The Monday After......

It was definitely an eventful past four days here in Toronto; earthquake, vandalism, lockdowns......loss of common sense from some people (if they've had any to begin with).

The Monday after.....it's back to work for most people in the downtown core, though, things were not quite back to normal as yet.  My office building was still operating on enhanced security.  We were advised to come to work wearing casual clothes.  We were advised to have our G20 registration pass, work badge, and a government photo ID with us at all times.  As it turns out, it was good to have had these precautions.  I was on my way home from work, a protest was once again starting.  You never know what will happen during these things.

A lot has been said these past four days - anybody watching the media coverage should take the reporting with a grain of salt.

I, for one, support the police.  It was not an easy job keeping their cool while being taunted.  Professionalism must be maintained, safety of the public is foremost in mind.  It was an extremely difficult situation they were in.

I hope that they do not get demoralized by hearing all the detracting comments addressed to them.  Your hard work is very much appreciated.

Keep Safe!

Chaos in TO

The G20 wasn't supposed to be this way, unfortunately, violence has erupted in the city of Toronto.  I was able to witness some of it.  Was peacefully, having a slice at Pizza Pizza on Yonge and Elm when suddenly the windows were smashed in by black clad persons, as groups of protesters and maybe onlookers walked past and amazingly were calmly taking pictures while all these were happening.  The sound of breaking glass was frightening.  All of us patrons inside rushed back to the kitchen.  It was quite a tense moment as we were all watching these black clad persons finish up the whole front windows.  Unbelievably, not three minutes has passed after these black clad persons were gone, a customer comes into the shop with all it's broken windows and patrons huddled in the back kitchen and orders a slice of pizza.  Are Canadians cool or what?

Front St during the G20

A normally busy Front St days before the G20 within the orange zone.

えええ。。。。。じしん？

So where exactly was I when the earthquake hit?  I have not felt even the slightest tremor. I went out for lunch, walked around the PATH with my iPod plugged into my ears, lost in my music, did a little shopping along the way.  I came back to the office.....everyone has been ordered to go home. 

どうして？  Apparently an earthquake has hit Toronto that had windows rattling and desks shaking.  How could I miss something like that?  Seriously! 

At Work

It's Wednesday and definitely feels like a Saturday here at work.  It's dress down these past three days (so we blend in with the protesters, just in case.....for real).  It's quiiieeeeet!  Nobody around.  I am the only one on my end of the floor.  I have to keep moving around, otherwise the lights would go off on me.   I have my music turned up more than usual.  Emails are rare, my phone has rang about twice since I came in today.  Hmmmmm.....what to do?  Maybe this is as good a time as any to do my homework (-_o).

The Tuesday Before......

My workplace is located right smack in the middle of it all....yes, I am talking about the G20.  Heavy police presence in our office building.  Police (and horses) in riot gear in the surrounding area.  Perimeter fence right outside our doors.  Security personnel positioned at every entrance and exit.  Badge and other identification always at the ready.  Everyone has been expecting disruption to their daily comings and goings, surprisingly, there were none at all - none that I have experienced firsthand anyway.  I was able to come to work without any hassle.  Some feel very uncomfortable of the heavy police presence.  I actually feel that my workplace in these few days is the safest place on earth.

レベル４

今日はレベル四クラスのはじまる。

楽しみ！

.....can't think of a title

I must have a "talk to me" sign hanging above my head today. Everyone just seems to be in a really talkative mood. This guy however, tops my list. As I was leaving from the office, there was somebody by the elevator banks who at first seemed lost, he said "hi" in the most enthusiastic voice, so I said "hi, can I help you?". "Oh no, he says, I'm just saying hi." Okay....but then he goes on "It's Friday after all".....uhmm, what if it wasn't a Friday?! He gets on the same elevator as me and still goes on about his plans for the weekend...okay, now I know his big plans - since it's going to be a longer weekend for him, rather than just cleaning the floors of his apartment, he is gonna go all out and clean the bathroom as well - all these in a span of 80 seconds from the 21st floor to the ground floor. Thank the heavens the elevator doors opened as he has just asked me what my plans were for the weekend - I wasn't about to let him know that it isn't as exciting as cleaning house.

がんばります！

Yesterday, the trainer at the gym gave me a new program. It was short but intense, I was shaking at the end of the session, and man am I feeling it today. However, I do aim to be able to do them without huffing and puffing and with good form at the end of six weeks.

がんばります！

Luminato 2010 Toronto....Light on Your Feet

Dropped by Yonge-Dundas Square tonight to check out the J-Pop night of the Light on Your Feet performance of the Luminato 2010 Festival....was able to catch De De Mouse (デデマウス）, his music was catchy and bouncy - sort of.  Only stayed for his first performance though as it was getting quite chilly outside, grabbed a not-so-Japanese dinner then on home sweet home.  Checked out his other performances on YouTube - pretty good, the sort of thing that you would move with while holding a bottle of beer - I would anyway.

Manga....

I haven't really been reading mangas until now as I really wanted to read it in Japanese - however, as that seems to be a long way coming, I decided to read an English version, of course, of all the luck, I happened to innocently pick one that still does not have an ending.  The manga is ongoing, and has been for the last six years, which means that I'd have to wait for months in order to find out the "what happens next?".  However, at this point in the story, it's more like "okay I just want to know how it ends" as it has become too melodramatic for me.  It started out as fun, but there's bound to be lots of complications as it has been going on for the last six years. 

That is why I don't like watching soap operas - I just do not have the patience of having to watch problems being dragged on for the whole week and then it becomes Friday....Saturday and Sunday drives you nuts, wondering what the heck is wrong with the girl, why doesn't she say something! anything! wallowing in misery - argh, anyway....I digress, back to my manga - it drive me nuts to wait two whole days to find out "what happens next" imagine having to wait two whole months?!

I'm moving on.......I hope they all have a happy life.  If by any chance in the future I happen to come across the manga again, I hope it has a proper ending that I can read.

Morning Prayer

"Dear God,

So far today, I've done all right,
I haven't gossiped, lost my temper,
been greedy or grumpy, been nasty,
selfish or overindulgent.  I'm thankful for that.

But, in a few minutes, God,
I'm going to get out of bed.
And from then on, I'm probably
going to need a lot more help.

Amen."

Kare Kano.......

I have just finished watching the anime "Kareshi Kanojo no JiJou" or Kare Kano for short.  I happened to come across it when I was searching for something watch.  The synopsis seemed interesting so I made a go for it.  By the way, I am not doing a review here....just what I thought of the show. 

In general, the show was good but it was weird during some episodes.  One episode showed all the characters in stick figures, you could literally see the drawings on paper stuck to lollipop sticks moving about the screen.  There were a lot of recaps and I mean a lot of them.  Most each episode would have a recap so imagine going through the story and by the time you get to about episode 20 - how long would that recap be right?  There was even one episode dedicated to just recaps.  I've learned the this was due to budget constraints so they have to make do with whatever I guess. 

Prior to actually finishing the anime, I've read a lot of reviews about how the ending did not have a closure at all and that you should read the manga.  At that point I was having second thoughts about finishing the show, however, the story in itself was good if you overlook the lollipop sticks and the multi-recaps.  I gave it a chance...I read the manga ending for which I was satisfied with considering they were still together after sixteen years with three kids.  The anime ending with the manga ending - I am satisfied with the whole show.  I am not so much a manga reader so therefore, it does not bother me if I don't know what's happened between the time the anime ended and the manga ended.  I've read bits and pieces out of curiousity, there were a lot of ups and downs, dark episodes and such - that's okay I don't need to know all that.  For me what's important is that they've made it through all that - I'm sure there's going to be more ups and downs ahead but such is life. 

Why I liked this show was because it did not have these love triangles and typical complications of a romantic story, but rather focused on the relationship developing between the two characters and how they've grown together. 

Garbage Cans.......どこ？

As Toronto gears up for the G20 Summit coming up in the next couple of weeks, garbage cans along Front and Wellington have all disappeared, instead you will see large plastic bags tied on the posts - clear for litter and blue for recyclables.  I've never really paid attention to these until I needed to throw away something and couldn't find a garbage can anywhere.

Unless Toronto is trying to revamp the looks of its garbage cans my only conclusion is that these things are a safety issue for the G20.