New York, New York

Oh, New York. 

The city of 8000 stereotypes (and all of them true to the dot).  

The New York Times recently published a series of haikus about the city in honour of National Poetry Month. They made me smile and they made me stop for a minute to revisit all the reasons why I chose to move to this city in the first place (Yes, it was for a job, but it was also for a dream I had for a long time). 

Some of the haikus are a bit random, of course - 17 syllables are not easy, but overall, they are a delight. You can read them here. 

Keeping with the theme, here are some more passionate New York tidbits:

NYC Tips and Etiquette by Nathan W. Pyle - made me laugh.

8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize NYC is a Horrible Place to Live - dystopian much.

Humans of New York - Brandon is great romantic. See for yourself and become addicted.

A Cup of Jo's Guide to NYC: 10 Ways How to NOT Look Like a Tourist - very similar points to mr. Pyle's, but told by more "ordinary" New Yorkers.

Opening sequence of Manhattan - Oh, Woody.

Now that I managed to sappily fall in love with New York all over again, it's time to leave the laptop and go for a walk in Greenwich Village and continue this love affair. 

Jules

Triathlon. According to Jules

Oh, hello Hudson River.

Full disclosure: I am not even close to a triathlete. So please, do not take the title of this post seriously. 

1. BIKE:

The perfect springy Sunday. So you decide a bike ride is the best possible way to spend it, although the alternative, sitting on your ass and binge watch Criminal Minds, sounds just as appealing. In the end, you go the classy way, put on your neat helmet and shove the bike in the elevator. Pushing pedals under the cherry trees all the way up to George Washington bridge is nice. 

Staaaaaaan!

2. SWIM:

It's Monday and you're STILL totally high on all the goodness Sunday brought. So you make big plans to make it to the pool after work. Only to see your dreams shattered when you find out two of the three experiments you ran on that lovely Monday didn't work and you find yourself stuck in the lab until 10 pm. No pool. And crushed spirits. So you decide that, instead of doing laps, you'll open up a Guinness and order a pizza. Then you decide to open another Guinness and do laundry. Suddenly, it's 2 am and you decide a bikini wax will be an awesome idea. Before you know it, Tuesday rolls around. You feel bloated because of the late night pizza binge. There are very few instances when pizza is NOT a good idea. Midnight being one of those instances. But you manage to escape the lab and get to the pool for a swim. Ole'! 

Hometown glory!

Excited.

Swimming doesn't go according to plan, mostly because instead of keeping track of laps you get continuously distracted by how much you want to bang the cutie from the 12th floor. So, you give up laps and switch to sprints and butterfly instead. Because killing your own arms is a good diversion from thinking about cutie's buff arms. Holy biceps!

Sunset in Central Park.

3. RUN:

Thursday is yet another good day. And again, you make it out of work in the daylight. Time for a quickie run through the park. It is still ridiculously beautiful with trees in bloom everywhere. But since you are a crappy runner, you don't give a damn about miles, speed, breathing, interval training and all that jazz. Your run exactly as fast as you like and stop to smell the flowers (literally!) exactly when you like it. Despite all, you manage to do 5-ish miles (or so Google Maps says). Which makes you a little smug. And very likely means that a month or so will pass until your next run. 

And that, my dears, is how Jules does cycling, swimming and running. 

Now if you'll excuse me while I go stretch my stiffened legs.

Jules

Textless Thursday (36)

It's been years since I've listened to the whole album, end to end. 

Lovely.

The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Happy day, Earth

It's Earth day, y'all. 

And as much as I am aware that pretty much every day is a "something day" and who can fucking keep up with all of that, I believe Earth day SHOULD be acknowledged. Duh!

This planet is so big and the fact it exists is just such a "yeah, how could it not" concept we all take for granted. 

But, at least this one day, let us all stop for a second and remember that this giant ball of iron, water and rocks, is our home. Even when we're standing completely still, we spin around and run through space at a speed no one of us can even begin to imagine.

Source.

How cool is that?

So, big cheers to mama Earth today. I know that deep down we all love it. 

SOTD: Morphine - You Look Like Rain

So, allow yourself to be a little amazed that Earth exists and maybe show a little more respect than usual.

Jules

Textless Thursday (35)

Nerdy Toronto.
Good memories.

The Toronto Diaries, Part 3

Friday, April 11th 2014

Pretty sunny day, homemade smoothies. 

I could live with that, yes.

A noon choir and organ recital. The best felafel I've ever had, the Aquarium, ethiopian food for dinner, red wine galore, a guitar, and then gin martinis. And Jameson. 

So far, so good. 

Davie's saying hello (Bloor and Bathurst)

Roy Thompson Hall ready for the Orpheus Choir

Aquarium. Done right.

People in front of a giant tank of jellyfish. Obviously.

Leaving the Aquarium was a sad, sad moment.
Luckily, Lake Ontario's shore really tried hard to make it up to me.
Freaking show-off.

Holy mother-of-binge!

                         

Apparently, Toronto knows all and every single one of the ways to my heart, that I can tell. Oh, you sneaky, sneaky charmer, as if I haven't told you that I belong to New York. That smelly, loud big cousin of yours, you met him, I am sure.

SOTD: Everything is Awesome (The LEGO Movie OST). Duh!

That'd be all, folks. Thanks for keeping up.

Toronto was great, but now it's time to swing back to the real world. File taxes, do laundry, split cells, go for a run, paint nails, fall in love with spring in New York. You know the drill.

Jules

p.s. Many, many, MANY thanks to N for making these past few days beyond memorable. I owe you. BIG TIME.

The Toronto Diaries, part Awesome

Thurs-night, April 10th 2014

Getting giddy.

The venue. 

Demons 

Squalor Victoria

I need my girl

Best encore ever:
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.

Matt letting the audience sing.
Many, many shivers down many, many spines.

Finally.

SOTD: The National - Start a War.

One of their finest.

Sadly, they didn't play it. But that's what iTunes is for.

The Toronto Diaries, Part 2

Thursday, April 10th 2014

First thing on the agenda for the day was coffee and pecan pie at Kensington Market, a lively and colorful Toronto neighbourhood that, among other things, possesses exceptionally good coffee and pecan pie.

Back on Bloor

As if good coffee and pecan pie were not enough to teleport me to my happy place, the weather was ridiculously springy and the company beyond delightful. And before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We opted for cheapo chinese, dumplings and fried rice. It was great. 

N and I parted ways after lunch, so I explored Downtown on my own, additionally fuelled by Tim Hortons iced coffee. Totally ignoring Google Maps and Lonely Planet was worth it.

Trees growing out of houses. I can deal with that.

This is one fucking ugly chunk of the ROM.

I really enjoyed wandering the streets of Tornto. The city has this energising vibe, but nothing too intense (as Gotham can be). Overall, it very much feels like if Berlin and New York had a lovechild and decided to raise it by a pretty lake. If it were a drink, it would probably be hot whiskey. If it were a song, it would be the opening track of Interpol's Antics.

SOTD: Interpol - Next Exit. Looping it while walking down Yonge. 

Ok, you must think I am turning into an annoying gooey chipper overenthusiast. I feel the same way. But hey, it is really hard to keep it real when everything was so freaking good. And I am writing it while chewing on maple caramels. See, EVERYTHING is so freaking good. Fear not, half an hour of inhaling New York and I'll snap back to my slightly snarky self.

After a nice day, another highlight: concert night. A whole other level of awesome.
Cheers to that!

Jules

The Toronto Diaries, part 1

Wednesday, April 9th 2014

I dragged my butt down to the lab at 8.15 in the morning. Say whaaaaaaaaaaat? 

Well, a postdoc's got to do what a postdoc's got to do. In my case, it was tissue culture. Wouldn't want the vicious killer cancer cells I so lovingly grow to starve while mommy goes out in the world, non?  

It was a quick and painless 1/3 day at the lab and then off to LaGuardia to catch my flight. All went smoothly and before I knew it, we touched down in sunny Toronto. Oh yes, I kid you not, the North Pole outdid itself weather-wise. 

First impressions were lovely. Canadian dollars look adorable, so do tall blonde immigration officers with hipster glasses and crooked smiles. Free wi-fi at the airport didn't hurt either. 

One other adorable thing I couldn't help but notice was the fact that people here read actual books on the subway. On my first few rides I swear I saw more people reading books than playing with their phones. A bit retro, but undeniably cool. 

My first activity in the city was a leisurely walk down cool Bloor street and further down to Chinatown, where a fantastic place called AGO, aka The Art Gallery of Ontario, is located. 

AGO architeture.
Cool indeed. 

             

I went in and spent a few hours wandering the galleries. It was really beautiful. And the building itself pretty marvelously matches the beauty of the collection stored inside, courtesy of one Frank Gehry. 

AGO & CN & clear blue skies.
Just a wee sample of Toronto's finest.

Before I knew it, it was time to go meet my CS host, which turned out to be tougher than originally planned thanks to my incredible abilities of typing the wrong address into Google Maps and thus ending up half way up to the Northern Territory. The error was rectified thanks to two very nice bus drivers and, about two hours later than planned, I found my way to a shower, a fresh shirt and the obligatory get-to-know-you beers. All was well. 

Incredibly well, actually. 

The Toronto Diaries, part 0

Canada, eh?

You bet.

Source.

A spur of the moment decision to buy tickets for a The National gig + tickets for appropriate transportation up north has brought me to Toronto. The timing was not exactly perfect, but it actually was. Perfect, I mean. After a draining tiring few months of trading my daylight for a career, I needed a break to recharge and regroup. 

It's been a long and freezing winter, but spring has finally marched in. So of course, it makes perfect sense to go and choose the freaking North Pole for a minibreak. I am talented that way. 

In a nutshell, you got three days, two airports and one very satisfied gal.

But since I've always been one for juicy and mellow instead of concise, you're not getting away with just a nutshell. You get the whole shebang down to the last clumsy detail in the form of a few blog posts, which are being typed in at the airport while waiting for my flight back home. The 21st century is a beautiful thing.  

Enjoy!

Jules

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When in Canada...