Dir en grey - "ware, yami tote..."
I used to have a limited number of Shoes on rotation: A pair of knockoff Docs, my Casual Shoes, and Running Shoes for the gym. In the summer, I may have thrown in a pair of Flip Flops.
This year alone, I have also thrown Work Boots into the mix, and Work Heels which double up as Formal Shoes (that's right, being the cheap bastard genius that I am, I multipurpose my Shoes).
Now, the Work Boots have soles that are smooth as a baby's bottom. Of course after it snowed yesterday, I had to waddle like a penguin today. Which means I'll be adding Commuting Winter Boots that offer grip in ice and snow to my collection. And Work Boots will stay at work.
Except as you'll recall, I like to multipurpose my footwear. And I like to wear smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom Work Boots around on weekends to clubs and Other Occasions because they're comfortable and look somewhat appropriate.
So I have to either haul Work Boots around with me everyday on the subway in case I need them in the evening, or buy another pair that will replace them for Other Occasions.
I used to laugh at people who had more shoes than fingers. "Pshaw!" I would snort. "What need have I for shoes when I can spend my money on other fun things like accessories! Hah!" And others would shake their heads, waiting for the day it would happen to me, too. And I'd snort at their head shaking, "hah!"
You know, my undergrad program tried to teach us to think outside of consumerism.
Is it possible to not be bogged down by material goods? I have tried so hard to re-jig my work clothes into casual clothes in order to avoid having two wardrobes. Now I've created this weird hybrid where I look like a regular Joe (Jo?) on my off days, and I don't dress business-like enough at work.
I've lost my edge and I'm floundering in a giant pile of footwear.
Dir en grey - "Inconvenient Ideal"
Without school to pepper work periods, I find life starting to get dull and routine, and I'm trying to find ways to break it up. Jamming with the Family and going to the gym can only do so much. I find that playing the DS is only acceptable in small increments. As much as I'd love to get out there and learn as much as I can, my position as Captain of Team Procrastinators means that I have a healthy dose of Laze in my repertoire.
Also, money does not allow for frivolous learning. Yet. Sports leagues and the one class that I can afford to take also doesn't start until January.
So, in an attempt to curb my spending habits and pick up a new hobby, I've decided that maybe I'll give sewing a try. DIY clothes and all that jazz. It's something I've always wanted to do, but never got around to. Take that, h.Naoto!
Who knew that a sewing machine costs OVER A HUNDRED DOLLARS. wtf.
This little one is the only machine under a hundred dollars, and apparently significantly less on eBay. But it's PINK. Now if someone could tell me whether 41 stitch patterns, 5mm stitch width and 4mm stitch length is a good thing, that would be gold.
So what do other people do for fun around here?
Also, it's finally sinking in that I'll be seeing my boys on Sunday. I'm starting to feel small thrills of anticipation.
Dir en grey - "red soil"
Fall is like nature's last hurrah before everything fizzles out and dies. It's like a final desperate attempt at an amazing explosion of colour and beauty before everything turns grey for 4 months.
Doesn't mean I don't forget about the impending frostmush and enjoy what nature has to offer every once in a while though.
Ontario has some beautiful little gems, one of them being Lake Huron. Grand bend boasts one of the best beaches in Canada and the Bruce Peninsula is one of my favourite places, like, ever. Cliffs and the kind of clear blue water you see in the Caribbean = win in my books.
See that? It's a friggin' CAVE that you can climb into and explore!
More of mother nature's tricks up her sleeveI highly recommend the Niagara escarpment and encourage you all to go before it gets too cold and snowy....oh wait. Never mind.
the Smashing Pumpkins - "the beginning is the end is the beginning"
Angelina Jolie's been keeping it on the down low for a while with her little spawn army, but her resurfacing photos totally kick Megan Fox's case of walking STD's to the curb.
I adore this woman. She knows how to make an entrance. She doesn't even have to try to ooze sexy womanly allure. Love love love. This is not the face of a frumpy matronly woman. Dude, this woman flies planes and rides motorcycles. Her wild child past just adds to her appeal. C'mon, knife play? Blood vials of devotion? Fox has nothing on her. Also, even in her days of awesome psychoness, my girl never had the smell of blowjobs all around her.
Enter Megan Fox who has done, what, one movie? 
Megan Fox = trying too hard + wannabe Angelina + VD in a can = epic fail.
Happy thanksgiving everyone! Be thankful that it's a beautiful day in October reaching the mid-20's which just so happens to fall on a stat holiday. It's a sign. Spend it outside instead of on the computer blogging about useless things like celebrity gossip.
PS. get your ass out and vote tomorrow.
Dir en grey - "Undecided"
Mine. All mine. Well, it will be once I'm done paying it off. The important thing is that it's sitting in the garage and I have the keys.
Get your grubby paws off my seats.
Big-time reporter Rosie DiManno writes for the Toronto Star:
Going "undercover" to tell a story is just about the laziest form of reporting existent. The conceit is that a reporter masquerading as a citizen sign-up – or homeless person or religious cultist or domestic – can better grasp the matter by providing a first-person in-those-shoes account. But this is shortcut journalism and intrinsically dishonest.
I say dishonest not because of the core misrepresentation – duplicity is a common tactic in reporting, if only by posing as a sympathetic audience – but because a story thus told becomes more about the narrator and less about the subject. Why bother asking the relevant questions or doing the time-consuming research when the reporter can just "see for himself"?
Well, Ms. DiManno, if that is your real name, I disagree.
The failure in her argument is that journalists who go undercover are trying to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. That is, how will you really know what it's like to be handicapped if you don't see what it's like yourself? How will you know what it's like to live on the streets? The so-called news item then becomes a narrative of your time...except you know that at the end of the day, you can get up and walk away from a wheelchair, or you can go home to your family, and therefore, you'll never really get what it's like, to truly understand. It's lazy journalism because you should just invest the time to do all the necessary research and make all the necessary phone calls, right?
I don't think so.
Undercover reporting is more than just writing about yourself. How do you understand the complexities of a political camp or the mafia underworld if you don't ally yourself directly with the sources? Do you really think that you'll get more insight by talking to a twitchy, mysterious "informant"? And is it really that easy to lead a double life? Rosie, you're underestimating the complexities of it, I think.
And as much as we'd all like to believe, there is no such thing as impartial journalism or an absolute truth.
You can always read the full article yourselves and decide. On the plus side, whether or not Rosie was trying to be offensive or not, she did incite debate and make me think, so good on you, Rosie D.
The Star also threw out an article in yesterday's paper with an interview with a fellow who believes homework should be banned. My head almost exploded with the insanity, but that's a story for another time.