And once again I fell in love with the city… the general vibe on the streets is incredible and not comparable to any cities that I’ve visited or lived in… hmmm, maybe London? But NYC is NYC and its uniqueness is what attracts everyone…

Unexpectedly, the drive from Philly to NY was calm and went much faster than I’d thought… It took us a few short minutes to freshen up at the hotel and hit the streets… When in New Yawk, act as New Yawkers do… which essentially translates to fast and furious! This time around, my trip was more about dining out in the lovely restaurants, trying a few famous bars and markets,and of course strolling down the streets of SoHo… Algonquin, Becco, Uncle Nick’s were the places every local would suggest… the history of Algonquin and how the New Yorker magazine started its life from there was a great one… New York is New York and indescribable, really… It’s already pinned to my heart…

I’m back in Toronto… Chilly but friendly as always…

S

So, after a relatively long delay, I finally made it to Philadelphia last night… This week’s long days, meetings and serious lack of sleep caused me to pass out right after arrival… The morning started with us baking pumpkin bread (mmm mmm mmmmm!), followed by a quick tour of the town in absolutely beautiful weather… I couldn’t believe how lovely the contrast of different colors was on the leaves… heaven’s fall on earth… The evening was spent enjoying our Thanksgiving feast (our bird: chicken instead of a turkey!), chilling out with loved ones… and getting ready for the drive to the Big Apple tomorrow!

Stay tuned…

S

Picture this: over the weekend… on the train… sunny but chilly…

So I was reading a pretty poem… “Miracles”… Until this old lady distracted me by admiring my bag… “This is a nice bag”… She received a big smile… “What a nice day… sunny and not too cold”… She received another big smile… “I remember a hundred years ago when I was a kid, Toronto was just too cold this time of the year… I remember our doors were all covered by snow, making it impossible to open them… we had to, though… me and my brothers had no choice but to struggle and brush the snow off the door to make it to school… It’s getting warmer now… It’s not even comparable… Ahhh… good old days… today is my grandson’s birthday and I’m taking him to dinner… Oh dear, this is my stop… Nice talking to you, young lady”…

And right around this time I’m staring into her blue eyes while she was disappearing from sight… Eyes as blue as the Tuscan sky and as lovely as a blue marble with no sign of exaggeration… I’m closing the book and thinking of the one way conversation I just heard… Admiring the peacefulness of her eyes and the stories of her one hundred and something years’ old mind which I’ll pay anything to listen to…

S

I usually don’t have any problem with rain… To be honest, I actually like rain… I’ve hardly ever seen Toronto weather this dark and wet, though… it’s borderline miserable and my cold doesn’t help either… I’m leaving for Ottawa tonight, taking the midnight bus… my travel companions will be a big comfy blanket, my Sylvia Plath book, and some chocolate to keep me happy… Hopefully I’ll manage to attract an Ethan-type guy to make me feel better in the cold darkness…

Just ‘before sunrise’… heh!

S

My sister just sent me a link to this New York Magazine article and pointed out that I own, or have in the past owned, quite a few of these so-called “ugly shoes”.

Here is my confession: she is totally right!

Check out number 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 😉

S

Various distractions this morning lead me to read my old posts…

As much as I think my writing sucked at that time and needs much improvement still, they were all a reflection of my feelings and emotions at the time… strange, confused, ecstatic, hungry, in love, furious, and the list goes on… I know I can be a pain from time to time (who isn’t?!), but I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to be another character…

If I ever did though…

In the old days, I was dying to be an Indie rock musician… it was Dolores at the beginning and that was right when I saw her on the stage… I just thought her haircut and the way she played the guitar were the coolest…

Then I switched to Tori… a pretty good choice to me… but then I gave up, cuz I thought I will be as fake as can be…

Carry Bradshaw came along my way… she writes well… works her own hours for a newspaper and has great style… a taste to die for… and a messy character which I can totally relate to… but then I thought, wake up dear… you are who you are and you will always remain you…

These days I’m thinking again who I’d like to be in reality… I’m thinking and thinking and finally realized that person would be my mum…

She has a big heart and writes well, not publicly, but I’m lucky to hear or read what she writes… from time to time… She indeed knows how to flow into your mind, how to make you think… how to make you fall in love with the present moment and live here and only here…

This post is therefore dedicated to you, mum 🙂

Much love…

S