Another Condo? Enough Already!

A shot I took from Andrew's plane

I love my city. I can't say it enough: I love Toronto! The hustle and bustle, the multiculturalism, the restaurants, bars and pubs, the fact that there's always something to do, the fact that I don't need a car because I can get anywhere in the city by public transit (which I groan about when there are delays).

One thing I don't like though? The overgrowth of condos. There are so many goddamn condos in this city!

Now don't get me wrong, if I could afford it, I'd live in a condo right now instead of renting an apartment. It's not condos I'm against, it's the amount of condos that are being built!

In my area alone, I can count at least six condos that are being built right now! They're all within a five block radius of each other! Putting up these condos meant closing some of my favourite stores. Houses were bought out and torn down to be replaced with condos. The only heritage site in my neighbourhood, a post-office, is being torn down for yet, that's right, another condo (despite a petition that happened last year).

If you go downtown, all you'll see is condo after condo after condo being built.

It's madness and it's making this city very congested.

I'm over it.

In some good new-building news: Toronto is in the talks of creating a $60M all-year-round water park.

via

I can get on board with that. I just don't know where they'd put it. What with all the condos and all.

Are there too many condos in your city?

Valentine's Day is a Crock

Or not.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't do Valentine's Day (Amanda knows what I'm talking about).

For starters, it shouldn't be labelled as a "holiday" since I still have to go into work. What kind of holiday forces you to go into work?

Oh, that's right, the fake kind of holiday.

The one that was created just so companies could make some extra money.

I got an email from Apple the other day, reminding me that "love is in the air" so I should consider purchasing an iPad Air to get to my "valentine's heart." I'm sorry, what? You want me to spend $519 (plus tax) on a device to give to my "valentine"? Have you been smoking whatever Rob Ford has been on lately? That's insane.

Truth be told, I'm probably just a terrible girlfriend. Every year, I remind Andrew that I'm not doing Valentine's Day, so he shouldn't expect anything from me (or give me anything) and every year, he seems a bit disappointed. Last year, (when the only person who read my blog was Kat) I mentioned that, to not disappoint Andrew, I got in the Valentine's Day spirit and bought him cupcakes. I took a few bites of one and then felt sick. Basically, I think I was being punished for trying to give in to the ridiculousness that is a corporate (Hallmark) holiday.

The only upside to Valentine's Day this year? It falls on Friday. A Friday right before a long weekend. Boo-yah. Thank you, Ontario (and other provinces which commemorate Family Day).

 Do you do Valentine's Day?

linking up for Totally Posted Tuesday

Stop Making Your Engagement Annoying

If you haven't seen it already, there's a picture that was posted on Reddit that is surfacing all over the internet of a girl's reaction to her three girlfriends getting engaged. For clarification, here's the photo:

Some say the girl in this photo could be annoyed at how much money she now has to spend. This could also be a possibility. This is my take on the photo.

The general reaction to this girl has been extremely positive. Many of the comments (including those found on sites re-posting the picture) state that she is "perfection," "the hottest one in the picture" and many commenters state they want to marry her/become her new BFF. And really, who can blame them? Heck, I want to be friends with her now too.

When you get engaged, it's an exciting moment. I know that when I get engaged, I'll be posting my ring on Instagram and blogging about it just like everyone else. You're entitled to that, right? It's a huge moment in your life and you're excited to share it with your friends and family. I get it. But, then there becomes a point where talking about your engagement is no longer fun and exciting for everyone else. It becomes narcissistic, annoying and you begin to look like a showoff.

This picture is the perfect example of that.

As my friend Mike stated, "'Everyone point and smile at these three chicks!' IS AN ANNOYING PHOTO."

It's true.

You're engaged and we're happy for you. But, you don't need to constantly remind everyone that you're engaged. We'll be reminded of that ourselves when we attend your engagement party, your bridal shower, when we receive the save-the-date, the invite and, most importantly, when we attend your wedding. Posting ridiculous photos on Instagram and Facebook of you posing with your ring isn't necessary (this is different than official engagement photos. Post those wherever you want. After all, you paid for them).

Just for the record ladies, the "Omg, I'm so happy and I want to share my happiness with everyone" picture is quite different than the, "Omg, I need everyone to see this diamond at many different angles" picture. One says genuine. The other says showoff. We can read right through them.

Posed pictures like these (particularly when taken months after the fact. Recent photos can sometimes have some merit) have made engagements less about "I really love this person and I'm excited to share my life with them" and more about "look at my shiny new ring." Wonderful stories like Helene's about engagement rings being passed down from family members are becoming rarer as couples compete to have bigger diamonds and thicker bands. I'm not saying that this is the case across the board but it definitely applies to more and more couples in our generation.

With this picture in mind, this is my appeal to stop making engagements a competition and celebrate what an engagement ring represents: a symbol of love and devotion.

Having a bigger ring does not equate to having a better marriage.

Linking up here.

You Make Me Sick

I've been a bit of a sourpuss as of late and it's hard for me to hide it in my writing. Instead, I'm using my writing as a tool to de-stress. The best way to do that? Blog about the types of people that annoy me!


The Slow Walker

I'm going to punch one of these people in the back of the head one day. Just you wait for it.

The Showoff

You went out to dinner and now you have to make it seem a thousand times better than it really was? A dinner is a dinner. Oh, I'm sorry; it was expensive, you say? It was a high end restaurant? There was a ton of care put into your dinner? The walls were painted blue, which is your favourite colour? You're not being cute with all these details. You're being annoying. Stop it.

The Complainer

Okay, so maybe I sound like a bit of a hypocrite here, since I'm essentially complaining about complainers, but I mean the ones who complain about everything.

Your iPod died and now you have no music to listen to on the way to work? Listen, it sucks. I get it. Music is everything to me. But, it's not the end of the world. You'll survive, so shut it.

The One That Doesn't Say Thank You

I took an extra few seconds out of my day to hold the door open for you. The least you can do is say thank you. I bought you a drink on your birthday. No thank you for that either? You're a bitch.

And for good measure....

The Nail Biter

Listen, if we're friends (or living together; *ahem*) and you're a nail biter, I still love you, but you should know that I think you're disgusting. Do you know how much dirt and germs live under your nails? I don't care that you just washed your hands. You don't suck your thumb. Why are you biting your nails? You make me sick.

What type of people annoy you? 

P.S. I totally feel better now.