A Week Was Had By All

 After last week, this was the calm before the next storm and the preparing for the next storm and paying for the last one, so here are some memes.

#Murderbot'sGreatWaveOfNotCaringSnoopyStyle

#ReallyGladThisDoesn'tHappenVeryOften  #Midnight:TooTiredToThinkAndAlsoStayAsleep

#IThinkI'vePostedThisBefore  #StillSometimesTrue

Now that it's really autumn officially / astronomically / whatever, I'm looking forward to seeing this new season.

#StillNeverReallyHeardTheseGuysUpHere

#EatingTheLastOfTheSummerFruits

#NotLiterallyTrueButStillFunny

#EveryCoupleOfWeeksIReconsiderSittingWithTheOtherPeopleInMyGroup  #ThenIRememberWhyThemHavingEasyAccessToMeInBusyTimesIsBad

#Preach  #Also,I'mSorry,Everyone

I was supposed to have a meeting with previous boss this week, but she had to move it out.  So we have to wait another week to see what they will offer as a path forward when I return from this assignment.  I am definitely looking forward to having weekends again.  And actual vacation days.

#StillWaitingToSeeWhatMyChoicesAre #ThisFeelsLikeAnImportantPoint

#BeenAWhileSinceThisHasHappened  #ButYes

Hoping you get the rest you need.  And find lots of funny memes to make you laugh and snort.

Hitting the Wall, A Well-Placed Vacation Day That Was Not Peaceful, Fun Anyway

Well, it's been coming for a while with all the work I'm juggling, and now it happened.  But first, such cute Mid-Autumn Festival stuff!

#Awwwwww

#TimeForTheChiropractor  #TryingToStaveOffThatCollapse  #HangInThere

#ItWasTime

On Thursday of this week, I hit the wall.  I just kind of stopped functioning correctly at an offsite work celebration that wasn't scheduled and communicated well or set up to be particularly accessible.  Too bright, too loud, nowhere to sit down, no announced schedule, too much time between things, body and brain said:  

#Fair

The message was clear.  So I ignored it and raced back to the office to stage manage a global town hall call.  (You will be unsurprised to find out that I was not quite all there before and during the global call.)

#PreachIt,Squirrel

And then it was!  It was Friday!  And I was a mess!  But I had PLANNED THINGS, DAGNABBIT.  And I was, by gum, going to do them, regardless of how poor of a choice it was.  The weather was going to be perfect, and I am running out of time to do things here, and I would have both weekend days to lie in a heap as though slugged by a mallet.  

#TheFacesOfPeopleWhoAreGoingToHaveFunDarnIt

I refused to be thwarted by the very sketchy online experience trying to buy tickets the night before for the bus.  4 devices, 55 minutes of my life, 0 success.  I refused to acknowledge the universe might have been trying to tell me something when I missed the bus by 12 seconds and had to go kill time until the next one.  I was here to see architecture and take names!

#Architecture  #ChoicesWereMade  #ByArchitects  #IJustSatInTheBus

#IAmNotAnArchitect,ConstructionWorker,OrPhysicist,SoThisMakesMeVeryNervous  #HowIsItBeingHeldUp  #ItWeighsSoMuch  #HolyScienceBatman

#RandomDogFountain  #IfTheVideoLoads

One of the things I've found fascinating since I first went to Downtown Toronto is the way they keep the shells / exteriors of the historic buildings and then either build up on top of them or gut the insides and then build something tall but keep the exterior shell of the cool building that used to be there. This is apparently because of a building code (either in Toronto, Ontario, or Canada) that says they can't trash cool old historic buildings.  The results are pretty wild.  I like it.

#PresentedWithoutComment

#YeahThat'sACastleInTheDistance  #CasaLoma  #NotReallyACastleBecauseNoRoyaltyLivedThere #FascinatingStory

The tour bus guides varied widely in skill, energy level, and investment.  The first person was the most engaged and energetic, which makes sense in that it was still early in the day.  Part of his job is to hawk tickets to the attractions we are stopping at for a discounted price.  I hopped out to go to the CN Tower and asked to purchase a ticket and learned that they could have sold me the ticket if we were further away from the tower, but since we were at the tower stop, they could no longer sell me a ticket at a discounted price.  

#ParForTheCourse  #TheDayWasCursedAndIWasGoingToLiveWithThat #TheFunWILLContinue

If you are ever in Toronto doing this double decker bus tour thing, I recommend you start at the St Lawrence Market stop, so you can get some food in you.  The Distillery District stop might also be a good one to start with (more upscale food and shops).  Union Station also has some food, if you can find where to go into the bowels of the earth under it where all the actual food is.  

I did not.  I missed the bus from the Tower due to waiting patiently at a crosswalk to cross it legally and then decided to walk to Union Station thinking there had to be food there, but there were no clear signs or directions to point me to where it was or how to get to it, so I went back to the stop to prevent missing the bus, and then it almost didn't come because it can't stop there after a certain time.  (Approximately every 27 minutes is a filthy lie. : )

St. Lawrence Market was overwhelming and delicious.  Big slab of two types of bacon on a bun?  Sure, sign me up.  Possibly tasted even better due to me being very hungry at this point.  Then Distillery District and then . . . waiting for the every-27-minute-bus for 53 minutes.  My body was so past done at this point.  I didn't even have the energy to get mad.  Or be rational.  I could have walked to the last stop (or gotten there on transit) 3 or 4 times in that number of minutes, but I had PAID for that bus ticket, and I was, by golly, going to listen to all of the interesting historical commentary if it killed me.

#DescribingMyLastNerve

When the bus finally came, the tour guide was struggling as much as I was.  She couldn't remember the script, kept stumbling over her words and dates, couldn't get a coherent sentence out, and eventually just gave up, sat down, and messed with her phone.  

#TotallyWorthWaiting53MinutesFor  #NotEvenVaguely  #ButLookAtThatSky

Still recovering, getting alignment, Mid-Autumn Festival Jaunt

I got some frozen teeny scones, jam, and clotted cream at Kitten & the Bear (these are still NOT really scones, but they ARE really delicious).  My oven pulled its usual shenanigans, but we got them warmed and crisp-ish and then slathered them in delight.

#HomeCommunionOfChampions

Then it was off to the airport for the simple quarterly errand of returning the rental car and getting the new one.  This time, my phone played the game where it couldn't figure out where I actually was.  It usually only does this in downtown Toronto where it is a nuisance but manageable.  I ended up seeing a lot of very random, possibly employee-only sections of the airport but did eventually manage to get gas and return the car and pick up the next one.  It took 5 hours, and my phone battery died because of the strain.  (Don't worry, I noticed, and, once my GPS had figured itself out, I pulled over and wrote down the directions for the remainder of the quick errand trip.)  

#Awwwwwww

I was looking for something short (in length) and tall (in height) with plenty of space for luggage when I (theoretically) return home in November or December.  There was one car left.  It was not short.  It was also not tall.

#Whatever  #ProbablyBestNotToBeParalyzedByChoiceAgain  #AlsoThisIsTheFaceOfAPersonWhoWentToIKEAForOneThingAndLeftIKEAWithOneThing  #ASelfControlMiracle

It WAS blue.  But now I am wary of blue cars that are long after the disaster with the last one.  It was also new, but I don't seem to be as allergic to its offgassing as I was to the previous Nissan car.  It also had some weird damage to it that the person checking the car over didn't note, so I made sure to note it.  This is me trying to take pictures in the dim, weirdly lit cavern of the car pickup/drop-off.

#WeirdScratchesAlongTheSide  #Documented

This car has SO MUCH trunk space that I'm not sure laws of physics are being respected.  I might actually be able to fit all my luggage in it.  #FingersCrossed

#SoTrue  #PacingIsNoJoke

#WorkingOnIt  #RecoveringPerfectionistishTendencies

Activity Tracker is not helping here.  It has some very cool and helpful features, but there is a weird disconnect between readiness and the activity goals it sets for the day.  (That I don't see until the end of the day when I have inevitably done the opposite.)

 

#ActivityTrackerFriend  #ICannotBothRestAndMeetYourAboveBaselineGoal  #TheseAreMutuallyExclusive

Have some taiyaki to help.

#TastyFish  #HowIsRedBeanPasteSoGood

I really needed to rest on the weekend.  But Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up, and I was head-down in work until this week and didn't have time to care until now.  I did save myself from a complicated transit adventure when part of one of the main lines was closed for the weekend by realizing I could spend exorbitant amounts to have some mid-autumn treats delivered.

#SomeDayIWillLookBackOnThisFloorPatternFromTheTransitStationsWithNostalgiaAndLonging

But then Saturday morning, I wanted to go check out some of the places along Spadina that my local ERG folks recommended, and, even though I should have been resting, I went.

#HereBeDragons

Once again, I walked right past "Chinese Bakery."  In my defense, I didn't look at the map, and I got distracted by an elderly man listening to nostalgic Chinese music outside a shop front that made me go off on a head-tangent about how hard it must be to love your culture and history so much and have to leave it behind, and when I came to I was almost at the museum, so I knew I'd gone past it.  The store was actually the one the man was sitting outside of, so that was extra funny.

#ThisIsAFreshPerfectChickenSandwich  #PerfectlyBalanced  #SoftFreshRollSavoryCrunchyChickenSlightlySweetMayoCrispSurprisingLettuce

#AMangeyPigeonStaredMeDownWhileIAteIt  #IDidNotShare

Ran into a friend and decided to get a selfie together.

#Hi

#HangingWithMyChineseZodiacSign

I stopped by one of the recommended places where I ordered mooncakes in case they had one that sold out between when I put it into my cart and when I checked out (they did not), and they had some lovely whimsical things.   

#OneOfTheTamerOfferings  #ItIsWhatItLooksLike  #IThinkINeedaDifferentGraduateDegreeToGetItOutOfThePackagingCorrectly

I checked the hours for Omusubi Bar Suzume to make sure they would actually be open, so I could get some great rice balls and cucumber salad.  On my way back from that jaunt, I got a picture of one of the odd, low-lying clouds that was hanging around that day.

#It'sBlockingTheTower  #HardToSee

Then walked around the Chinatown area a little, just looking around at all the mooncakes.  And being glad my plan had not involved the Spadina streetcar, as there was a Falun Gong parade.  Got distracted in my head thinking about how it's considered a far-right cult, but I don't know much more beyond that and how they are clearly very vocally anti-Communist and sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and then I went to the bookstore.

I haven't really bought souvenirs, and I realized I should probably do that before it gets too cold.  But also, I kind of don't want to buy a bunch of cheap, meaningless stuff people won't really want or treasure simply because that's what you're supposed to do.  I've been bringing friends fun chocolates and sending postcards, so maybe my obligations in this area are taken care of?

Except for these folks.  This is truth.  When you don't have family members in your life who are obligated to make the airport trek, you have to rely on taxis or their modern equivalents.  Having friends who love you enough to go through that line at drop-off or pickup is something I do not take for granted.  These people deserve special things as thanks.  Like maybe a bonsai tree.  Or extra fancy coffee chocolates.

This feels very relevant to my work.  One of my blocks has been contemplating trying to build up another 14-years of subject matter expertise starting from nowhere, and it's a lot to contemplate.  This feels a little more bearable to think about.

#Truth  #NotJustSayingItBecauseMyLibraryIsAllAloneInAnotherCountry  #NotBeingRead  #NotThatMuchWasBeingReadEvenWhenIWasThere  #E-BooksAreEasierOnAllTheChronicPains

Hope you have lots of books in your book wine cellar and extra spoons and excellent executive functioning!

#HangInThere