Last Bus Home

Blue Veins by the Raconteurs

Siblings

This is Maggie and Murphy, my roomates for the month.

Pink Glove

Frozen Aftermath

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap

Queen St. West Fire Day After

On February 20th, the streetcar I sat on was rerouted due to a 6-alarm fire on Queen St. West. I work close enough that it only took a 5 min walk after getting of the streetcar that morning to leave me smelling like soot. The Torontoist has an exclusive series of photographs that document the blaze.

During lunch the next day, I went down to the site. Between the police barricades, media reporters and photographers, it was hard to get close to the scene. Along with many others, I stood behind the barrier starring at the mess, destruction and loss.

Lazy Montreal Sunday

I used to live near the intersection of Rue St. Denis and Laurier in Montreal. During my time there, my daily routine would include walking past a bank and a pharmacy enroute to the metro. I returned to my old stomping grounds a fews weeks ago. The pharmacy is still there but the bank has been re-designed and converted into La Boîte Gourmand, a spacious, friendly and delicious café.

Montreal is known for their fabulous cafés and La Boîte Gourmand raises the bar. It is not only a bright and warm environment to meet family and friends but also a place I would have seen myself frequent alone had Montreal still been my home.

With washrooms walls designed as chalkboards and a playroom at the back, kids like it there too.

This is Koko, a talented and wonderful animator and illustrator. Please visit his website.

Coffee, drugs, friends, what more could I have asked more from that urban block on a lazy Sunday?

Open Territory

Open Air Shop by Savage Rose

It was a cool summer day of 2007 as I manoeuvred my way across Queen Street. I waited for a young man on his bike, sitting up straight in a navy jacket, to go by. He rode past and I watched him smack without remorse, each and every innocent person he sailed by, whether they stood in his way or not. The majority of Toronto pedestrians are unaware of bike street traffic and I too, have done my share of yelling. But that day, this random assault on bystanders was purely violent aggression and not warranted. I was a witness and not a victim, only because I had let him pass me by before crossing.

Yesterday, I was not so lucky. In the middle of a sidewalk, void of other people, I was punched in the back. My innocent self assumed I was only shoved aside except, as the coward shuffled quickly by, the sharp distinguished pain from his fist could not be ignored . Just like how he only saw me from behind, I could only see, by then, the back of a navy blue jacket, this time on foot, already far in the distance. I am still feeling the hit today and wonder if the sting would hurt less if I had been punched in the face.

38 Day Count Down

For many years, I surrounded myself with belongings that allowed me to call where I was based home.

After 2 months on Craigslist, a weekend Winter Garage Sale and a big sigh of relief, this is what remains.

Heavy furniture, light decoration, and practical bits have done their job well allowing me comfort and refuge. But it is the lives of those come and gone that embed themselves into the walls and make up the story of 83 Beatrice Street.

A very special thanks to Toula! This video is for you.

Marble House by The Knife

Day Watch

Spikey

I'm starting to appreciate these creatures, their beauty and intelligence. As of tomorrow I will be responsible for the well-being of Maggie and Murphy while their owners are away. I hope I will be able to live up to their expectations.

Midnight Prowl

Dancing Behind My Eyelids by Múm

Black and Velvet

A slow confident pour, merging in time

Exquisite champagne, smoothness of Guinness

Layers of existence

Drunken Sweetness

sometimes just a light brush, lips touch barely a kiss

floating circles of delight, lychee sour bliss

Gong Xi Fa Cai - bye bye piggie, hello rat

Pastel by Katrina Lee

In my recent preoccupation with the move, I neglected to acknowledge that February 7 was the first day of the Lunar Month of the Chinese calendar. That means it was Chinese New Year 4706 yesterday, the darkest day of the month, ending with a lantern festival 15 days later when the moon is at it's brightest.

As a "Gwailo" living in Toronto with no family nearby, it is easy for Chinese New Year to pass by uneventfully for me. But rarely does it go by without some recollection of myself in a pretty new dress, sweating at the back of a steaming hot car, on the way to visit and pay respect to my ten great grandmothers, whom I only knew by their number in-line. Often these visits would often include receving red packets filled with money from strangers. Such is the tradition.

This year happens to be the year of the Rat. In the cycle, the Rat is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac, beginning the sequence, recurring every twelfth year, and signifying new beginnings. I am a Rat from 1972 and this year represents 3 lunar cycles after I was born and if Chinese astrology proves right, probably a new direction in life for me.

Kong Hei Fat Choy!

Gate 31 - Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Montreal

Seems like home to me by Two Gallants

Airports are pitstops of thought, places symbolic of personal and physical movement. This is the second of what will hopefully be a series of photographs that reflect my journey in the next year while I wander out to embrace new experiences and search for my way home.

This is the first photo. You can read about "Gate 41" here.

After the Storm

Your Daily Gift by Savage Rose, 1971

My favorite Savage Rose album is actually their 1968 "Yellow Album".

It has been written up as "one of the great rock albums from 1968. Denmark’s Savage Rose are one of the greatest European experimental, progressive bands with a career that successfully spans over 40 years." Read more here

Rest

Green Roofs 2

The School of Art, Media and Design at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

It is not only an environmentally friendly roof, but also an outdoor gathering space for the community of students at the campus.

Imagine spending the hours of your student days in such a positive learning environment!