Things I Will Miss: Vol. III

The British. Oh, how I will miss the British. Most of you know that since I have moved to Toronto, I have developed an affinity for British people. This is largely due to 3 reasons:

1. There are an inordinate number of Vision Scientists who are from England. I really don't know why this is. But I have noticed that other fields in psychology don't seem to attract the British nearly as much. And seeing as I work at one of the largest vision research places in North America, there are a lo' o' Brits walking our halls.

2. Since Ryan has moved to England, I have realized that I am all about the British culture. After having visited him, and ensconcing myself in the British Academic environment for a couple of weeks, I realize that England is the place that I never knew I wanted to be. I did not discover this until the ripe age of 30. Any people who find it socially acceptabile to go to the pub every night after work are OK by me.

3. Cleavers. That chick has draped herself in the Union Jack. And has introduced me to more expats than I can name.

The fact that I may not find a British group in Edmonton actually has me quite worried. I am not allowed to admit that I have trolled the internet for a couple of hours looking for a British expat meetup group in Edmonton. Cleavers would lose it if she found out I did that. Unfortunately, there are no such groups in Edmonton that I can find, and can not therefore 'randomly' show up at a British meetup meeting at a pub, practicing my accent. Maybe I'll start one up, and have Cleavers and DrBoobs come for a visit and pretend to be members.

At least nobody will give me shit for having a bad English Accent.

PS... As you can see, I'm not dead. Just stupid busy between work and starting to organize my move.

Things I Will Miss: Vol. II

After a long day at work (and a long weekend of work for that matter), I decided that the evening was too nice to enjoy inside of my dusky old apartment. This necessitated a phone call to Philly to search for a patio. We settled on the Green Room, a well kept 'secret' amongst the locals that could possibly be possibly the best bar in the Tdot for value and ambience. A beer on the patio sounded like a fine way to finish off a harried Monday indeed.

So a smidge past 7, I found myself walking along Bloor from the Spadina subway station, lost in my thoughts of poster organization and data interpretation, when I realized that I was walking through a throng of people who were looking up. This doesn't happen that often, so I stopped and followed the gaze of the other pedestrians to the top of the buildings located across the road. I didn't see a damned thing. I spent at least a minute searching for the focus of said group, and in the end decided that it was a mass Social Psych experiment that I would not be a part of. So off I went, intent on completing the task at hand.

As is always the case, I enjoyed a couple of hours of conversation, relaxation and general social time with Philly, and later Psycho and Cleavers. We decided to leave around 10:30 to go and view Cleavers new apartment. Walking down Bloor, we realized that there was still a mass of people. All looking up. The group now, however, was much larger, and included a group of police officers and firefighters (this is what caught Cleavers' attention, of course). And, around a lamp post, there was a newly formed pile of cardboard boxes and blankets. There was even a protester, with a sign that said "Even A Stripper Couldn't Stay Up a Pole This Long".

Which of course sent our eyes to the top of the lamp post.

There, stuck on the top of the lamp post, was a raccoon. He had done himself a fine job in garnering a shitload of attention, I tell you what. Poor thing was obviously scared shitless. But how in the hell did he get himself to the top of a pole? It was a good 30-40 feet from the top of the closest building, and a good 70 feet high. The general consensus was that it may have resulted from a dare made at his bachelor party. We figured his racoon buddies were probably sitting round the corner, sniggering to themselves and wondering how pissed his raccoon-wife-to-be would be when he didn't show up at the wedding.

While I'm sure that Edmonton is full of nice a lovely people, I have a feeling that I will never walk down a street, see at LEAST 20 Emergency Crew workers, 60-70 anxious onlookers, a news crew (CTV), and a protester, all anxiously awaiting the fate of an animal most consider to be a pest stuck on the top of a lamp post. For at least 3.5 hours.

The sad thing is I'm checking the news sites to see if they've got him down yet.

And Cleavers' apartment is lovely. I have some great accomodations when I come home to visit, I tell you what.

Happy Easter!

Smells Like VSS

Certain times of year are associated with certain activities. Oftentime, I find that the change in season will elicit some sort of visceral memo that events are about to take place. The first true day of spring, where I don't mock those who don shorts to go outside, used to be an indication that school was over and that I would have to start work soon (this was many, many years ago, when work included a hard-hat, shovel and safety goggles). As such, I used to have a love/hate association with the first true indication of summer.

Now, however, the first warm day is a new CS. In fact, it is a CS for VSS (I'm a poet, and, well, you get the picture). This is the time of year when all vision scientists scramble to finish collecting data for our Mecca. The halls are buzzing with people running in and out of labs asking "Will you be a subject for me? Please? I'll buy you beer...". UberGeek is usually a mess. All are wracked with insecurity regarding their results. And the poster machine is busy mentally preparing himself for 96 solid hours of work.

But for all the stress and insecurity that this time of year elicits, there is also an undercurrent of excitement. This is of course for two reasons: the first (and more mature) of which is the anticipation of learning new and exciting research being conducted within the field. Yes, there is nothing that fosters academic creativity more than 5 solid days of nothing but vision-speak. The second (and decidedly less mature) reason is because of the Good Times to be had by all. I've even got my glow-in-the-dark t-shirt that will be donned for Club Vision. UberGeek is jealous, as he may not be belle of the ball this year.

Yes, today was the first day that smelled like VSS. Let the good times roll.

For Hessels

I am a bitch.

I am putting this out there for all to see... to admit that I am a total retard and deserve to be drawn and quartered. Hessels is a queen however, and I don't deserve to even wipe her ass if given the opportunity.

I would humiliate myself for you more buddy, but I don't know how. If there is something else you wish me to do, I am yours for the bidding.

I am sorry. I have apparently lost some imperative brain cells.

Things I Will Miss: Vol. I.1

To finish of point #4 below... I will miss going to see bands like South in small venues like Lee's Palace, because then it will be more difficult to get gifts from Philly, like a pair of signed underwear from the band. Please note the signatures of said underwear in the following pictures, purchased for me to hang in my office as a going away present (3 months before, I might add. Does she want me to leave this badly?):

Back:



and Front:



Please notice the British irony that has been incorporated into said autograph.

Yes, good times were had all around. The concert was made that much more entertaining by the random dancing chick who poured the bassist's beer down the front of her shirt onstage and the porn that was being played for the band surruptiously on a Mac backstage (we had good seats). What a great, great concert. Good random Monday nights are fun indeed.

Things I Will Miss: Vol. I

It's funny; while I had always yearned to move to Toronto for a couple of years since leaving my hometown, I always thought that I would always be a country girl at heart. But now, after being a Torontonian for 2.5 years, I realize that this city has slowly and surely woven through me.

This weekend, the fact that I am leaving Toronto really started to hit. I started being more cognizant of things that I am going to really miss about this city. Friends, family and certain hangouts are, of course, a given, and I'm not even going to start thinking of leaving those behind yet lest I turn into a quivering mess for the next 3 months. But I am going to start appreciating some of the little things that I can't bring with me to Edmonton.

1. The greatest cheese shop in North America, located in the heart of Kensington Market, is Global Cheese. This has got to be the only place where you can walk in with $10, and walk out with 3 lbs of cheese and change to boot. If you don't know if you will like the exotic flavours that they offer, then you can ask for as many samples as your heart desires (yesterday I sampled a lovely Dutch soft mushroom cheese that was selling for $3.99/lb). And when you've loaded up with cheese, you can walk across the street and celebrate your dairy conquer at Graffiti's. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend afternoon.

2. When I moved to Toronto, I decided that I would optimize my living location to take advantage of downtown (Thank God). But as a result, I have to commute 45 minutes to work each day. I initially thought that I would utilize this time to read papers, write, and possibly program (hence the laptop). Instead, I have discovered that the commute is my favorite me-time. Before walking out the door, I take a great deal of time deciding which album I will listen to on my iPod (the overall trip takes just over an album... I have started keeping track of time in terms of music). I walk the 3 minutes to the subway, trying to make it to the other end of the platform before the next train gets in (to optimize time by getting onto the car that brings me straight to the escalator at Downsview). When I get on the car, I search for a copy of the Metro. This is how I stay in touch with world events. The Metro is a free paper (that actually has a larger readership than any other daily in Canada) that people can pick up outside the subway. When they are finished, they leave it on the seat for the next rider to read. It takes me exactly the subway ride to read the Metro cover to cover, whereupon I leave it on the seat again for the next consumer. This is how I start every morning.

3. My first year here, I was afraid of the ladies at Tim Horton's on campus. They just seemed, well, bitter. This was a harsh contrast to the loverly ladies that ran the Tim Horton's kiosk at Mac in the Health Sciences centre. However, over the years, it seems that I have won them over with my charm (well, and Kevin too). When I show up, the scowl on their face is removed and I get a great big 'Hello Sweetheart!'. If Kevin is not with me, they ask where he is, whilst making the black large coffee that I don't even have to ask for anymore. I love the fact that we have won them over and that we bring sunshine to their day.

4. Last for this list, I'm going to miss getting a phone call at 9:47 from Philly, to go down to Lee's Palace to go and see a show at 10:30. Which is what I'm going to do now. So I need to put some pants on. The band is South. I recommend them.