London calling

I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together - marilyn monroe

Listening: Howl - Florence + The Machine
Drinking: Strawberry and Mango (Twinnings)
Reading: Kant After Duchamp - Thierry de Duve

Jolie matin!!!!!!

All-nighters are no fun. This is the only good part: sunrise!! Off to bed, hope you all have a great day!

Ahhhh, i don't mind going into work, and even early at that, when the destination is Santiago, Chile( for a 3 day layover no less!) I visited Chile in late 2007, when it was just starting to turn to summer; now i am in the middle of their winter - hopefully not as chilling as my canadian counterpart. The flight from Toronto is about 10hrs 30mins, and when you arrive, as a canadian you have to pay a $130 landing fee (however it is good for up to 5 yrs, or when your passport expires) It's good to be crew, all fees are waived!! Upon my arrival through the sliding doors towards my charriot ( a mini bus that will hold 9...uncomfortably) yes, i see it. I see my breath. It is cold here. Yes, i'm going to write it. It's chilly in Chile!!!




To be honest, i didn't do much more then eat steak and drink wine (it seems to be the South American way). The location of the hotel is very far from the downtown core of the city, and unfortunately stuck in tourista-ville. I prefer to be in the heart of a city, where you can see the beats in the people walking by, the small shops and cafes as opposed to the mega malls and chain restaurants. Below are some pictures from my previous trip (at the start of summer, hence the sunlight!) Santiago is a very beautiful city, with some amazing museums. One of them is one of Pablo Neruda's homes, La Chascona (one of three homes/museums in Chile). He was a Chilean poet and this is where his nobel peace prize is kept on display. This museum is found at the bottom of a huge mountain where a statue of Mary sits atop, overlooking the city. There is a funicular rail system (like a trolley) that brings one to the top of the mountain and across is as well.

MAIL! I love getting mail (really who doesnt't?!!?) Better yet is getting mail from Japan-land! Thanks Ian for my b-day mail! Love the cherry blossom bowl and the card.




Listening: Television - Disposable Heroes of Hipoprisy
Drinking: Japanese Treasure (Green tea, Steeps)
Reading: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City - Nick Flynn

Being sick does have it's benefits: it allows one to catch up on old hobbies (case in point this blog). I wanted to print off some photos to hang in my apartment; usually I use Costco online, however this time it was a negative that I wanted to enlarge so I drove to the store and walked up to the photo centre and asked for a 5x7 - how difficult is that you ask? Seems that they no longer have the facilities to make prints from negatives, not since September. I was crestfallen. Are negatives really that old school? Albeit I don't use film as much as I used to, but to completely remove it from a photo shop?!? Wouldn't you want to enlarge this if you had it?

Listening: What's a Girl To Do - Bat for Lashes
Drinking: Silver Cloud (White tea, Steeps)
Reading: American Gods- Neil Gaiman

What better to do when you're sick but to write about how you became so. I have no one to blame except myself, and of course BA (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Friday night I was supposed to meet up with a friend and check out an art gallery opening, however I received a phone call at 7pm that changed my evening plans. I did go to the art opening, but instead of bar hoping around the city, I went to BA for work instead (a much better deal I believe). At Gallery 47 (47 Milky Way Ave.), Jaclyn Quaresma's Of Many show was having its debut. Quaresma laid over the floor her own man-made white tiles with the intention of the audience to break the tiles as they trod over them during the length of the exhibit (one month). It was an odd mixture of emotion; at once you feel like a child, been given free reign to play, dance and step anywhere to make something happen, however once you do in fact break one of the tiles, you almost feel ashamed, like yikes, i just cracked your floor dude, sorry. It reminded me at once of Nijo castle in Kyoto and its nightingale floors, with just the lightest step one could hear an enemy approaching. The same technique seemed to work on these tiles, the lighter you tread, the easier to break, and once they did start moving away from one another, it started to take on a landscape of passing icebergs.




Ok, so I left my friend at a bar , and off to BA for me! We arrived in the afternoon and what better way to wind down from a full nights' work = malbec at an outdoor cafe of course! My friend Paulette took us for dinner to a carne restaurant named El Establo ( Paraguay 489), which served a delicious assortment of CARNE, CARNE, CARNE, and of course more malbec (there's nothing wrong with that). Afterwards I took everyone to Club Bahrein (Lavalle 345) which I had frequented in the past and enjoyed. It hadn't changed much! Three levels, top being a low key lounge, main floor a 80s-90s throwback and the basement is where it's at with house and electronica. There was a little something for all the different age groups in the crew. However, Argentinians don't typically eat dinner until well after 9pm and start going to the clubs 'round 1am. We were there at midnight (2 for 1 drinks end at 24:00 in the upstairs Yellow Bar). The music started to get really good a little after 3am, and my friend Elmo and I stayed until 4:30 (reason #2 of why i became sick this week = out too late...oh reason #1: worked an all night flight, did not rest upon landing).



Got to sleep 'round 5am and woke up at 10am to get ready for work (a Santiago, Chile turn; where we had some time on the ground to play around some).


We got in fairly late but were still hungry, unfortunately most kitchens were closing 'round 1am. We found one open until 2am, but i will refrain from mentioning it, it was not very good. I had promised Elmo to go to a mix club (gay/straight) so off to Amerika (Gascon 1040) we went! Cover was $40 pesos, with one free drink from a set menu (which mostly consisted of either vodka or gin with banana - it was awful!) The club itself was pretty cool, 3 different levels open to one another-in order to check out everyone. A drink that is pretty popular in BA is Champagne + Speed (which turns out to be their version of Red Bull) and it's delicious!

Again I made it home for 5am and woke up at 10am (reason #3 = no sleep) to make the most of my last day. A few haunts on my own that i wanted to check out. Tealosophy (Av. Alvear 1883, Galleria Promenade) which is a little shop i discovered on my previous trip, and 2 years later it's just as good! Unfortunately they only had 2 of the 4 teas I desired, but beggars can't be choosers. Ines Breton, the women who makes the teas has served the King and Queen of Spain along with the Dalai Lama. I recommend Green Geisha, Green Berries and Calm. From here I walkeded on the outskirts of Recoleta cemetery to Tea Connection (Uriburu 1597) for a great salad and of course some tea! Walked along the footpath shopping street Florida to check out the home goods at Falabella.

I enjoy working overseas, however it usually involves pulling a few all nighters in a row and when you get home you're on a wacky sleep schedule, and that can lead to a head cold, which is where i'm at. Boo.

Listening: Smoke Without Fire - Duffy
Drinking: Tea a l'opera (Green Tea, Mariage Freres)
Reading: L'elegance du herisson - Muriel Barbery

My friend Ian, who resides currently in Osaka Japan, posted not too long ago a few pictures and tales of the beautiful cherry blossoms he was witnessing. This in turn made me jealous, because I am not experiencing this sight residing in Toronto. However, with my vocation, I was the lucky traveller to Victoria, BC at the beginning of march, and TA DA = Cherry Blossoms!! Hahaha Ian, we got 'em too!

From Victoria, I flew to Los Angeles, and upon my walk back to the hotel from an early morning Trader Joe's shopping spree, I saw my first ever Humming bird. It literally stopped me in my tracks. I think I just stood on the sidewalk for a good 10 minutes watching this beautiful creature flit and fleet. It was mesmerizing. I had never seen one before, and never realized how much work it must be for that tiny bird to maintain itself, it's wings are moving at 50 beats per second! The smaller they are the faster they beat. Did you know that they are the only type of bird that can fly backwards? I am ever so grateful to have spied it's movement. My apologies for the pictures, this little guy is fast!

Listening: Dogs Days are Over - Florence + The Machine
Drinking: Cherry Blossom Tea (White Tea from Steeps)
Reading: L'elegance du herisson - Muriel Barbery