Trippin in Hamilton 2003

living in hamilton collage

February 2003

The City of Hamilton is a happening place! When you go downtown on Main St East, you will find a variety of stores to meet all your shopping needs.

I visited Jackson Square and found alot of lovely shops there. There were even some unique artsy type stores. Those are the one’s that I adore the most. Exotic Imports from all over the world!

The one place I always love to visit is the Hamilton Art Gallery. It is located on Main St East, near James St. Just a few blocks from the Go Bus Terminal. There is no charge to get in.

One of the pieces I enjoyed viewing was from Robert Whale. There were various works of art depicted from different cultures.

I was sitting on this wooden bench and just gazing into this lovely painting of a farm. It was so soothing to the soul.

If you plan to do some sightseeing, make sure your destination is open. Some tourist attractions are closed on Mondays!

Situated on James Street, just two blocks north of the Go Bus Terminal, is a Tourist Information Center.

Robert Whale's view of Dundas in 1867

dundurncastle - Hamilton ontario canada

TRIPPIN IN TORONTO 2002

YMCA
Located on College Street, one block west of Ossington , this is a great place to go work out, go swimming or try various activites of interest like karate, yoga and badminton.There is a running path on the second floor. You can get dizzy looking down at the people below you. For the men they get a kick out of watching women with V necks, their cleavage is very noticeable! LOL
Everyone keeps to themself and the people that work out are pretty down to earth and easy to talk to.
The only complaint I have, is that in the evenings after 7 p.m. you have to wait your turn to get on the equipment.
Last of all they do have a little cafe on the second floor, you can access it by the front desk. Problem is they are only open till 7 p.m., but it’s pretty good snacks.

MY THOUGHTS ON EXPLORING TORONTO
This has been an interesting year exploring toronto on a weekly basis! I have many things to tell you about. Every Sunday I would hop on the TTC and go explore a different part of the city! I found living in Toronto exciting and expensive. There was never a dull moment. You had like “live tv” out on your doorstep. I lived in the King and Dufferin area up to July 2002. I have since moved back into the Niagara Region. However I still visit my old haunts when I go up to Toronto. I hope to someday live back there, only in a much nicer area. The rents are cheap in that area, but there was alot of drugs, prostitution and homeless people. It was kind of sad. Where I grew up people are middle class to high class. Here in Toronto where I stayed, it was mostly poor and lower middle class. The Roncenvalles area was middle class. The polish people are very freindly in that area

SKYDOME GYM
Now I also tried out the Skydome’s gym, located on Blue Jays Way off of King St E. I hate the dark conservative colours in their work out areas, very depressing. They also have computerized gym equipment in the ladies only section. Talk about a major hassle. There were no set instructions on how to use them and I found them ridiculous to set up! However upstairs is a Unisex gym and that was good. This place is very crowded though, so I don’t recommend it to people who are claustrophobic. LOL

BALLYS
This is a nice roomy gym. It is located in the Eatons Center on Yonge Street. It’s more pricey then the YMCA but it would be my second choice. Here you find semi professional people, who are very health conscious. They also have a store there to purchase work out clothing and accessories. There is no pool there.

ADELAIDE CLUB
This gym was very exotic in taste. Located near Adelaide and University Avenue. Here you find, marble floors, everything you could possibly need in the change rooms and free for your use. The exercise areas are wonderful. I loved the decor, wish my apartment was decorated like it!
This is an expensive gym. Here you find, executive and high class people. The atmosphere is cold and very competitive. I found people distant and not very friendly. I decided it wasn’t for me!
FILM BUFF
This was a fantastic store! It is located on Roncenvalles two blocks from Queen Street West. They have every movie imaginable. They have titles from different languages and countries. A exotic variety of movies you will not find in Blockbuster! You can also buy an icecream for under two dollars. The milkshakes are thick and creamy and oh so good. The baked goods are fresh and tasty. They also are involved in alot of Film Festivals. So anyone looking to get into the Film Industry, pay them a visit!
EATONS CENTER
This is a great place to shop with 3 floors of choice. I love the milkshakes at Dairy Queen. I was sad to see that the Museum Store closed down.
My horror story is I had a junior burger at the A & W. The sesame seed got wedged in my fourth front tooth. I used my finger nail to get it out and it chipped a small piece off my tooth. I went and showed it to the Manager and he gave me the phone number of the Owner. I called and put in an insurance claim. Needless to say they said I couldn’t get anything to cover my costs according to them because I took the seed out with my finger I am liable? Meanwhile 2 days later, I stupidly had some carmel popcorn. Well my tooth broke in half! I was in so much pain and didn’t have a dentist in Toronto. It took me 3 days to find someone. Most places quoted me 500 dollars cash for a root canal. Well I didn’t have money for that! So I finally ended up going to the Dental Clinic on College/Dufferin and had to get the tooth pulled and an xray for $70.00! Not bad! So that was a godsend! I did carry the tooth around to show people. However only the kids wanted to see the tooth. Adults they like gave me the strangest look and like backed away like it was a monster or something. I found that kind of funny!

Trippin in Toronto 2001

skylinetoronto

Trippin in Toronto!

MARCH 2001

The adventures of the Tourist

It all started one day, when Lilywave got the itch to travel. The nearest supercity was Toronto. Toronto was of interest due to the variety of culture and lifestyles of various people she had met in the chat room.

One thing that perked her interest, was the variety in culture. She was driving down Queen St E, looking for an art gallery. On each block she noticed that there was a general theme. One was persian rugs, the next was sculpture. The next few blocks consisted of antiquities and works of art from various countries.
Along the street you could see the works from China, Africa, North and South America. It was a whole new experience for her. She decided to share her thoughts and feelings on her travels. She also decided to dedicate this to anyone who is out for an adventure.

Queen St East in Toronto!

This whole street is so cool. There are mini art galleries, home decor shops, and also the Eatons Shopping Center. My favourite store in the Eatons Center is the Museum Shop. They had these really cool paper weights. They were 200 dollars, but totally exotic looking!

Little Towns in the Big City!
One of the most surprising things, was the differences in cultural backgrounds. Toronto is a multi-cultural city. People from all parts of the world have immigrated there. One of the funniest things to me was driving down Dundas St East and seeing China Town and then Little Italy!

It was amusing, like being in another world. All the signs in China town, were of Chinese language, I couldnt figure out which was which. I did notice alot of art works and sculptures. So on my next trip, if its nice I want to actually walk down the street and explore the stores!

The Antique Shop

One place i have to mention is the proprietor at the antique auction house.
She was so helpful. She gave me a map of the street with a list of all the galleries and eaterys on Queen St East. She also let me see the antiques that are auctioned off from peoples estates. Everything in the shop was 100 years plus. There was this wardrobe, it was gorgeous! It was a creme colour with a rose garden hand painted on it. They were selling it for 1500 dollars, if i had the money i would have bought it. There was some big victorian styled furniture from a past i know nothing about. I just noticed one big thing. The artwork and detail in the furniture. Nowadays our furniture is so plain, so commercialized. I do miss the designs of the past, but not the size of it. With the amount of times i move, i’d never be able to cart that stuff around!

street car toronto 1900s

Street cars and driving in the city!
One of the things about driving in Toronto for the first time. Is the street cars. When they stop you have to stop behind them, so the people can get off. Also they have walkways with flashing lights. you have to stop to let people cross. You can get a ticket if you dont heed to both of those things. I almost ran someone over not realizing i had to stop! LOL

I learned pretty quick, when my passenger Q gave a yell of Stop!

Q and i went for a ride on the street car. The seats have red plush material and are very comfortable. It was only two dollars and we went downtown. It was exciting seeing all the big tall buildings. Where i live most buildings only have 10 floors. In toronto they have up to 35 or more…

My Humble Beginnings On The Net – 1997 – 2002

coastlinepebblebeach

I found my website that is about to be deleted on geocities, so I’m copying and pasting my content and putting it on here.

this is my first web page.

My dad inspired me to make my own page, so i did this as a surprise for him .

Being a creative person, ive always wanted to voice my thoughts and opinions to the world, and now because of the internet, my dream has come true!

You can see im not as colourful as the flower but I love the smell of lilies!
I love the flower “easter lily” and the sounds from the beach.
My favourite place to go an think is at the beach.It’s so relaxing to listen to the waves lap against the shore. I’ve even bought a relaxation cd that has the sounds of waves, it puts me to sleep likety split!

santamonicacalifornia

One of my favourite things is palm trees!
Some day I hope to fulfill one of my dreams. I want to go to a white sandy beach and sit under a lovely palm tree.
I used to take art lessons, just to learn how to draw them. It was rather complicated. Maybe if I ever get myself a house, I will draw a mural on my dining room wall of a sunset with palm trees in various pastel colours. The worse thing about it, is it will be a talk piece, every critic will have their day and the ones that are nice will say, oh thats pretty! LOL

1997-2002

waterlily

Writing – Relationships – My Old Ramblings From 2002

kiss and make up

Relationships

The funny thing about life is that we all have alot to learn. One of the things I have learned is that no matter what you do in your life, someone else’s life will always look better to you. It’s easy to get down about how stuck you are in that stupid rut. Have you ever met anyone who doesnt seem to be bothered by any ruts in their life? In my travels through life so far, ive met a few. The one thing I admire about them is that they dont let little things bother them. I get stressed out about the littlest thing and I’ll blow it out of proportion.

At first I thought, maybe I go overboard about this and that? I went into the chat rooms and talked with people from around the world, I found out I am not the only one like that. You know its neat, when you talk to others you find out about their problems and the ups and downs in their life, you dont feel so bad about whats going on in your own life.

Relationships are funny that way. Some are happy and content, others are brutal and full of contempt. What amazes me, is how some people will put up with the discord, while others, throw in the towel and just move on to another relationship and hope for the best. What I have observed is, when you go onto the next situation, all the mistakes you have made are a pattern in your life and the same thing will happen all over again.

It’s because we contribute to the problem. We turn a blind eye to what we do wrong. It’s easier to handle that way. For many years I thought that my relationships failed because the guy didnt do this or that. What I found out instead, was that things I did made them react the way they did. They didnt change, I did. I kept repeating my mistakes over and over again. I realize now that those “mistakes” were a part of my personality. I didn’t accept what was my traits or personality conflicts, I just went on my merry own way blaming them for all the things that were going wrong.

I mean we as people do criticise ourselves to some degree, but don’t you find that if someone else is being critical you get offended or bent out of shape about it? I know I do, and that is one thing I would have to change, yet I can’t seem to grasp a hold on it. It’s become a part of me, a part of me, that I’m not willing to change.

When you can look deep into your heart and realize who you are and what you like doing in life, then you’ll see that if the relationship isn’t working then you are doing something wrong as well as the other person. I believe it takes two to tango. Two people have to be willing to compromise and come to some sort of agreement and be able to live together in harmony.

The only way to be in harmony, really is being able to compromise and admit when you are wrong about something. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and say “I’m sorry I did that”. Sometimes you’ll have to give in to what they want to do, even if you dont agree. Its always best to let someone learn from their mistakes and hope they admit when they are wrong.

If you can’t agree or come to terms with what has happened, then maybe you have to let go of the past hurts and failures before you can move onto something good in the here and now.
2002