Happy cats say hello!

Another week has blurred by. Saturday morning I got a badly needed haircut. I’m not complaining about hair at my advanced age… but it was in desperate need of attention. Bdot was planning on going to a Knitting convention, called the Frolic Marketplace held at East Toronto’s Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. No it isn’t something that interests me. At all. But the JCCC is very near where I worked before and I know many of restaurants in the area. Many of which I miss! So the plan eventually became that I’d sherpa (hold this, carry this, like this colour?) and afterward I’d get Mongolian grill. Mmmm Mongolian grill.

Back to the Frolic. We don’t often drive into Toronto on the weekend. Especially on a weekend that the Gardiner Expressway is closed. Ugh. So as expected that was a slow grind. Once at the location, however, things looked up. We had *gasp!* free on-site parking! Once inside, it was clear I was one of maybe ten husbands, boyfriends, sucker sherpas there. Heh, there was maybe 1% guys there, and of that 1%, I’d wager that half were gay. Do heterosexual males wear purple vests, hiked up jeans and tie a sweater around their waist wearing sunglasses indoors? I think not. Bdot had maker overload. There was a ton of vendors. Hundreds of balls of yarn (I think the cool kids call them skeins) and patterns and displays that were under ferocious attack by stitch hungry piranha. I got bumped and knocked more trying to get out of the way than I do at ball hockey. Unreal. I took some time to wander around the center. It was quite impressive. They had a library, two judo sparring rooms, lots of meetings rooms and numerous cultural/historical displays. I read a far bit about the Canadian Japanese internment during WWII. It is a sad period of Canadian history that should not be forgotten. I’ve always found Japanese culture interesting so it was an enjoyable place to wander around. I mean look at how happy those cats are. (top photo) I’m hoping to get a pair a socks out of it as well.

Display at the JCCC

I should have read the notice from the website to ‘Wear comfortable shoes. You will be walking, looking at booths, going away, and going back again – maybe several times.’ I wasn’t expecting sherpaing to be so strenuous. I didn’t have proper shoes and after a few hours of standing my back was screaming. Bdot was eventually done. I wondered if we’ll have to sell a cat to pay for the trip however. *cough* So Mongolian grill. Yes it was an enjoyable as I recall. I packed down two stir fry bowls and a plate of food. Hell yeah. I think I spent the evening in a food coma watching hockey.

While at the JCCC, I saw a poster for 13 Assassins. It looked pretty interesting, so I hunting it down and watched it. It was quite an epic film. Plenty of swords, blood-spray and mangled bodies. This film is not for the kids. Amidst the gore, the movie does ask the question about the purpose of war, warriors and those who command them. Is the justifiable to obey and follow a madman because of duty? or honour? [The question most dramatically portrayed in the final battle scene, which I won’t ruin…] The long journey of the 13, the incredible battle choreography, the story, the characters all add up make this quite an impressive, memorable film – that will have you reflecting afterward. ⭐⭐⭐⭐¼

Hmm. I was a little disappointed to see St.Louis lost and are out of the playoffs. I liked Miller and Ott, I was hoping for them to succeed. Out in the first round however… again… I’m not sure what will happen with Miller. I’m not sure what will happen with the Sabres’ draft pick for him either. It is sure looking like it will be a 2nd not a 1st now. Meh. Dallas also collapsed. They were up two and lost, and were eliminated. Ugh. I hate Dallas but another ex-Sabre Ruff coaches them… would have been nice to see him make it to the second round. The second is shaping up however. Bruins v. Habs should be amazing. I’m still pulling for the underdog Blue Jackets to tie up their series with the Pens. We shall see…

On a whim for a paltry $10 bucks I decided to pick up Heroes of Steel: Tactics RPG off Steam. At first I found the UI a little odd… but once I got it I really started to like the game. Yeah yeah. It looked really dated but it is a fun game, and at $10 I think it is great value. I’m still working through Diablo 3 on hard. It is definitely harder than normal mode. I think I’m going to need significantly better gear before trying the Expert level of difficulty. I’m only level 51 right now anyway.

I’m still aboard the Raptors’ bandwagon. What an gutsy game last night by the Raptors. They played with a ton of heart and against a lot of odds to tie the series up. Lowry is really becoming my favourite player. Full of grit, gets knocked down, gets back up… and makes key shots… all the things you want from your star players. The games now shift back to Toronto. Go Raptors!

I have heard second hand, that my Sister was offered a position at a GTA hospital! It sounds like an incredible opportunity and the type of place you would want to work at. So big congratulations to her.

I finally got to dealing with destruction caused by the Winter’s ice storm this weekend. I had a good sized heap of tree limbs and branches piled beside the driveway. While it was great to get that work done, it certainly seems to have aggravated my tennis elbow. I had physio this morning and wow… it was pretty uncomfortable with her twisting and poking then the acupuncture caused some pretty dramatic spasms to occur in my arm. So… this is really starting to seem like two steps forward, one step back. Sigh.

Update

L.A. Clippers Website today...

Wow. Nice to see such decisive action by the NBA against racism. The max penalties across the board. Finally, a major sports organization gets one right.