oytamarind

Yes, it's summertime in Toronto, and that means...contract renegotiations. The municipal workers walked out on the weekend, knocking out everything from daycares and summer camps to garbage collection, and the employees of the LCBO (our province's liquor monopoly) are deciding tonight whether to follow suit. I don't know either dispute well enough to pick a side, but it's certainly going to be an interesting summer while those battles rage on. The LCBO across the hall from my till was an utter madhouse today, with flocks of thirsty citizens as well as cart-filling maniacs who I can only hope were bartenders stocking up (how's that for brutal? The LCBO's monopoly is apparently such that even the barkeeps have to go through the government warehouses for imports). Rotting garbage, bored children, and prohibition: possibly a perfect storm.

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So, in the latest anything-can-happen-in-Toronto moment of my life, I wound up on a game show yesterday.Through a convoluted and deceitful recruiting process I'm actually not allowed to discuss (I signed an NDA and everything), two of my coworkers and...

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Ah summer, when a young man's heart turn...

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Twenty-three laps around the sun. I'm told that's quite a few. Can't say I made a big deal out of the affair this year, though, on account of still having a bunch of academic shit to get out of the...

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One exam down. Oddly enough, it was sweet, sweet candy. Looks like my lucubration paid off.The last week has been pretty damn fantastic: lots and lots of high culture and shenanigans. I went to the newly-renovated AGO on Wednesday to...

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This weather is stunning. I'm almost ashamed that I took a brief break from my errands day to check my Internets and update things. Firstly: apparently Vox is being a pooface about transferring my posts over to LJ, so those...

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So I've been talking with academic types at U of T about what next year is going to look like. Rumblings of a lateral move. Diversifying or altogether changing what I'm going to be doing under the aegis of Toronto....

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I swear my phonology prof was under the influence of something today. That was one hilarious session. In addition to discussing the joys of stress placement algorithms, we also learned about ice cream, the Italian public education system, and Alabama...

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Well, the funeral and visitation were beautiful. Everything went off very smoothly, and the whole thing was a very touching tribute to Grandpa. People came from all over the place: family, friends, former colleagues, musicians, and even my old German...

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My parents just called. The hospital just called them. After a year's battle with leukemia, my grandfather passed away at about 1:30 this morning. It's weird, to be mourning and feel like the mourning had already been done. Grandpa had...

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I finally nourished one of my greatest Toronto curiosities. On my subway commute yesterday, I was sitting in the front car and the driver had inexplicably left the cabin door open, so I asked him what the top speed of the trains is. He pointed at the speedometer, which read 60km/h. Good to know! It doesn't sound that impressive until one considers the luxury of only having to stop every kilometre and a half.

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Indulgentiae īnfinītae? Really, Ben? Really? A sixth of the world (at least ostensibly) looks to you for spiritual guidance, countless more at least sort of respect your authority, and what do you do with it? You bring back an old...

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Goddamn, this semester has been interesting. I'm getting to focus on my two favourite parts of linguistics, sociolinguistics and phonetics. Somehow, detailed analysis of frication in Proto-Bantu is a hell of a lot more fun than it sounds. I've been...

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Be it resolved that one of my profs is kinda violent. She's starting to creep the class out with all of her ultra-violent example sentences. You can show instrumental-case movement with other phrases than "with a knife," y'know. But it's...

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Doing a quick Venn diagram overview of symbolic logic for a tricky semantic point: "You could have a cat that is both orange and ugly! I'm talking about this little bastard right here."After yet another tense/lax vowel gaffe brought on...

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So I met my first cokehead banker yesterday. I opened one of those newfangled tax-free savings accounts (kinda handy! I sure don't see a catch, and neither does my dad's financial advisor, apparently), and the branch manager who took me...

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So on Wednesday I got knocked to the ground by two enormous German shepherds. Thankfully, it wasn't the dire mangling you'd expect; it felt more like a clever prank. The first dog came up to me all a-slobber and did...

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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Things currently rocking my socks: After a lengthy battle, endless skeezy landlords and ugly apartments, and weeks of checking Craigslist religiously, I have an apartment. Best of all, and perhaps surprisingly, it's actually a step up from my current place....

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So I'm done for the semester. Hooray? The last exam was a bit brutal, though. My Writing Systems prof is a treacherous bastard when it comes to writing exams. The wonderful lectures lure you in, his quaint Texas drawl and...

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