Oh yeah...there was supposed to be a "part 2" to that previous post.

Sorry.

Okay, so where was I. Toronto. Oh yeah...

So after our adventure up to the tippy top of the CN Tower, we hopped back on the subway and made our way up to what was supposed to be an awesome H&M. I was so psyched about this little journey to clothing nirvana that I'd literally brought a suitcase that was 3 times larger than what I needed so that I could carry all my loot back with me. But we got there, and...meh. Wasn't really loving the spring stuff, and although the coats/jackets were awesome, I couldn't really convince myself to shell out $69 (Canadian) for something that I wouldn't be able to enjoy for at least another 10 mos. And also? The prices weren't as "reasonable" as I remember them being in past H&M shopping experiences. And they're doing that thing that The Gap did a few years ago when they decided to make all their size 10 thru 14 sizes fit like size 6 thru 10 sizes. So H&M? Before you decide to conquer America? You'd better figure shit out so you don't end up in the crap heap like The Gap.

After the disappointing trip to H&M, we went back to the hotel to refresh and try and figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. Toronto is an AMAZING city for all types of ethnic cuisine: Greek, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, etc., so we wanted to try out something that would be memorable. We went to China Town and were not disappointed. I wish I could remember the name of the place we went to (Jaye? Help me?), but it had been recommended to us, and suffice it to say, we were the only Anglos in the joint. We ordered the best salt and pepper shrimp I've ever had, some AWESOME Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce, and this great sliced chicken with ginger and green onion. Accompanied by a couple of Tsing Taos and the unbelievably cute 5 month old Asian baby sitting next to us, it was a fine experience.

Of course, when you're in Chinatown, you have to endure scenes like this, but hey...when in Rome.

Next day, woke up and it was cloudy, colder, and looking like it would snow at any moment. After an early morning pre-presentation work session in my hotel room, Jaye and I headed north, back to the H&M so I could return 3/4 of the stuff that I'd purchased but failed to try on the day before, then we headed to the area where we were going to be doing our presentation, near the University of Toronto.

It was lunch time, so we looked for a place to grab a quick bite. A block away from the university building we were presenting in, we found Bar Mercurio. Wow. What a pleasant surprise THAT was. They had counter service (order at the counter, you're served at the table...but apparently at night they have table service), but this lovely and bustling eatery is what Enoteca in Austin is trying to be. Tons of character, great food, and (what Enoteca and Cippolina lack), utterly authentic. I had a smoked salmon/portabella/goat cheese pizza and Jaye had this mixed seafood linguine. They were both wonderful and hearty.

We scooted to our presentation space and did our thing. During the presentation, it started snowing outside. Lightly at first, then like crazy. By the time we wrapped it up, the locals were telling us to haul ass so we would be able to catch our 6pm flight (it was 3pm). So we hopped on the subway (the wrong line, which we figured out and corrected within one stop), went back to the hotel where our luggage was waiting, and hopped in a car we'd reserved for our trip to the airport.

Now, it was REALLY snowing. Hard. Big, wet snow. Traffic was screwed. We got to the airport after about 1.25 hour in the car. Found out our flight was delayed. Breezed through customs, and finally boarded our plane close to 7pm, EST. Got to Atlanta and found out our flight to Austin was delayed by about an hour. Had dinner in a "Chili's for Desperate Air Travelers" restaurant, and boarded the plane. Jaye watched her Battlestar Gallactica DVD while I tried desperately to get some shut eye. But of course there was this DRUNK chick who thought she was way cuter than she actually was, walking the aisle, and loudly hitting on anything that had a penis. I swear, I was about to CLOCK her. But it was kind of worth the pain when she walked off, and we got to watch the guys near us make fun of her and talk about how bad her breath smelled.

Got back to Austin and had to wait an unusually long time for our luggage. Dropped Jaye off and rolled into my garage at like 12:40am. Took a shower and collapsed in bed at about 1:20. Woke the next day to muggy temperatures that eventually hit the mid-80s.

Wild.

Toronto: Great city. Deserves more than a 36 hour visit.

Me: Thrown back in to work. Sort of zombie-like. Future stepson and in-laws visiting this weekend. Heading back out of town on Tuesday.

But you know what? My puny azalea bush--that has NEVER done anything that produce more than a couple of pitiful blooms in the previous 2 springs that I've lived in this house--is exploding with blooms. If you grow up behind the Pine Curtain, spring to you means blooming dogwoods and azaleas--two things that aren't really found here in Central Texas. So having this little slice of east Texas right outside my front door is a really nice treat.

Oh Hai! I'm braindead!

Y'all, the past...um...like, 50 hours or so have been tres wacky. Time for a recap!!

Okay, so when we last left Karla May, she was looking forward to an insanely early wake up time for bit of whirlwind travel up to our neighbors to the north. So yeah...Monday, I go get Jaye at 5:00am. We get to ABIA at 5:20. Get onboard (pretty much) on time, and head to Cincinatti. Yeah, I've never been there either. Anyway, everything's on time and okay but, for some reason, we're on these little regional jets. And what does that mean to me? Time for Xanax!! Yay!! I actually managed to sleep for part of the flight, which is like HUGE for me. Anyhoo, we get there, have some breakfast, then board the next little regional jet to Toronto.

Answer me this: Every leg of this trip we took, the planes were (surprisingly) full. So why the little pipsqueak planes? Eh? What, Austin ain't good enough for a "real" plane? And also: Why isn't the word "pipsqueak" a more frequently-used word?! I mean, it's AWESOME!!

But anyway...

We land in Toronto around 12:45pm EST. Get to the hotel, check in, etc. I BEG Jaye for a Disco Nap. She allows. So 45 mins. (and VERY refreshed) later, we venture out. Get on the TTC and head to the area near the CN Tower. It's about 2:30 now, so we're hungry, and we stop off at a pub for some grub. And a couple of ciders.
Is it just me, or is this sign for the men's room both counter-intuitive and funny at the same time?

It was cold and clear in Toronto. The kind of cold where you're fine if you're in the sun, but the minute you step into the shade and that wind hits you, damn, you're COLD.

One thing about Toronto that reminded me of Austin: building and cranes EVERYWHERE.

Anyway, we get to the tower, and it costs $26 fookin' dollars (Canadian, of course...which means it was more in Amerikhun dollars, because ours is running about $.95 to $1.00 of theirs). So yeah. But then we decide to pay the extra $9 to go to the "Sky Pod"--the extra super special high part of the tower that's another 33 stories (or "storeys" if you want to go all Canadian with your spelling) up. We're suckers. But you know what? It was pretty damn cool, and we lucked out on the crystal clear day. But hey, CN tower folks: Maybe if you didn't charge so damn much for the tickets to go up, people could actually afford to enjoy and buy food and drinks in your nice, swanky, EMPTY bar/restaurant.Just a suggestion...

Let's get to the million dollar views, shall we?



Downtown, to the north and a bit east-ish of the tower.

The lakefront toward the west.

A huge dork.

The "Sky Pod" explained.

This view is what 9 extra dollars buys you. That roundish structure at the bottom of the frame is the part of the tower where the previous photos were taken. Yeah...we were TOTALLY high.

Okay...part 2 of this post is going to be tomorrow night because a) I'm tired, b) yesterday was BH's birthday and I wasn't even here, so I feel like I'm double-neglecting him by sitting here blogging, and c) there's oh so much more to tell.

Good night, friends.

Whee!

Happy Easter, all. I'll post photos of the Geej's HAUL of eggs filled with cay-un-dee soon. However, right now I've got to go pack and get ready to wake at 4:15 am to catch my 6:20am flight to here:

For work. For one night. And it's really, really cold up there. With a chance of snow on Tuesday. Sigh... At least they've got a HUGE H&M there...

More soon.

Random, only because I have no brain power to be cohesive.

Geej and (my god daughter) Annie O, kicking back at the Dog and Duck at SXSW, just like their mommies used to do.

See right there, just beyond the railing. That guy? Sort of looking down as he walks? He's dressed head-to-toe in black, including a black "leather" duster coat-ish thingie. Um...why? At the time this picture was taken, it was at LEAST 86 degrees. And he was like the 5th douchebag I'd seen that day dressed in the allblackincludingleather ensemble. Please give me a FOOKIN' break. SXSW Hipster-wannabes SUCK. And stink! Because they're SWEATY!! From all the unnecessary LEATHER and/or black they wear. Pfffft.

This picture kills me. It's Daddy-O and Annie-O wearing their matching "Lone Star" gimme caps and listening to our friends play really good music at a family-friendly SXSW show on Saturday.

You see that teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeny pinkish speck in the upper left center of this photo? That's the Geej, running her peaches off at Commons Ford Ranch Park. I can't WAIT to see this place when the trees are fully covered in leaves and there's lots of spotty shade.

The week.

What IS it with this week?

Monday sort of sucked.

Yesterday, it rained like hell AND it also sort of sucked. Let me put it this way: My team was in interviews for our open position from 12:30 until 5:15pm, which was then followed by nearly TWO HOURS of passionate deliberation about the candidates. The choice wasn't just difficult; it was excruciating. It came down to an extremely talented external candidate who really wants and is excited about the position and an extremely talented internal candidate who--although we've worked with him in the past and he interviewed for the job--never convinced us that he really, really wanted it. Plus, I think the work style of our team drives him slightly nuts and I truly believe that there are bigger and better things on the horizon for him at our company. It was rough, but we ended up going with the external candidate. Tomorrow, I get to call the third candidate we interviewed and tell him we've gone with someone else. Not fun.

I am simply swamped at work. I feel like I'm mere seconds from drowning. If I had the ability to work until 6:30 every night, I would be able to get a lot more done. But I can't do that (due to my Geej-fetching deadline), and I really don't want to have to work at home at night. I am trying to clarify the line between work life and home life, and working at home only blurs that. But really, it's the only way to keep myself from complete burial.

Next week, I go to Toronto for work. The week after that, Boulder. A couple of weeks after that, BH and I head to the beach (hallelujah!) and then I head to Chicago for work. In other words, April's gonna be a bitch.

Meanwhile, The Geej has become very taken with her Little People. She takes them in the bathtub with her, and there is all sorts of drama and adventure. Tonight, she lined them all up on the side of the tub, and I asked her what all of their names were. They were, from left to right: Lisa, Batman, Teddy Bear, My Love, a different Lisa, Nabel, Wonderpet, The Other Wonderpet, Spiderman, and Louie.

The girl has the most wonderful imagination.

Stress relief.

When you have a really stressful and rather unpleasant day at work, one of the ways you can deal with that stress is to stop at Target on the way home and buy yourself some of these and then prune the HELL out of your crepe myrtle tree. I mean, really go to town. And when you're done with that? Attack the lantana.

For a moment there, in the midst of my joyful lopping, I felt a bit like Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest, but I'll be damned if I didn't feel better afterward.

On a completely different note, would you like some pecans?