Hey grandma, what's in that cup?

I just had this conversation with one of the guys in the office...

Me: [waiting for microwave]...
PB: [spies the jar I've brought with me to the kitchen; squints] Is... that Ovaltine??
Me: Yea. I've got almond milk heating up.
PB: Oh man. Only my grandma drinks that stuff.
Me: It's good for you.
PB: Oh yea... That's what my grandma used to tell me.
Me: [a little annoyed] Well, it's my afternoon snack.
PB: Yea, my grandma has an afternoon snack too.

Ahh... yea. I need to mention this guy has 2 kids...

I vant to suck your blood!

It is a cold, dark winter evening. The week has come to a close and the people of the city scurry from the clutches of their week-long captors who keep them in a perpetual state of stress and work. Many, congregate together in clandestine meetings with their fellow captives in support of one another and to contrive their plots to arise above their captors. Embraced by the libations served to them, they lose track of the hour...

I love gothic novels. The first one that really intrigued me was Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. But, that's a contemporary piece compared to the classic of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I've yet to read Dracula (mostly because I have a fondness of social science as well) but I've seen the classic portrayed on the silver screen (1931, 1992 and even the 2000 version) and last night, I saw it through a production by the Brant Theatre Workshops.

The play was yet another adaptation of the original but with an interesting twist: the sets would remain stationary but the audience would not.

The play took place at Casa Loma and used various rooms throughout the mansion as settings for each scene. It is such an innovative concept! It really made the play more accessible--as if you were there watching the events unfold. But it isn't something for one who lacks imagination.

I haven't been to Casa Loma since I was a kid and the only thing I remember well is the library. I've forgotten how prominent and impressive the building was. This area is above the main entrance...

I used my prime 50 lens to take all the shots...

Some were taken with the manual setting and others with the aperture priority.

Lighting is an interesting (and challenging) thing to play with, at this location and time.

I also like to play with the field of depth with my lens since I can get an aperture as low as 1.8 (it's not the lowest available on the market but it's the lowest I've got).

This is the actor who portrayed Professor van Helsing.

All in all, I would say a really great play to experience. This is a community theatre group, I believe, but the innovation and creativity is genuinely superb.

Uhh Earth to Matilda, I was at a day spa. Day, D-A-I-Y-E. Okay?

--Derek Zoolander

No, I wasn't gone for a week where nobody could find me; I had a fabulous weekend. Friday started with yet another birthday dinner from my favourite person and I got to watch The Watchmen. I read the comic/graphic novel and thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary (though was somewhat distraught at times). The movie was certainly longer than I would be able to keep my attention... but I think that it had to be all done (there was still parts missing and they changed the ending) to make it an effective movie.

On Saturday, I helped my mom get a birthday present that she was ecstatic with: a mega deal for 6 pairs of cordory pants which were a savings of well over $300. Yea, I know--what a deal, huh? I am pretty certain that the present itself was not in fact the pants... but the fact that the deal was so awesome. I wish all my clothing sales were that awesome.

Then we headed to an invigorating yoga class with a fabulous yoga instructor which we did for 1.5 hours an the 26th floor of my favourite person's condo-apt. It was such a great feeling to be able to stretch out and unravel all the tight and uncomfortable bits.

Dinner was a delicious grass-fed striploin steak at 5 Doors North with my 'sister' from UW. It was so great that we didn't realize we had been chatting for over 3 hours!

Sunday was the cherry on top of the sundae. I was swept away to a day of relaxing fun and bonding with my bestie. We went to Hammam Spa on King West for custom facials and steam room stuff. Then we proceeded to the Distillery District for a (super) late lunch at Pure Spirits: Oyster House & Grill. Yum-o. Their chowdah was awe-som-o.

Anyways, without further ado, I present several photos taken from our little trek out that way...

This one is my favourite.

The following are some more that need some post-processing but what the hell. Sans post-processing!

All aperture priority with my nifty50.

"Yeehaw! Yippi Kayo!" to my Lords & Ladies

I declare it my month-long birthday celebrations and today, I go out in style.

The morning starts rather early (for a Saturday) and I'm out to the shooting range in Markham. This is the second time I've gone shootin'.

We pick a .9mm Glock handgun and a pink Hello Kitty .22mm rifle (you know know better than to say "oh man, please don't pick the pink Hello Kitty one... I don't want to be caught dead shooting that"). I don't have photos to post yet but I really really REALLY enjoy shooting guns. Is that healthy? Sure! I'm not pointing the loaded gun at a living being who is the source of my frustrations or breaking things that don't belong to me. Instead, I'm calmly and safely imagining the face of my frustrations on the target and practicing my aim at the range.

I didn't do too shabby, btw. Heh, no, not the head shots... I have to work on using the .22mm. My .9mm shots were concentrated on the body of the target.

Looks like the .9mm handgun is my weapon of choice. Watch out, zombies! Note to self, need to work on cardio and remember to aim for the head. (Did ya catch the reference to Zombieland?)

Then the evening commenced with... MEDIEVAL TIMES!! *royal trumpets*

We were cheering for the B&W Knight who's the second from the right. These guys really are great at what they do. Sure, it's a little like watching the WWF when you were a kid or dreaming about being a warrior (I do) in combat, fighting for honour, valour and chivalry. It might be a mega fantasy but I think the best part is you can lose yourself with the child-like wonder and fantasies that you don't have the opportunity to partake much, as an adult.

My first photo attempt for the evening was when they set up one of the challenges right in front of our table. I knew this could be a great chance for some action photos. The first one didn't come out clearly and the Blue knight looks like he's going at 299,792,458 m/s...

I adjusted the shutter speed in time for the Green knight:

I don't remember the shutter speed but even then, I found it a little too slow. By then, I had run out of chances to take more photos :(

Although I was sitting in the B&W knight's section, I have to admit, there's something intriguing about the evil Green knight. His evil laugh gives you the chills and you want him to lose but that thing that makes him sinister also makes you want to secretly cheer him on. Perhaps it's the evil laugh he has--amazing. I'll be practicing my evil laugh for future instances where I require it. You just never know when that'll come handy.