well, I'm exhausted ... the wedding is more or less "set" by my mom. She choose the venue, dates and basically arranged the wedding in about a few hours.

 

Venue - Fairmont Palliser Hotel

Dates - either Stampede weekend (mid July) or August 1st long weekend

 

Those were the only Saturdays left in the summer ! Photographers are apparently also booked up very fast ... the wedding business is pretty insane ..... there is only one "i" in wedding and it belongs to my mom. Anyways it is all done.

 

Well its going to be a toss-up as Aug 1st weekend is technically booked by someone else but the deposit hasn't been paid so its still up in the air ... Stampede is a great time but its much much busier for out of towners.

 

Things to think about - bowtie for the tux or black tie?

 

Steak and lobster or Crablegs?

 

More to come.

 

So my mom got a new car today ... she changes SUVs like people change clothes. Similar car with standard upgrades : 500 plus horsepower, carbonfiber everywhere and a deluxe panal moonroof. Carbonfiber is the all the rage in cars nowadays ... sort of like how mosiac tiles are in homedecor.

 

In a weird sports moment, apparently the car was ordered by NHL semi-superstar Maple Leaf Thomas Kaberle but something went wrong so my mommie got it. Its not a George Constanza moment off Seinfeld when he went and got John Voight's K car. My mom got Thomas Kaberle's K car?

 

 

 

So everyone knows I'm got engaged  ... most got the news on facebook so don't be upset if you found out that way. Facebook is like US magazine in Canada.

 

Well, preparations and discussions are going to proceed in the next little while and there will be a blog wedding website. Yes, there is going to be another BLOG. Double your pleasure. This blog will be basically one of those cheesy wedding websites with romantic tips, wedding details and other good stuff. Its going to be awesome.

 

There is pre-season in sports so why not have a blog pre-season. Its a time to work on new ideas and stories that typically would not be worthy of publication but b/c it's a pre-season blog, why the hell not.

 

Shopping Guide - BBQs - I haven't decided what type of BBQ to get .. I'm leaning towards a traditional Weber Genesis. Its like your standard luxurious BBQ.  The trend towards stainless steel BBQs is confusing as these BBQs require way more maintenance and cleaning and they don't look that much better. Luckily, the price premium for a stainless steel BBQ is quite minimal nowadays.

 

Eating - For some reason, Vietnamese food is very trendy in Calgary. Out of all the places in Canada, its quite a bizarre phenomenon. I guess people like soup.  Best mideeastern restaurant is Taboule at Yonge and Eg. South side where most regulars don't walk to.

 

Homes - there is a trend towards combing the traditional family and living room in houses into a "Great" room.

 

Babel - Suprisingly interesting movie. Its like Crash with several storylines but they are not necessarily interwined.

 

I cooked one of those sand crabs and they are tough mother uckers.. had to put a good fight with it to put it in the steamer.. the crab clinged onto the tong with super human strength.

 

Fall is the best time of year, nice weather, sports, and tv.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are my ideas to look when you buy a house

 

1. Location

2. Location

3. Location

4. Buy a house that is easy to resell

5. Buy a good sized lot

6. Practicality over Style

7. Be aggressive

8. Privacy and quiet area

9. Stay away from big streets and highways

10. Always push for lower commision costs

 

 

 

So I'm a new home owner and engaged .. Does this automatically make me mature even though I get giddy like a school girl to watch Newport Beach (the new Laguna Beach) to see real life high school romance. Or does it just mean I'm really romantic?

 

Anyways, Newport Beach has been a very worthy replacement for Laguna Beach... anyways, the new Laguna is the Hills. For comparison, Laguna Beach was like 90210 and the Hills is like Melrose Place.

 

Hockey season has started and boy am I out of shape... Usually when you are in early thirties, you are a the peak of physical condition for professional athletes.. In my case, its not the case.

 

I was watching the Two Corey's with my girlfriend and she was utterly confused with the show saying "this is the most useless show I have ever seen" ... I had a good chuckle. The two Corey's is a reality show with 80s teen tv stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.. its quite funny but the the guys are so useless which makes it soo funny.

 

I get my new house on freakin Halloween so I'm excited to hand out halloween candy that day.. its going to be a real treat .. no pun intended.

 

I was walkin downtown today and saw some lady wearing this Gap tshirt that I have .. I was really confused and I don't think I can ever wear that shirt again.

 

 

 

 

So whats the best burger in Toronto ... burgers are about personality.

 

McDonalds is the quarter pounder with its perfect mixture of mustard, ketchup, chopped onions and a small pickle.

 

Wendy's adds a sesame seed bun and tomatoes, lettuce and onion.

 

A&W adds bacon and cheese.

 

Burger King adds sheer size with lettuce, tomatoe, mayo without mustard. I ate so many Whoppers in the early 90s when they were only $1.49 that it is a medical miracle I am still alive.

 

Harvey's lets you put whatever you want on it.

 

Lick's does too and the patty is much larger and more real beef tasting.

 

Hero burgers are gourmet style burgers without lettuce.

 

The best specialty burgers places I have been are  ...

 

Burger Shack on Eglinton and Johnny's Burgers on 401-Vic Park in the heart of Scarboro.

 

Both are institutions on Toronto's burger scene and busy at all times. Johnny's has a a very nice custom bun that is more like a hoagie than a traditonal bun and you can add cooked onions which is always a nice option.

 

I'm on the hunt for a BBQ.

 

 

So I got a house last week ... its in Toronto suburbs but still in the city and a short walk to a subway station. House searching is a tiresome process and I'm just glad I got a house. It seems people just search for the houses for months, years, etc... and I don't want to be one of those people. 

 

I also went to the Homeshow this weekend and boy is it another world. Its filled with suburban people who live 5 hours away travelling to the city to get tips on home decorating. How wonderful. The city of Toronto is in a huge budget crisis and needs money. Hey, here's an idea, freakin charge the people who live in the suburbs to use the city services .....  tax the suburbs. Have a freakin toll tax at Union Station. 

 

I saw some HGTV stuff : the contractor from HGTVs top show "Design Inc" and Sarah's House is reno'ing my old condo. I came into the meeting they were having in my condo for measurements and was hey, I've see u on tv. Its a weird migration: I'm moving out of Yorkville and this 50 year old lady is moving in and redesigning my bachelor pad.

 

I rented Fracture with Anthony Hopkins and that lucky dude from the Notebook who is dating Rachel McAdams.

 

Great thriller, classic, intense, good story ... a nice movie. Its not as romantic as the Notebook but then again what is. Okay, maybe Love Actually.

 

So the Toronto film festivel starts tomorrow.. it will be my last film festivel and I'm not that sad ... the festivel has gotten too large and corporate. When I first moved into my condo in 1999, the festivel was fun and niche. I was in the action. Now its just more flash than substance at least when you live right here.

 

Guide to places to go:

 

Sassafraz for brunch. Its fire was "fishy" but its a good brunch place. (if someone else is paying). If you are paying for yourself, go to Fran's for banana pancakes or Pusteri's for a sandwich. MB Co. has a better patio and is more hip than Pusteri's right now.

 

The new "it" place is the One restaurant in the new Hazeltons Hotel.. after one year of one way traffic jams, they just finished Toronto's first 5 star hotel and I'm moving now.

 

For cheap ass eats, I recommend Ginger, the make the best Vietnam subs in Toronto. $2.25 for one grilled sub and it rocks. Its probably my fav sub of all time.

 

Patios - Hemingways, Park Hyatt, Remi's and Panarama ... Hyatt and Panarama have excellent views. I guess you can say Hemingways does too.

 

Sushi - don't eat Sushi Inn and go tepanaki grill in front of you at Yamato. I've spotted both Ivan Drago from Rocky there.

 

Best bubble tea - is at Chiatte behing 102 Bloor Street.

 

Best hip coffee place is Letteri due to location on Cumberland.

 

Best side street is Prince Arthur .. only true Yorkvillians know of it.

 

Best Burger - a toss up btn Hero in Hazelton or the BBQ Express trailor. Both have excellent coleslaw.

 

Best patio know one goes to much - Pilot

 

You didn't know ... 7 West is open 24 hours for drinks, food and cake ... and its reasonable too.

 

When I moved here there were only 4 condo buildings in the area only a few years ago, but there are alot more now and alot lot more in a year. I can't imagine the traffic in a couple of years when there are 10 more condos and two new hotels all on a freakin one way street. Who the uck works in planning?

 

 

I've got to know Google maps with my house hunting. Its awesome. You put the satellite image on and it zooms in on the house from space. You can then check out what is around the area, parks, roads, shops, trees, everything.. its a new innovative step to looking at property.

 

I could scroll through Google maps for hours. Its fun.

 

Joke of the day

 

" Why are fat girls so nice"

 

Answer

 

" Because they have to be"

 

 

 

Sooo I officially went to check out houses this past weekend with my real estate agent.

 

A few observations, in a city of millions of people, there are less than 300 houses for sale. What the uck !

 

I'm crossing my fingers it picks up after Labour Day. It better ... it seems everything has gone up 25% in the last couple weeks every since I sold my condo.

 

I hit a bike rider in Chinatown when someone open the door on him. He was alittle upset but luckily not upset enough to exchange information.

 

I went to the chinese lantern festivel too. It was $25 a person so luckily my mom was in town.

 

and yes, its true, there are less than 300 houses for sale in Toronto but when you click on Whitby or Ajax, you get thousands of them.. its weird.

 

On a side note, in an amusing transportation idea : Go Train is proposing to use Rosedale as a secondary Union Station hub for its trains. This is one of the funniest ideas I've heard in awhile. They want people in the suburbs to train it into Toronto's most affluent neigbourhood as a commuter hub. I hope to see this epic battle of the suburbs vs downtown. I'm not sure who I should route for, the snobby Rosedale residents or the suburban people who live in their generic mass produced houses in the middle of nowhere. (I might be one of them very soon - the owner of a suburban home)