Haute Cuisine

Have you ever stopped to think about how amazing well-prepared meals are? Last night, my housemates and I collaborated on a delicious feast...homemade lasagna, cheesy garlic bread and a crazy big salad with homemade vinegrette dressing. Three letters can be used to describe the the impact that this meal had on all of us....WOW.

We went to Loblaws yesterday afternoon, and concocted a strategy...a grandiose plan to conquer the kitchen with our culinary skills. We filled our sparsely populated spice cupboard with all sorts of goodies...purchased all the essentials for lasagna (including a delicious french loaf) and salad...then we began cooking! Two hours later, we chowed down on an extremely satisfying meal. It's awesome to be involved in concocting perfection, and I hope that next time isn't too far away!

Nuit Blanche

Last night was kickin. The evening began with visitors from the city... Zizzie and Sam came up in a spontaneous turn of events, and we had an enjoyable visit and a nice chat! Amy was supposed to come, but she's coming tonight instead! Yay! Two nights of visitors!

After they left at midnight, we started a Desperate Housewives marathon (Eva Longoria is sooooo hot) that lasted till 4:20 am. With the sun nearing the horizon, it seemed appropriate to throw the Frisbee around until it was all the way up.

I love the sunrise. I think that, more than any other celestial event, the sunrise invokes one of the strongest and most haunting emotional responses from me. It's very similar to the way some amazing sunsets have made me feel over the years...A large array of emotions followed by a sense of release, a satisfaction that can only be measured by the my own emotional meter.

Though similar to sunset, the emotional response from a sunrise is different. Sunrise is filled with a feeling of anticipation, combined with the remnants of the childhood aversion of being up at such weird hours. "It's late, get to bed!"...Or..."It's too early to be awake, get back to sleep"... I can hear these words bouncing around my head. Obviously, they don't have any impact anymore, but they're still there, and they fuel the emotional barrage.

Sure, being up to see a sunrise screws up your sleep schedule, but it's amazing to experience and I look forward to the next time.

So Far So Good

Just to let you all know, my new attempt at being tidy is working! My room is perfectly clean :) ..... so far. Here's to hoping it lasts! Cheers.

Star Power

Last night, 27.9 million people tuned in to the finale of American Idol. The show was extremely padded with product placements, advertisements, and corny gag videos. Luckily, the idol finalists salvaged the evening with some amazing performances, and the night ended declaring Carrie Underwood as the winner over Bo Bice (which really made no difference to the success that these two performers will have for the next couple of years).

There really was only one segment of the show that I really really loved...Carrie's duet with the lead singer of Rascal Flatts on "Bless The Broken Road". Carrie, a girl who just six months ago was living in Checotah, Oklahoma listening to Rascal Flatts in her CD player, not only sang with her idols, but blew the socks off of the entire audience. If this performance were released as a single, I would definitely buy it. Way to go, Carrie!

And that's why today's song of the day is:

Rascal Flatts & Carrie Underwood - Bless The Broken Road

Song of the Day

I hereby declare that today's song of the day is:

Mariah Carey - We Belong Together

I have been recently introduced to the latest Mariah Carey CD. I must admit that I have been extremely disappointed by her music in recent years...so much so, that I assumed she was heading down the Whitney Houston road and could no longer hit her trademark high notes. The Emancipation of Mimi was a pleasant surprise, and proved that she can in fact still sing as well as she could when Vision of Love was released.

Mariah has returned to her strengths. Unlike most singers, she does not build up to that one big high note intended to blow everyone away. In fact, Mariah nails a high note, listeners go "Wow that was awesome, I'm impressed," and then she goes even higher, knocking our socks off. It takes amazing talent to go where no other artists have gone before, and Mariah succeeds here... Furthermore, this album clearly demonstrates that her multi-platinum days are far from over. I number We Belong Together among my favorite Mariah songs. Give it a listen if you have a chance!

Note to self: Get mom a copy of this CD for her birthday.

Mr. Clean

Alright, I think it's time to come clean about something. I am a terrible room organizer. Yes, you heard me. My room is a pig sty. I moved in on May 1st...23 days later, I'm still not organized as well as I would like to be, and I have to trip over all sorts of things in order to cross my room. This post marks the beginning of the new, organized Rob. Here's a list of the things that I will be doing for the next little while to maintain order in my life:

1. Do my laundry when it needs to be done
2. Hang my clothes in the closet as soon as they are washed (instead of my current "dig through the basket of clean clothes to find what i want" system that I currently use)
3. Bring my dishes to the kitchen when I'm finished with them
4. Make my bed in the morning
5. Empty my garbage can when it is full (before it starts overflowing)
6. Vaccuum my room when it needs to be vaccuumed
7. Put things back where they belong when i'm done using them
8. File all important papers in my filing cabinet in logical folders
9. Umm... what else do clean people do? Maybe that's it... Post comments if I should do more

So that's my goal. I think that I can do it :) No problem! What do you think?

Cottage Time

Time is an extremely valuable commodity. In our fast-paced world, there are generally more things to be done than there is time to do them. Today, I experienced a notable exception to this rule.

I am writing this post from my cottage…my little slice of heaven…the centre of my universe…the one location that has had a persistent presence in my life. I am convinced that my cottage exists in a time warp. This evening, my father and I arrived at the cottage at 6:45 pm, following our excursion to the movies to see Star Wars: Episode 3 (Awesome movie, but I digress). During the three hours following our arrival, we cleaned the entire place from stem to stern (swept, mopped, vacuumed and washed the carpet, scrubbed the bathroom, waxed the floor, dusted the ceiling/walls, and rearranged the furniture), cooked supper, and vegged for a half hour. After all that, I looked down at the time on my cell phone and it was only 9:30! I couldn’t believe it. How did we get all that done in just under 3 hours?

This is a regular occurrence at my cottage. Why is it that time screeches to a halt when I’m out here? Here are a few theories:

• Time Warp: My cottage exists in a space-time anomaly that deflects the proper flow of time. This kind of thing happens in star trek all the time, so this must be a perfectly valid explanation. I wish I could discover how to setup a time warp around my cubicle at work.
• Increased efficiency: I know this sounds much more ridiculous than the previous reason, but maybe there are fewer distractions out here. When there are no televisions, no high-speed internet, and no Xboxes or computer games, it's much easier to be efficient! Fewer distractions = higher efficiency! Maybe I should get rid of all of my technological devices once and for all! Or not...I'm trapped in my modern world.

Whatever the reason, the speed that time passes is one of the main reasons why cottage country is so appealing. Tomorrow, I’m headed back to the city. I guess it’s time to turn off my computer and go back to enjoying slow time while I still can!

Speakers

I have something that I want you all to think long and hard about. Deep down, this "something" affects us all on a regular basis. We're all familiar with sound...one of the 5 senses (or 6 if you're one of those). Isn't it AMAZING that we live in a world where we have these little (or big as it may be) devices called speakers that we can blast the shit out of on a regular basis, and they still keep coming back for more?

My idea for this post comes from my contribution to Galt Idol (see http://retchless.blogspot.com/2005/05/vocal-chords.html). Since Grade 8, I've been involved technically in MANY plays, concerts, assemblies, etc that involve sound engineering in some way. I number the technological requirements of Galt Idol in the top fraction of the events that I've been involved in...audio and video recordings, automated lighting, video device switching, live band, follow-spots, iMovies, and some kickin live vocals...all wrapped up into one 3 hour night. Events like these wouldn't be possible without speakers.

I'm convinced that speakers are a magical device with fairies inside that yell out exactly what you tell them to. Those fairies must be pretty good at emulating all sorts of different kinds of sounds!! Ok, I guess that seems a bit over the top. But I can't really think of any other explanation! Sure, I'm told that electrical impluses cause vibrations on some sort of membrane, but that doesn't seem very logical. I like my fairy idea better :)

But seriously, I'm extremely impressed by the technological importance that speakers provide in our lives. Think of how many things in our lives that would not exist if it weren't for the existence of speakers....recorded music, cell phones, television, megaphones, car audio, computer audio, home stereo systems, hearing aids, movie theatres (well, I guess silent movies would work), dances, concerts, radio, PAs, telephones, intercoms, answering machines, etc... I could probably think of many many more, but I'm tired and it's 3:44 am, and it's time for bed!

So appreciate the existence of speakers! They are one of the more ubiquitous technological marvels that enrich our lives. And next time you see something that has a speaker in it, let me know so that I can add it to my list!

Upsides

There are lots of reasons to like Kingston, and I'm sure we could all come up with a little list of our own if we put a little thought into it. Let me try:

1) Les Amis: Above all else, Kingston acted as a venue for the genesis of some of the deepest friendships that I will ever have. It's funny how people from such varying backgrounds can become such great friends (possible blog topic!).

2) The 20 Minutes or Less Phenomenon: Ask anyone how long it will take to get from point A to point B in Kingston, and you can bet that their answer will be 20 minutes or less. Things are considered FAR if it takes longer than 20 minutes to walk to it. Where else would everything that you need be within a 20 minute walking distance?

3) Sex on a plate: Kingston is the best place in the world to get fat. The proof is in the pudding:

• Stooley's: The best kept secret in Kingston. Try ordering a California Club next time you're nearby (see reason #2).
• Toucan: Can anyone say wings!? Soooooo good! Order double-sauced Hot/Honey Garlic wings! They'll blow you away!
• The Kitchen: In reference to the delicious restaurant at 2-126 Collingwood. If you were lucky enough to enjoy a "joint" effort (sure, i guess there's a double meaning there), you probably haven't eaten as well since. NOTE: Moved to Markham (Wait for Reasons to like Markham coming to a blog near you).

(originally posted in response to http://poetikzone.blogspot.com/2005/05/encomium-to-ktown.html.)

Vocal Chords

Today was a very....different...kind of day. I spent the day helping a small group of high school students prepare for Galt Idol, Alexander Galt Regional High School's annual singing competition. Man, can these kids ever sing. I wish that there had been a venue for me to "compete" with my voice when I was in high school. Sure, there were all sorts of singing events, coffee houses, variety shows.. But they didn't provide enough zing to fuel my competitive spirit. Combine that with a fear of messing up in front of my peers, and you have an explanation as to why I rarely publicly explored my singing abilities in my early years.

I'm reminded of a semi-traumatic experience that was most likely the root of the fear that I mentioned above. Picture this...Grade 5 Christmas concert, little Robbie bounds out onto the stage wearing rags in the role of Amahl from the musical "Amahl and the Night Visitors". My voice was still clinging to the purity of youth, filling the gymnasium where the play was held. I will never forget how often I was tormented in the months to follow. Oh sure, my family and close friends thought I was great (and I really was, too! I have video tape to prove it), but that did nothing to quell my reaction to the onslaught of negative commentary from elsewhere. It's funny how something as small as the opinions of your peers can affect your tendencies for as long as you let them.

I enjoy singing. Anyone who has lived with me or on the same block as me in recent years knows how often I'm belting out my favorite song of the hour/day/week. I make a point of getting up in front of crowds in Karaoke bars or talent nights, just to spite those little punks that wrecked the joy of singing for me when I was younger. If you're good at something, then there are bound to be people out there that appreciate you for your talents. Whatever you do, don't let the cynics win.

Transition

So this is what it feels like to write a blog post. Thanks for coming. I hope I'm interesting enough to fill your time with something fun and fresh. Ok let's try this.

Aren't transitions exciting? I think I'm in a transition period right now...I can prove it, too! For the first time in my life, I feel the need to write. To emote to the community at large, if you will. For those of you who know me, I bet you're saying "Holy crap, Rob has lost it! He's actually doing that thing that he said he could never do." Well, allow me to explain my reasoning. I've come to the realization that Blogs are what you make of them. There are no rules, no guidelines, just a little white box in the middle of a screen with a little blinking thing called a cursor in it. Yay! So now what!? "Why does Rob's want to write a blog then?" Well, that's not quite clear yet. For now, my answer is "Cause I feel like it." Ask me again later. I might have an answer then.

Well, I guess I already have a partial answer. Three blogs have contributed to my desire to write...to share whatever I have to say.

• http://qlink.queensu.ca/~2kf5 - Kendall's blog. My first exposure blogs...the beginning of my interest in blog-culture. I don't think I'll ever be as "out-there" as his blog often is, but I'll be honest.
• http://mtv.curry.com - Adam Curry (MTV VJ 1987-1995) shares his insights about the music industry from his days at MTV. Wow. Some of this stuff seemed like it was straight out of Almost Famous.
• http://thenewgoo.blogspot.com/ - The New Goo... I stumbled across Delia's blog by pressing the "next blog" button from Kendall's blog. I agree with her opinions on a lot of things...wait, that doesn't happen very often! She put a smile on my face.

I guess this is the beginning! Rob's giant leap. Blink..blink..blink. What's gonna come out from behind the cursor? Stay tuned! Let's see where this goes.