I Know What I Shoulda Said, I Shoulda Said...

I went for a walk with Elliott today and stopped to get a coffee. When I came out and began to untie him, some middle-aged fat man on a bike started staring at us and asked me if Elliott was "some kind of designer mutt". I was pretty pissed/shocked so I replied that he was a fox terrier and walked away. I should have asked him if he was a "some kind of designer ass". Yeah, maybe next time. I don't have any new pictures of Toronto/Life/Elliott, so enjoy this photo of my friend Martin and I from last summer. Martin is dirty because he just finished at the iron/artist place where he worked. I just had another roll of film developed. This photo is at the beginning of yet another momentous evening in my life from last summer. Legend.

Cute Canine

I'm becoming one of those people. You know the ones...walking around with their dogs on leashes, carrying their fancy coffees, talking to other dog owners, taking their pets everywhere. I can't help it. Elliott is just small enough and so cute that people allow him where they wouldn't necessarily let other dogs go. I carry him into my local Shoppers Drug Mart and they just love him there. He's just really good too! When we wait for the light to change at a crosswalk, he sits next to my feet and waits for me to tell him to walk. When we went to the bank today, he did the same while I made my transactions. And the Starbucks that I frequent on our walks hands out free dog biscotti. Come on! It's like I'm living in dreamworld here. Everyone is so much more friendly when you have a dog. There's a park near my place and it's this entire community of people chatting while their dogs play. Elliott needs to be neutered so I haven't let him run free yet but hopefully soon. People always want to introduce their dog to yours. It's a big change for me considering my childhood terrier always wanted to kill any other dogs around, no matter their size. Elliott just wants to sniff bums. All the time. Oh, to be a dog.

Sickie

Elliott is sick. He has kennel cough. I panicked at the park this morning when he was doing some kind of snuffling/coughing/sneezing thing. I picked him up and ran to the nearest person with a dog asking where the local vet was. We were fortunate enough to get an appointment right away and although he's a healthy 14 pounds and in good shape, he does have kennel cough. I seriously don't know how people have babies. I was a wreck. He's just so little and I want him to be healthy and happy, I would have paid anything to make him feel better. Fortunately it only cost $64 to do that.

Elliott

I got a dog. I bought everything I needed for a cat yesterday and then went to the Humane Society and fell in love with Elliott. I was never that pumped on getting a cat so I wandered into the dog area when I got to the Toronto Humane Society just to take a look around and the first dog I saw was Elliott, formerly known as "Scrappy". He's a fox terrier, a year and a half old and when I said hello he licked my nose. Now, I'm not that easy, but he's just so cute I totally fell for him. The process took a couple of hours but he's happily chewing on a toy on my couch right now while I watch The Departed. He loves Scorcese just as much as I do. I think. Anyway, he loves to be petted, carried around, gives lots of kisses and just wants to be near me. Sigh. I'm totally in love. I renamed him Elliott because the people at the shelter said he was young enough that I could do it. Scrappy wasn't my kind of name but I had backup names like Cash and Samuel that just didn't seem to match his personality. Elliott is a perfect fit though. He's shaggy and scruffy and a little rough around the edges, just like me.

Pearl the Landlord-The Funniest Video I've Seen in Years!

Sunny Days

I'm enjoying Toronto more than I thought I would. The neighbourhood I live in is really young and vibrant and it's just like Rathmines in Dublin where I can get everything I need within a few blocks. I started working this week in sports. I've never done anything sports related in my life except for those few summers I "played" soccer. Then again, getting one random goal and blacking out in front of my team from being hit in the head by a ball hardly constitutes an aptitude for sports. Anyhow, I've seen a lot of hockey recently and now that the baseball season is underway, I'll be learning more about the Jays. I hope to get to some games this summer. Today it was 21 degrees and sunny so I put on my flip flops and headed out to run some errands. As much as I want a dog, my current lifestyle doesn't suit having a needy pet so I'm going to get the cat I saw at the Humane Society. He was pretty cute and had a great name so I'm sold. I have everything I need all ready and set up, I just need to move my ass downtown tomorrow and pick up my pussy-cat. This is such a random post but I'm in a good mood. My friends seem to be doing very well at the moment and that makes very extremely happy. I'm reconnecting with people I haven't seen in years and it's like we saw each other yesterday. I love it when that happens. I'm at a point in my life where the people I'm in contact with are those I truly love and respect and when something good happens to them, I feel like something good has happened to me too. Anyhow, I dropped off another roll of film from last summer today for developing and got back some amazing shots including this one of Jo and I, trashed and dancing ourselves silly. What a messy/crazy summer 2006 was. Bring on 2007!

Puppy Love

I want a dog. I really, really want a dog. I miss having dogs around, petting them, getting kisses and all that junk. I started thinking seriously about getting a dog when my new landlord said I could have one. I have a big fenced-in backyard and am jonesing to have a little pet to enjoy it with once it gets warmer. I started looking on the Toronto Humane Society website and found this older dog who had his eyes removed but was looking for a home just like mine. I fell in love with him but of course no one returned my calls or email and by the time I got to the Humane Society today he'd already been adopted. Oh well, good for him. I didn't know that when you go to the Humane Society, find a pet that you want to adopt and fill out an application that you get the pet the same day, so it was a bit of a shock that I found myself almost walking out the door with a poodle named Snowey. He's older, really cute and is going blind and I would have loved to have taken him home but the reality is I'm a tad shy on cash and need to seriously get my life organised before I can start taking care of an animal. I did see a beautiful black cat named Megatron that I flipped for and almost took based on name alone. I figure in a couple of weeks I'll have a furry little pet of my own to play with and love. I'm such a sap.

A New Lease

The last couple of weeks have been mildly hectic to say the least. I drove from Richmond, VA to Toronto, ON with my parents and immediately started my apartment search. I quickly learned that despite beautiful photos and assurances from potential landlords/roommates, not everyone in Canada is honest! Shocker. Not that living in a crack house wouldn't have been exciting/horrifying, I'm just not in that kind of "place" in my life where I want to worry about rats and crime ALL THE TIME! I thought living with roommates would be a great way to get to know a city and it's people, but sadly I was yet again sold on a massive pack of lies. I moved into a great house with two other women who'd been living there for a couple of years. Turns out they're a couple. Doesn't bother me, but what does bother me and my immune system is the constant cigarette smoking. My throat is raw and sore and within 24 hours I knew I'd made a mistake. I didn't get too down about it since I knew there would be other great places out there, but it might take a while. As of today I've signed up for a pleasant little bachelor apartment, perfect for a little bachelorette like me! It's in a great part of the city, safe, clean, lots of amazing shops/restaurants/clubs in the neighbourhood and is really close to the subway. Yay! Now, all I have to do once I leave this Internet Cafe is walk home in the freezing cold and snow and tell my "roommates" that I'm leaving after barely two weeks of tenancy. Wish me luck. I hate confrontation.