New Year’s Eve dins #TheBerzcyTavern

It's going to be a rough couple of days....

Unfortunately due to mother's act of 'kindness'...As Ames & father’s gone to the 7pm hockey game at scotiabank plaza tonight, mom and I decided to check out the new supermarket that opened on the lower part of her condo across from The Spaghetti Factory.
We got to the doors of the supermarket & she opened the right side door…& as I’m passing the left side (we came from the left…see where this is going?), she saw the disability button & pressed it (to be helpful) NOT realizing (neither of us noticed) that the left WAS the door that would automatically open…thus smacking me weirdly hence resulting in my falling quite awkwardly to the pavement.
BOTH embarrassing (bc passersby offered to help us) & trying to pass all this inconspicuously…I’d immediately unattractively got up & we walked back towards my Ames' lobby (mother happened to also get a phone call announcing Ames had a package arrive AT that moment…) where mother took her package to her unit while I regained myself.
By the time she came back down, I was ready to go into the supermarket…we browsed, got some brekkie for tomorrow & went back to my Ames'. Unfortunately, because of the way I was unexpectedly hit & was unprepared to fall…due to the awkwardness of my fall, I can feel my upper body reacting already (esp my right arm….the same arm that I slammed into my wall at the end of Nov).
I have a feeling I’m going to really feel it tmrw…tbd

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

#coldplay

Xmas Eve dins @ Toca #fam

The 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Hosted by Queen Latifah, honoring Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, James Brown, Thr Apollo, Francis Ford Coppola, Kamasi Washington, performances by Raye 'cry me a river', Doug E Fresh (beat boxing), Dave Chapelle, tap dancing performance by Savion Glover, Michael Trottier Jr and Tanya Trottier (ie The War & Treaty), Robert De Niro, Grace VanderWaal from the film Megalopolis, George Lucas, Laurence Fishbourne, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Dave Matthews, Talia Shire and Jason Schwartzman, Gia Coppola, Martin Scorcese, Miles Teller, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, Sturgill Simpson, Chairman of Kennedy Center - David Rubenstein, The Grateful Dead tribute: Nancy Pelosi, Molly Tuttle, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Perry Farrell, Ben & Jerry's Founders (Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, band Don Was, Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges perform 'Friend of the Devil', Chloe Sevigny, David Letterman, performance Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, performance by Sturgill Simpson of 'Ripple' Latifah closed show with announcing tg performance of Buddy Holly's 'Not Fade Away'

Moulin Rouge!

Enjoyed the musical production of Moulin Rouge at The Ed Mirvish Theatre last night!

Met up with the rents after work and we moseyed over on The path to meet up with Ames for dinner at Moon Palace, Atrium on the Bay.

The show was good but it definitely reminded me that it's been a REALLY LONG time since I first saw the movie with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor...I'd like to watch the movie again as a refresher because THIS production incorporated many more pop songs
along with some of the original ones.

Granted, it was riveting....but I still dozed off near the end of the show (unfortunately, that TOTALLY gives my age away. Normally on the weekends, I'd definitely take a nap to avoid this but due to my working the entire day, this was quite unavoidable. Ah well, c'est la vie, non?

EXCEPT...The ultimate negative take away from last night showed up this morning on my left collar bone...I somehow managed to feed the last mosquito from gosh knows what...what an annoyance to now be dealing with an extra itch, ai yah.

Hump day countdown to Xmas treats!!

*IMPT NOTE bout the honey crueller* it definitely took a trip on the floor to pick up some extra 'vitamins'...lol, the fiasco also had witnesses 'ie. Dylan & big brother - camera' harhar, I'm definitely sticking to vitamins and I'm still here! ;p

Joey’s, pedi & Eataly

Started out the morning working out to Jamie Foxx's 'what had happened was' on netflix which was artfully explained in his standup show that brought comparative flashbacks to my own 'situation' from back over two decades ago...definitely felt very relatable.

Went out to lunch at Joey's (where we split a couple of appetizers and finished on those amazing donuts!) with Fayewood before accompanying her to Aphrodite Spa & Nails for a pedicure with my pedicurist (Tony). As I regularly visit the salon with my rents, we're taken care of so well (with a foot massage too! Granted it's something I normally pay extra for, lol).

Afterwards, we headed over to Eataly for some quick grocery pick ups for Irene before calling it a day.

Before dining at Joey's though, I'd like to thank Fayewood for her most magnificant xmas present to me...a new pair of earrings!!!! This is such a heartfelt gift as she knew I was looking to repair the emerald earrings (one's stem had broken) that I have really been so sad about it's demise...but have been wearing the penguin earrings from Witkos in the spirit of christmas!
In return, I covered our lunch out...even though I don't feel it's a comparable gift in return, I suppose it will have to do. Or as I personally like to think....it's the thought that counts! Still, I'm very excited about trying them out tomorrow!!! :)

Crossover…#greysanatomy #onetreehill #dramaqueenspodcast

THIS was a rather sweet (literally & figuratively) surprise this morning by the Brookfield security guard whom I've become pals with (also not the first one, lol!).
The reason I accepted the coffee (ok, small french vanilla)

#HarryPotter#Hermione

Birthday wishes to Witkos on Thursday!!!

Ry U refresh!

Caught up with Ana over a morning coffee catch up at % Arabica!!! It's definitely been some time since we'd first met at a PR class at Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan University) with Erin and Margaret! That class was taught by David Turnbull, who'd intrigued me over to my back in the day PR journey over at Seneca at York. Definitely fun and reminiscent!

Hump day halt necessary

- Spaghetti Factory dins date with coworker
- Tues lunch date at Piazza Manna with Fayewood for putting together smthg for Witkos' upcoming bd present we're planning to mail her in Guelph. Unfortunate snag in plan thanks to the postal strike....unable to mail yet, oy!
Hope to coast the rest of the week before this upcoming eventful weekend! *fingers-crossed*

From the 58th CMA Awards from Thursday, hosted by Peyton Manning, Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson. Loved that the guys tried to be inclusive with Lainey via their 't-shirts'! ;p

Watched an HBO movie on Lin Manuel Miranda's father and what he stood up for, such an inspiring man who was such an inspiration in shaping his son into the most amazing creator of things, such as 'Hamilton'!

Just as Easily the Brain Remembers...

There's a new NBC medical show called 'Brilliant Minds' based on the real life work of neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks that's been written into following drama following an unorthodox physician named Dr. Oliver Wolf (played by Zachary Quinto who I was first know from 'Heroes') who's primary focus is solving patients' neurological and mental health issues.
As I'm always intrigued with medical shows (aka Grey's, Private Practice), episode Three: The Lost Biker really hit a cord with me with the relevance when said biker's MRI showed a tumor affecting the part of the brain where his memories are. Said tumor can be removed, however, due to the location he would not be able to form new memories (although current memories are safe). THIS is where the relevance hit home as the quote 'Memories are powerful windows to the past. They can fill us with joy, or overwhelm us with grief. A moment in time we want to keep to ourselves, other times, they're shared experiences. And when we struggle to remember them, it takes a village to fill in the gaps.' Where the episode shows the biker worked out a way to keep his memories alive: a video he recorded of himself (of himself) explaining what is going on. As well as a notebook with memories from the day - as well as his village of loved ones who help fill in gaps.
THIS is the most relatable portion as my own memories are within such tools as my planners, blog, fb, photos and via my own loved ones. So, I get it. This also helps me feel less isolated in my own memory saga.

Bday celebs! #JoeysDonMills

As it was Winnie's bday this past Monday, we were able to meet up today as I had worked an early shift (due to my seeing the fam doc for my flu shot). This was especially possible because I didn't need to rush to make the 6:30 dinner resos (as normal rush hour coming from downtown is INSANELY craycray).

Another fun part to the outting was that we could update another of our coworker pal about this as I had actually met up with James down at the Brookfield place Tim Hortons yesterday for a catch up. While we were conversing in person, Winnie had been confirming our dinner plans at the same time. It totally reminded me what a small world it is as I interruped my convo with James to confirm plans with Winnie...before even realizing that they KNOW each other! (This has been, what, approximately 5 years since we last worked at Plan Canada together!?!!??!)

After splitting baja tacos and sliders, we enjoyed a nice bday dessert along with a nice I had gifted her that she loved! Yay, bestie...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! #besties

Shits & giggles at black + blue!

#Black&Blue #abbeyites

‘Ki’ luncheon, yum 😋!

Binge-watching

* House of Gucci * The 3rd Annual Legacy Awards 2024 of black excellance with tributes to Cardinall Offishall (Icon Award), Cameron Bailey (Visionary Award), Aqyila & Hollywood Jade present OT the OG (Digital Creator Fan Choice Award), PartyNextDoor-PND (Artist of the Year Award) & Weyni Mengesha (Trailblazer Award) hosted by Adrian Holmes with cofounders Shamier Anderson & Stephan James. Sadboi performs 'Slide' & 'Fashionweek'

Hump day moxie’s & Hugh’s Room!!!

What an indulgence!!!

Hump day treat!

what a way to enjoy a brie sandwich (it's been awhile) during a work session called 'Masters of disguise Misinformation, disinformation, and artificial intelligence'

#MadoDonMills

Another relationship change…

This week's office treats were another sweet indulgence...but it's overshadowed by the unfortunate end of Jason's contract (which he revealed to me at the end of the day in a txt msg). Which is essentially another weird au revoir...how to handle work goodbye's?
The strangest thing is that I had seen him having brekkie that morning but didn't want to interrupt his meal so had walked by and figured I'd see him another time.
Ah well...

Started reading Dr. Anthony Fauci's book, 'On Call - A Doctor's Journey in Public Service' online library book this week. He is such an interesting figure and it's an enjoyable read so far!

Also had a wonderful phone chat with S this arvo, it's been awhile and even though we rarely get the time to catch up (altho we always msg one another!)....always sooooo worth it!!!

TGIF treat!!!!

Thanks to coworker Henry to offering a 'sweet' office delight!

Celebrating our “24th”Birthdays #ShangriLaArvoTea #abbeyites