30 April 2009
YES!
I heard back from Ryerson. I will be attending as a Master's student in September in the Photographic Preservation and Collections Management program! I've paid my tuition deposit and not I just have to register for classes, work my ass off to save up some money, apply for OSAP, move into a cheaper apartment and try to enjoy the summer.
27 April 2009
Gross
This is laid out like a folded booklet, double click on it to read it at full size, read the "What's This Bug" page first, then mosey on down to the second image and come back up for the last page
I read this tract the other day at my studio and when I saw the biggest centipede on a plant pot in my bathroom. I didn't kill it (my favorite method is spraying not smashing bugs, or trapping them under cups and leaving them for someone else to deal with). I felt a little tickle of sympathy for the bug but it obviously didn't last long as I just crushed a baby centipede that ran across my desk. Another great bug killing tool is a padded envelope my weapon of choice.
17 April 2009
Pickle Bonanza!
This summer I am going to try my hand at preserving and there's nothing you can do to stop me. I am a compulsive list maker and I've already compiled a list of everything I'd like to pickle and I hope to get all my fruits and veggies in season and from local farmer's markets.
What an exciting summer I have planned out!
On that note, Kyle and I decided yesterday that instead of relying on trains and buses to cart us around the south of Spain in May. We are going to rent a car and drive along the coast from Seville to Murcia and then fly out of Murcia, very exciting!
Our last day together with our little car we named "Trudy"
Last year I went on a west coast road trip with 3 friends (Brooke, Brad and Emily) and we covered a lot of terrain in a relatively short period of time. One of the best/worst stories from our trip happened in the little town of Crescent City (I know you're reading this Brooke and I know there's a smile on your face!)
BBQ'd oysters, not cool
Our original plan while on the west coast was to eat a lot of oysters. As it turns out the west coast generally yields really large oysters which aren't as nice to eat as the smaller east coast oysters. Also, Americans are paranoid about getting sued and they figure that by cooking the oysters (common methods are bbq-ing and deep frying) they won't get anyone sick and therefore no one can sue them for contracting food poisoning. As we drove up the coast of California all we could find were cooked oysters and we thought that if we found a seafood restaurant right on the coast we would be in luck and that's when we rolled into Crescent City.
Crescent City is kind of the last town before the coast of California turns into the coast of Oregon and we found a promising restaurant in town called "Fisherman's Restaurant". We parked the car and made our way into the horribly tacky establishment with our heads held high. The only oysters we could find on the menu were, of course, deep fried and after asking the waitress why they didn't have fresh oysters she told us about the legal implications of selling raw oysters blah, blah, blah. Emily, Brad and I decided to go the American way and try deep fried oysters while Brooke opted for a piece of trout (or salmon, I can't remember exactly). After our first course of clam chowder, which was quite tasty, our main courses were put in front of us and we all picked up a deep fried oyster and took a big, juicy bite.
I would never recommend eating a deep fried oyster, it was probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever tried and I eat some pretty weird stuff! I got through one and half of these things when we all decided it was time to send this "food" back.
We called the waitress over and explained that we were really embarassed to send our food back but it just wasn't what we expected and perhaps we could order something different. She seemed fine with this so Emily and I both ordered the same Brooke was having, which looked and smelled okay but tasted a little bland, and Brad ordered another type of battered fish.
As we were waiting for our fish to arrive Brooke suddenly felt very ill and had to excuse herself to the ladies room. She was still away from the table when our second round of main courses got to the table. After seeing Brooke run to the bathroom after eating her fish Emily and I weren't too sure we wanted to dive right in and Brad's "fish" smelled like garbage and was the soggiest, most disgusting piece of fish I've ever seen or smelled. There was no way any of this food was okay to eat. After Brad inspected his soggy mess of a meal we called the waitress over once more and told her that we all work in the restuarant industry, we all know what food is supposed to look and smell like, that the customer is always right and although we felt bad about it there was no way we could eat this food considering that our friend was throwing up in the bathroom from what she had just eaten.
That's when the waitress got mean. She told us that she didn't care if we ate our food or not but we had to pay for all of it and if we didn't she would call the cops. She felt that there was nothing she could do aside from calling her manager to come to the restaurant to deal with this or calling the cops. Apparently the kitchen would be happy to make us another round of main course meals and try to make us happy but by this point Brooke was pale and shivering and we just wanted to get the hell out of there.
We asked for the bill and paid it in cash leaving a toonie as our server's tip with a little note on the back that read "Come to Toronto and we'll show you how to eat oysters and show you some manners!" Again, I work as a server and I always tip above and beyond 15% but this experience was horrifying and this waitress didn't deserve a dime from us. If she had not charged us for the food we couldn't eat because it was inedible or had been thrown up, then she would have gotten a tip but this woman was just straight up difficult.
As we were leaving the restaurant we noticed a large family coming in for dinner, they looked like tourists and we thought we'd spare them the trouble we had just gone through so we let them know just how disgusting this place was. Brooke chimed in with "I just threw up in the bathroom!", I'm pretty sure that statement prompted the family to turn on their heels and leave with us. We told another couple in the parking lot not to eat at Fisherman's Restuarant" but they looked like locals and hell bent on the all you can eat deep fried oyster platter for two.
As we were getting into our car the waitress ran out after us holding up our toonie yelling "We don't accept Canadian money!!" and Brooke, again spot on, yelled back "Oh honey that's your tip!"
We drove off feeling sick to our stomachs and angry, there was a lot of swearing in that car after we pulled away from the restaurant and we decided that Crescent City is one place you don't stop in, you drive through it into lovely Oregon!
Emily and I did find raw oysters in Seattle though and they made me so sick I couldn't sleep all night and I threw up on the flight home! I love oysters but they obviously hated me last July.
What an exciting summer I have planned out!
On that note, Kyle and I decided yesterday that instead of relying on trains and buses to cart us around the south of Spain in May. We are going to rent a car and drive along the coast from Seville to Murcia and then fly out of Murcia, very exciting!
Our last day together with our little car we named "Trudy"
BBQ'd oysters, not coolCrescent City is kind of the last town before the coast of California turns into the coast of Oregon and we found a promising restaurant in town called "Fisherman's Restaurant". We parked the car and made our way into the horribly tacky establishment with our heads held high. The only oysters we could find on the menu were, of course, deep fried and after asking the waitress why they didn't have fresh oysters she told us about the legal implications of selling raw oysters blah, blah, blah. Emily, Brad and I decided to go the American way and try deep fried oysters while Brooke opted for a piece of trout (or salmon, I can't remember exactly). After our first course of clam chowder, which was quite tasty, our main courses were put in front of us and we all picked up a deep fried oyster and took a big, juicy bite.
I would never recommend eating a deep fried oyster, it was probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever tried and I eat some pretty weird stuff! I got through one and half of these things when we all decided it was time to send this "food" back.
We called the waitress over and explained that we were really embarassed to send our food back but it just wasn't what we expected and perhaps we could order something different. She seemed fine with this so Emily and I both ordered the same Brooke was having, which looked and smelled okay but tasted a little bland, and Brad ordered another type of battered fish.
As we were waiting for our fish to arrive Brooke suddenly felt very ill and had to excuse herself to the ladies room. She was still away from the table when our second round of main courses got to the table. After seeing Brooke run to the bathroom after eating her fish Emily and I weren't too sure we wanted to dive right in and Brad's "fish" smelled like garbage and was the soggiest, most disgusting piece of fish I've ever seen or smelled. There was no way any of this food was okay to eat. After Brad inspected his soggy mess of a meal we called the waitress over once more and told her that we all work in the restuarant industry, we all know what food is supposed to look and smell like, that the customer is always right and although we felt bad about it there was no way we could eat this food considering that our friend was throwing up in the bathroom from what she had just eaten.
That's when the waitress got mean. She told us that she didn't care if we ate our food or not but we had to pay for all of it and if we didn't she would call the cops. She felt that there was nothing she could do aside from calling her manager to come to the restaurant to deal with this or calling the cops. Apparently the kitchen would be happy to make us another round of main course meals and try to make us happy but by this point Brooke was pale and shivering and we just wanted to get the hell out of there.
We asked for the bill and paid it in cash leaving a toonie as our server's tip with a little note on the back that read "Come to Toronto and we'll show you how to eat oysters and show you some manners!" Again, I work as a server and I always tip above and beyond 15% but this experience was horrifying and this waitress didn't deserve a dime from us. If she had not charged us for the food we couldn't eat because it was inedible or had been thrown up, then she would have gotten a tip but this woman was just straight up difficult.
As we were leaving the restaurant we noticed a large family coming in for dinner, they looked like tourists and we thought we'd spare them the trouble we had just gone through so we let them know just how disgusting this place was. Brooke chimed in with "I just threw up in the bathroom!", I'm pretty sure that statement prompted the family to turn on their heels and leave with us. We told another couple in the parking lot not to eat at Fisherman's Restuarant" but they looked like locals and hell bent on the all you can eat deep fried oyster platter for two.
As we were getting into our car the waitress ran out after us holding up our toonie yelling "We don't accept Canadian money!!" and Brooke, again spot on, yelled back "Oh honey that's your tip!"
We drove off feeling sick to our stomachs and angry, there was a lot of swearing in that car after we pulled away from the restaurant and we decided that Crescent City is one place you don't stop in, you drive through it into lovely Oregon!
Emily and I did find raw oysters in Seattle though and they made me so sick I couldn't sleep all night and I threw up on the flight home! I love oysters but they obviously hated me last July.
16 April 2009
The Wonder Years, sort of
Pink Hair courtesy of Manic PanicRemember teenage angst? I found an album online that brings right back to that special moment in my life. You know, where you lock yourself in your bedroom, turn off the lights and blast the loudest music you can find just to piss off mum and dad who probably just told you that you can't get that tribal tattoo on your lower, lower back. Sigh, such hardships. Sitting on a patio today Kyle and I drank beer and exchanged stories from our early teenage years which made me feel a little nostalgic, why I'm not so sure.
I must have been 13 or 14 when my parents decided to punish me by blocking channel 29, also known as Much Music. I hated my life and I hated them for taking away such quality programming as Bevis and Butthead, Ed the Sock and The Wedge.
Now I'm having a heated environmental debate over facebook chat with a friend from this period of my life...how completely lame, I'm ashamed to even admit that I'm using facebook chat. The 13 year old version of myself would not be impressed.
Here's a playlist...
12 April 2009
a couple of things...
So I applied to grad school in January and have yet to hear anything back. It's now early April and I'm wondering what to do with my life. Convinced I was going to get into the graduate program I fell in love with last year this waiting game and daily obsession with the mailbox is wearing on me and making me second guess my decision to pursue higher education.
A few opportunities have come up that I'd like to take advantage of but since I have no idea what is going on next year I'm sitting on the fence, big time. Feeling generally frustrated with employment at the moment and the "economic climate" has led me to consider other options. Perhaps my prospective business pursuits would prove to be failures but maybe taking out $30 000 in students loans to fund a MA which might not lead me anywhere would be a be fat failure in itself. Maybe I should invest in a life coach or just have a good ol' fashioned sit down with my go-to man on all things business related, dear old Dad.
Other than that junk, I've been busy planning (or at least trying to plan) my trip to Spain in May. We have a lot we want to see and very little time to see it all in. Finding transportation timetables has proven difficult as every website is in Spanish with no English language options. I just want to eat a lot of tapas, drink some sherry and sun myself for a few days.
Onwards and upwards...
Still from "Let the Right One In"
I watched the Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In" the other night and was happy that Brooke had suggested it to me. The film is set in Sweden in 1982 and follows Oskar a very pale 12-year-old boy who is tormented at school by bullies and spends most of time in the courtyard of his housing co-op. This is where he meets Eli, a new neighbour who turns out to be a vampire.
Check out the New York Times Review here: http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/movies/24righ.html
Then go rent this film.
Finally, a nice little blog:
designismine.blogspot.com
A few opportunities have come up that I'd like to take advantage of but since I have no idea what is going on next year I'm sitting on the fence, big time. Feeling generally frustrated with employment at the moment and the "economic climate" has led me to consider other options. Perhaps my prospective business pursuits would prove to be failures but maybe taking out $30 000 in students loans to fund a MA which might not lead me anywhere would be a be fat failure in itself. Maybe I should invest in a life coach or just have a good ol' fashioned sit down with my go-to man on all things business related, dear old Dad.
Other than that junk, I've been busy planning (or at least trying to plan) my trip to Spain in May. We have a lot we want to see and very little time to see it all in. Finding transportation timetables has proven difficult as every website is in Spanish with no English language options. I just want to eat a lot of tapas, drink some sherry and sun myself for a few days.
Onwards and upwards...
Still from "Let the Right One In"Check out the New York Times Review here: http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/movies/24righ.html
Then go rent this film.
Finally, a nice little blog:
designismine.blogspot.com
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
a one-night assemblage of small work by a multitude of artists
Friday April 24th, 6-10pm
minnow & bass gallery
a migrating artist run space
594 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON.
For more info or if you'd like to submit work to the one-night show please contact us at abrawd@gmail.com
a one-night assemblage of small work by a multitude of artists
Friday April 24th, 6-10pm
minnow & bass gallery
a migrating artist run space
594 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON.
For more info or if you'd like to submit work to the one-night show please contact us at abrawd@gmail.com
If you're in Prague...
In May I will be part of a group show in Prague where two of my pieces from my thesis body of work "malignant' will be on display. Here are the details if you are kicking around Prague with nothing to do during May and June you can check out the show and tell me how it looks!
Identities
Gallery FAMU
Smetanovo nábřeží 1012/2
11000 Praha, Czech Republic
Opening Reception May 5th, 6pm
May - June 2009
Unfortunately I can't make it to Prague in time to check out the show as I have other travel plans during May and June but hopefully there will be another show in Prague in the fall that I will get to attend.
Identities
Gallery FAMU
Smetanovo nábřeží 1012/2
11000 Praha, Czech Republic
Opening Reception May 5th, 6pm
May - June 2009
Unfortunately I can't make it to Prague in time to check out the show as I have other travel plans during May and June but hopefully there will be another show in Prague in the fall that I will get to attend.
09 April 2009
08 April 2009
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