Still Got That Damn Itch!

So I woke up today, and for some reason I still really wanted to get the hell out of Toronto. I'm so craving something new and exciting its actually killing me! Ok so minor exaggeration there, but it still really sucks, for lack of a better word. I was going to watch Transformers today too, but my friend bailed on me. Right when I got to the theatre. Which is 40 minutes from my house. Yeah that really did not make me very happy. However, I made the best of the situation and went to this really neat discount book store (I read way too much) on Front Street. I then went and bought my lovely mother a belated birthday present. I'm a horrible daughter. I forgot my mom's birthday, which was yesterday. I bailed my three brothers out though, and reminded them! They all got away with forgetting thanks to me! Anywho, I went by the travel section in Indigo and bought a Portuguese phrasebook. If I can't go to Brazil, I'll bring Brazil to me! muahahaha...But seriously, I'll be there in a year!

Another thing that really bothered me today was the fact that the Real Madrid vs. Toronto FC game here in Toronto on August 7th is SOLD OUT! BOOOOO... I'm still trying to find tickets so I can see my husbands KaKa and Cristiano Rinaldo. Although Rinaldo seriously needs to lay off the skin baking and buy a tub, yes TUB not TUBE, of sunscreen. Look at him, its a shame.












You know what's funnier than that tan. The fact that his right foot is going to be WHITE in comparison. Here's a few of my other husband, Kaka (yes yes laugh all you want)













He is just delish...too bad he's married already... *sigh*





































But seriously, aside from their strapping good looks, these guys are AMAZING players and I would give my right lung and left leg to go see them play here in Toronto! I need TICKETS!!!

Vid of the Day

I stumbled on this video a while back. Its so clever as a marketing scheme, and just down right fun! Check it out!

I Need...

I need a beach with white sand, turquoise blue waters, clear skies, a margarita in hand (man optional) somewhere in South America...

I Have An Itch...

No not of the nasty kind. I have this incredible itch to travel. It's not like anything I've ever felt before. It physically hurts. I want to travel. I'm dying to go to Brazil and all of South America. I just go to sleep every night unsatisfied. Something is missing in my life and I don't know what it is. I want to EXPERIENCE something different. I want to meet new people and feel new things. I want to get out of this city that I've been in for 5 straight years and go somewhere different and invigorating. I feel like I need something new, rather than this dull, monotonous routine that I go through every day. I want to give up Architecture for a year and travel across all the cities I've been dying to go to and actually SEE all the buildings I've been repeatedly shown in class. Why not? Well other than the money issue. We only live once so why should we slave away working from morning to night barely making ends meet. I suppose I sound like every person in the world. I just feel empty. I have nothing exciting to do or feel, nor someone to share anything exciting that could possibly happen to me. This urge is killing me. For some reason its really potent today. I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!! Grad trip is to South America. That's it. I've made up my mind! I think its reading blogs about people rowing across the ocean and a guy running from Amsterdam to Athens, that has made me especially needy today. I feel so...unaccomplished. Here they are, these people spending a summer doing something the rest of the world would never dare to do. I applaud them for going after their goals and dreams. It must feel amazing. Not only to achieve what they set out to do, but the memories, experiences and people they meet along the way is absolutely priceless. (Sigh) Someday I'll make it down to Brazil, or some island I've been dreaming about, but for today I'll just have to make do with the rainy, gloomy weather of Toronto. (And some great pictures of Porto Dos Corais, Natal - Brazil and Bali)

Cool Vid of the Day

This is possibly the cutest/coolest video I've seen in a while. I absolutely adore it!! I found Broke-Ass-Bride's blog on "Blogs of Note" and I stumbled on this video. Check it out:

Post Secret Day!

Today is Post Secret Sunday. The first thing I do on Sunday's is check the Post Secret blog. I don't know why but there is something comforting in knowing people have the same secrets as I do. Some just give you that sense of hope or encouragement you need when you're not feeling 100 %. My favourite two from today's post were these:




















I love this one because in some way I hope its about me. One can hope! I also love it because the picture itself reminds me of one of my favourite streets in Spain.



















I also like this one because sometimes I feel exactly the same.

I'm working on my own Post Secret this weekend. I'll be sending it in by next week. I might send in more than one. Just writing it down felt good, so I know when I mail it, I'll be free of it. I wonder what it is about reading other peoples secrets that brings us such satisfaction. I know there is that feeling of not being alone in the world. The project itself proves that we are all linked in some way or other. There is always this fascination with knowing what other people are truly thinking or feeling. I know I'm guilty of it. I once read through my friends journal. I felt bad for doing it but after I was done, I understood her so much better. In fact we both felt the same exact way, but she was just scared to talk to people. Reading her secrets just reaffirmed the fact that we all truly feel the same in some way. It strikes me as strange how people interact sometimes. Shouldn't we all be able to trust our friends. What is it that keeps us from confiding fully to them. I just find it funny that confiding to a post card or a blog or journal is more satisfying than confiding in a fellow human being. I assume is the fear of being judged and rejected that prevents us all from being honest about feelings. What is it about the notion of trust that dictates who and what we confide in people. It should be fairly simple to tell a friend or family member something, yet doubts always creep up about whether they will tell someone else. But should it matter if they do tell others? You're still the same person whether other people know about it or not. I know how hard it is to confide your deepest darkest secrets. Wouldn't be a relief though to rid yourself of that burden. Why do people keep things cooped up for so long. I feel like sometimes people lose a chance to change their lives or do something good because they are too scared to take a chance (My self included). From here on out, I'm going to try and be more open to my friends and family, and hope that they will too in return. Things would be so much clearer if everyone did.

Point & Shoot

I like taking random photos wherever I go. I'm no professional, but it's a fun hobby. Here are a few from yesterday and my last trip to San Francisco, California as well as Chicago:

Toronto Distillery District

Summer Colours

California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

Chicago Sculpture














Straw Wall Chicago

Before I Die

I was on the subway the other day and for some reason decided to make a list of things I wanted to do before I die. I think I learned things I didn't know about myself. Here it is:

1. Go to a FIFA World Cup Final Match (or any match)
2. Visit all of South America
3. Visit Italy, Turkey, Germany, and Switzerland
4. Write a book
5. Design my own house
6. Learn how to surf, ski and snowboard
7. Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef
8. Dye my hair a ridiculous colour (blue, red?)
9. Learn piano again - guitar too
10. Sing at a karaoke bar

Some are silly, some I'm dying to do. A lot of traveling on my list

11. Bake an outrageous cake like on Ace of Cakes
12. Learn Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian
13. Create my own blog (hmm I guess I can cross this off)
14. Work for OMA, MVRDV or with Renzo Piano
15. Write a movie script
16. Paint a huge mural
17. Love someone so much it hurts
18. Invent something pointless but cool, like this or this
19. Make my own jewelry
20. Buy my parents a beautiful home

mmm I might just bake a regular cake right now...

21. Ride a horse
22. Drive a Ferrari or Corvette for one day
23. Own a Jaguar
24. Live in Spain, L.A. or N.Y
25. Die absolutely happy ( I don't know if this counts...as the list is called Things I wants to do BEFORE I die)
26. Speak to a total stranger for a whole day
27. Visit Moscow (Michael Jackson inspired this with "Stranger in Moscow")
28. Marry a Scot, Spaniard or Italian man
29. Try the lotus (yes yes I know)
30. Try new food (like sushi...I still can't bring myself to try it)

What does sushi taste like? Smells fishy...

31. Go backpacking through a jungle or the Amazon
32. Go camping
33. Host an amazing party at my OWN house/apartment
34. Make up my own drink and name it
35. Open my own firm
36. Open my own restaurant ( I just came up with that one!)
37. Sell my artwork/photography
38. Go to a cooking school/class
39. Go to a concert of a legendary performer (such as MJ)
40. Spend a weekend in Vegas

41. Go skinny dipping in the ocean
42. Get a tattoo
43. Take a dancing class (salsa, samba, tango!)
44. Graduate with honours
45. Meet Ricardo Kaka
46. Swim with a dolphin
47.Visit Rio during Carnivale
48. Get over my fear of heights
49. Send a message in a bottle
50. Get my portrait painted with all my flaws present

Thoughts on Relationships

My friend just became a lesbian after giving up on men. I know she had an attraction to both sexes, but recently she's been exclusively into women. I wonder if we should all take the same route. Hmm...

How can someone find their so called soul-mate in today's world? With MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, and dating websites and so on I feel like the fun of meeting people has been watered down. Whatever happened to meeting people at a bar or on the subway. A month or two ago my friend told me that she met a random stranger because he had lost his phone. They had a conversation for 4 hours outside her apartment. They're friends, nothing more. Even just meeting new people has become so much harder. The world is in such a disconnect. If you say hi to someone on the street or simply smile at them you're immediately deemed a creep or 'weirdo'. There was a time people used to know their neighbors and who they lived next to. I haven't met one person from my apartment building in the 5 years I've lived here. Doesn't that strike people as strange? Everyone is so focused on their Blackberry and the newest game or application they can download to their iPhone. I don't have dinner on a table anymore with my mother, instead we both sit on our respective couches with our laptops in front of us and the T.V. on eating off our laps.

I remember there was a blackout in Toronto a few years ago, resulting in no T.V., internet, radio, nothing. It was only then that my brother, mom and I sat around and actually had a deep conversation. Is that what it takes to bring people together? A blackout? I feel like it would do our world good to live without our phones and computers for a day. Ofcourse there are two sides to any argument and I wouldn't be blogging with out the internet. I'm simply stating anything in moderation is good. We, however, have gotten so out of hand with the techonolgy and how it controls our lives.

I'm ranting now. I'll stop. Stopping.

Image courtesy of defencedebates.com

MJ

Hello everyone! Welcome to my brand new blog! My name is Laila. I'm just your average 20 year old girl living in Toronto city! My new blog is an experiment of mine. I will be writing about anything and everything that I can think of. In one way it's getting my many thoughts out of my head, and another way seeing who out there in the world can relate. I'm sure there are millions of us who think about the same things, fear the same things, love the same things and so on. This is just my way of seeing how many of you do (or if I'm just crazy). So on that note, I'll begin my first blog/thought of the day!

This is old news by now, but I'm sure all of you know, unless you've been living under a rock, Michael Jackson has passed away. I found out while in a meeting just after 6 o'clock. I wasn't sure how I felt when I found out. It was shocking to say the least. My friend proceeded to drive me home after the meeting. MJ was playing on almost every radio station. My friend and I, who strangely enough is also called Michael, started blasting Beat It and dancing wildly in his car. People stared at us and laughed, we didn't really care. It seemed as if people were happy that Michael Jackson had died.

After Michael (the friend, not the legend) dropped me off at home, I turned on the tele only to be greeted by MJ's face plastered all over every channel. A few hours of watching people discussing his death, I realized that the "happiness" I thought I felt in the car was not about him being dead. It was a happiness celebrating his achievements. I'm sure all of you understand this feeling. MJ's music touched us all. It goes straight to your heart. It brings about emotions and makes you want to move. This is what I classify as a legend and an artist. His ability to touch so many people in the world was magical. As strange as his life was, I can't judge him, and I don't believe any one else should. He grew up in the spotlight, so naturally he was going to lead a strange, veiled life.

As I went to bed that night, I listened to all of his great hits from Liberian Girl to Thriller. It really hit me then. We had lost the most amazing artist of our time. this man had set the bar so high, it may not be reached ever again. He created artists such as Justin Timberlake and Usher. He set the trends in dance, fashion and music. It hit me that I would never see him perform live, nor would I live to see him release another amazing album. These thoughts physically crushed me. My heart dropped and I felt a sadness I haven't felt in a long time. Michael Jackson, you will be sorely missed. May you rest in peace.

I'm sure heaven has recieved a great character, along with Farah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. I'll leave you with an electrifying performance by Michael himself