reno burnout!

So... its almost 7am. I've been up for almost two hours... and got to enjoy the sunrise. Yeah, most of you know, I'd prefer enjoying the sunrise before going to bed and not the other way around.We had a "slight" mishap yesterday while trying to replace taps in TWO of our bathrooms. The damn water-shutoff valves in BOTH decided that they wanted to leak no matter what! So, needless to say, we haven't managed to get the taps repaired and have had to bag up the pipes and keep checking to make sure the water is leaking into the bags and not down to our neighbours!Having experienced a drip gone bad before, I could barely sleep.I think I even had one hand off the bed just to check the floor incase the water came all the way into my room.Ok... a lil' overkill but better safe than sorry.Hopefully I'll manage to stay awake till the plumber comes!I may just pass out after typing this as the adrenalin is wearing thin and the back pain is re-emerging!
On the bright side, I got to see one of the most beautiful sunrises over Lake Ontario.There's something magical about the seeing the sun and the moon share the visible sky together. :)
Hope u like the panorama and the other pic. Cheers!

reno.. reno.. on the wall...

So... the reno's on the apartment continue but atleast one half has shaped up nicely. None of it would have been possible without the AWESOME luv & hard-ass work from SO many great friends! :) (you all know who u r). As for me... I think the stress got to me over the last few days and I've been snapping at everyone like an already angry pitbull who was kicked in the cojones! Yah...I loved being around me too! As for my back... being a pin-cushion under the watchful eye of Dr. Chen has helped SO MUCH! But after about 14 hours of runnin' around... it starts to give way... ah... old age! ;)

So... here are some pics of the updated sections de la casa! :) (special thanx to F. AND E.!) :) This is specially for Jen & Angie... I know you're REALLY curious to see what the apartment is like... so here are some pix to give u an idea! Oh.. for those of you who have been to the Pier... yes... it is the SAME place... except a third of the furniture and new colours! :)
BTW.. if YOU are free and in the T.O. area... I NEED U!!! We still have tons o' stuff to do! :(
Cheers! Oh.. and I promise not to snap! ;) grrrrr!

THE ENTRANCE


THE KITCHEN


THE BOOKSHELF (special thanx to P.R.) :)


THE LIVING ROOM 1

THE LIVING ROOM 2


Sunset from G's room


And from mine

BhangraTime!!!

it's past two am and I've just returned from dropping one of my best friends to his hotel on the eve of his wedding! The whirlwind of activity with cleaning up the house (for the sale), moving & "prepping" his hotel room 4 this night has caught up to me, I think. My back is better... thanks to Dr. Chen & her magical acupuncture needles (I felt like a pin cushion 2 days ago!). I haven't had much experience with acupuncture... but its pretty cool... and surprisingly pain-free, considering the needles. Ok.. back to the wedding... actually, since my camera mysteriously disappeared in Chicago, I'm gonna have to wait till someone gives me their pix to post! The actual ceremony was quite traditional as far as Sikh weddings go (plus the extra large grin on his face as he did during the Lavaan ceremony) . The fun part is the reception as it involves lotsa music... lotsa dancin'... and of course an open bar. Unfortunately, as ya'll know... with the back being outta wack (what is a wack, by the way????)... only a lil' dancin' and listenin' to music. Oh yeah... I forgot about all the eating... butter chicken.... mmmmm.... am still salivating!
Well, back to the packing, cleaning & repairing for tomorrow... let the sweet memories of butter chicken carry me forth!

winded out from the Windy city..

So.. am back... but posting remains short for two reasons...
1. still really busy packing and fixing light fixtures, caulking etc... and
2. I've pulled my back really badly and have no problem standing or lying down but sitting sux!

I'll update more when am mobile enough to sit here! (makes sense in a strange way, no?) :)

Aryan's first birthday...

here's a pic of Aryan... on his b'day (not the party which is comin' up tomorrow!) :) Cute, ain't he?
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busy... busy!!

so.. the painters have started their work... a decent part of mine is done (i.e. remove EVERYTHING from the walls... for those of you who've been here... know that I NEEDED & got help with that one!Thanx... u kno who u r!). I think I've lost sensation on the upper part of my neck from trying to remove all the blinds! Anyways, enough complainin'! It's looking SO different... the separation process has begun.
I'm off to Chicago for my friend's son's first b'day (as I was warned by his Mrs. about my legs getting chopped off if I didn't show up! So I'm excused from the reno's for two days! Yay!)
And also on another happy note... CONGRATULATIONS V & Mink! :) Apaara looks beautiful (so unlike the two of u!) ;) Just kidding! I'm not sure who she looks like yet... but hopefully she won't have your beard Mink! ;)
well all... buenos noches! :)

I forgot about this model!!! I remembered this from my time in Igatpuri... when I did the Vipassana course, which BTW was awesome... u have NO option but to get to know yourself better.. and as you've already guessed or known... I AM TOTALLY insane in my own head! 10 days of no reading, writing, talking, physical or eye-contact and 11hrs/day of meditation proved that beyond a doubt!Forget internal spiritual journeys... that kind of personal time is something I think one should experience at least once in their lifetime... no distractions... only u. Their meditation style is also based on self-observation... not a mantra or focus technique.
Anyways, I digress... now, I was going to write in detail about the toilet model below... which is the ultimate fusion of east and west philosophies (ok.. ok... toilet styles)... with only one problem... Backsplash!
NOW... u may continue your day... it can only go up from here! ;) And, yes, I promise this will be my last crappy posting for a while! :)

times r a changin' again!

well... its official... we're movin' from the only home we've known in Canada... since '86 we've lived in "the Pier" and yesterday we got our friend & real estate agent in to get the show on the road... so this is more of a post about why there might not be a post for a while... but who knows... I might need to vent and for some "narci" reason, I'll write it here! :)

So, we had one of our agent's colleagues in... she's a "stager" who helps re-design places so that they sell for more. It's basically a live version of that HGTV show House Doctor, except she's comin' in before we've had trouble sellin' the house! :) Apparently, the idea is to totally de-personalize (and de-clutter) the living space so that the potential buyers can see themselves in the same space. Kinda time consuming considering the almost two decades in the same place! But it's a go... so I'm apologizin' in advance for unanswered emails! (damn, I do that a lot!)

So... if anyone want to try their hand at interior decorating or needs a free workout (a lot of furniture needs to be moved too & paintin' to be done) lemme know! :) More the merrier!
Cheers!

asstray... sandaas

So... its been a lil' bit since I've posted something... and I was thinking about posting something deep 'n meaningful... but then after I saw this awesome ashtray (from http://www.happilyunmarried.com) sitting on the desk... I decided to write a crappy entry (oh yeah... they'll be a few more bad ass puns thrown in there... I'll TRY to keep it down!) :)


So... here I was on my way to Dehra-Dun, and in a common two-part predicament (I assume) faced by many on the almost six hour journey from Delhi. Do I use the "western" or "indian" style toilet to empty my bladder? AND more importantly, do I even attempt using the loo for more or wait till my destination. For those of weak constitution... stop now and go drink that coffee... it'll help later on... TRUST ME!
Last time I used an "indian" style toilet was in 2001 while backpacking... but it's been longer since I've used one on a train. Luckily, I still carried the SAME toilet roll from 2001 which, incidentally is the ultimate trophy to for being a successful backpacker in India... half a roll or more shows your victory in battle against the all-powerful Delhi-belly!
For sanitary reasons, I decided to use the "indian" style toilet and thus prepared myself for "the squat" and the related manouvers to keep clothing out of harms way. Now, as you see above... out of courtsey to your fellow passengers and shoes, aim is of utmost importance. Being the civil chap that I sometimes am... I wuz aimin' good!But boy was that difficult as the train conductor must've decided at that very time to make up for lost time and gun it! A warning to ya'll... the indian train shock-absorbers leave much to be desired. Hanging on for dear life... and seeing the ground, through the hole, pass by at lighting speed... scared the crap outta me!
:)