In West Philadelphia, Born and Raised...

So over the weekend, I took a little vacation.

A much deserved and long overdue vacation.

So at 5:30am Friday, I woke up and got ready to head off to Philadelphia PA. The city of brotherly love, home of Benjamin Franklin, and birthplace of a certain "Fresh Prince".

Now, despite the worldly view I pretend to possess, I have never left Canada in my entire life. And have only left Ontario to go to Montreal, on business trips with my mother because she cannot parlez francais. So needless to say, I was excited.

A question I got asked a lot leading up to this last-minute trip (I decided Tuesday that I would go Friday) was, "Why Philly?". The answer was art. This was the last weekend for the Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition of works by Frida Kahlo. My friend Karen is a huge fan, and I was pretty excited thanks to all of the art history classes I've taken, as well as the works that I have studied in conjunction with some of the courses I took for English Literature.
So by 7:00AM, Karen and I were caffeinated, and hit the road with a freshly baked raisin challa from the cafe (THANKS DANIELLE!).

Word to the wise, don't blindly trust Mapquest. They will get you lost about 4 times. making an 8.5hour trip border on 10/11hours. They will recommend that you get off the interstate in some Podunk town and then head in the opposite direction of your destination rather than drive 2 exits further and be on the correct highway. Just saying...

Since this was my first trip stateside, I tried to collect license plates. I got 1/3 of the states, 17 in total (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Rhode Island, California, Delaware, North Dakota, North Carolina, Florida, and more that I can't remember now). That passed some of the time.

But the art was the main focus, and it was amazing. Degas, Mondrian, Rodin, Pollock, Johns, Liechtenstein, Warhol, Van Gough, Cezanne, Picasso, and more. It was really moving and a little overwhelming. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is apparently the third largest museum in the United States. The place was HUGE! Giant galleries, whole reproductions of medieval temples, Buddhist shrines, Shinto tea houses, and colonial parlours, photography, watercolours, sketches, oils, everything. EVERYTHING!

In short, it was a concentrated trip filled with fun. Much better than a week long vacation where everything is meh. I think, if I can swing it, this will be the summer of the little day trips...

home

i just got off a nine hour shift at the hotel.
a shift that began 6 hours after I got home from Philadelphia.
stories and pictures to follow.

Terra Ferma

Happy Earth Day.
Everythings Blooming.
Enjoy.

sam sparro

The fish swam
Out of the ocean
And grew legs
And they started walking
And the apes climbed down
From the trees
And grew tall
And they started talking

And the stars
Fell out of the sky
And my tears
Rolled into the ocean
Now I'm looking
For a reason why
You even set my world
Into motion

'Cause if you're not
Really here
Then the stars
Don't even matter
Now I'm filled
To the top with fear
But it's all
Just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not
Really here
Then i don't want
To be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

I looked up
Into the grey sky
And see a thousand eyes
Staring back
And all around
These golden beacons
I see nothing but black

I feel a way of something
Beyond them
I don't see
What I can feel
If vision
Is the only validation
Then most of my life
Isn't real

'Cause if you're not
Really here
Then the stars
Don't even matter
Now I'm filled
To the top with fear
But it's all
Just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not
Really here
Then I don't want
To be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

yes, we are a flood town...

Peterborough, land of the notorious floods of 2006 & 2007 is still above water, for the most part, but people are getting leery. Massive melts are threatening some downtown areas.
This is the back half of the patio at the hotel... good thing the patio doesn't open until May 1st!
Somehow, I think these kis were having more fun than I was. But thats Okay, because I was dry and clean. Thats always what matters the most for me. Clean and Dry!!
Did you see that bridge? it goes right into the water... Safety first people!
This is part of the price we pay for global warming. Conserve energy, waste less, and donate your time and money to environmentally sound and green projects and causes. Also, I guess its the price we pay for having a river and lake in the middle of the downtown core...

blogger wont let me put up pics...
so an update will wait til i can edit this.

progress...

... is the action of a persons trasition from good to great.

this is when we meet...

... And the real journey begins.

I get around...

So Tuesday Night was a concert night in Peterborough. Dragonette, a killer Toronoto outfit doing electro-pop-esque stuff with two killer opening acts on the bill as well. Sweet Things and Fritz Helder and The Phantoms. I rocked the LOUD "Bill Cosby on Acid" sweatshirt as this was a Neon is the New Black event to boot. The Opening act's Drummer, Tyler, was the little brother of one of my Fav. Brew-Pub waitresses. Not only that, he's the same Tyler from "Popular Mechanics for Kids"!!
This is Sweet Things, more rock with harmonies, and no real electro elements, but easily proved themselves a great act to see and hear. I wish I hadn't drank all my money away so I could have bought their CD.
Fritz Helder and the Phantoms have a song where the basically rap and mock the audience for not being original. They gave me props from the stage for my sweater, which pretty much made my night. That and Pastel Supernova (The Girl in the Seafoam Socks) is rediculously sensual and agressive. My kind of woman.
Then around 1am, on came Dragonette. They were amazed that on a Tuesday night we sold out a 500 capacity club in a "small town". I couldn't get over how short Martine is in person. She is a teeny tiny elf of a woman. But her vocals were spot on to the album, which made me super impressed. I hate it when a band live, sounds nothing like they do on the album. All in all, a great show and a good way to end a pretty crappy week. If you've read this blog for a while, you know how much I commune with live music. This was a great show, and check out the bands. They're all on my iTunes, and will remain there for a looong time.

Life of Margaret