Big Brother

So it's known I don't live in the best area of Toronto but today it has been acknowledged with the prescence of a police camera.

Toronto has been adding these police cameras to 2 types of places: where there is major traffic such as Yonge and Gould and where there is a lot of crime like Jane & Finch.

And the Newest addition is on Gerrard and Horticulture Ave, right on the edge of Allen Gardens. This isn't a busy vehicular street and not many accidents happen here, insuating the crime possibility.

Now Allen Gardens is part of my daily walking routine. I take this route sometimes at 3 in the morning.

So does this new police camera make me feel safer? or does it just make me feel more unsafe that I know that there's so MUCH crime happening here they have to add 24 hour surveillance on the area?

I'm going with the first option. Now that the presence of the police is there 24/7, there hopefully will be a reduction in the crime. Or maybe the crime will just move closer to my apartment...

Let's hope not.

Ugh Another Weekend

Here it goes again. Another weekend full of projects and work.
THIS is not how a real weekend should be. Weekends are for relaxing and enjoying life. TGIF? Not at all. The weekend is probably busier for me than any week day.
Although, I do get a small break this wknd (even though I don't have time for it). It's Jacko's good-bye party, cause she's going to Africa for two months. Insanity. But awesomeness.
Now Africa would make for a good vacation. Safari through the grasslands.
Just gonna take a moment to think of what that would be.
No stress from school or work. Just fresh air, a blue sky, and a vast wilderness full of life. Although the stress from getting attacked by a predator lingers.
Moment over and back to reality.

Fog and clouds have pervaded Toronto for the past two days and apparently it affects me. I've felt like absolute shizat for those two days, with nausea and dizziness.
I just need a clear day. One that I can sleep in and eat a full breakfast of bacon and eggs. Do some easy work like readings at Starbucks. Watch a pirated movie in my big lazyboy. Get chicken wings at our pub for $3.99 a pound. Go to MickeyFinn's and drink with a big group of friends. Crawl back to my apartment and fall into my bed. And sleep.

If only.

Conquering the Piles & 'Hulk'ed Out

So I finished all the items on my things-to-do list for this weekend.
Feels good.
And I was able to go out for dinner once, go to church, and go rollerblading at Harbourfront. Now THAT is time management.
And now I'm off to help a fellow student with a powerpoint presentation for our project which is due tomorrow. Who doesn't know how to use powerpoint? Sheesh.

Here's some pics I took from a few weeks ago. The "Incredible Hulk" is being filmed in Toronto, right by Ryerson and Yonge Street was transformed into Harlem, New York.
With the Famous Apollo Theatre...

A bus that the Hulk threw a car into...
Film crews and equipment...
And an interesting set props which had to be clearly distinguished from the real garbage cans on Yonge Street...

To Get Through the Piles

Organization is KEY to getting through a ton of work.
And it definitely helps getting over the procrastination factor.
So I've implemented in my work this weekend. And it's helping.
Except for the fact that I'm writing another post, so technically procrastination still ensues.
One of the things on list of things-to-do is create a powerpoint presentation for my parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary party next month. This pic might go in it. It's when we were in Florida in 2000, which is only 7 years ago...and we look pretty friggin young. So I was 13...although it doesn't look like I was 13, but maybe 10.
And I'm not gonna lie, we were friggin cute kids.

Procrastination Station

It's a nice long weekend with a pile of work to do.
And the procrastination ensues...

Nuit Blanche Explored...A Bit Late

As I promised in my last post, it's time to talk about Nuit Blanche.
Yesh, I've been a bit of a slacker on this blog. BUT I will try to keep up.
So Nuit Blanche was on the 29th, over a week ago.
And it was amazing. An eye-opening experience.

And Jacko joined me so it made it even more fun.
This was the first exhibition we saw. It was at Ryerson's Lake Devo. A display of toilets with mist creeping over the water. It actually was really nice, even though it used an unusual medium. My interpretation: The over-use of water in toilets. [A totally wrong interpretation but that's all I got.]
We then headed on over to Church Street. And got a giant dose of freakiness.
This lady was dressed in a wedding dress holding a dead skinned goat. I have no idea what the heck this freak was doing. And my interpretation: She is insane.

Next on the agenda was a stop at the Bata Shoe Museum. Here was an exhibition called "Footprints" which I really liked. First I enjoyed the irony of the place of this exhibition because it's placed in a shoe museum and it's about our ecological footprint. Brilliant, really.
So we traced our footprints onto these earth-friendly sheets and then they were displayed throughout and on top of the building to give viewers a grasp of how everyone's ecological footprint creates such a giant imprint on the world.
We headed over to U of T, pretty much the sweetest campus ever. And there was an exhibition on an alien spaceship landing. The exhibition itself was lame but it gave an opportunity for some sweet pics:

I like them.
So there were a ton of exhibits all over the city and it was a pretty amazing night.
Definitely going again next year.

Nuit Blanche

Tonight is Nuit Blanche (white night), Toronto's all-night art exhibition happening from 7:05pm to 7:03am.
I don't plan on staying up the whole night - I have a lot of projects still to complete by Monday.
And Jacko's coming too so it should def be a good time.
Highlights will be posted.

Whatever Happened To...

A lack of blogging from this account.

Due to a lack of audience perhaps.

Perhaps a lack of interest from me.

But probably because of the lack of time I have available.

All of the above.

Time to start up the old blogging habit.

And time to make time for it.

And it starts now.

Israel Trip Blog

My blog for my Israel and Italy trip is http://ryeintheramla.blogspot.com/
It is frequented by my parents and relatives because it's much easier just to do one blog so if you don't want to trace back to you, don't use your blog space signature.

Summer Lovin'

How awesome does this sound?

Sleeping in until 12,
Going out with friends every night,
Eating amazing home-cooked meals,
Having your mom let you eat & buy whatever you want,
Shopping at outlet stores in the States,
Buying a crapload of new stuff,
Packing for a 5-week trip,
Going out for coffee,
Drinking coffee over 3 times a day,
Going to Niagara-on-the-Lake,
And not having to work.

This has been my life for the past week. Pure bliss.
And there's still 4 more days of this. And Dee's coming back too!

10 Days

Wow. It's finally starting to hit me. Only 10 days left until I leave for Italy and Israel.
This is going to be amazing.
We got our tickets today for the flights. I also bought a bunch of things today for the trip.
We're going to see Jaffa, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Ramla, Tel Aviv, the River Jordan, the Dead Sea, and so much more. And that's just Israel.
My hotel is right on the Mediterranean Sea, in the tourist district of Tel Aviv.
Our days start at around 7am. We get up and go eat breakfast, a full breakfast, not some wussy continental one. Then our bus picks us up at 8am and we head from Tel Aviv to Ramla. Then we have different things happening everyday. Some days we go hear lectures or visit sites throughout Israel. Other times we spend our time in the studio provided for us, researching and proposing designs for different sites. We arrive back at our hotel around 6pm everyday. Then we head off to the beach, restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs, or just hanging out.
At the end of the 3 week work session, we have to present our work in front of a panel of judges made up of architects, planners, the mayor of Ramla, and the Dean of our program. We also have a gala evening at the Embassy to celebrate our achievements.
Then after the 3 week work/study bit, we travel all of Israel, seeing whatever we want. We sleep in different hostels throughout that week, and apparently the hostels in Israel are amazing, in comparison to Europe.
After an entire freakin month in Israel, we head back to Italy where we had a stop-over on the way to Israel. This time I'm staying there for a week.
I'm traveling with my roommate, Aaron, and another friend, Dustin, who is also in our program.
We have our hostels booked, 3 days in Florence, 3 days in Rome, and 1 day in Milan.
And so many awesome things to see.
And then June 21 will roll around and it's back to Toronto. I'll probably be ready for going back home by then.

Coping With Minimalism

Moving day.
The day I lost my space. My amazing open room with a giant walk-in closet, a bathroom, tiled floor, sweet view of the downtown is gone. Lost it to Andrew.
Now I'm in this little hole, the bedroom right next to my previous one.
It was a disaster moving in there.
I attempted to put my dresser in the closet, hoping it would fit. The dresser fit inside the closet great. But the drawers would not open. So close to opening too, just about 1/2 an inch, but the closet doors blocked their opening.
So, how to fix this problem - rip out the baseboards.
Out come the chisels and hammer. I tore out one of the baseboards of the closet and checked to see if the drawers would open.
Nope.
So, time to tear out the baseboard on the other side of the closet. The room is now a disaster.
And the solution works. I'm now able to open the drawers. What an exciting story.
So now I have to live in a tiny room. Oh well, maybe I'll learn how to cope eventually.

JoeyandDavid.com

Here's a hilarious website I found. It's a bunch of shorts and episodes of Joey and David.
http://www.joeyanddavid.com/
I watched all of the shorts and episodes last night. There's not that many but definitely worth it. They put out a new one every month.
Laundry Room Girl is my favourite short and the episode "Babembe" is friggin hilarious. Watch. The first video here is Laundry Room Girl.
This second video is Roommates. Basically how life is with roommates. Actually, no, it isn't. Cause that would be just wierd.

Give Me Liberty

Yesterday I spent the day with my Israel travel group doing a case study on Liberty Village, a district in east downtown Toronto. This district is based around the core of the industry sector of Toronto which is now defunct. It used to be the hub where all the manufacturing and industries were located but many of these places are no longer in use. So many offices and studios are in these old buildings now. It's a large district and has been recently updated with new offices and residences in 1999. It's still in the renovation and revitalization stages.
Which brings us to the part where my group comes in.
We had to choose an area in the Liberty Village District and see how we could revitalize it or add a feature which would link to the heritage of the site.
My group chose to work with the streets and alleys near the Carpet Building and make it more pedestrian-friendly.
We did this by proposing to relieve the streets from car parking and add more walkways and stairs that creates a flow throughout the streetscape. Each set of stairs would work with the pattern of the bays in the industrial buildings. The stairs would have a new material introduced, using weathered railway ties which would link to the railway line that runs throughout the street.
At the end of this street is a cafe and a place for outdoor seating. A revitalized pathway would open up this area to the public.
Anyways, we arrived at the site at 10am and finished our day at 8pm. It was a good day.

Home for the Weekend

Saturday morning. I roll out of bed, half asleep, look at the alarm clock, realize I'm late for the bus and then start running around the apartment, looking for breakfast, quickly showering, throwing my laptop in my computer bag, and then running out the door, as my roommate asks me what colour I want the apartment to be painted. I say, "Nothing too drastic." He'll have a blast painting that all weekend.
Apparently he picked green and he says it looks a-ok. I'm not a big fan of green, due to the phenomenon known as the "Brouwer Green" where everything in a Brouwer's home or cottage is green, from kitchen to living to bathroom to bedroom. Thankfully my parents are getting over that phase. And sadly, if you ask any Brouwer what that colour is, they all know exactly what you're talking about.
I got on the bus at 2:00 in the afternoon, started watching Braveheart on my laptop, but I couldn't hear it because the bus was pretty loud. So I turned on Amelie because it had captions so the sound wasn't that important. The chick in the seat behind me was def watching the entire thing right along with me. Awkward.
I arrived home, went shopping with my mom. I bought new shoes. I was supposed to buy sandals for my Israel trip but decided I would do that another time. Thank you, OSAP.
Then it was time to 'go out for dinner for Katelyn's birthday'. Well, that was the apparent and supposed plan we told her. So I picked up Joelle in my hot little Mazda 323 and we sped off to Katelyn's house. Actually we went mad slow because we had to kill time because we were too early and it was a surprise and we had to have Katelyn there at a certain time. Wow, run-on.
So we managed to get Katelyn in the car and slowly drove to Jacqueline's house, where we had to 'pick her up for dinner', but where the party actually was happening. I drove the speed limit the entire time, sometimes even slower. Katelyn was def getting frustrated with this but it had to be done. Then I even took a wrong turn on purpose which pissed her off even more. But it was all worth it when she walked in the house and the surprise happened. She actually looked a little pissed but I'm sure she was happy.
So the party consisted of a bunch of Katelyn's friends, not all mine, but I was told to suck it up anyways and deal. I attempted. We watched some old videos of Jacko's birthdays when she was young and had a barbeque and the a campfire. Good night and a ton of pics. And then myself, Jacko, Joelle, and Kate all went to Kelsey's for some drinks. And I, the designated driver, was the only one who drank. Odd.
Anyways, good weekend overall. And back to Toronto tonight.

Daily Dose of Photoshop

School's over. And I'm bored.
So I've been doing some attempts at some photoshop tutorials I found online. Here's one. It's a two tone photo of me.And my shirt reads:
"I can only please person a day.
Today isn't your day.
Tomorrow's not looking good either."
I think that saying sums me up pretty good at times.

Rave Time

And the second year of my university career is complete. Wow.
What a year. And it flew by so friggin fast. As usual.
Kinda sad actually. I really don't want university to be over because it is amazing. Yes, I love school.
But I have a theory of my love for school. Here goes:
I love architecture. Obviously.
I'm studying architecture. So therefore, I'm gonna love my studies.
BUT.
If I was studying architecture at a different university, ie. Waterloo or Carelton, would my love for school be so strong?
I think not.
Location, location, location.
I've been to the campuses of Waterloo and Carleton and U of T [the only universities in Ontario that offer architecture are Waterloo, Carelton, U of Toronto, and Ryerson]. Waterloo is a friggin snore. The campus for the architecture program at Waterloo is actually based in Cambridge and it's old-people-area central. BORING.
Carleton - in Ottawa, and I'm not a big fan of Ottawa and especially not a fan of the Carleton campus with its crappy small-sized dorms and association with Canadian politics. Again, snore.
U of T has an amazing campus and whenever I visit [I walk through it every Sunday on my way to church] I have this desire to be a part of it. BUT U of T has a really really bad architecture program. Quite a few of my profs make fun of it constantly.
So, the reason for my love for my program is greatly related to its location in downtown Toronto. It's right in the centre of Canadian civilization. Toronto's the biggest city in Canada and clearly has the most economic, cultural, and political power over any other Canadian city.
And Ryerson is smack dab in the middle of Toronto, Yonge and Dundas. Seriously doesn't get better than this.
If Ryerson were in a different city, I would probably be pretty angry with my school. Because they really suck for certain things such as administration, the architecture school building itself, and scheduling.
But we put up with it. Why? Because all the awesome things around us distract us. We're a bunch ADD stricken people.
The architecture students are infatuated with the plethura of buildings, the fashion students are obsessed with the numerous stores and fashion events, the photography and media students are surrounded by events and galas constantly, engineering students have a sweet building and facilities, the theatre/acting students are absorbed into the different media everywhere from CityTV to MuchMusic to CTV to CBC and Global, the urban planning and geography have an entire city to analyze and explore, and the tourism students are in a huge area for tourism.
So, is Ryerson a great school? That's up for debate. But it's location is definitely a huge asset to its success.

FLICK OFF!

We only have 10 years left until the consequences of global warming are permanent.
It's time to take action!
A great website to get in on the action of doing your part to stop global warming -
http://www.flickoff.org/
It's a pretty clever title and logo as well.
AND Richard Branson, the billionaire, is heading the campaign as well. He's very cool. He's the president of Virgin Co., the ginormous company that does cell phones to music. I saw him a few weeks ago. That was pretty sweet. He was in a cage hung by a crane in the middle of Yonge-Dundas Square. Kinda crazy.
Moral of the story:
FLICK OFF!

Googlisms

And second year exams are almost all over. Just one more, and it's just French.
Have I studied? No.
Good idea? No.
Do I care? No.
So I'm bored with this already so I did a "Googlism" of my name. The results - [only the best ones obvs]. Here goes:


daryl is a precocious little boy
daryl is kidnapped from the laboratory and finds himself placed in an idyllic foster home in a small south carolina town
daryl is the product of that decade we all know and love as the eighties
daryl is so far ahead in his effects that his audience does not stand a chance
daryl is proud that he has already successfully organized a counseling camp for 70 participants of a local school
daryl is in the first grade
daryl is a sexy young man from regina who moved to toronto in 1999
daryl is a white european in every respect but skin color
daryl is never short of suggestions
daryl is so busy working at the shop that he doesn't have time
daryl is a very special child
daryl is a very loving and respectful husband
daryl is certified in the areas of reflexology
daryl is not only a good fisherman
daryl is what a professional should be
daryl is framed for laundering drug money he must rely on the last man he'd ever dream of being dependent upon
daryl is probably the best defensive lineman on the team
daryl is mistaken for a murderer and hops on a train in search of a cia agent who can get him out of this pickle
daryl is like a little brother to me
daryl is constantly writing in that book of his
daryl is a seasoned competitor in both individual and team sports
daryl is better at delivering his message than the other candidates
daryl is torn between believing her eyes and head or trusting her heart
daryl is still the carrot
daryl is extremely polite
daryl is orange
daryl is a lecturer in sports studies in the division of science & design where he teaches sports history
daryl is the artistic director of theatrefront
daryl is a cad engineer at cooper
daryl is now working on an album with instrumental versions of genesis songs
daryl is the love of my life
daryl is an up
daryl is one of 300 holstein bulls to enter the program in 2002
daryl is assaulted by a mexican hitman and on the run from the nypd
daryl is causing the drought
daryl is also a member of who's who among international professionals; who's who among top executives and successful businesses
daryl is married to julie who is his afternoon co
daryl is working with vanessa williams
daryl is responsible for making sure that our players continue to develop as professionals
daryl is a professional actor and author
daryl is 40 years old
daryl is woken up after his first date with sally
daryl is a former goalie for the dallas stars and is now part of the star's award
daryl is the son of his town's mayor
daryl is currently recording his new album
daryl is also well know in the ostrich industry for his creation of the ostrich diagnostic centre which is a book that aids veterinarians and farmers
daryl is not a monroe impersonator
daryl is convinced there's something fishy going on


Wow. Random. I'm pretty sure a lot of those contradict eachother. But somehow I manage to accomplish all that. Crazy.

Daily Dose of Imagery

So it's time for one of those incrimating pictures. I can't think of anything to write, once again, so here's a great creation made by Dee. Kudos to her.

Daily Dose of Superhero

I was looking through different sites and came upon a Photoshop website. So I decided to try it out and followed the steps of the different tutorials it had. And one of the products was my new superhero persona. Hulk Daryl. Not a combination in the real life, but in fiction, it's a great match. That's a giant lie.
And for some reason he's drinking from a coconut.

Daily Dose of Imagery

So I can't think of anything too interesting to write about so I'm just gonna have to randomly pick a picture from my computer and throw it in. I'm closing my eyes and clicking...k, that's a really boring picture. Try again. Scrolling and click. Ok, not so bad. Here goes:
Ok, so Joelle and Jacko. This is at Katelyn's last bday party in Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls. I guess it's a good choice cause her bday is next week. Close enough.
So they're attempting to make their hair goes straight up and instead they're just looking like crazy people who just got out of their cages at the insane asylum.
It's time for a reuniting of this bunch. We haven't hung out in about 3 months with all 4 of us. So next Saturday will be that time. And we're probably going back to Niagara Falls to do the celebration.

I Can Squish the CN Tower With My Fingers It's So Small

While I should be studying for exams, I'd rather go rollerblading to Harbourfront. It's been pretty friggin sweet out these past few days so clearly I'm going to have take advantage of that.
So I left my apartment around 4pm on Wednesday, indicated by the star on the map below. And then 4 hours later I got back. Went all the way to freaking Humber Bridge, where all the circles are. It's that giant white bridge on the way back home to Niagara. So basically I rawk because that's really really far. Like look how small that CN Tower is. Hardly visible.
Somehow I stumbled on a swan and a beaver on the same trip. How's that for wildlife in a city.

Daily Dose of Imagery

This is a painting, done by me in Grade 12 Art Class. It's a copy of a masterpiece by Henri Matisse, called Hockey. I totally just made up that name and I have no idea of the actual painter or title.

Blog Flagged

Somehow I managed to flag my own blog. Since I'm so full of objectionable content.

Daily Dose of Bible

"Bad company corrupts good character."

1Corinthians 15:33

Ever since I've moved to Toronto, I've had this struggle with dealing with friends and choosing which friends to become close to. Some of my best friends are atheists. Is it good to have close friendships with unbelievers?

Proverbs 12:26 - "The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray."

2Corinthians 6:14 - "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"

Matthew 5:16 - "...let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

It's not wrong to have non-believing friends, but it may cause me to stumble. By showing them what a true Christian is like, I give a witness to them.
I've had to give up friends because I don't agree with their lifestyles. And I've told them why.
I'm also having a hard time with certain people's characters. They're constantly angry and somehow I managed to become friends with them. And now I'm attempting to get rid of that friendship, through my grand scheming of course.
Thank goodness for separation of streams in my program so I won't be having to be with certain people next year.

Mind the Gap

The origin of the title of my blog - Mind the Gap. Since I'm a subway user and this blog is about my Toronto 'adventures' or lack thereof, I'm using the title from Toronto's subway system signs. "Mind the gap" is a warning to subway passengers to remind them of the sometimes significant gap between the subway door and the station platform. It originated in London's tube system. And since I've also been to London, so I think I'm entitled to use it because it's somewhat relevant to my travel experiences. This is the original London version of "Mind the Gap" (and a much better one):

"Daryl, the smart choice."

I found this great website www.sloganizer.net. It takes your name and makes a slogan out of it. I obviously had to post some of mine. Here goes:

"Daryl or Food? I'll have Daryl."

"Do it with Daryl."

"Think different, think Daryl."

"Get me my Daryl."

"Daryl moments."

"Daryl - to hell with the rest."

"Everyone should believe in Daryl."

"I wish I had a Daryl."

"I can't believe it's Daryl."

"Daryl on the outside, tasty on the inside."

"Daryl is rolling, the others are stoned."

"The Daryl community."

So if I ever become a product and need to be branded, I think I'm set for a slogan.

Daily Dose of Imagery

The top photos used to be my view last year of downtown Toronto from my floor in rez . I've moved farther from the downtown so my view looks like this now:

The Landlord

A great Will Ferrell video with Pearl, the landlord.

And since that video keeps getting taken down by YouTube, here's a permalink to the site.
http://sjl.funnyordie.com/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925

Daily Dose of Imagery

This is me with Raymond G. Moriyama. He's a famous Canadian architect and does amazing work with his firm, Moriyama & Teshima. He's done such buildings as the Bata Shoe Museum, the Canadian War Museum, and Ryerson's Engineering Building.

Bata Shoe Museum
Canadian War MuseumRyerson Engineering & Computing Centre

Rant Time

What is up with people posting lyrics to songs on their blogs and notes?
I just don't get it. It annoys me to no end.
Come up with something original.
The fact that they have to look up a song on the internet and copy it and paste it into a note is retarded. Who actually gives a crap to read the entire lyrics anyways?
Just because someone has some emotional attachment to a song because it was playing when something 'special' happened to them doesn't mean you have to post the entire song. We can't relate to your personal issues and really I don't care about them and how they relate to this certain lyric.
If you're gonna post a lyric, make it your own song lyric, not some copyrighted crap.
End of rant.

And second year classes- COMPLETE.

Today was the last day of classes of my second year of university. How amazing is that?
It's kind of depressing because I now have to go work at a job but grrrreat because I'm done doing non-stop work. Exams should be relaxing.
I plan on sleeping in everyday, eating like mad, drinking more than my share, and actually going to the gym.
All of my exams are open-book so I'm not that worried, and I pay attention in most classes.
I still have one more project due tomorrow at 12pm so I have less than 18 hours to finish that. I think I can do it. Hopefully I don't sleep in past my alarm like I've been doing the past 2 days, and skipping classes. Definitely worth it though.
Tomorrow - celebration. And we all know what that entails.

Daily Dose of Imagery

This is taken from my balcony, looking to east Toronto. In the foreground are all the apartment buildings of St. Jamestown, apparently the most densely populated area in North America, according to GoogleMaps. I'd like to take the credit for it but my roommate took it, at like 6 am, around the time we have to go to some classes.

Daily Dose of Imagery

This is taken on Toronto's Harbourfront. A great sky pic. This was taken in September when I decided to go rollerblading to the waterfront. I think it's time to do that again. I definitely will next week when the weather is nicer.

Summer Job Outlook

I've been working at Bakker's Nurseries since my Grade 8 summer. It's been a long time, good times but a long time. So, do I want to go back this year? Good question, Daryl.
Well, I've applied to a bunch of architecture firms and all of them said they have no work. I've looked on some sites such as WorkopolisCampus.com and other job sites. But to no avail. There was some opportunities, but doubtful that I could do them.
Also, I'm going to Israel and Italy for month and a week, which takes a huge chunk of my summer working time out. Therefore narrowing down the amount of job possibilities and opportunities.
So as of right now, if nothing big comes up, it looks like I'll be going back to good old Bakker's Nurseries.
And the rest of the good crew better be back.
I just remembered. I get to wear coveralls! YES!

What Absorbs My Life

My friends are always asking me what I'm doing. And they get the same response everytime - "Projects."
So it's time to shed some light on the work I do here at school in my program, Architectural Science at Ryerson University. And obviously I'll do it in picture form.
This is a model of a boathouse I designed. Second year project, the first one.Here's a sectional model of a research library I designed.
Here's a 1:1 project I did with 3 others. It's a chair based on the design of one of our libraries.
Part of a project we did on Moriyama and Teshima's Engineering and Computing Centre where I have classes.
And here's another: some calculations for a structural analysis of a canopy.
And that is a just about 1% of what I do. Although I have no life, I sure learn a lot of things.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. I went to Knox Presbyterian Church this morning and heard this great poem about Good Friday. I tried googling it but couldn't find it. So here's an acrostic poem instead [ripped from some website]. I take no credit.

CRUCIFIED
C rucify! Crucify! Hear the mob cry -
R elease Barabbas! Let Jesus Christ die!
U plift on a cross of anguish and pain,
C rown of thorns, scourging and cruel disdain;
I nnocence paying redemption’s full price,
F orgiveness for sin through faith in His blood;
I niquities cancelled by love’s sacrifice.
E ternal life given to all who believe,
D ied to bring new life to all who receive.

Upcoming Travels...

Israel and Italy.
The two destinations of my travel this summer.
I'm going with my university to do projects in a city in Israel, Ramle. We'll be there working for 3 weeks, documenting sites and designing a new public space for the city. Then we'll be touring Israel for a week. Then we fly to Italy and do our own travels.
May 14-June 21. A solid month and a week.
Just an update...
I'm so stoked for this trip! Cannot wait.

Daily Dose of Imagery

So I'm looking outside the window in my 19th storey apartment and I see snow falling. And it's April. April 4. This is not snow-time weather. So today's DDOI [Daily Dose of Imagery] is snow-related.
This photo is of Allen Gardens. I walk through this everyday on my walk to school. It's a pretty cool place, a nice urban green space. I've seen my fair share of sketchy things in this park.
Example: One day I saw a man laying on the sidewalk with blood all around him. I just kept walking, obviously other people were attending to him...
Another example: One day I saw a homeless man hurl puke everywhere. I'm pretty sure I was sick for a while after that. Not a great site to see.
And every day, there is the same homeless man in the park. Somehow he has these nice blazers and coats and clothes but yet he's in there whenever I go through [And I pass through there at least four times a day]. Like what does he do in there?
Other than the homeless people, crackheads, and rapists that frequent Allen Gardens, it's a pretty swell place.
Quite a few movies have been filmed here so it can't be all that bad.
In this park, there's a nice greenhouse that is open to the public. I've never been but that's due to my hatred of greenhouses [Thank you Schouwenaar Greenhouses and Bakker's Nurseries for creating that hatred within me].
Below is a photo of the greenhouse.

Daily Dose of Imagery

This is the part of the show where I post pictures randomly.
This is in Toronto, beside the Eaton's Centre. It's called Trinity Square. In front of this gateway is a labyrinth. If you go through it, apparently one feels its meditating powers. I've done it. I totally felt at one with myself. Actually I ran it with Dee and Kate photographed the entire thing. So here's another picture of that time.

The Last Few Days...

So for those who are just using this for a recap of the events in my life here's a post for you (all one of you).
So I'll attempt to personalize it to the one person who reads my blog.

• I'm going to first consult with my agenda to see what has happened over the past few days... shows how freaking organized I am. Oh yes.
• So Saturday. Woke up around 10:30am, planned to wake up earlier but I usually can't pull myself out of bed for at least 2 hours... I love my bed. After that, I basically sat on my computer until 6pm writing a manifesto.
  
• The Manifesto: For my Theory class, describing all the elements in the city and how together they combine to create the entity of the city. Each city is an individual. It is unique when compared to another city. Every city shares the same basic elements such as transportation paths, districts, communities, etc. But each city has this certain quality that makes it an individual. There is a sense of a holistic value within a city, Christopher Alexander defines it as the 'Quality Without A Name' or QWAN. This QWAN is this connecting force that brings all the elements of the city together as one, that blend to create this unified whole.
  
• Well, that Manifesto took a long time to write. And it was worth it. I actually feel attached to it... kinda weird, but that's what manifestos are all about.
• Moving on.
• Fast forward.
  
• Monday.
• Today.
• Class was at 10am. Not too bad for a start to a class. But the prof is a totally douchebag. Chris Andrews. What a friggin tool. He has shown up on time for only 2 classes of the entire semester. And last week he yelled at me and Heather for talking while he was setting up his computer and projector, meanwhile he didn't start the lecture for at least 10 minutes later. Agh, I can't stand the man. Apparently this is Rant Time. That sounds like a good blog topic. Next time, I'll write a Rant Time blog. Just dedicated to rants. Back to the rant at hand, Chris. Today, we had to present our projects to the whole class, all 160 of us. And he obviously shows up late. And then he wanted to extend the class for a half an hour at the end. So I got up when the class was supposed to be over, 12noon. And I started to walk out. And then he gets up and starts preaching directly to me, meanwhile 20 others are doing the same thing. He had the audacity to tell us that we should respect his times that he gives for ending a class. But yet he NEVER shows up on time himself. I'm not giving respect to a fool who doesn't give the entire class any respect. So screw him. I definitely walked out. And down went my marks for that class. The rage I have towards that toolbox.
• Now that that's out.
• I went to Big Slice for lunch. Kinda sketchy but cheap. It's on Yonge Street, so it's got some kinda credibility...
• 12:30- 3:30 Studio Time.
  
• 3:30 onwards I basically worked on the rest of my Theory Manifesto and Structures problems.
  
• And here I sit on my blog. Writing. And pausing. And writing.
• And end.
• Go DEE! [That's my personal touch!]
  

A pigeon flying in Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto.

The First [The Real First]

So it's the first blog.
You may have read a previous blog in this blog but that was not created by me.
Dee, my good friend, decided to create a blog for me. And then she would post blogs written by her as if it were me writing them.
So I've decided to take it back under my control. Hopefully she can't get in to this blog and edit it, seeing that she's the one who created the account....
So yes, the Life and Times...
Basically whenever I have a spare minute, I'll be posting a short thing or photo as I've seen many others do, including my hero, Dee.
Hopefully they'll be entertaining, I can be, so my blog should reflect that....
Between Facebook, Hotmail, Msn, and my actual life I hope to pop some quotes in here.
Cheers to the first blog.