to be continued..

life upheaved. computer busted (currently using my mom's).

i'll be back eventually.

it's no double rainbow, but..

Double yolk!

This has to be a good luck thing, yes? Crazy-great chicken luck, I await you with my arms wide open and my head flung back. That's right.

Also, thanks for making my breakfast scramble extra-yellow and protein-y!

...waiting in line on 54th street at 7:30 am...

Garbage to the right of me..


Broadway to the left.

Sometimes auditioning defines itself.

Happy birthday to me

Home from vacation and happily reunited with my very beloved kitty (who has been staying with my grandmother for the past 3 months).

Best birthday present ever.






As you can see, I also got a birthday mani/pedi: Jungle Red for a fucking fierce year. That's how things work, yes? Your nail color on your birthday dictates the quality of the upcoming year? I'm pretty sure that's how things work..

And a very merry co-birthday to carathecarebear!

WTF

Some weird crap I didn't buy:

Vibrators aren't actually an odd thing to buy.. unless you're in a fucking supermarket. At which point, yes. I generally don't expect vibrators for sale alongside the produce.

This candy bar is, apparently, extremely masculine. And/or homosexual.

Just to be clear:

As evidenced by the skirted stick figure holding a purse with a fucking X through it- this candy bar should not be consumed by womenz. I'm not sure what would happen if I dared to eat it, but I imagine it would involve spontaneous gender transformation. Or I'd just be killed. I'm also not sure what on earth would possess Nestle to market this. Like, what went on in this meeting? "Guys, do you know what would sell chocolate? Sexism." Or perhaps it is an attempt at reverse psychology, so I'll be like "FUCK YOU, Nestle, I'll show YOU what women can and can't eat!"

Whatever it is, it's a colossal asshole.

This store needs to be set on fire. Maybe.

Here we have an entire shelf of candy modeled after poo. Because that's appetizing.

At least the moose has the sense to look embarrassed.

THIS mother fucker:

Creepy molester uncle bear here is just fucking smug. Like "Yeah, I shit candy. Wassup?"

This beaver appears to be working really hard to.. make your candy. Somebody help me.

This elephant is not pooping, though he kinda looks like he is. I actually kind of like this one. Pink popcorn!

Store kitteh.

I keep.

A Vegiac Visits.. Riz Pan Asian Restaurant in Toronto, ON

So...


This is perhaps not ideal decor for your entryway, Riz.

That said, the food is really so good. My order: mango fresh salad rolls, vietnamese taro veggie spring rolls, veggie lemongrass soup (not pictured), veggie pad thai, and some ridiculous fried banana dessert concoction... all delicious! Sure, I'm a sucker for anything fried that I can safely eat (mmm taro rolls and banana thing), and yes, I'm a sucker for your PLATES!!!..





..but the food was also good on its own merits. My only complaint would be that the pad thai didn't have as many vegetables in it as I would have liked. It did, however, contain an entire leek. I support that.

Big fan. Would go back. A lot.

(This gluten free menu has two sides. Big fan.)

[Riz is located in Toronto, Ontario at 1677 Bayview Avenue - 416.487.8388]

A Vegiac Visits.. Kensington Market in Toronto, ON

Early on in our stay in Toronto, we asked my favorite front desk guy what he recommended we do on days off. His first recommendation was a visit to Kensington Market. Why? "Because everything there is awesome." How so? "I don't know, it just... every single thing is awesome."

K. Well.. sure, why not.

It is, indeed, awesome for lots of reasons, mainly it's an extremely eclectic neighborhood with lots of cool shops and restaurants, full of immigrants, stoners, hipsters, elderly Jews.. seriously, it's like if all of Brooklyn converged on itself and shrunk to a few blocks.

Happily, there's quite a few places in Kensington Market where I can eat! One such place, Omnivore, offers muffins. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but I really want to. Muffins were my meal of choice in college, like those giant bran muffins with the fruit on top? Yeah. They're a perfect food and I miss them...

A few great health food stores, too. Great selection, reasonable enough prices.

We've eaten at two restaurants:

The first, Kensingtons, was.. well, it's a cute place. And I applaud them for having a LARGE gluten free menu. However..

I ordered the All Day Breakfast, which is normally $3.99 but effing $10.99 for gf. I mean.. I get that the bread costs more, but really? Are you charging me for requiring a clean griddle? Plus, the regular breakfast includes meat and the gf doesn't. I don't eat meat, but shouldn't something with meat cost more than something without?

Price aside...

Kinda lackluster, no? Really, really basic. And the potato and veggies weren't particularly tasty. And it took 45 minutes to get 2 orders of eggs. Blah.

They also have a large sign in the window claiming to have the best coffee in the city. I realize that isn't like a legal claim or anything, but they're on crack.

A plus? Their sugar, salt and pepper packets are adorbs.

My favorite? The sugar, boasting that it is without equal (see what they did there?), and the pepper, which is just olden-timey cute.


Ugh, I love that everything in Canada is in French as well as English. It's just so charming.

Far more successful than Kensington's is Kensington Cornerstone, where EVERYTHING IS GLUTEN-FREE.

Let me make sure you got that:


I love you, Kensington Cornerstone.

The good news is that the food is also delicious. We've had brunch and dinner here- no pictures of my dinner (mushroom melt with fries) because I was just too hungry and didn't think about it. It was delicious, though. Promise. And I realize it is a strange life when fries are a luxury food, but mmm. Fries. Such a treat to be able to eat you. We also got pecan pie, which was also delicious.

Brunch:


That's the "Big Breakfast Bowl" aka 2 eggs, 3 pancakes, pancakes and veggies. Hello, pretty. Hello.

I scarfed the hell out of that.

I hope Toronto celiacs know what a great restaurant they have in their backyard- Kensington Cornerstone has been open since the Spring and I wish it a long and happy life. It definitely improved my quality of life here, and I would absolutely be a regular if I lived here for real.

[Kensington Cornerstone's website]

Bikram: Day 5

It is not getting any easier, but I REALLY like it.

Have I learned anything new? I don't think so.. I mean, I'm learning more about the postures, obviously, but in terms of revelation or self-discovery or whatever.. nah. I'm not at the point yet where I can push myself without getting a violent head rush, so I continue to do what my body (and occasionally screaming brain) tells me is possible, rest as needed, and drink. The very nice people I've taken class with assure me that it is normal to feel like you are dying, and one of my teachers told me that she actually threw up on her mat the 3rd time she took class. I mean... at least I haven't done that.

I also haven't managed to do anything other than Bikram since Wednesday for fear that I will not manage to stick to my drink-all-the water-in-Canada-and-eat-healthy-but-stop-eating-3-hours-prior-to-class schedule. The idea of being ill-prepared for class hydration-wise leaves me panic stricken. And yet, there are people who take class at 7:30 am, and you KNOW they aren't up 4 hours before so that they can guzzle water and make scrambled eggs with spinach. So maybe it's something my body will allow/adjust to as this progresses? Maybe?

Today I am taking a morning class for the first time (not 7:30, but before noon). This scares me, but I want to get some stuff done during the day and then- wait for it- actually eat dinner with my boyfriend for the first time this week. And maybe see a movie.

As such, I began planning last night so that I could eat reasonably quickly (I allowed that I would stop eating 2.5 hours before, not 3.. hope I don't die)- I bought a banana at the market and hard-boiled some eggs. Or rather, in extremely typical me behavior, I forgot that I was making hard-boiled eggs and only remembered when the water had all but boiled out of the pot and the eggs were way the hell overdone. Like maybe 40 minutes later. Great. So I ran cold water on them and then threw them in the freezer for a bit to try to salvage them.

And then I forgot they were in the freezer. Did you know eggs could freeze? I didn't. They can. So.. I guess that's a new thing I've learned from doing bikram. Hard-boiled eggs can fucking freeze.

Project Bikram, you are a constant adventure.

a quite literal sign from above

Being unemployed and living in a hotel in a foreign city is sort of like a constant dare.. what are you going to do today, other than go shopping, and really, I double dog dare you to stop shopping because YOU HAVE NO INCOME. Ahem.

Down the block from my hotel (en route to market for the 8th time this week, because we only have a mini-fridge), I was dared, from the second story window:

Never mind that I've never done any yoga (except one class once that was really meditative and boring). Never mind that I hate heat. Never mind that I am woefully out of shape. Never mind. They have a $27 unlimited introductory week? Sign me up.

So, that was the dare. Truth?

• I made it a half hour before black spots appeared before my eyes and I had to leave the room, despite the instructor telling me before I went in that you really really really should not leave the room. Sorry, people- I was in no shape to stand still and breathe, or even sit and breathe. Heaven forbid I lie down and breathe, I never would have gotten back up. So into the hallway I went, water bottle in hand, until I could manage to lift the bottle without shaking.
• I then made it another half hour before I basically laid on the floor for the entire end of class. Oops.
• I sweat in amounts that I didn't think possible.
• Today I hurt EVERYWHERE.
• Despite drinking a gatorade and approximately a gallon of water after class (and who knows how much before), I woke up in the middle of the night so dehydrated I thought I was having a heart attack.

However, the dare stands, and the pass is for a week, and I'm fucking going back today at 7. And who knows, I might pick up a class pack for the rest of my time in Toronto. Suck on that, rational thought. Suck. On. That.

What did I learn day 1?

I learned that you should not attempt perfection on your first day.. or second or third or 12th or ever, but especially not on your first! Sit down little Virgo first born. If you insist on doing every posture as hard as you possibly can the first time you take class, you're going to black the fuck out. This is not the President's Challenge chin up test, or some mind over matter thing, or attempting to balance in releve just a little longer in dance class. This is stretching and posing in a majillion degree room with no breeze and no escape for 90 fucking minutes. Take it down a notch.

And frankly, that's a lesson I needed to learn, so... who knows. Maybe I was dared with good reason. Maybe this is a life changer. Or maybe I'm actually going to vomit and faint today around 730. The possibilities, they are endless.

Are you kidding me with this?

Listen to this now, listen quickly before someone figures out it exists and pulls it off youtube!!

Bernadette Peters is many things to many people. To me? She is my spiritual mother. She is also my patronus. My very favorite performer for as long as I can remember (sometime around age 5) and my constant reminder of what I strive for in this business and how good theatre can be. This recording made me weep. I love being in Toronto, but I cannot wait to see this.

See you mid-August, Desiree! I will bring my hanky..

Win

They said it couldn't be done..

..but I found a mani/pedi in a clean establishment in Toronto for under $40 total (including tax and tip).

I know, I know, this is newsworthy. I know. But dude, it's like my only luxury. Plus, well groomed nails are the only thing that separate us from the animals. Truth.

To get that deal, I had to sacrifice water. And it is, let me tell you, completely unsettling to have them deal with your cuticles without soaking them first. But eh. Pretty!

The aesthetician selected a red for me. Turns out the name is Big Apple Red. Oy. Fitting.

PS. Old Navy jeans why do you stretch so? You are not skinny by anyone's definition..

Important things to buy in Toronto

A fedora from H&M to shield my little porcelain face from the crazy bright sun (though I'm still not sure I'll keep or wear the thing.. I'm not really a hat person and I kind of look tragic in it...) and a large coffee mug and filtered water bottle from Canadian Tire!

1. Because you need to go to Canadian Tire,
   
2. Because your hotel fridge isn't big enough for a Brita, rendering Sigg and Klean Kanteen bottles useless.. or at least dirty.
3. Because your hotel only provided tiny little mugs. I prefer to drink my entire pot of coffee at once, thank you.
   

Reusable bag to take to grocery stores and such. Because they charge $0.05/plastic bag here. Fucking hippies.

Oh, what's that on the back?


French. NOW I fit in. I fit in TRES much. Ahem.


All of your hair products, because you only packed for one week. Thank you, store, for existing, and thank you SO MUCH MORE for being nowhere near my hotel so that I can never go to you again. I'm poor.


And... anything at Tim Hortons. $0.99 iced coffee? Yes. This. Please.

Toronto loves me

[terrible picture due to the fact that you're.. not allowed to take pictures in theatres. duh.]

Squint your eyes and try to make out the woman carrying around a cocktail tray of SLUSHIES during intermission!

Did someone tell them I was coming? Or are they simply this magical all the time?

Incidentally, the show was magical as well... especially for a show that's been on the road for as long as this one, and for a cast in the midst of a 5-day 8-show week, this was GREAT! And beautifully conducted. :)

Today's Adventure

Watch a [touring] Broadway show from inside the orchestra pit. It is like listening to the most fun cd ever!

Change of Plans..

... or, "This is my home now, Son."

Despite a plane ticket, work schedule, and voice-of-common-sense telling me otherwise, I've decided to stay in Toronto the entire 5 weeks that Charming Boyfriend will be working here.

This is decidedly an un-me decision. I have no money. I will have no income. I had plans for my summer.

But my heart said stay. And the signs said stay. My tea bag tags started talking about adventure. Store windows talked about travel and adventure and spontaneity.

And then I thought of a friend who, as a poor college student, wore Gucci loafers and went to Starbucks a dozen times a day, and said "One day I'll have the money to pay for the things I'm buying now, there's no sense in living like I'm poor." And 1) he was right, and 2) he was HAPPY.

So... call me Canadian. An American in Toronto. An illegal immigrant? Perhaps. I'm embarking on some serious downtime and it feels delicious and luxurious.


Adorable bed and bedroom where every night someone comes in, turns down the covers, and leaves us a small gift- a pretty little stone! Tonight's is an amethyst!!


The view from my bed.


The island in our charming (read: mini-fridge, no real freezer and no oven. sweet.) kitchen which features a nightly gift of incense (which I kind of enjoy, even though it makes my throat burn).


And this is where I'll be writing.


I miss my cat and I'm sorry I didn't get to give the city a proper (albeit temporary) farewell, but I'm so excited to be here! Maybe this will be a time of great growth? Perhaps one can grow simply by sitting on their little terrace island in the middle of a bustling city. We can hope.

A Vegiac Visits.. Waffle Frolic in Ithaca, NY

I am in love with Waffle Frolic.

• They have delicious waffles and other foods and baked goods.
  
• They offer buttermilk, hemp and buckwheat, gluten free, vegan and cornbread waffles. Are you kidding?
  
• Their coffee and espresso is not only Fair Trade Certified, it is BIRD FRIENDLY (which, frankly, I've never heard of before but I love it).
• They offer soy and hemp milk AND if you bring your own mug you save $0.20 on your drink. Love.
• They serve waffle dogs and waffle veggie dogs (this is not something a vegiac can enjoy, only a vegetarian, but still- a fucking hot dog in a waffle instead of a bun? Uh.. yes. Now. Please. For you people.)
• Their menu is VAST.
• Run by a bunch of 22-year olds (ish). These people are amazing.
  
• And they have a friggin' book exchange program.
  

I just love them.

Onto the food!


I tried to take a picture before I outright devoured the thing, but, as you can see, I was a bit unsuccessful.

I wanted protein, because we were about to take a 4-hour car trip and I knew I wouldn't be stopping anywhere along the way with substantial food options. Waffle Frolic serves fried eggs and bacon over a waffle, and offered to make mine with three eggs instead of the bacon.

I'm not a food critic and am a bit lacking in the creative words department, but let me just say- DELICIOUS. So, so, so good. And they clearly know what they're doing re: cross contamination- I can't imagine it's easy to keep a clean kitchen when you're dealing with batter but I didn't get sick at all! Kudos!

All in all, if you're passing through Ithaca, stop at the Commons and shove your face (whether or not you're celiac, vegiac, etc.). And if you live in Ithaca, try not to gain a million pounds eating there. Clearly something I'd fail at if I lived there. You would have to roll me home.

{Waffle Frolic is located in Ithaca, NY at The Commons/146 East State - 607.319.0999}

I love NY

One last perfect NY evening before vacation..

..watching your "twin" give a gorgeous and brave performance..

..and visiting her post-show on the very stage where you saw your first Broadway show. The Winter Garden is a magical place, filled currently with ABBA and the ghosts of Weissman's Follies Girls and Jellicle Cats, and, it turns out, little me at 5 years old.

This morning:

Finishing my tea (and showing off my new un-trashy un-chipped manicure) before boarding a bus (oy) for a night in Ithaca, a weekend in Niagara Falls, and a week in Toronto!

[That tea bag tag thing, if you can't make it out, reads:

"May you have faith in your worth and act with wisdom."

Not really related to anything, but a yummy sentiment, no?]