The 90’s Were So Much Better To Me

One of my good friends from the 90’s, Rachel is married, her 2 children are doing well, she’s in Georgia for now but considering moving to Alaska. Jenn is doing well. We chatted for a bit and that was a fun walk down memory lane.

After talking to Rachel, I can’t help but feel hurt that the 90’s was so much better for me than this decade.

Toronto Auto Show 2006

This is from Dana regarding the Toronto Auto show of 2006 which I finally went to. I typically plan these things month’s in advanced and then cancel at the last minute, but this time I just upped and left.

The Toronto Auto Show, as you’ve probably already heard, was a blast. (Dana wrote most of this part but I’ve taken out some names because I didn’t ask if I could use them).

I was joined by my cousins, and our friend Jay from church. Our party of five left town around 4pm so we knew we’d be arriving in Toronto during rush hour, but our spirits weren’t dampened at all. The five of us took Becky’s beautiful new Civic for its first road trip, and what better way to celebrate than by taking it to a car show!

I was really looking forward to meeting my friend, Asif, for the first time. Asif and I have known each other for three and a half years but only in a virtual context, since we originally met online. We’ve been there for each other chatting through the good times and supporting each other through the roughest times as well. Until the car show, however, we had never met in person so naturally this was going to be huge!! :)

We had also planned to meet Niagara P at the show. The poor guy, he took the GoTrain into town and walked several blocks in the wrong direction due to some misinformation from a T.O. local. He arrived at the SkyDome irked and somewhat tired. So shortly after meeting up with P at the Suzuki section (I specifically requested Suzuki as a meeting place – gotta start off right!!) he accompanied Beck, J, Ja, and Jay to the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) north building to find some reasonably priced food, while I returned to Suzuki to meet Asif.

Meeting him was SO cool!! We hit it off quite naturally…I’ve met a number of internet friends in person over the years, and I must say that meeting Asif felt the most natural. We happily conversed as we made our way through a long tunnel from the SkyDome to the MTCC to meet the others. I found Asif’s perspective on the first half of the evening quite funny, actually. Here it is, posted with his permission – naturally!

In a nutshell: It’s our first meeting and the first chunk was walking through these long tunnels and then this empty concrete tunnel then standing beside a car engine for like 45 minutes. [At which point in the conversation I made a comment that 45 minutes sounded a bit long, to which Asif responded]: Okay maybe it was at least 30 minutes but you should still call it the 45 minute story.

You got it, Asif! ;) He continued: If I had a public blog I would write about how you are much more fantastic in person and super cute!!! My favorite time was when we were walking through those concrete tunnels in the skydome – you know those ramps. I could make a whole movie right there!! I can do a comedy about people who are having adventures while trying to find their friends at the auto show.

Asif was actually referring to what happened when we reached the MTCC and met with Becky, John, Ja and Jay. We were waiting for P in the Ford section, beside that engine Asif was talking about. (I’m embarassed to admit we chose that as a meeting place; sorry to you Ford fans out there…). Anyway, after we’d had enough waiting we decided to go find him. The last we’d heard P was “drooling” in the Mazda section, so when we finally went to get him he was gone. Thank goodness Asif was there, who proposed that we split up to look for him. Asif had never met P before, but thanks to my trusty digital camera I showed him a picture from earlier that evening, and thus began our search through the sizable MTCC building. Finally, just as someone was trying to sell Asif a credit card in the Lamborghini section, Asif found P and promptly called me with the joyous news!

Little did I know our adventure would spark an idea in Asif’s sharp, entrepreneurial mind: Start an adventure game based on the events of that night!! People [will] pay money to re-live our fun adventures at the Auto Show. There will be actors and staged adventures they will have to go through. We would charge them $1000 for a 3 hour evening. Per person. (Asif: Okay okay, the pricing needs work) [We’d include] scavenger hunts [such as] finding Niagara P because he has some kind of clue about something important. Plus at the same time they have to run from possible fake zombies. Michael Douglas did a movie about it and in the movie he pays $1,000,000 for like a one week fantasy vacation [referring to the movie, “The Game”].

Part three: Soon after finding P, Asif left for home and the rest of us continued taking in the show – we checked out all kinds of cars, we laughed, we hung out, we relaxed. Ja drove us home and entertained everyone along the way. He’s a driving instructor, so he had lots of stories to tell! Unfortunately I was so exhausted that I slept for most of the trip home, but I periodically woke up to the group laughing at some joke of his… I was too tired to catch his jokes, but I smiled anyway. It was such an awesome night! – End

Okay back to me (Asif Zamir) Ha ha! What a great time I had. I picked up Freddy around 5:30 and we left for downtown. Parking was difficult to find but we found some in a hotel down the street. Anyway we took the free shuttle to the dome, paid our $20 admission fee’s and headed inside with 0 (zero) wait time. What was hillarious to me was the people who paid $18 on the internet for convenience ended up in an overcrowded slow moving lineup to redeem their tickets. I heard one guy complain that he was waiting in line for over 35 minutes. All to save $2! What’s wrong with these people? I would glady pay triple to bypass a line anyday. Anyway I ended up spending most of the time looking for Dana and then standing by this 750 horsepower Ford engine. I really didn’t get to look at many cars. Doh! It was super fun and I hope to do it again.

Which girl do you think I love?

Lydia told my sis that I love her best friend. My sis told my mom. My mom told the church. Now everyone is snooping for pictures and information.

So I gave into the pressure somewhat – I handed over a couple dozen really good pics, that contain a lot of different girls in them. If you didn’t know anyone, you would never know who is who. In fact, I only sent the pics that were very evasive…no poses, no clues, you’d never guess. At the office everyone was looking at the pics and decided that the girl with the long blond slightly crimply hair…deep in the background was the one. To my amazement they were right. They were even planning out my wedding. A bit premature but amazing nonetheless.

Lydia’s Lunch

Lydia’s lunch:
– cauliflower garden soup
– apple juice
– crackers
– lemon cranberry muffin

Why did she eat such a great lunch? Because I asked her to :) Otherwise she would have had some yucky sugar thing.

Black and White

“Dragon Whips his Tail”

His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth… – Holy Bible, Revelation 12:4

Woke up. Lounged around. Found out that the wedding was at 1 instead of 2. I did a mad rush to shower and get to church on time. The ceremony was great. It was so nice to see my best friends S and R get married. After a very sweet and long courtship. They are just 2 lovebirds and it was nice seeing them take vows. Its so cool to see my Christian friends court. Because everything is so pure and sweet and without DRAMA. I remember the many times S said she ‘slept over’ at R’s and I’d say “WHAT??”. And she’d explain how she slept downstairs and R slept upstairs and PARENTS supervised.

After the ceremony I met a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while. I go my pics taken with the
bride and groom, my mom and sis. And a bunch of other people. My personal highlight of the day? I even got a kiss from a female friend I haven’t seen in a while, on the cheek of course, thanks L. What is it about a kiss from a beautiful girl, makes your whole day better :)

I took a taxi downtown Toronto. Anyway I go there right when the bus was about to leave at 9pm.
Halfway through the trip to Ottawa we stopped so people could get food and use restrooms.
I went into the restroom (the bus had a bathroom as well but I wouldn’t dare use it) and the stalls were filled, and so I figured I’d use a urinal for the second time in my life (other than when I was a kid
and used the kiddy urinals). The urinals were spaced to closely together, like 16 inches
apart, and this trucker guy to my right was looking over at me excessively. And he was not looking at my face!

Afterward I got a tuna sandwich and twix and fruit punch for the rest of the ride and arrived around 130am. Got up at 7am. It’s nice to wake up with gentle sunlight splashing on my face. Its harshness weekend by the drapes. I ordered breakfast for $25 and it was very very disappointing :( I did try some ‘yogurt’ though, something I haven’t really honestly done.

Showered, and left for church. Pastor G preached about really knowing God. He talked about evaluating yourself and then coming to God in sincerity to repent and follow Him. About how some people know God, but get stuck in a rut and then begin to wonder, especially if Satan gets into their lives. Some ‘evaluate’ their current relationship with God and go back, while others dig deeper and deeper into troubles. He is using the book of 1 Corinthians and says he has one more sermon left
in that book. He preached that sermon because he was ordaining 2 deacons that day and there were some unsaved people in the service. Good stuff pastor! Kinda funny cause its the same kind of sermons we get at any other church. Except our pastors do not do much chronological teachings, it could be one topic this week and another next week, from one end of the bible to another.

After service so many people came up to talk to me, and to make things even more awesome, this was my first time in this church, and everyone was white and I was the only brown person, which I personally love. The people I sat beside when I arrived moved right away when I sat beside them. No big deal, another family invited me to a BBQ. This is what I love about church. You walk in. You’re family. Okay okay there are rotten churches to, but you know what I mean.

Another couple was moving to Nova Scotia for good and it was their last week there. Sorry to see u go!
They were serving lunch downstairs but I had to leave, I had other things on my schedule.

Hopped on the #85 back to the Hotel. I decided to do something I rarely do – to stop and smell the roses. So I got to the hotel, but then decided to walk around Ottawa, enjoying the downtown, Rideau Canal and all the great sights. And I figured my manly direction skills would get me there. Instead I ended up going west back towards the church instead of east to the canal, and felt so silly after I asked for directions. I was walking which made it worst.

So I saw beautiful Parliment, Rideau canal, which is s dirty, I mean there is lots of green stuff growing in it. I was thinking it would be like fresh spring water. Whilst walking down Rideau lots of those white flower things were blowing all in my eyes and annoying me. I had my camera to snap pics and I ended up at a park. Ok walking down the park holding a camera, during a hot day. well there were a lot of people bathing in the sun. Girls wearing skimpy bathing suits, some wearing thongs for some reason. I learned that there were 2 large colleges nearby, and then I clearly understood. I was wearing my long pants, t-shirt and favorite shirt which happens to be a very furry sweater type shirt.

So anyway I felt awkward there with my camera, cause I was the only one not nude. Well, I decided to just get out of that park, cause I was just pretty much walking through anyway. On my way out, some girl strips down to some sort of invisible thong type bikini, and my right hand unconsciously slapped me in the face so hard that it stung. I just turned around another way and laughed and laughed cause I couldn’t believe my own hand would slap me.

I stopped at a bench to let my aching feet rest, I had been praying and walking for 5hrs straight.

Walked back to the hotel, got my bag, went to the via rail station, ate some burger king, got on the train.
Train pulled in the Toronto station at like 10:30 pm. Took the subway to the bus station, got there at 11pm.

Ran up to get the 11:03 bus home, missed it. I didn’t actually miss it, the bus didn’t stop
at its usual place but stopped at a new place across the parking lot because of construction or something. Doh! There was another girl waiting there named Angela. She was a young single mom. (I never met her before). We had to wait for the midnight bus so we started chatting. She told me about her weekend and I told her about my weekend. It started raining so I insisted that she take my favorite shirt and wear it till we get in the bus (I found out we live a few streets down from each other in Malton).

Anyway I had crouched down on the ground next to her and her son, age 11 comes and says “hey mom ask him for his phone number, hes the nicest guy, not like the others.

I’m not really good at exchanging / asking for phone numbers. Back in grade 3 I liked this girl named Kaitlin, and I hid in the corner of my school while my friend Ronald asked her for her number for me :) I got her number but now I’m used to having my friends hook me up. I still remember that number to this day.

Anyway the boy really wanted to be friends. He was sticking around me and asking me questions and stuff while we waited. I even left for 5 minutes to make a phone call and he came looking for me in the station.

But anyway I got on the bus, enjoyed the drive home with my new friends, walked home, went to bed.
I’ll remember this trip for the rest of my life.

I was riding my bike yesterday and a little girl with very nice crimply strawberry blonde hair
jumps out from behind a short bush I tree type thing and says ‘BANG.’ And I stop (I wasn’t going very fast) and she says ‘what are u doing here’. And I said ‘I’m riding my bike is that ok?”
She said ‘yup’ and continues to play.

I purchased a bunch of good plants because all of mine have died because of lack of sunlight (Although I have a gorgeous one on my desk which has flourished) I purchased them and left them in the car, the next day the sun was out and it got very hot in the car, because when I went outside the plant was dry and withered, almost cooked. I wont be coming to Ottawa this weekend, I have so much work to do here. But I thought of something, wouldn’t it be interesting to live there for a while?

Contemplate: to view or consider with continued attention: meditate on

– Asif Zamir