surprise!

Jeff, Luisa, Parki, Ray and me. Photo by Ruth.

So it turns out that my lunch at King's Garden with Ruth yesterday was actually a surprise birthday gathering consisting of Jeff, Ruth, Parki, Ray and Luisa, arranged by my sister (!). It took me a second or two when we headed to our table to register the fact that hey, I knew these people...

:-)

Ruth and Luisa.

We had dim sum, and I happily stuffed myself on steamed shrimp dumplings, my favourite. Yummm.

After lunch, I was horrified to remember that I had forgotten to put Sam (my new Tamagotchi) on pause. He was VERY hungry and unhappy when I got back but at least he was still alive. Barely.

Had a mostly lazy birthday afternoon. Hung out with Ruth a bit, did some work and housecleaning, took a nap, bought some tea at St. Lawrence Market. I recently used up my Mate Vana, Caramel Rooibos and Angel Falls Mist (gave the latter to Ruth because it was too fruity-tasting for me) so figured that entitled me to three more boxes of tea: Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice (tried this at Allison's and really liked it), Celestial Seasonings Decaf White Tea and Tummy Mint Wellness Herb Tea. Also could not resist a bar of Green & Black Mayan Gold Dark Chocolate with Orange.



In the evening, Jeff and I went to Canoe, which is situated on the top floor of the TD Centre. We even managed to get a window table after Jeff told the hostess it was my birthday! I had the Yarmouth Lobster & Cuttlefish Salad with Mustard Creme Fraiche, Palm Hearts & Lemon Balm Dressing for an appetizer (VERY VERY good), and Ted's Organic Char with Honey Mustard, Abitibi Caviar & Creme Fraiche Mash as a main course. For dessert, Jeff and I split the Dark Chocolate Ganache, made with "Superior Cocoa Beans, Mulled Figs & Earl Grey Milk Chocolate Ice Cream."

Yummmmmmm.




The service was very good: attentive but not TOO attentive, friendly, efficient. View was wonderful. Company: even better. :-)

'Twas a very good birthday.

Leaving for FilKONtario tomorrow, so I likely won't be posting again until next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

March 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

happy new year!

Out of curiosity, I checked over Predictions for 2004 that some of you made a year ago. Hey, some actually came true! :-)

Anyone care to make a prediction for 2005?

Also, a poll: where were YOU at midnight? At a party? With a friend? Asleep in bed?

I was at Reid and Luisa's place with Jeff, Iain, Michael and Ronnie. Luisa and I hung out in the livingroom chatting for several hours (ok, more than several hours) while the others played board games and computer games.

I so adore Luisa. It was wonderful to get her all to myself for a while. :-)

Thank you again for the feedback and support re: my Too Paranoid? Blathering, the advice about self-defense courses, the sharing of similar experiences.

The incident with the stranger itself was minor, in the grand scheme of things; I was more moved by how many of you took the time to post or e-mail me privately since the incident, both friends and those I haven't yet met in person.

And this is one of the things I love most about online communities: the bringing together of individuals who would likely never be able to all meet in one place in real life. The connections that sometimes occur in cyberspace, however briefly, can have sometimes have a lasting effect; even a one-time post in a stranger's message board in the middle of the night can provide support when it's most needed, for example.

I enjoyed reading Allison's 2004 retrospective, especially the last bit:

"Another year of LiveJournal: helpful and supportive comments, thoughtful prose, goofiness, rants, highs and lows, stories, poems, artwork and songs to make me cry, laugh and admire, a welcome break in the day, my link to friends all over the world."

This was so true for me as well, except it applies to other online communities as well as Livejournal. Yes, the package also includes some politics, infighting, sensitive egos; several of my friends avoid LJ because of this. I also don't delude myself in thinking that online contact can replace face-to-face interaction, but unfortunately geography often gets in the way of the latter. :-(

For me, however, it's definitely been worth it and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it all. I'm deeply grateful for the knowledge, support and friendships I've gained through online communities, and will never take them for granted.

Thank you, all. And have a very Happy New Year!

January 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments