A question of etiquette.
Today I went to Second Cup/Great Canadian Bagel to have a bagel and a coffee-beverage for lunch and to read my book. When I was ready to leave I decided to use the ladies room before my 25minute walk home.
The ladies room is two stalls and two sinks (pretty standard) and right as I went in, another lady followed behind me. While we were in there her cell phone rang. She answered it and began taking what seemed to be a buisness call.
Which was fine - however - I was at a loss of what to do with regards to flushing the toilet. A flushing toilet is a pretty distinctive (and not a quiet) sound which the lady on the phone probably wouldn't appreciate.
However - under no circumstances should one leave a public toilet unflushed... and I waited like 20seconds to see if she was going to ask to call the person back - but that was not the case. And I didn't really want to wait akwardly in the stall for however long the conversation took.
So I did the only thing I could - I flushed the toilet. As I was washing my hands I heard her akwardly laugh and tell the person she was on the phone with that she was in large public washroom. And though I felt a little bad for her brief moment of akwardness and potential embarassment - if you are going to take a phone call in a public washroom when you know someone else is there - what do you expect?
In conclusion - I feel confindent that under the circumstances my actions were not rude.
I also have some concerns about the pervasivness of technology in our everyday lives and its invasion into previously personal time and space... but that is the subject for another day.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Monkeys and Mexico!
Okay.
so as some of you probably know I spent the week before last in the Mayan Riveria (Playa del Carmen) which is like 45minutes South of Cancun. It was gorgeous - and also quality family time (my sister wasn't so impressed as family time for us involves everyone else waking up at 8:00am and my mother trying to convince her to join the family - which apparently wasn't her idea of an ideal wake-up time for a relaxing beach vacation).
In any case - the hightlight of the trip was definetly the monkeys. We had close encounters of the monkey kind with both spider and howler monkeys. The former courtesy of two gentleman in the town who had two trained (?) spider monkeys and they sit on your shoulders/head/hand while you take pictures with them (for a small fee of course). This was super cool - even when the monkeys would get bored of being on your shoulder and try to climb onto your head - which can be a little bit disconcerting. Although it wasn't so bad - the couple who had their pictures taken with the monkeys after me and my sister experienced the extra fun of the one monkey taking off the guys glasses and with the coursosity of a small child seeing how far around he could twist the two sides away from each other.
The second type - the howler monkeys - lived in the resort (around the resort) and we got to see them in trees and on rooftops a couple times. There are signs everywhere saying "don't feed monkeys" but some people took the iniative to completely disregard the sign and throw the monkeys food (not good people... not good). Anyways - they were really cool - more so because they were wild - and they howled!!
So yes. That is my trip to Mexico in monkeys.
so as some of you probably know I spent the week before last in the Mayan Riveria (Playa del Carmen) which is like 45minutes South of Cancun. It was gorgeous - and also quality family time (my sister wasn't so impressed as family time for us involves everyone else waking up at 8:00am and my mother trying to convince her to join the family - which apparently wasn't her idea of an ideal wake-up time for a relaxing beach vacation).
In any case - the hightlight of the trip was definetly the monkeys. We had close encounters of the monkey kind with both spider and howler monkeys. The former courtesy of two gentleman in the town who had two trained (?) spider monkeys and they sit on your shoulders/head/hand while you take pictures with them (for a small fee of course). This was super cool - even when the monkeys would get bored of being on your shoulder and try to climb onto your head - which can be a little bit disconcerting. Although it wasn't so bad - the couple who had their pictures taken with the monkeys after me and my sister experienced the extra fun of the one monkey taking off the guys glasses and with the coursosity of a small child seeing how far around he could twist the two sides away from each other.
The second type - the howler monkeys - lived in the resort (around the resort) and we got to see them in trees and on rooftops a couple times. There are signs everywhere saying "don't feed monkeys" but some people took the iniative to completely disregard the sign and throw the monkeys food (not good people... not good). Anyways - they were really cool - more so because they were wild - and they howled!!
So yes. That is my trip to Mexico in monkeys.
Monday, May 08, 2006
leaving.
My taxi is coming in 25minutes or so.
And I am suddenly super-sad to be leaving. It is so gorgeous here. The weather is perfect. I could go sit on the beach everyday for the next two months. But no. I am going to a major urban centre - with its sketchy air quality and lack of serious coffee. Seriously - the girl who I love at Serious Coffee made a "going away present" latte this morning. And I'm leaving all this?
Though I am greatly looking forward to holidays and visitors over the next two months.
Also - this morning - for maybe the first time ever - I got dressed up for my flight. And in this case I am defining "dressed-up" as a sweater over my jeans and t-shirt instead of a sweatshirt.
Okay - I should proably be getting ready to leave. Though I am ready. Except that I did not clean the floors. And they are not looking so clean. Oh well. Before I know it I will be back - and the floors will still be dirty - and I can clean them then.
And I am suddenly super-sad to be leaving. It is so gorgeous here. The weather is perfect. I could go sit on the beach everyday for the next two months. But no. I am going to a major urban centre - with its sketchy air quality and lack of serious coffee. Seriously - the girl who I love at Serious Coffee made a "going away present" latte this morning. And I'm leaving all this?
Though I am greatly looking forward to holidays and visitors over the next two months.
Also - this morning - for maybe the first time ever - I got dressed up for my flight. And in this case I am defining "dressed-up" as a sweater over my jeans and t-shirt instead of a sweatshirt.
Okay - I should proably be getting ready to leave. Though I am ready. Except that I did not clean the floors. And they are not looking so clean. Oh well. Before I know it I will be back - and the floors will still be dirty - and I can clean them then.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
House Quote
courtesy of John Doyle's column. Potential new life philosophy.
"Dying people lie too. Wish they'd worked less, been nicer, opened orphanages for kittens. If you really want to do something, you do it. You don't save it for a sound bite."
"Dying people lie too. Wish they'd worked less, been nicer, opened orphanages for kittens. If you really want to do something, you do it. You don't save it for a sound bite."
perspective
Two days left in Vic.
This morning I went to serious coffee and the bread store (aka bakery).
I also talked to one of my friends on the phone.
We had an excellent conversation. It's fabulous when you are talking to someone and they are able to articulate what you are thinking and what they are thinking and just completely get it. In one of those - hey - someone else is going through what I am going through. Someone who I think is amazing and a person whose life of which I am occasionaly super-envious of, and who is freaking out about many of the same things that I am. Which makes me feel a) less irrational and b) helps give me perspective.
Maybe I will take comfort in the fact that I am living simaltanously in multiple parallel dimensions and so other mes will live alternate lives. Maybe that will take some pressure off and I can stop worrying that I am making thousands of wrong choices and just accept the fact that I will make thousands of wrong choices and go from there.
This morning I went to serious coffee and the bread store (aka bakery).
I also talked to one of my friends on the phone.
We had an excellent conversation. It's fabulous when you are talking to someone and they are able to articulate what you are thinking and what they are thinking and just completely get it. In one of those - hey - someone else is going through what I am going through. Someone who I think is amazing and a person whose life of which I am occasionaly super-envious of, and who is freaking out about many of the same things that I am. Which makes me feel a) less irrational and b) helps give me perspective.
Maybe I will take comfort in the fact that I am living simaltanously in multiple parallel dimensions and so other mes will live alternate lives. Maybe that will take some pressure off and I can stop worrying that I am making thousands of wrong choices and just accept the fact that I will make thousands of wrong choices and go from there.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
thoughts from today
today I finally submitted my paperwork for my grant - which means soon I will have money. Which is good b/c I have to pay a ridiculous amount of tution to sit in a room alone and write a thesis.
I have no orange juice. This makes me sad. Today I ordered three books online. This makes me happy. My kitchen is a mess. This makes me sad. But not suprised. I have started thinking a lot about my life lately. And what I want right now. But right now I am still too busy to think. But do I really need to think? Would it really be so bad to just keep letting stuff happen? Taking it day by day - not worrying so much about what the future holds.
There are some days when I think that I am super old and have to figure out exactly what to do with my life - have a five, ten and twenty year plan - be planning my career, marriage, first morgage etc. Other days I want to graduate then travel the world, or become a teacher (other people dream of acting on broadway - I dream of being a teacher), or adopt a baby girl, or work on a development project in Africa or Latin America. What I really want are answers - even though I get that such ansewrs are not to be found externally. But if anyone has any anwsers I'd love to know!
I have no orange juice. This makes me sad. Today I ordered three books online. This makes me happy. My kitchen is a mess. This makes me sad. But not suprised. I have started thinking a lot about my life lately. And what I want right now. But right now I am still too busy to think. But do I really need to think? Would it really be so bad to just keep letting stuff happen? Taking it day by day - not worrying so much about what the future holds.
There are some days when I think that I am super old and have to figure out exactly what to do with my life - have a five, ten and twenty year plan - be planning my career, marriage, first morgage etc. Other days I want to graduate then travel the world, or become a teacher (other people dream of acting on broadway - I dream of being a teacher), or adopt a baby girl, or work on a development project in Africa or Latin America. What I really want are answers - even though I get that such ansewrs are not to be found externally. But if anyone has any anwsers I'd love to know!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
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