The Couch Coalition

Ok, let's start with some content and see if the structure will eventually come back. It should also bring back my willingness to finish importing old posts into this new and hopefully safer blog database.

This trip to Vancouver has been incredible. I was a bit hesitant to dive in full adventurous mode, specially with the possibility of running into people I did not want to see, but things worked out amazingly well.

The first thing that made me less anxious was an initial invite by someone I had been chatting with on Scruff. He seemed genuinely nice and equally spontaneous, so we chatted a bit via WhatsApp and arranged to meet after I land in the city. Unfortunately he got some cold feet, maybe after talking to his roommate and some friends at work, which is totally understandable. The awesome thing was that by then I had finally gotten a nice offer from CouchSurfing!

I met Graham that Wednesday and he took me to a beach close to Davie Village, where I entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever. We had a great time talking about my usual topics of conversation, like politics and drag race. When we went back to his place, his partner Mok came back from work and we all had dinner together while watching Amazing Race Canada. Mok happened to be a drag queen, and he was finishing some lavish looks for an event happening on Thursday evening. I would have loved to have tickets to that event, but one of the downsides of travelling spontaneously like this is to miss tightly planned events like that. Close to 10pm we went out to watch the fireworks that were happening down at the beach, and that was lovely. The synchrony between the fireworks and the music definitely makes for a better show. After it was done, we did like the hundreds of thousands of people around us and rushed through the closed streets to get back home. It felt interestingly surreal to watch this crowd phenomenon as an outsider. We called it an early night, and that was the end of my time with Graham and Mok.

The next day was full of great new meetings. As I left Graham's place, I walked up to Davie and Bute, where I started trying to find someone to have breakfast with. I ended up meeting Richard, who joined me at a nice diner right there at the intersection and we ate together. Richard and I chilled together a bit longer, until it was time for me to meet Minoo, who I was really looking forward to reconnect with. She hasn't changed a bit, still as sweet looking as when we went to college together. She took me to a dessert place where I had a cheesecake, and then we walked around town to her workplace downtown (I think?). After that I went back to David and Bute to have an iced tea with this guy Bryan that I was chatting with on and off. He turned out to be a great new friend, as we share a lot in common (specially nerdy things like appetite for video and board games). He invited me to join his pride kick-off get together at his place the day after, which was super sweet. When he left to run some errands I stayed down at Sunset Beach, where later I met Steve and his dog Shay (?). They were playing fetch on the seawall, and his dog never got tired of jumping onto the sea to catch the ball, while amused passerbys were smiling and taking pictures. Steve and I had a great chat that afternoon, and I got to meet yet another very interesting life story that makes these travels so interesting. When the work day was over, I made my way to Robson and Jervis where I was meeting this lovely Kiwi guy called Pat. He had been offering to host me if I didn't hear from other Couch Surfers, which I found really sweet. We started with a drink at his go-to place for casual evenings, and once we found out we both loved karaoke we were destined for a night of pure fun. We went to a Korean Karaoke bar, where we spent an hour alternating songs between each other. The night could have ended there, but I convinced Pat to check how Davie Village was doing in preparation for pride weekend. He took me to Pump Jack, where we watched a few guys strip to their underwear and play pool. Then we headed over to Numbers, where they have a little Karaoke room on the third floor (!). It's not Korean style, but on a quiet Thursday night that was just as nice. We sang a few songs with a few other karaoke affectionados there, and then we finally called it a night.

Friday was equally interesting, as I got some work done in the morning, and then went back to my new favourite intersection in the city: Davie and Bute. I bumped into Richard there, and we chatted a bit until he had to go get some more of his beauty sleep. I then met with Steve, who took me on a nice tour of Stanley Park and UBC. Yet again his dog Shay was restlessly running after the ball to fetch it and return for another throw. He then went for a nap in the afternoon, so I had some Indian lunch and headed back to Davie and Bute. When Pat was finally done working, I went to meet him and get ready to go to Bryan's pride kickoff get together. We stopped by BC Liquor to get some booze, and I obviously opted for some New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc, or as my new Kiwi friend calls it, a taste of high school. We arrived at Bryan's place and there were already a group of awesome folks hanging out with him. His boyfriend Mark is equally as attractive and fun and he is, so the night went by better than I could ever hope for. When the sun had finally completely set, some of us decided to go out to the street festival going on around Davie Street. A visitor from Seattle (Matt), a couple of Bryan's friends that were at the party (Kyle and Young), and their late addition to the group (Marc and Mike). We checked out the awfully long lines to most places that had a liquor license, and ended up deciding to stay at a Japanese restaurant, drinking some sake and plum wine. When they were about to close we left and while some people were now drunk enough to brave the long lines, Matt and I just decided to end the night quietly at 212, hehe.

We woke up pretty early on Saturday, and as Matt made his way back to his friend's place, I had some hangover breakfast at Joe's Grill. I walked around the neighbourhood a little bit, and then reconnected with Bryan, who joined me a nice morning at Nelson Park, admiring the little farmer's market that was going on. I planned on buying some peaches, but never got around to doing it, lol. When his boyfriend Mark woke up and regained functional consciousness, I went over to help them clean up a bit from the get together of the night before. We decided to continue the pride spirit by planning a new get together that evening, which their friend Dan volunteered to host. The 3 of us enjoyed the afternoon together, had some Greek lunch, and then headed over to Dan's place, where a different group of fun new people were drinking and being merry. We left at night to watch the next set of fireworks at the beach, and unfortunately this time I didn't find anyone playing the synchronised music out loud anywhere. After the show we ended up at Bryan and Mark's place, where we continued drinking until we called it a night. Bryan and Mark kindly offered to host me for the rest of my stay in Vancouver, so my adventurous travel worked out positively yet again. =D

Sunday was the day to watch the parade, which we did after a quick pit stop at Tim Hortons. Watching it while chilling at the side of the road, sitting down with friends, is a lot easier than the way we mostly watch the Toronto parade. We left a bit after being disappointed with not seeing Trudeau on the Liberal float, and we checked out some of the stands that were setup by a stage on Sunset Beach. Kevin and Cody from the day before were having drinks at Celebrities, so we went to join them. There was this best ass contest going on, but for girls (o.O), so we left, haha. We were trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day when Young and the Restless (Kyle and Marc) showed up at Bryan and Mark's place with drinks. We chilled together until sunset yet again, and since people were hungry we headed to a poutine place at around... Davie and Bute! =) There was a great group of people invading the intersection every time the light went red for the flow of cars, hehe. So we had poutine (and some more drinks) and checked out the possible places we could go. Once again all the lines were crazy, and we even joined the one to get into Junction for some 20 minutes, but ain't nobody got time for that anymore. We left and found a Vietnamese restaurant where we finished our night with more drinks.

The day after was a statutory holiday both in BC and in Ontario, so the pride fun could continue. Bryan, Mark and I played some Eon Altar (it's still fun!) and then had brunch together at Joe's Grill. We planned a last get together to say farewell to the crazy pride drinking, so some of the usual suspects showed up for some board games and slightly alcoholic beverages for the perfect gran finale. Bryan barbecued (or grilled?) some burgers and hot dogs for us, and I made another attempt at my new party dish: Daredeviled Eggs. The craziness was kept to a minimum that evening, but it was the best way to finish off an amazing pride experience in Vancouver.

I write this on Tuesday, my first day back to work in a while. I got some stuff done in the morning, and it's worthwhile pointing out that to work in Toronto's timezone I do a 6am to 2pm shift here in Vancouver. I then met one more nice Vancouverite called Mike, who I had been chatting with, also on and off. I saw Pat once again to thank him for the great time we had on Thursday and fetch some things I had forgotten at his place, and now I'm here at Bryan and Mark's place, obviously inspired to write this post because of the epicness of this trip. I may still meet some awesome new people here, and potentially hangout with Graham and Mok one last time before I head home tomorrow, so there's a chance (fingers crossed) I'll want to write another post really soon after this.

In case it happens:

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who had to get refamiliarised with the structured ritual of writing posts.

Very great

It's almost happening. I'm almost losing control of my blog again, which would mean months (or maybe years) without any post. Maybe it won't happen, though. Last week was quite interesting in many aspects... I went to Express after a while not being there, and we had the inauguration of the outside mural (which I couldn't help create =[). After that I walked around with Mareks and then we came home. Nothing too exciting at work, besides the fact that my team for the next project has been defined. I will be leading almost the same team again, but without Umair, Manjul, and Eugene. This time I will have Neda =]

Friday was a tense day, in which things almost fell apart. For a moment I thought my life was getting another gigantic turn, but things turned out fine and it was all just a big drama. During the weekend I pretty much did laundry and played FF7. Damn Emerald Weapon that can never be defeated so easily. I will still try to level up my limits and materias, but I don't know how much else I can handle. I am already anxious about starting a new game - or maybe finishing something I never finished.

This Tuesday was an interesting day. I went to Express once again, and a guy who sent me a couchsurf request was there to meet people from different cultures. There were some new faces, and the group took on a hole new perspective of acceptance and respect. I invited everyone out for a coffee, and Douglas (the couchsurfer), Jonathan (a new Jewish guy), and River (new Chinese guy) tagged along. We walked around the village trying to decide on a place, and after finding a few crowded places (bumping into familiar faces on the way), we ended up at good old Second Cup. I got the Tuesday's special for chillers, and I chatted with the guys until Mareks called me. Then I went to Metro to buy some fruits with him and come home to take a rest.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who feels comparisons should be allowed.

In the end, everything will be well.

Nice week. Fight on Tuesday, then making amends on Wednesday. I didn't go to an exhibit at the AGO that contained my Jane's Walk project, but I went downtown that day and had sushi at Queen and Spadina. On the way back I even saw the ex-teenager Lilian and her wife Zulema. Thursday I played paintball with my coworkers and I realized it actually hurts to be shot. Friday I was falling apart, but even still I walked around.

Saturday was Lilian's birthday celebration, and Mareks thought he couldn't attend. We planned a brunch afternoon to make up for it, so we went to this nice vegan/organic place on Dundas. Despite the microscopic fruit servings, I enjoyed my meal. We walked around for a bit, and chatted at the girls' apartment. Then, we came back home and as we were about to leave for PMRI, we realized Mareks didn't have to go that day. We decided to go to back to Lilian's celebration, so we bought a board game at Value Village and ate at Harveys before heading back.

Once we got there, we found David, Ben, Natalia, and Miles. We played Apples for Apples for some time (boring =[), and then Miles had to drive Natalia up to Markham so she could start her terrible work shift. Mareks got a ride with them, while I stayed playing Taboo with the remaining people and the newly-arrived Raff. We had fun, but only for a short period of time, since David went back to being Cinderella because he doesn't like the blue night line. I took the ttc with him and Ben, and then I got home much earlier than anticipated.

On Sunday my body was still aching from the intense week, but I still walked around since the weather was nice. My neighbour dropped by to ask about my landlord's contractors, and we ended up having a chat for a while. She thought I spoke Arabic, as many people here do, and then she was happy when I said I was from Brazil - I'm privileged not to have such a bad stereotyped background. And that should be it. Too much "then" in this post...

Feliploko; if things are not well, it is not the end.

I say YA, you say Y

Then finally I had a nice week, despite some issues here and there. Tuesday I had my vaccine appointment at SHC, and although I was a bit late, Daniel was able to make my arms sore by poking them with sharp needles. He asked me to stay around for 10min to check if I would develop an allergic reaction, so I chatted with the people that were leaving from Express (I didn't make it in time to go there =[). One of these days I went to the bank to say wtf for them charging me annuity fee on my credit card without asking me first, and they once again disappointed me. I also went to H&M one of these days to buy some t-shirts for Mareks.

In another one of these days (I think Wednesday), I decided to bike to Food Basics even though a thunderstorm was on its way here. I barely hit Huntingwood when it started pouring over my head. I waited at the bus stop for 10min (which is exactly what my Hungarian neighbour asked me to wait in the first place), and then I finished my trip. As I was getting my card ready to swipe and pay, the electricity of the terminal I was in went off (only on that terminal, lol). I waited until the system rebooted and then I had to wait for Mareks and for the rain o stop. We decided to eat sushi in the mean time, and when we finished it wasn't even drizzling anymore.

I worked from home on Thursday, but that wasn't any easier than the days I go to the office. It's hard to define clear times to start, have lunch, and finish. On Friday I had tickets to this youth award dinner, that this time happened in the 519. I wish it was still at Bright Pearl, so that I could see the nice server again serving her vegetables, vegetables. I saw an incredible number of people I know there, and Alvaro and Javier even got awards! The ceremony took a little longer than planned, so after we left we had to come back home right away.

Saturday we had the annual YAY family picnic, and it was nice to finally see Anthony again after such a long time. Beatrise was there too, with her whole family, and we had some fun despite the fear that another thunderstorm would pour over our heads. In the end it didn't, so we left with some nice prizes and our clothes still dry. Janis drove us to Hong Tai, and Mareks and I took a look at the digital camera place before coming home.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who has an addiction.

Palpite

So Saturday was raining the whole day and we decided not to go anywhere. Actually we went to the supermarket, but that doesn't count. In the evening we watched a movie, and that was pretty much it.

On Sunday it was nice, on the other hand. We finished laundry really quick and took the TTC down to the Woodbine Beaches. We walked around for a very long time, and the damn sunglasses we had bought at Zellers didn't have UV protection, so we fried our brains while doing that. To come back home, we used a new way taking the Queen streetcat all the way to the east end, and then walking to Victoria Park and Danforth. When our legs couldn't stand still anymore, we called the day off.

Today the contractors got back to working on our backyard, finally. I had work, which was dis-motivating as usual, and then when I got home I waited for Mareks to congratulate him on his new G2 driver's license. We went to Fairview Mall to buy some t-shirts, and now we're back home chilling out.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, que sonhou que ganhou na loteria numa festa junina.

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why

Enough ranting about work. Last week wasn't very exciting. I had a few meetings at TLC on Tuesday, and I was surprised to see Phil there when I was walking to one of them. Friday we had a "show and tell" presentation in the office for Vincent and some BAs, but that didn't go too well, apparently. After that my whole team went for lunch together at Maison du Japon, and the company paid for our all-you-can-eat sushi.

Friday evening I also went to Diana's place to meet Mareks and then go with him and Sabine downtown to walk around. We decided to watch a movie with our free tickets, and we also ate at the nutritive juice place on Yonge (to which I will not come back anytime soon). We watched Bang Bang Club, which turned out to be much better than its title.

Not much else to report on this lousy week. I am so waiting for July 25...

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who in this table eats.

Labrit tauta

Nothing on Thursday, except a quick visit to Diana to give her back the umbrella we borrowed on Wednesday. Friday I woke up earlier to go have this English proficiency exam at Ryerson, and just because I got there at 8:30 the exam didn't start until almost 10. To make it worse, everybody had to go section by section together, which didn't allow me to finish before I had planned to. A little past 11, when we were almost about to start the essay part, the fire alarm starts going off, and despite my secret prayers for it to stop, we had to leave the building. It took some time for the firefighters to come and clear the problem, and because of that I only finished the exam past 13h. I went to Pizza Pizza to grab something quick to eat, and then I rushed to the office as my coworkers were hyper anxious to talk to me. When I sat at my desk and saw the list of 50 emails to go through, I realized that day would be fun. Obviously more than 2/3 of those emails were useless stuff from Richard, but I managed to do everything before little past 17h. I came home to quickly drop some stuff and then I took the TTC to the village to watch Julian's performance. I didn't even know it was for a Breakthrough event until I got there, so I said hi to Scott and to Natalia who was DJ'ing. Some other performances were cool, but Julian was just awesome - I never expected her to do so well on her first time.

Mareks joined me after he was done talking with his new translator, and we went for sushi while my friends watched the rest of the cabaret show at the 519. We came back when we were done, and people were just leaving (good timing). We walked down Church street looking for a place to hang out, but everything looked crowded. We tried Starbucks, Timothys, Old Ladies (that now ask for two pieces of government-issued photo ID for you to get in), and the guys almost ended up at McDonalds. I convinced them to sit at College Park instead, and so they did. I couldn't stay for long, so after buying some stuff at Metro, I waved goodbye to all of them. Back home via TTC, I still had to do some work via VPN... I finished past midnight, so all I wanted to do was sleep after that.

A little problem made the Saturday morning a bit bitter, but things got better in the afternoon. I took Mareks to PMRI, and on the way back I got the photos we printed at Wal Mart, and bought some things at No Frills. I made this stupid decision of buying an extra large vegan pizza at Pizza Pizza, and that's all I ate this whole weekend. I wish I had done something different. but I was stuck at home playing games, watching series and doing laundry. I realize my life feels quite empty when Mareks is not at home, but that's a choice I am ok making. Unlike Samantha Strange, I invest in something that I know is real.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who likes Being Erica