Without a Yard

Bizzaro anecdote to relay quickly - when we went out with my ‘rents & friends of fam for dinner, my uncle Jimmy picked his fav resto in TO - Bigliardi’s. Now, this used to be the happening spot pre & post Leafs games back in the day of the Gardens - unfortunately, the ACC took a huge chomp out of George B’s business…but, being the resilient Italian entrepreneur that he is - he’s offset these losses with a betting room…very Italian, eh?

Anyway, we’ve gone there a lot with Jimmy & he’s very well liked by George because he keeps patronizing the resto since the Leafs moving & refers many people (like us) there who keep going back….

Downside is that creepy Queen’s Park & politico types also LOVE this place with the Goodfellas atmosphere & admittedly amazing Italian food….Case in point, of the last 4 times I’ve been - I’ve spotted not-so-honourable-Mr. Eves there 3 times. Beh. So yeah, Eves & some biz dude were having a biz dinner, also-rans in provincial TO ridings, etc - but right after we were seated, who walks in but Mr. Early Morning Rain Himself - Gordon Lightfoot & fam. Brilliant! My mom & I exchanged WTF? glances excitedly, like all still-rockin’ septegenarian folk singers (looking at you, Willie), he has a hotter & younger wife & alarmingly young kids….

It only took a couple of minutes, but Mr. B’s wife brought over Lightfoot & introduced him to the table (well, to be honest, probably just Jimmy rockin’ the 100 watt Stanley Cup ring)…..now how effin’ civilized is this? Where else in TO would you have a resto as comfortable with their clientele to actually waltz people over & make connections? Lightfoot surprisingly told Jimmy that he enjoyed his interviews on the Fan 590 AM & was impressed by how he’s handled the lockout…Jimmy smiled nicely & shook his hand…..because he had no clue who GL was….hilarious.

I guess when you live in a music bubble there are just some people that are givens for instant recognition, respect & shameless introduce-ability…for me Lightfoot is definitely one of those cats (& Cohen, Mitchell, Shakey, etc)…it was so cool that Jimmy was pretty aloof about the whole thing & didn’t fake it…like most people would’ve…

Anyway, yesterday was moving & cleaning circle of hell after that brush with classic folk celebrity (& unwanted Ernie spotting) & today takes me back to work - Cinderellie, Cinderellie - fold that faux-vintage $65 T & perfectly ‘whiskered’ jeans…Not a job to appease the OCD tendencies in my system, fer sure…

peace
meegs

Currently reading:
Lot’s Daughters: Sex, Redemption, And Women’s Quest For Authority
By Robert M. Polhemus
Release date: By 15 January, 2005

Meh - As much as I like to complain about not having enough hours at UO for fun times in the city (or on a bus…), this quasi-retirement agrees with me. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly providing much fodder for the blog. Apologies. I have refined the art of squeezing avocadoes thanks to a watchful eye on the Portuguese widows of the ‘hood, can recite competitve prices for random foodstuffs & necessities, have taken up reading increasingly more sections of the Globe (& Mail, that is…not the tabloid, tho I do enjoy a lil’ Star now & then…okay, most months), tackled weight training (previously unimaginable), kitchen cleaning expertise is top-notch, laundry managed, etc, etc…

So I”ll go on to report the news through others’ eyes. My bud TOshi tells me of his amazing ATX concert w/e…& I can’t help but be jealous. He was dumbfounded by the concert experience delivered by MUSE - who I have made a mental note to check out in the NEAR future…tomorrow - when I get that iBook fired up….& I will also check out his thesis masterpiece Ch. 2…

His concert cohort is disenchanted with all-ages gigs…a favourite & frequent rant of mine: “Don’t feel bad about hating all ages shows - I’ve hated them since I became of age - little kid fuckers that have disposable income & come
to the shows drunk because the can’t drink at the venue & flit around in thier little cliques & scream & tickle & push each other & those goddammed backpacks with bric-a-brac & keychains dangling all-the-fuck-over-the-place. You have every right to wish sexually transmitted diseases on their pathetic poseur asses. They are incorrigable & will hopefully either run out of parental spending money or get caught shoplifting (probably at one of my fine employer’s franchises…) & sent to a bootcamp somewhere.”
God, it just feels truer & better everytime.

No other injustices or annoyances to rant about….checked out 2 promising Japanese music festivals for late July & mid-August this summer…I need to get my butt over there before the Lewinsky reality of September rolls around…

On that dated politico reference note,
meegs

Currently listening:
Up All Night
By Razorlight
Release date: By 26 October, 2004

Since I haven’t been interacting with the real world much lately - once again not much to report. I should’ve gone to see my bud - Andy’s gig in Kensington Market with his OTHER band last night…especially since he got me the UO job & I got off work early…but I punk’d out & went home to spend some QT with the beau.

On that note, I have been ping’ing with an ATX bud that is experiencing an existential dillemma of the dating world - is it okay to enjoy the company of someone that is less-than-interesting?….ifyouknowwhatimean.

Well, here in the glass house, I am the last to pitch stones. So I will be brutally honest & say that I have dated less-than-Rhodes-scholar guys (who enjoyed, quote: “Entertaining movies…& music with a beat.” & have penned such hits as “Don’t be afraid to fall in love with me” - no joke, sadly 2 different dudes, also. Squirm.)

Tho an optimist would say, as I have often, that you need to spend a lot of time with someone & get to know them & blah blah blah - before you deem them….uninteresting…sadly, the instantaneous sniff test is 96% accurate.

I fully endorse fun & casual dating when the stars align. It kills time, occupies the mind, gets you out of the house & not feeling sorry for your single-ass & in my case, kicked my butt back into getting into shape & looking after myself. So long as you don’t promise mortgages & college funds to the blissfully unaware date, no hard feelings, right?

Maybe it’s easier for girls, being the woo-ee & not the woo-er…but overall, if you have a willing warm body to lug around to museums & galleries & shows & restos, what’s the harm done? Silver lining & all that crap, just as every poopy post-Happy-Gilmore Adam Sandler movie has a handful of quotable quotes - every dud dating run has at least a funny anecdote or moment to share with your closest buds….Just ask the entire Sales staff of OP that asked ex-of-Meghan-receptionist for ‘a small favour’ (while miming the teeny sign with their thumb & index finger) for the entire summer of 2002 (hell hath no fury, trust me.).

All in all, companionship in general is driven by insecurities - If we were
completely & totally enamoured with our own company & state of being,
there would be no need for the seemingly endless & sometimes brutally painful dating mating ritual.

Any feedback or funny stories are welcome as replies - bad dating is karmic, I’m convinced…you need to pay your dues & eventually something worthwhile circles ’round your way….

meegs

Currently listening:
You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine
By Death From Above 1979
Release date: By 26 October, 2004

Tho I am reporting from a coffee house in Kensington, I am NOT imbibing in any caffeinated drinks…I am so wired on antihistamine/decongestant meds that I can barely type straight…

I finally gave in & gave up to ‘nature running its course’ & got scientific on my cold’s ass. My skin is a disgusting dry husk, I am completely & artificially dried out, I think even my hair is crunchier than usual…(this is mostly due to years of chemical enhancement & my lazy & cheap ass delaying a desperately-needed hair cut - the end to root ratio is approaching 2:1)..

Blogging with little to report again, just trying to kill time before I go to work. The weather is so bleh that I couldn’t bear to stay at the apt…well, if I could find the goddamned clicker for the DVD player, I would probably be skimming thru Curb Your Enthusiasm Season II right now….but I digress…

In an act of defiance I booked it over to the Y this a.m. despite my grogginess & highly contagious state of being (fuck’em…I don’t wear shower shoes either - bwhahahaha!)…

I do miss my hi-tech, tv-equipped UTex gym quite a bit some mornings, but the size & variety of equip at my new Y is pretty badass. I guess every gym has its quirks - tho all the C-toon U gym had going for it was Ghetto Paradise-iosity…cheap bastards. UofT’s Hart House had the best staff (this is sitcom-pitch-able stuff here, people…) there was this one bear-prototype staffer that would ALWAYS be wearing a weight belt over top of his polo uniform…as if is were some WWF prize he wanted to share with the clientele.

After about a month I am finally understanding the HUGE variety of people that are using this facil. It just completely blows my mind - one day I’ll be leaving and a ton of yuppie artsy peeps are toting yoga mats, another it’s SUV-stroller Moms, etc, etc.

Today I met that coolest lil’ swim enthusiast in the change room who asked, as I was grunting & squeezing masself into these-must-have-shrunk-in-the-wash Mavi’s, “Are you leaving already?.” She had the most perfectly boss cornrows & a sassy 2-pc floaty bathing suit & was spinning ’round & around…So I said, “Yeah, I mean, If I had a cool bathing suit like THAT, I would stay & swim with you, but I just brought scrubs for working out upstairs.” “I understand.” replied the 6-ish year old tot..”So you’re a pro swimmer, right? What colour badge are you up to now?” “I’m a blue, like the suit - there’s blue here & here.” “Nice. Don’t show off too much & embarrass your Mom, okay?” “Yeah.”

& so it went. The absolute probable highlight of my day or week. There is nothing more dumbfounding that running into a confident, sassy young thang that knows that she looks badass in a swimsuit…which I can’t even bring masself to get into for the past 15 years. This all got me thinking about the brilliant series that Savage Love has been featuring with advice for 15-year-old chicks (http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/current/savage.php). Maybe we should be getting to ‘em sooner!!

By the time I was 15, I think that half the battle was over as far as molding ideas of sex, self-confidence & body image, etc, etc. Before I start up on my soapbox about Terri Shavo’s bulimia-induced heart attack, the generally horrible celeb-culture coverage of anna&mia, as well as the necessary end to the myth that body image issues only affect ditsy show-biz bunnies (hello, even Alice Munro ‘fessed up her New York Times mag profile that she has struggled with eating disorders…), I will excuse myself now that the rain has subsided…

peace
meegs

Currently listening:
The Tigers Have Spoken
By Neko Case
Release date: By 09 November, 2004

Due to inclement weather, Thursday’s booze-fest, improper preparedness in dressing & general virus-odds….I am sick as a d-o-double-g…fo’shizzle. fak. I feel like Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters…

My sinuses are completely f&?ked, puffy face, watery eyes - ugh.

This zombie-ish state of un-being leads me to a pretty boring Sunday a.m. post….I’ve been reading more than my fair share of newspapers, shitty celeb tabs, & keeping it real.

Besides checking out the new Burrito Bar that opened up across from Diplomatico - I have no real Saturday report to share….Turned down two promising party invites last night to Chris’ housewarming thingie (probably full of amazing wine…) & Ruven’s pagan party (probably full of amazing not-kosher meat…)..

Talked to newly-single Martin last night (watch out ladies…) about new bandnames now that E.Costello seems to be touring with a backing Pickups of his own…ahh boo.
My suggestions: The Audobon Society, Amperstand & Foliage…not too lame, riiiight?

Also heard via txt msg that Robert weaseled into a sold-out Houston Black Keys show with the papal blessing of the duo itself….WTF? Do you have a horseshoe up your ass or what? Very persuasive guy, that Robert…makes his own luck I suppose….

Anyway, I have really nothing more to pass on - will get outside - all bundled-up-like for some as-fresh-as-possible-Toronto air…hopefully that’ll clear me out & wake me up. In the meantime, I suggest that y’all look up a decent H.Mallick column in this w.e.’s Globe…For once I agree with her - not the poopy ‘lookit what I bought’ feature, but the actual column…

Mucus-filled, bleary eyed & forever y’all’s,
Meegs

Currently listening:
Sticky Fingers
By Rolling Stones
Release date: By 26 July, 1994