oh, canada

We arrived in Toronto this morning. We found our hotel and then headed towards downtown via the subway. That's me riding public transportation. It's not so bad. Our first stop was Union Station followed by a trip up the fast elevator in the CN Tower. Towering 1815 feet above the city, the CN Tower holds the title of the World's Tallest Freestanding Structure. There's a glass floor in the observation deck, that takes a while to get used to. After the CN Tower we headed towards Queen's Park and the great shopping near there. We stopped in the Roots store. They were having a 25% off sale, so we picked up a couple of cool t-shirts. Next we toured Church Street, where you could see guys holding hands and enjoying the day. We had a late lunch there at the Church Street Diner. It was a quaint small diner in a walk-up. Maybe a total of 10 tables. The staff was really friendly. Everyone wished us a great day as we left. Toronto is a clean, friendly and progressive city. A real breath of fresh air.

more falls pics

The maid of the mist and the huge flood lights that give the falls color at night. I took some night-time pics of the falls, but they are pretty dark. But come on, the flood lights are just as cool, right?

niagara falls

The first stop on our "travels abroad" brought us to Niagara Falls. The first picture is of our stuffed car. I think we may have packed every stitch of clothing and every pair of shoes that we own. Oh well, it's those in-between spring temps that require you to pack everything, I guess. We arrived at the falls around 3:30pm. We walked down Clifton Hill "freak show" on our way to the canadian falls. There we strolled for a bit with all the other tourists. We exchanged our currency to canadian cash. It's so pretty. We really do have ugly money in the U.S. Next we hit the Fallsview Casino and Resort. Greg got carded for his age as we entered the Casino...I mean come on...he's 34, a year older than me!!!! On the plus side, I made $20 at the nickle slots. Woohoo. We had a nice dinner, and now we're back at the hotel....waiting for dark to see the falls all lit up.

are you kidding me?

The day that I leave on a week's vacation from work they finally fully stock the friggin' vending machine with Skittles! Arggggghhhh!

you've already won the issue

Ken Blackwell's at it again. Trying to win an election by dividing people over gay marriage. He was instrumental in passing the same-sex marriage amendment in 2004. Now he's using that same issue (that he already won) in campaign ads to become governor. You can view his ad here. I thought a candidate for governor should represent all people that live in this state. Instead he's out to vilify gays and use us as the reason that people should vote for him. I hope it backfires. Why does he and others always use gays to scare people? Come on, should gay marriage (again, an issue already decided) really be the biggest issue for someone running for governor in Ohio? What about health care, education, the economy? Nope, he's going to use a wedge issue like gay marriage to stir up the far-right voters and get them to the polls. Disgusting, evil and mean-spririted.

amazing

The new album from Erasure. Like no Erasure you've ever heard.

songs in heavy rotation on my iPod

>We're All In This Together - Ben Lee
>Wonderful - Josh Rouse
>Crooked Teeth - Death Cab For Cutie
>Breathe - Telepopmusik
>Last Stop:This Town - Eels

allium

Last fall I planted some flowering onion (allium) bulbs in the front bed of our house. I planted two types. One white, the other purple. They began to pop up from the earth about a month ago. At that time I counted about ten sprouts. They have matured quite nicely and now stand about 12-14 inches tall. The flower bud is developing too. Being the forgetful guy that I am, I thought that was all there was to be. Then about a week ago, eight more different looking sprouts began growing in the same area. So, I guess the two colors have slightly different growing times. So hopefully as one is dying down the other will be in full bloom. If I'm really lucky, perhaps there will be some time when both are blooming together. I guess that's one of the thrills of gardening. Forgetting what you did several seasons ago, and then being surprised by the results. The picture to the right is of a purple allium. Hopefully, mine will be just as beautiful. I'll be sure to post photos of them.

on the road again

Greg is being sent to Toronto the first week of May for work. I'm going to tag along and do a little sight-seeing while he's at work. I haven't been to Toronto since high school. Bought a couple of travel books today at Borders on my lunch. I may take some time to check out the Canadian marriage thing while we're there, so we can come back and maybe get hitched there someday. Not like we'll be able to do it around these parts anytime soon.

skittle update a.k.a wwcomd?

Ok, since Megan asked. Here's the scoop. One day last week the vending machine had two bags of Skittles in it. A small miracle since it had been about a month since they were last available. But here's the catch. They were behind a snack package of oreos. So what would candy-obsessed mike do? (WWCOMD? I may make bracelets and bumper stickers.) Anywho, I started feeding the machine, and left the vending area with the pack of oreos (which I gave to Abby), and the two bags of Skittles. They didn't last long, and gave me a stomach ache, but they were dang tasty. And so now...the machine is out of Skittles again....I know there is war in Iraq, and people suffering around the world...but I need my Skittles.

augusten's new book

One of my most favorite authors, Augusten Burroughs, will be releasing his new book on May 2. Possible Side Effects is the title. If you go to his web site you can download the first chapter, Pest Control, which details his first encounter with the tooth fairy. It's a lot of fun, and a very quick read. That's Mr. Burroughs in the photo (photo props to my friend Patty at work) up there with me. (Baldies Rule!) He spoke at the Library, where I work, last November. It was a real thrill to meet him. I got to drive him back to the airport too. He's a very funny man. A movie based on his first book, Running with Scissors, is currently being made into a movie starring Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow and Annette Bening.

tax day

Though Greg and I filed our taxes electronically in February, here's some info to chew on from the Human Rights Campaign:

Taxation of Domestic Partner Benefits

As a growing number of employers offer domestic partner benefits, gays and lesbians are discovering a hitch – domestic partner benefits, unlike health benefits provided to married heterosexual couples, are taxed as income. As a result, gay and lesbian employees take home relatively less income than their married heterosexual co-workers who perform exactly the same job.

For example, a gay or lesbian employee earning $40,000 a year and receiving domestic partner health insurance benefits toward which the employer contributes $250 a month would owe income and payroll taxes on a total of $43,000 in income at the end of the year.

A married heterosexual employee earning the same salary and receiving the same health benefits for his or her spouse would owe income and payroll taxes on only $40,000.

What HRC is doing. The Human Rights Campaign is working to equalize federal tax treatment of health benefits for married couples and domestic partners. Specifically, HRC is advocating that the federal government end the taxation of health benefits provided by employers to any beneficiaries covered under an employee’s benefits plan, including domestic partners.

you stole my @#$%'n cart!

Ok, so Greg and I did our now routine Friday night dinner, Outback Steakhouse, baby! Afterwards we decided to tour our local Sam's Club. We picked up a cart at the door and headed round the store. While Greg was picking up a couple of huge packs of bottled H20, I was checking out some flower pots. Greg parked the cart nearby and came to check out the pots with me. When we turned around we found our water had been taken out of the cart, and the cart had been cartjacked. Honestly, who does that? Trust me, if we saw the perp doing it they would have gotten an ear full.

still unable to taste the rainbow

It's been now two weeks and the Skittles have still not been filled at work. Today I wrote a note on a post-it and placed it on the vending machine. "Please refill the Skittles" I think that the lack of Skittles has led to my less than chipper mood at work lately.

celebrity mascot death match

Ok, so the weirdo in me would like to see these two street mascots go at in a one-on-one wrestling match. Who do you think would win? I've got my money on the Liberty Tax Lady...

house husband

On my occasional week days off, I like to play house husband. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind making it my permanent career. My dad was up for the weekend visiting. My two nieces Rebbeca and Macy both have birthdays around this time, so dad likes to come up for the occasion. I took him back to the airport this morning and then went into full house husband mode.
My first mission, find some nice canisters for our new and healthier breakfast routine. We were watching the new Real Simple television show, based on the magazine of the same name, on PBS this weekend. One of the segments was on quick and healthier breakfasts on-the-go. They suggest popping a whole grain waffle in the toaster, slathering it with peanut butter and adding toppings such as dried fruits and nuts. By golly that sounded “real simple.” And it gave me an excuse to buy some canisters to store the dried fruit and nuts in. They’re cute, found them at World Market. They are glass with a little “blackboard” area on the front to label the contents with the chalk provided. Best of all, they were only $3.99 each.
Second mission, grocery shopping for dinner. Tonight’s recipe: Vegetable Lasagna. I picked up the ingredients at Giant Eagle and DeViti’s. DeViti’s is an italian market in North Hill. It’s well known in the Akron area. I picked up a big jar of their own pasta sauce for the lasagna.
After grocery shopping, I stopped by the garden center for a walk about. I love spring, because I love to play in the flower beds and grow my own herbs. Today, I picked up a bunch of pansies to brighten up the front flower bed of the house. This is the last spring that our shutters and front door will be blue, so I decided to go very blue with the pansies.
So, so far it’s been a pretty busy yet relaxing day. Next up, I’m going to make some blondies and prep the lasagna so I can have dinner on the table when Greg gets home from work.