Today I have been frantically trying to find some cheap flights to Stockholm. I am very upset not to find any. Kathy Lam at Flight Centre has done a very good job, and I will probably take the flight she suggested.

I also visited the Swedish Consulate about moving to Sweden. It's exciting -- I am allowed to live with my Irish Citizenship.

Today I also received a Nokia 3390 in the mail. I will try it out and I have 30 days to finish my evaluation.

This isn't fair. I am so tired. Tor is leaving for Sweden. I am here... alone in Canada once again.

I am listening to Mylene Farmer - Dessine-moi un mouton. I will try to fall back asleep and maybe rest some more, but knowing me, that is highly doubtful to happen. The new GAP lines are released today, so I can check out the sales tommorow after work.

# posted by Martin @ 6:01 PM

Ok.. I just got home!! Dinner went well.. everyone liked it. I went to St Lawrence Market to get the produce and meat and dairy. Then I went to Sen5es to get the dessert (yumm!) Bruno raised the Swedish flag over the balcony as we dined in the open-air. Afterwards I cleaned the dishes (yes, I learned how to do dishes very quickly!) And then we sang songs, we played games (Black Magic, Going to a party.. etc). Just little fun stuff -- and it was fun!! Then we played hide and go seek until the early hours of the morning. We talked, we laughed.. we had a good time. Jesse and Bruno are both a whole lot of fun. Tor really liked them too! I am always happy when I have new friends that live nearby and are very wonderful!! I am also glad they liked my dinner.

Today is the day! I am cooking for Jesse, Bruno and Tor tonight. I am so scared. At the current moment I am praying the rosary. Wish me well, please... This is my menu:

1.

roasted garlic tomato soup with goat cheese crouton

1998 saint emillion

2.

thai glazed pork tenderloin encrusted in toasted sesame seeds and natural pan jus with creme-rosemary mash of potato

1996 chateau carbonnieux

3.

belgium white chocolat mousse pyramid

1997 late harvest vidal icewine

# posted by Martin @ 3:31 PM

YESTERDAY:
Went out with Karen to see Pearl Harbor. Afterwards we went to Tony Bullonis (please don't blame me, it was Karen's choice!! hehehe... sorry Karen, it was great -- just because you were there!) I had a tomato salad with basil and onion. She had the seafood pasta. Jens and Joseph met up with us and we walked to 7West. I had a caeser and a long-island-iced-tea. Jens gave me some cool gifts of chocolat from Germany! (he came on Wednesday and returns this Sunday!) Victor called and was coming down to meet them, but I had to take the 2243 train home.

After work I went to chinatown to find more of those delicious candies. Bought four packs and then went along Queen Street to go back to the subway. I stopped at Caban and bought some glasses and some rosemary... then I went to Much Music and saw Destiny's Child. I saw Stevie inside hanging out with the girls... and Io went around the side, where I met SUGA BAY BEE!!!! I asked her for her autograph and she signed THIS. Wow. I was so excited. I told her that she was my favourite celebrity and she laughed!

YESTERDAY:
Went to Eric's after work. We saw Boys and Girls and ate Pizza (double cheese, pepperoni and mushrooms). Eric is always a lot of fun to hang out with!!!! And he lives very close, I am certain we will do it more often!! =)) Afterwards I left, and saw Destiny's Child being airlifted into the radio station accross the street (they were doing a 20:00 interview). I walked down to Yonge Street and stopped by the Bubble Tea cafe and got a honeydew green tea with milk and bubbles (tapioca).

Not a big day, but had a nice time -- and thats what its all about.

Stevie and I met at 1600 again today. We went to the Bubble Tea store at Wellesley and Yonge and I had a Lychee-ice drink. We were so inspired by these cute rice fruit cake jelly candies that we went to chinatown to try and find more. We were distracted by New Ho King which we stopped at for Hot and Sour soup. After our brief stop we went through three large supermarkets before we found it at Hua Long. I was surprised New Asia did not have it -- but supposedly they had sold out! Afterwards we walked around a bit, and then headed to union station.

Stevie and I met at 1600 again today. We went to the Bubble Tea store at Wellesley and Yonge and I had a Lychee-ice drink. We were so inspired by these cute rice fruit cake jelly candies that we went to chinatown to try and find more. We were distracted by New Ho King which we stopped at for Hot and Sour soup. After our brief stop we went through three large supermarkets before we found it at Hua Long. I was surprised New Asia did not have it -- but supposedly they had sold out! Afterwards we walked around a bit, and then headed to union station.

Stevie and I met at 1600 again today. We went to the Bubble Tea store at Wellesley and Yonge and I had a Lychee-ice drink. We were so inspired by these cute rice fruit cake jelly candies that we went to chinatown to try and find more. We were distracted by New Ho King which we stopped at for Hot and Sour soup. After our brief stop we went through three large supermarkets before we found it at Hua Long. I was surprised New Asia did not have it -- but supposedly they had sold out! Afterwards we walked around a bit, and then headed to union station.

I was planning to go home directly after work, however that idea was quickly quashed by Stevie when he called and demanded my audience at 16:00 after my work. We met at Yonge and Bloor, and he said he wanted to find a Burberry hat. We went to Holt Renfrew's and found some, but not the style he wanted. I was able to find a cool piece of couture art, for my bedroom. I may go back to get some glasses. Afterwards we went shopping a bit, and then walked down to The Eaton Centre. Guess who we bumped into?

Jesse and Bruno were walking up from the Eaton Centre when I saw them. I called their names.. and they looked up, happy to see us! We spoke on the street but quickly decided to travel to a cafe to continue our conversation. After a brief, but happy, chuckle, we called it a night. Stevie and I walked down to the Union Station. On the way we saw a homeless man in the street, shouting indecent words at small children who screamed and cried as they passed. The police were attempting to arrest him, and he protested. Stevie and I shook our heads, Stevie commented, "didn't we vote the mayor in to clean this exact type of filth from our clean streets?!" I smiled, glancing up at my wise friend, and nodded in approval... "Yes we did... and look where we are now..."

Stevie and I then practiced our Puccini - Tosca, Te Deum. We practiced through the Fairmont Royal York, underground to the main train station. Even on the platform, we continued our merry chant. I hope we will soon know the words, "Va, Tosca! Nel tuo s'annida Scarpia!..." off by heart. We are certainly working in that direction.

Today I went to the Taste Toronto charity benefit for the starving of the city. It was so great, over 70 chefs showcased their talent all in benefit of one cause. I tasted ALL KINDS of food, bid on charity silent auctions (didn't win anything), and tasted rare vintage wines. I went with Pearl, who was a great companion, even if she wore the wrong shoes for standing around for 4 hours. :) I was able to talk to many different people all over the place, and even got a case of a new sparkling mineral water that is being released in the next couple months!

Last night I went out with Sunil, first to see A Knights Tale (very nice movie). Afterwards we went to a private party at Brent's, where we got a bit drunk. We then went dancing and met some nice people. I stayed over at Sunils overnight which was fun.. because I got to meet his parents for the first time the next day. I have known Sunil for a long time, but since he lives so far from downtown, we never really hung out as much as I would have liked.

I did do something funny. When I was going to pickup Pearl, I put my cellphone on top of the car, and forgot about it.. and drove off.... then i realized, and called home... my mom found it on the street in front of the house -- without even a scratch! Boy am I luckY!

I waited at the office until around 7:45 and then left to go to Eric's house. We hung out and talked until around 8:45 and I went to Jesse and Bruno's....! They are both really cool guys and we drank matching bottles of red and white L'Ambiance. Jesse and Bruno had pizza, but I was not hungry.
We talked about life, Sweden, travelling, customs... everything! It was really great. I almost didn't want it to end, but I had to catch my 11:43 pm train! I know that I have found two new and great friends. Tor and I will hang out with them tommorow at a bar.

Today I met a new friend at lunch! We met up after chatting on the internet for quite some time. Jesse is a really cool guy from Sweden, who lives in Toronto now. We went to Leteiri's in Yorkville. I had San Pellegrino and a pasta salada with tomato. Jesse had a coke with a cool little italian grilled sandwhich. They were extremely tardy with my pasta, and then they wouldn't remove it from the bill. But oh well, we didn't let that ruin our cool little lunch with the sunshine!!!

Otherwise the day has been pretty standard. I spoke to Tor for about an hour on the telephone, which was nice and a refreshing break from what has lately been the norm. I called Sunil to make plans for this Saturday. I promised my friend Adam we would hang out before I met up with Sunil..... On Sunday I committed to a charity gala in honour of Second Harvest, a food reclaiming company which helps feed the homeless and starving of Toronto. The event features 70 of Toronto's best chef's, showcasing their cuisine and talents. I'm just happy because the cost of entry includes all drinks and food ;))))) Oh.. and how could I forget.. on Friday night, Tor and I are getting togethor with Bruno and Jesse (our new best friends!) and we are going to go out for libations.

Yay! Who knows what will happen next.................!

Yesterday I went out with Stevie. We hung out all over and bought ourselves visors, which looked pretty cool! We're in "da hood" now.. :) I got a white one while stevie bought a blue one. It was funny, because I was wearing a blue polo and stevie wore a white polo. So we were totally coordinated. Then after that we went shopping for a bit, and I bought a new watch and necklace. We walked around some more at the Toronto Eaton Centre (big shopping mall). I had a Yogen Fruz Pineapple Fruit Ice...... then we walked down to BCE Place, and hung out at the Marche Movenpick.

A homeless person was asking for change when we left, and I told him he was trespassing on private property and would have to leave. Then he said "show me your badge." I replied "I'm not a security guard.. I am just a concerned member of society who wants the filth to be cleaned." He said he wouldn't go... So I called the police. The homeless man then threatened me with a switchblade knife. At which point I informed a janitor who radioed for emergency security personnel.

To reward ourselves for a job well done, we got a LARGE ORANGE DRINK from McDonalds and shared it. My train came and then I was off to Oakville. On the train I started to feel really bad, with a headache and first.. and then feeling extremely tired.

I woke up feeling worse, and I am now convinced that I have a flu. I can't wait to just go home and get into my bed.

Oh, another point I should make!!! Martin from Stockholm messaged me and said that he is in New York and that I might meet him tommorow if I can get down there. Well.. I have the Air Canada telephone number on speed dial, and I am not afraid to use it!!!!

Ok. The weekend. Hmm.. where do I start...?

I met up with Gregor and we went out for dinner, I had the stuffed breast of capon and he had the charred atlantic salmon. After that we bumped into our mutual friend Bernd and had a nice little chat. It wasn't long until we were dancing it up though, meeting some cool people and drinking a bit. Afterwards we hung out at my house and watched some TV and listened to music.

Sunday we drove downtown and he went to hang out with one of his german friends and I went to Greg's house to install a webcam and scanner on his computer (now he is visually digitalized to the world... oh woe.. oh woe) hehehe.

In the evening I spoke to Fredrik who was in Stockholm waiting for his bus back to Norrkoping.. and I spoke to Romain, in Paris.. who just couldn't fall asleep (we were debating whether or not he was a vampire).

As for today. It is freezing at my desk, raining outside... Stevie wants to hang out -- which I don't feel like. Tommorrow we are going to see Pearl Harbor (yechchhhh in Canada we spell it HARBOUR) at the movie theatre. Martin SMSd me from his army base in Nykoping and was mentioning he would be in New York City soon, so we might meet up there -- I have to talk to him to work out the details.

OK. So it may not have been as exciting as promised... I ended up seeing Gregor, I went to his work at the Second Cup (King and Jarvis) we went to ZOOM for drinks. I found out Gregor is leaving to go back to Munich on Wednesday. Stevie was too busy with Ryan to hang out with me. The big problem was that I didn't have a car downtown, so I couldn't stay. I had to take the train back, and then to bus to my house. I'm home alone now.... spooky!!! I was thinking about watching movies, but I am going to watch South Park instead.

Tommorow should be more exciting. I told Gregor I would meet up with him for dinner and then we would go to Bovine. (ok.. I am kind of scared about this because Bovine is a heavy-metal club! hehehe -- what am I supposed to wear TO THAT!?)
Yumm Yumm! Just got back from Marché Movenpick. I had a beef stir fry and a caeser (basically a bloody mary, but with clam juice too). I wasn't too crazy about the drink, but the stirfry was very good.

Stevie just called and said that there is a big party with free cover, but it is all ages, which kind of sucks. I still have to call Gregor to find out if he wants to do something after he is done work at midnight.

God.. just when I think I am home free (work is done is 1 hour 45 minutes) all of our servers go down, and I am getting about 30 calls a minutes. This is all I can write for now!! Ciao/ciao. :)


At the very current present moment I am deciding what to do after work! Probably dancing and the associated funstuff.
We had a mystery today:
I opened my bag to discover my SAFETY BOX opened and one condom missing! Not recalling myself getting any lately, I immediatly became suspicious. I tried to think back to the weekend, but that was all one blur. Did I get lucky and not even remember? With who? Which one of the many phone numbers stuffed in my pocket would I call and hear the soft voice of someone saying, "it was the best thrill of my life!"? Well.. I decided to investigate further, so I called STEVIE ROBERTS and asked if he knew what happened in THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CONDOM. At first he was a bit clouded as well, not able to remember much from our drinking binge. He thought, and thought, and thought... finally it came to him! He was about to get some crazy assed action, and I did a pass off (we have to protect our friends, right!) but that he never ended up using it. He asked if I would like the goods back, but I said he could keep it -- this time. I am going to consider giving him the rest of the EMERGENCY3 pack and then go out and buy a new one. God bless Trojan condoms. :)