This weekend, (e:paul), (e:terry), (e:libertad), (e:keith) and I headed up to Toronto for Andy C and Wilkinson as part of Bass Week Toronto. We didn't end up leaving until about 3 on Saturday but that gave us more than enough time to walk around part of downtown.



The Westin hotel was super nice and only a mile away from Sound Academy. I don't understand why check in isn't an automated process by now though, it was so packed.




I hadn't been to Toronto since 2007, I think. It's crazy how many more towers and how much further and bigger their downtown has gone since then. They definitely don't think twice about knocking down the old for the new - how could you when you're that big?



Downtown Toronto is really overwhelming. There's so much going on at once trying to get your attention, like noise and advertising that it gives me the same feeling of walking around the crowded Galleria or Walmart.

Tallest penthouse in Canada - coming soon for only $18mil



It took us forever to decide where to eat but we ended up at this Thai/bar place on Yonge Street. I had the green curry which was okay. No idea what the restaraunt was actually called


A little Christmas tree with bedazzeled gifts

The air filter for the furnace is supposed to be changed every three months. We haven't changed it since October. (e:Paul) and I got a new one today, but if this is the filter I can't imagine what our lungs are taking in.

Lately (e:Paul) and I have been eating so much spaghetti and pasta for dinner. Usually it's the corn-potato-soy noodles from Target or Wegmans, sometimes the quinoa. Last night we had this crazy good fresh rice pasta from Wegmans. Paul put butter, cheese, walnuts, and we ate it with boiled greens, asparagus and chopped purple cabbage.



Watching these videos from this comedian called Ladykracher, we learned the German slur for Italians is "spaghettifresser" or someone who eats spaghetti like an animal. I don't know if that's actually offensive to an Italian but it doesn't seem to have much of a punch in English. I'm not Italian but I'm definitely a spaghettifresser.

I went with (e:terry) yesterday to the new Tim Horton's and Coldstone in the Arby's on Delaware. It was probably the most dressed up one I've ever seen. They also confusingly have two machines for cappuccinos and the girl kept asking which one I wanted my cappuccino from. What was the difference?
I never go to Tim Horton's so maybe I just don't know what to order there. I did win "roll up the rim" so someone will have to go back.




They had a fake firewall that gave off no heat, just light.

Sunday morning (e:paul) and I got up and walked around Pittsburgh for a bit before heading to the Phipps Botanical Garden with my family. Their building was very similar to Buffalo's but much better layout. Paul says they were all designed by the same person. It was located in the fancy, Delaware Park style neighborhood near U Pitt. It looks amazing for hiking and oogling rich people's mansions so we'll have to do that next time.

After that we stopped at Whole Foods for lunch. I was very underwhelmed compared to the one in University Heights, OH, although the peanut butter dessert we had was amazing.

We headed home after that. I actually managed to drive for most of it - I think it's a new record for me. Paul and I talked about the Radical Faeries and pretty much everything on the way home.

I can't wait to go back to Pittsburgh, with (e:terry) too next time.



The Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club. So fancy.





The tiniest little buildings squeezed by skyscrapers.


A lot of new buildings going up

The Omni Statler hotel we stayed at

An ugly/cool retro/futuristic looking skyscraper.











T-Rex got game