

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Gar. I had a long post all written up but WordPress (or possibly my host?) decided to cack and it disappeared. I can’t be bothered to remember it all or write it all again, so here’s the summary version:

  • We had dinner last night at Fieramosca with CBGB. That was great.
  • I got my hair cut today and ate some gelato. That was great.
  • I realized today that I have a paper due next week, and I haven’t even started it. That sucked.
  • Darth Vader’s a jackass.

Blargh.

[tags]fieramosca, gelato, darth vader[/tags]

Working for the weekend

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

OK…just barely awake at this point. Got up at 6, got to work by 7, had hectic-ass day, and left work at 8…didn’t feel tired until I got to the Auld Spot, where Nellie & CBGB were waiting for me, and around 1/4 of the way through my second beer (and following a very good veggie burger) I hit the wall. Sleeeeeeeeepy. I finished my drink (I’m not dead, after all), got the bill and then got a cab. I wouldn’t have stayed awake for the subway ride home.

Now…must try to stay awake long enough to watch the end of the Spurs-Suns game 6…Icandoit…

Note to self: remember to write paper (which is due Tuesday) this weekend.

[tags]auld spot[/tags]

One host serving music, another serving veggie burgers

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Another busy day: we read newspapers, got a snack at Starbucks, went back to Canadian Tire to pick up a Roomba (which, upon opening, we found had already been used and was all scratched up and dirty…so that’ll be going back) and some other condo-y stuff, cleaned up, finally cleaned out my suitcase from last week, did some laundry, did some work, put together the other desk in the den and crossed a bunch of stuff of the to-do list.

.:.

Last night we went over to CBGB’s place, where GB cooked up some of his famous veggie burgers. These are the type that aren’t trying to simulate meat, but rather have a flavour all their own and just happen to sit between a bun. They were spicy and thick and I had three of them. Yum.

.:.

I just ordered one of these. I’m very excited. Not only does it do pictures & video and give me more room for music, but it also has a USB host feature, so I can download pictures to it directly from our camera without having to carry a laptop around or buy a gigantic memory card.

[tags]roomba, canadian tire, veggie burgers, creative zen vision m[/tags]

Kickin' it old skool

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I can’t believe I just used a 0% movie as the inspiration for my post title.

.:.

I’m back on course. It gets underway in an hour and ends five days from now. I don’t think this one will be too tough — it’s an IT course — so I’m actually thinking I’ll have time to get some real work done. I’m still trying to catch up after last week.

We had brunch with CBGB this morning. We didn’t have much time and it was a little early (kind of a pre-brunch brunch…and no, that’s not necessarily breakfast) so we just went down the street to the Hothouse Cafe. Better that than start on the cafeteria food before I absolutely have to.

[tags]kickin’ it old skool, toronto brunch, hothouse cafe[/tags]

If you add some facial hair and an Adam's apple, maybe

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Just got home from the Auld Spot, where we had dinner and a couple of drinks with CBGB. I hadn’t seen them for a while; they were away in Europe and my scarlet fever kept me housebound upon their return. By the way, CB, this is what Sabrina Lloyd looks like. –>

.:.

Booked a whole great big bunch of travel stuff today, so that’s effectively off our plate. I can now focus on getting all my school work done before the 20th, and then I can concentrate on packing for a few days. Then I have five days in which to help unpack and set up before I bugger off for book learnin’.

[tags]auld spot, sabrina lloyd[/tags]

Sold for a smile

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I love how music will just unexpectedly yank me back to specific moments. My nomad played “Waiting For Something To Happen” by The Gandharvas this morning on the way to work, and I could suddenly remember sitting in my friend Ken’s car, in the parking lot of a beer store on Victoria Park, on the way to a party at our friend’s apartment in the beach. We must’ve been listening to the CD, or maybe it came on the radio…not sure. That must’ve been in 1998, and I haven’t thought of that moment since  — why would I? Beer store parking lots aren’t very exciting — but hearing that song this morning dragged me back.

[tags]gandharvas[/tags]

Bring the sked

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Travel plans for the fall* are coming together. We’re very excited.

.:.

Our schedule for the next little while is becoming very clear. I actually don’t like having this many plans; I prefer to stumble into each day and do whatever, but that’s not in the cards right now. This weekend I have a paper to write for my course. Next week we have a busy social calendar and then I’ll finish off as much of my course as I can before we take possession of our condo on the 9th. Around this time the NHL & NBA playoffs begin. We’ll be cleaning, painting, etc. for the next two weeks (and ignoring most of the Hot Docs festival) until our actual move-in; a few days after the move I go away on course for a week. No sooner do I return than the social activities of May (the Santé wine festival, a reunion in Niagara-on-the-Lake with some Dal alumni friends, Victoria day, GB’s birthday) begin. June is fairly light, though I disappear for another course toward the end, and nothing’s really planned for July or August. I suppose I should be using that time to do the giant integrative paper that’s due in the fall, since September (between an abbreviated film festival, another week away on course and two weeks of vacation) is a write-off.

*Yes, we plan this far in advance. Make fun of us all you want; it was taking our time with planning and research that made the Rockies trip our best vacation ever.

[tags]vacation, sante festival, dalhousie university[/tags]