Welcome back to the internet!

After several days in an internet blackout, it feels good to be back online. Dara and I are in our eighth (I believe) day of our Canadian adventure and we're having a good time. We have also recently been slapped with some really bad news, but as it is Dara's news to give, I will let her blog on it (see her "a lot from a little" blog in my links section).

In the mean time, I will update my readers with the latest from the Toronto front in a brief, pictureless blog.

For starters, our flight to Toronto was okay. I had two Xanax pills in my system at the time, which did very little to quell my fear of flying. The stress of our day was heightened when we arrived at John Wayne Airport (good) to take our flight to Toronto, and were told we'd been diverted to LAX Airport (bad), where we would arrive in Toronto several hours later. The down side is that our ride on the other end had to wait for us, but we had a direct flight on an Air Canada plane, which was a lot more comfortable and enjoyable, if flying could ever be considered enjoyable.

Since arriving, we have been visiting a host of old friends and family, which has been great. It has been wonderful to see the city, and remark on the subtle changes here and there. The CN Tower is now illuminated; The Pickle Barrel changed their fries; there are a few more condos up, but for the most part, it's our old, beloved Toronto.

We've had several family reunions to attend, and I've been able to spend more than a few days with my family, which has been great. I was able to visit my sweet grandmother in the nursing home, while she lovingly mocked me because of my paunch (though I didn't mind pointing out that she'd gained a few pounds since last I saw her too). It's always hard to visit my Gram (who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's) because it's sad to see her so changed from where she was, and because I feel guilty that I can't see her more. Still, with my mother and sister (Ashley) in tow, it's nice to know that we brought her day a little ray of sunshine, even for a few minutes.

After visiting Gram, Mom needed a beer. If anyone knows my Mom, they know she doesn't drink beer. Ever. So we hurried to the nearest pub where we met my brothers Scott and Cat and had a few pints between us. It would have been nice to have my older sister Cherie here for this part, especially because Mom slammed back two pints' worth of beer in a short time. For a novice drinker of Mom's diminuitive height, this produced wonderfully hilarious results.

Besides my visits with my family (which have all been great) and with Dara's family (likewise), we have been able to squeak in some time with friends (again, great). My only drawback (besides the aforementioned really bad news which Dara will get to in time, I'm sure), is that I haven't had enough time to spend with everyone. For instance, I only got to see my Barrie friends for half a day each, and got even less time with my quirky, but still lovable brothers.

Still, despite the bad news, and the fact that the Pickle Barrel isn't quite as good as I remember it, it is really good to be home, to see family, and to take a break from the internet for a while.

More updates and pictures to follow.

Flight of the Conchords

For my fellow HBO-ers out there, I have a recommendation to make, especially if you find yourself watching Entourage Sunday nights (which I don't). There is a(n) hilarious new series out titled Flight of the Conchords, which is based on the documentary of the same name by "New Zealand's [self-proclaimed] fourth most popular folk-parody duo," Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement.

The show is a strange mix of witty Kiwi deadpan dialogue and offbeat songs that declare,

"And when you're on the street,
depending on the street,
I'll be you are definitely in the top three/
good-looking girls on the street,
(depending on the street)."

The song continues,

"You're so beautiful, you could probably be a part-time model/
(but you'll probably have to keep your other job)."

The show is full of witty banter and crazy non-sequiturs, which won't put mainstream viewers off the way the strange song showcases might. But these might just be the funniest parts. This show is definitely worth your time, if you've got it.


Screw you, spell check: that's how you spell sequiturs!

What I've been up to

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been busy with birthday parties, a friend's trip, and a trip to the desert (two of these three events were fun). Dara has been documenting the events on her blog. But I have to comment on some of the action myself, so here goes:

I got Dara this card for her birthday.


And here's why:



And we had fun times with our friends.




And then this "Scarface" moment happened (I'm sorry- I just had to).



And then Susan came.



Stay tuned for some Toronto pics soon!

Happy Birthday my Darling!

Dara, you're now 26. I was 26 once, and it was a good age. The very last day of my 26th year, I got married to a pretty amazing person, and while I don't necessarily want that to happen, I hope you have an even more amazing 26th year than I did.

Some observations

A few quick movie reviews I didn't have time to make while on vacation:

Pirates of the Caribbean is a terrible, meandering pile of crap. With the possible exception of Johnny Depp's performance, all of the likeable aspects of the first film--missing since the second movie--were completely absent here. The plot was over-wrought, folding in on itself, in a cerebral, lengthy film that was nowhere near as fun as the original. I'm just curious how a film that relies on the suspension of disbelief (pirate ghosts, Davey Jones, etc...), can still have me rolling my eyes thinking, "bull crap... that can't happen." Jerry Bruckheimer has created a monster.

Knocked Up:

This was a pleasant surprise from Judd Apatow, who is at the center of the vortex of that emerging genre of coming-of-age movies for people in their 20s and 30s. This movie featured all of the best qualities displayed in his earlier efford, "The 40-year-old Virgin," while tightening the balance between crude and sweet. With prosthetic vaginas and loads of swearing, it's a solid R movie, but with quick dialogue, oddly realistic situations, and an improvisational style which shows the actors having a great time (thus drawing in the audience to laugh even harder), this was the best comedy of the year. Judd Apatow is solidifying his presence in Hollywood, even without a chest waxing scene.


Also,

Rest in peace, mister Charles Nelson Reilly.

Also,

Amy Winehouse has an amazing voice. She's pretty gross, and her lyrics are stupid, but her voice is phenomenal.

Northern Cali trip

The trip

So as the pictures below will attest, Dara and I took a brief jaunt up north to Napa Valley and San Francisco, respectively. The latter was a great opportunity to relax and tease our taste buds, while the latter was the perfect substitute for our yearly trips to New York. Here’s a brief rundown:

We arrived in Napa on Saturday afternoon, got settled in, and walked the downtown area. We stayed in a bed-and-breakfast called “1801 First,” which is a beautiful century building. I had never stayed at a b&b and wasn’t totally comfortable with the idea, but the hosts put us totally at ease and we had a good time. See the pics below for some views of the room. That first night, we walked the downtown streets, had some Italian (which was a little weak) and had a nice sleep.

The second day, we visited Domain Chandon vineyard and winery, which is known for their sparkling wines. We shot 100 barrel pics, tasted some tasty sparkling wines (which I usually don’t like), and drove home.

I can already see that this play-by-play is going to take too long, so here it is in point form:

-Then went home and had a nap.
-Then ate at a great little restaurant called “Brix,” where I tried halibut.
-Then had a couples’ massage, which was a first for me, but was very enjoyable. No, George, “it didn’t move.”
-Had a nice sleep.
-Woke up and went to Rutherford Hill Estates, to view the manmade caves and attend a tasting
-Drove to Sterling Vineyards to ride the cable car, taste the wine (bought a really nice malvasia bianca, which is possibly the best white wine I’ve ever tried).
-Drove to Calistoga, a boring little town.
-Ate at Graystone culinary school, which had tasty food and featured little viewing areas to watch the chefs.
-Slept somewhere in there.

Drove to San Francisco
-We stayed at the JW Marriott, in Union Square.
-Viewed several art galleries; had one art dealer try to sell us a $20,000 painting (which was beautiful. About $20k beautiful). She had us in there for over an hour.
-Ate at a nice meal at a place called Farallon, which had jellyfish up on the roof.
-Slept.
-Took a driving tour of the city, where we witnessed Frisco’s various sights and sounds (including Union Square, Haight-Ashbury, Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park and Bridge, and many other icons of the city).
-After the tour, we met up with people we first met in Napa- a nice couple from L.A. We had dinner with them and had a great time. They’re from Pasadena, so we’ll be hanging with them in the future.
-Slept
-Woke up early to see Alkatraz, then took a tasting tour. The former tour was interesting and somewhat creepy, and the second tour was… well, it was the same. The tour guide looked like Bronson Pinchot, with no eyebrows and a keen ability to create awkward pauses. This tour was designed to show us some fine bay-area dining (specifically the north beach area), and we tried some premier coffee and truffles. We also visited a bakery, the smell of which is still swimming around my head (it was beautiful), a pastry bakery and some cafes. It was a strange tour, but it rounded out our trip in a nice way. Unfortunately, I got a bit of a burn on this day, got sick and went to bed.
-Ate some Italian food.
-Slept.
-Woke up and had a quick breakfast with the previously-mentioned friends we met in Napa. They’re a very sweet couple and we had a great time. It was a nice way to end our trip.
-We then drove home and met our very lonely cat.

San Francisco/Napa pics