February 21, 2009
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Brief recap
It's always good to be back home and sleep on your own bed. The hotel bed wasn't bad, but I woke up a couple times every night. It's something I always dread. But I was able to fall back to sleep right away. My hotel was one of the staging areas for them for Obama's visit. On the morning of his visit, the lobby overflowed with cops. I got out of the downtown area by 7:15 as I heard there were street closures. I told my bf about the excitement and all he wanted to know was if any of the police were cute.
The only other excitement was watching a bunch of fire trucks respond to a fire on Friday morning. As the cab passed the store, there were thick black smoke billowing out. One of the fire dept's van did a 180 in front of us when he took a turn too quickly trying to get to the fire.
I did manage to take a quick walk around Parliament Hill the first day. It was beautiful in the setting sun. I passed the Supreme Court building on my way there and wondered what sort of weighty decisions that take place over there. It was cold and windy so I kept moving. I walked around the Parliament buildings and enjoyed the view back there and also of the library. I also saw those Parliament Hill cats. The rest of the downtown core around my hotel wasn't much to write about.
The train ride to Ottawa was surprisingly busy on Monday. It was jammed but almost everyone got out at Kingston. For the rest of the trip, I didn't have anyone beside me. On the way home yesterday, it was also busy. The guy across the aisle from me was reading his emails (printed) and some financial report. All I saw was something Proforma... He was probably in his early fifties with a skeptical, owlish look. But that seemed to go away when the guy beside him started to chat about hockey.
The person who sat beside me was reading a photocopied chapter from a book and making notes on the side. It turns out he was doing a bit of research for a lecture he was preparing. We talked about the course which is a combination of engineering and art. We chatted about the collaboration of technology and art, accessibility and modern art. I don't have a fine arts background and his background is actually in engineering. But it was good to take my brain out from my usual IT mode for a walk somewhere else.
I will soon catch up on my subscriptions. But right now, I'm gonna head off to my bf's place as he's making congee!
Comments (21)
Welcome back ! =D
Its always good to be home ^^
So, any of the police boys cute? *wink*
I was haunting Chapters the other day
and came about this interesting book
"Proust Was a Neuroscientist"
I hope someday I will be able to read this book.
cute boys in uniform... makes me smile..
I always enjoy striking up a quick chat when I'm
on a bus or train, I find people very interesting.
Perhaps that's why I blog, and wander xanga as well.
have a great weekend mate,
*~matthew~*
It's always nice to have someone prepare comfort food at home! Have a nice weekend!
Comfort food made by your man. Lucky you. Enjoy your weekend.
Oh, yeah... were any of the policemen cute?
It is always good to be home. Sounds like a decent enough trip. Now to your bf for comfort or is that comfort food or both!!
mmmmm congee...
@zozoyork - thanks! The best part about any trip is always going home.
@ZenPaper - no cute cops. All of them had bullet proof vests, strutting their chests, with many gadgets (uhm... gun) hanging off their belts.
@bleuzeus - yeah, there's nothing more stifling than a train ride w/o even a brief conversation with your seatmate, even if its only to say hi.
@curry69curry - he made seafood congee (with lobsters too!)
@christao408 - no cute cops and guys in uniforms aren't my thing. hee hee... The seafood congee (he even threw in lobster) was very good.
@Fatcat723 - it was a bit of both, and some of the kids were there too so that was nice.
@AzrihaEatsWorld - seafood congee (everything from shrimps to lobster)- with fried dough, cilantro, fried onions, finely sliced ginger, green onions, sesame seed oil on the side. It's amazing that something relatively simple to prepare can be so mouthwatering delicious.
@ElusiveWords - drooooool...I DEMAND PICTURES!!! and spooning pictures to see the....crap got to get a napkin...
Were they cute?
Just kidding...
There are quite a few shows and conventions around that incorporates art and technology
I love it when I see different schools of specialties come together
like fashion and technology by McQueen
or some ergonomic design
@Azriha - sorry, no pics this time.. maybe next time.
@Wangium - it does sound like an interesting collaboration.
@ElusiveWords - doh...
Ohhh! I read about Obama's visit last week on the news. I don't know much about him, but I seriously see no point to try to get a glimsp of him in Canada. A train ride to Ottawa sounds like fun!
so who started the conversation on the bus? it sounds interesting, but normally i dont do it.
@stepaside_loser - it was a train actually. I think we exchanged pleasantries at the beginning of the trip. I just started the conversation sometime in the middle of the trip. 4.5 hours is a long trip without some small chit chat.
i love seafood congee! Please save some for me next time. I see the endless snow we've had this winter has finally affected your xanga layout!
ryc: we finished each bottle with each course yes.
hm...it's been a week aldy.....so fast.....right?, Feb is ending...... anyway welcome back..
were any of the firemen cute?
LOL. Your bf sounds boy crazy like me.
Welcome back...I definitely know what you mean about your own bed! I think it's also the room which plays into our comfort.
@ElusiveWords - oh pleasantries, i will try that
hopefully make small talk with new people.
@agmhkg - thanks.. this month really flew by so quickly.
@jasonbasin - hahaha... I wasn't that close.
@brooklyn2028 - yeah, I need to make my bedroom more comfortable. It's a bit too cluttered.