Weekend To Do's

There is SO much going on in Halifax this weekend!

 Here are some things I want to check out:

Friday the 13th Zombie WalkFri., May 13, 5-6:30 p.m. Camp Hill Cemetery 
A zombie walk for the environment. Get decked out in the latest zombie gear and shamble for sustainability.

Shirtlifter, a Queer Comic ReadingFri., May 13, 7 p.m. 1598 Barrington (Venus Envy) 
Cartoonist Steve MacIsaac shares his fourth issue of Shirtlifter.

The Letterpress Gang's first annual WayzgooseSat., May 14, 12-5 p.m.1895 Granville (Dawson Print Shop)
What's a Wayzgoose? A celebration of printing! Get a tour of the printshop, take in letterpress demonstrations or pick up your very own print.

The Great Roberts Street Library Bicycle Scavenger HuntSat., May 14, 1-3 p.m. 5684 Roberts
Bring your bike to the Roberts Street Social Centre at noon and hunt for clues at the libraries. 

Solve the most by 2pm and win! $5 suggested entry fee

Barefoot Ecstatic Dance, Sat., May 14, 7:30-9:30 p.m. 6135 University

Dance, prance or flail, there are no rules to obey or steps to follow. $10 or pay what you can

Block Party at Ray'sSun., May 15, 12 p.m. 1531 Grafton
Music from Jackson Jha, John Cole Porter, Brite-Vu and more, 

with a special evening viewing of The Sound of Music. donation to Feed NS

For a complete list of events happening in 

and around Halifax this weekend check out THIS

Creative Marketplace

As I live smack downtown I am surrounded by shops, cafe's and restaurants. One place that I walk by everyday is the Creative Marketplace located at 1546 Barrington. I stopped in the other day to see if they had anything storagewise for my bathroom. They did not have what I was looking for, but, they had a whole lot more.

I walked away with these wall stickers:

Now, normally I hate these things. I think they are tacky and useless. I am still unsure of these ones, but they were on clearance and weren't a black and white chandelier, so I gave them a go. I think they add some colour to my all white kitchen, which is all I wanted them for. Who knows if they will stay up longer than a few days, but I can say that I tired them.

Back to my review: The Creative Marketplace seems pretty awesome. It is loaded with everything an artist needs. They even sell materials for those of you who like to stretch your own canvas; the only way to go really. There is a children's section dedicated to crafts and kid friendly supplies, as mentioned a canvass area, aisles filled with paint and brushes, crafting storage, drafting/art desks and loads of other odds and ends for those of us who like to get creative once in a while, or as a constant way of life.

I give The Creative Marketplace a GO even if you have little interest in crafting they sell home decor, notebooks and cute cards, and who knows, you may be inspired.

Book Review(s) - Hunger Games

The weather has been complete shit for the last two weeks. There was one sunny day followed by three days of downpour. As I am still lacking proper footwear this has kept me indoors a lot.

Not my umbrella, but some sad sack who bought a shit umbrella.

My Kindle has been my saviour. If I had been at home (or empolyed) this weather would not be an issue, alas I am neither, so I am left to my own devices. I went on an ebook shopping spree. Whoops. Well, not really a whoops cause I bought 14 books for under $20 (thanks to this message board).

I bought the first book in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I am a sucker for a series, so I ended up reading all three books in 2 days. I/she should have stopped at one.

This may be an unwelcome review. So if you read and loved these, you should avert your eyes now. The first book was great. It was something I had not read before (well, it had a similar premiss to The Lottery) and it was full of suspense and kept you guessing etc.. The characters had backgrounds and real life problems: intimacy issues, starvation, death of a parent(s) and depression which made them relatable. There was enough tension that you were invested in the characters decisions, and enough light that you felt for them when those hard decisions had to be made. Overall it was a quality read.

And then she should have stopped. The next two books were not up to par. In fact, I felt like she was trying so hard to keep her audience that she played to whatever she thought they would want. Hey, what's popular for kids these days? Well, reality T.V, so let's make this into a giant reality T.V show and then they can become famous. The Capitol was basically an illusion to Hollywood with people living in outrageous mansions and doing all sorts of body "disfigurement". Then you have the female lead ending up with the Jacob of the story, simply to satiate the Team Jacob audience. I could go on, but I am mad enough at myself for buying and reading the last two books that I just can't.

 

You know, maybe this was just a really smart social commentary, but when your audience is Twihards,

 I think the point is missed. 

Verdict: Do not read. Here is the thing. Yes, the first book was good, but then you will read the next two because it is a trilogy and you simply HAVE to know what happens. Am I right? Ya, I know, so then you are mad at yourself later for reading these in the first place. 

This review is null and void if you still end in a "teen". 

If you are, go ahead read and swoon over Gale, it's okay, I get it. 

The Market (elbows up)

On Saturday I meandered down to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. That place is a dream. A very tightly packed dream, but a dream nonetheless. I did a brief run through and then went back for a better look at the booths I was interested in. Namely, I wanted a waffle:

For $3 I got this gem. It was hot, it was chewy and it was what I needed to wade back into the crowd. I took it upstairs where the booze and art is sold (always a good place for people watching) and planned my route.  After I was fortified I went back downstairs in search of veggies. I only ended up getting a bag of mixed carrots, but I think that had more to do with the fact I was overwhelmed by the people than the lack of choices.  I also picked up a delicious baguette for $2.50 on my way out.

Overall it is a place that I will definitely go to again. If you are a meat eater then I would say this is your place. There are many, many choices of local and organic meats to choose from. There is one main veggie vendor, but many places sell a selection of fruits and vegetables along with their baking. There is a large selection of ready to eat international foods, from jamaican to german to french (I can't wait to get a crepe next time) as well as coffee and smoothie stands.

See you next weekend at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market!

Places I have wandered

I want to do in depth posting on my shopping and wandering adventures, but here are some places I have been and enjoyed lately:

Duly Noted. First off, love the name. Secondly, the staff was very friendly and helpful. They have the exact portfolio I want. Sadly, it is not the pricetag I need. It is just off Spring Garden

 Dress In Time. Really awkward entrance area (in an alley/loading area) but stuffed to the brim with period clothing and accessories. I thought/know that the footwear is overpriced - it seems everything has a $35 price tag even though I recognized some stuff from payless - but the selection of clothing and hats is unreal.

 I got to wander the waterfront on the only sunny day since I have been here. I received a sunburn for my efforts, but it was well worth it.

 all of that is a huge difference from this:

I have also been to basically every major shopping centre. Multiple times. From Mic Mac, to Scotia Square, to Halifax Shopping Centre, to that sprawl by Chain Lake, to the Bedford explosion that the gps doesn't even know exists. Yesterday I had my first Cinnabon. It was like eating diabetes. Delicious and gave me the sugar boost I needed to FINALLY BUY DISHES.

So there is a brief history of my comings and goings for the last 11ish days.

Oh, I also went to a supurb sushi dinner at Sushi Nami. I highly, highly recommend it for vegetarians and everyone else.

The First Week

 The first week was slightly insane. My friend, who also happened to be moving places at the same time I was moving in, and I rented a car. We went shopping. It was bananas. I have never, in my life, spent that much cash in one go ever. After I forgot my wallet and getting lost (gps is the devil/paid bridge toll total of 8 times in one morning) we did some serious damage.

that my friends, is just the start. Even after all that shopping, I still didn't have dishes. So for the first 11 days (yes, eleven) I ate mainly off of a lid from a pot I had brought with me, and paper-towels (note my excellent phone book in place of table usage) 

,

Luckily but the weekend I sourced myself a table at the Halifax Dump and Run. The dishes though, they did not get purchased until much later. I scrubbed my place from top to bottom (dirtiest place on earth) and after a few days it finally looked like a Place.

 Turns out it rains here. Alot. So my wanderings were kept to a minimum that week, but I had plenty to keep me busy indoors. A more in depth apartment post to come including where I got what and how much cash monies I dropped to make this place mine.

Me, Myself and I (or something with less cheese)

As mentioned, my name is J. I am 24 and went to University for Marketing at the University of Saskatchewan.  After I graduated I tried my hand at job hunting in Saskatoon. Things were not working out and I was running out of cash. I struck a deal with my parents and moved back home under the terms of one year rent free.

Moving home after being on your own for five years is a challenge. All the rules have changed and even though everyone else know what they are, you don't (though my little bro telling me mom let's him swear was a pretty easy one to poke a hole in). After a few months I had picked up on the rules and landed my first "real" job. I had my own desk, full time hours plus overtime and a benefits/pension package. The job was in publishing, a place I had always wanted to work, and hope to continue working in here.

But, more about me. I think I am hilarious, I love books (thankfully I have a kindle so no more toting around two books a day because I know I will finish the one and God forbid I do not have a backup), I used to love fashion but then I got broke so that love affair has been put on ice - sidenote, the street fashion in Halifax is unreal!, I only drink (like to get my dance on drink) vodka and wine, the first with water and the latter preferably red, I have been a vegetarian for at least three years (before that I used to dabble in chicken and bacon on occasion), my brother is my favorite person on the planet, I have four best best friends (yeah, I lucked out), my favourite colour is grey, my favourite number is 11 and my favourite food is cheese.

If you want to know more about me ask, most things are free game and if not well, I'm sure I will let you know.

Oh,  and I am a Harry Potter freak.