Another Baby Announcement

Yet another baby announcement!

Heather MacLeod and Randy Ray hereby announce the birth of a baby 
boy, Marlon Chester Ray, 7 lbs 11 oz. (3.5 kg), born at Women's 
College Hospital, Toronto, about 9:30 AM, August 25th.

Congrats to the new parents!

DVD crazy

Anyone who knows my family will know that we are movie hounds. I've been scouring the area for cheap DVD's and I found a store that sells titles between $7-20 CDN. The catch is there aren't many new releases available at these prices, but I've found some good ones, including some real classics. Here's a list of the ten best ones, so far:

1. Cool Hand Luke
2. The Hustler
3. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
4. Sideways (with all the special features)
5. Leon (Essential version)
6. Collateral (Double Disc edition)
7. Quadrophenia (Japanese title: A Way of Life)
8. Drug Store Cowboy
9. Phonebooth (Special features)
10. The Terminal (Double disc edition. Steven Spielberg does it again!)

As you can see from 1 & 2, I've been on a Paul Newman kick lately. I've even taken to wearing white, short sleeve T-shirts, as he did in the apartment scenes of The Hustler -- super cool!

Guilty pleasures:
White Men Can't Jump, Coming to America, S.W.A.T, Coach Carter (if you notice, three of these films feature Samuel L Jackson yelling at the top of his lungs!)

I’m Back in Japan

A teacher here at Bowers English School left at the end of July, so I took over his classes on the other side of the territory, which meant me moving out of my apartment in Oigawa to an ocean-view, little box of an apartment in a town called Omaezaki, right in front of a surfing haven called Susuki Beach. No joke, I watch the surfers from my front window…it’s very cool. On clear days, I’m able to look at the Pacific Ocean and Mount Fuji as the sun rises! The catch is I live in the middle of nowhere, no sign of culture for at least 30 minutes west, east or north…south of course is the Pacific Ocean! When a photoop arises, I'll post them.

Unfortunately, since coming back from my trip to Toronto, I’ve been so busy working on Adult and Business Education curriculums, unpacking all my stuff and prepping for my new classes that I haven’t gotten out to surf. Just as well, I guess, as typhoon season has brought monster waves that have, frankly, scared the living crap out of me! If I was Patrick Swayze, perhaps I’d be a happy camper, but I will need a few years of seasoning before I attempt those waves.

Toronto visit July 25-August 5

Just to let you know, this particular blog session is a continuous namedrop of all the friends I saw while in Toronto. If I didn’t see you in Toronto, or you don’t know any of my friends, or you couldn’t give a shit, no worries, you can skip this entry. Because really, this entry is for someone like the Bek-bek, who would know most of these people and can't otherwise see them either! ...Or you can at least just look at the pictures.

TORONTO NAMEDROP

So little time, so many people to see. That is how I’d describe my ten day jaunt back to Toronto.

After arriving in the city just in time to catch last call at not one, but three different bars, the Doods and I decided that we needed some sleep. My first morning was spent visiting the Exclaim Magazine office, where the Doods has been working part-time. I got to see Exclaim folk Dino DiGiulio and Christian Hamilton.

From there things got weird, as everything seemed to speed up…Here’s a quick recap of what happened the next ten days:

It was just a blur of jovially familiar (and family) faces: Yvonne Murchison and Mike Wdowiak and new mum Sheryl Genser have made the world a much more beautiful place with their respective sons Max and Kingsley. Along with expectant parents Randy Ray and his very pregnant girlfriend Heather, and soon-to-be mother Emily Spring, it seems everyone is in “the family way.”

Sheryl Genser and me on Queen Street West

Me, Max and Yvonne in Bellwoods Trinity Park

The Doods had a BBQ in my honour and I got to hook up with many of the boys I really needed to see…Dwayne Slack, Sylvan Thompson, Voltaire Ramos, Jesse Boyer, Jay Byrd, Steve Parker and Katie Muth…well, she’s not one of the boys, but it was good to see her before she took off for NYC. Based on my slower Japan pace, the drinking and the ganj, along with the searing Torontoheat and jet lag, the BBQ knocked me out some.

My older brother Rod zoomed into town for a couple o days, he missed the BBQ, but was in for some family time and some mutual I-Tunes robbery. It’s rare nowadays to get the Zalameda boys and our sister Cheryl together, so we tend to savour these times with wines and lots of Vietnamese food.

Cher and the shoulder-strap bruvvers, hangin' in Parkdale

As it were, Ranie Bowers was also in Toronto at the same time, as our school in Japan was closed, so it was fun to see Ranie in a different environment and a more relaxing situation.

Speaking of BBQ’s, Yvonne’s birfday brought out many great faces, including the shaved head of the beautiful Monica Rosas, the always fetching Julia Burton, the very cool Richard Mandin, and Dan Sadler and his wife Sara, who the Zalameda clan later spent hours talking literature and science over some beer and Scotch on a local patio.

I got to see some live music, too. And after being in my deprived corner of Japan for so long, it was very cool. In one night and three venues, I caught Johnny Dovercourt’s Republic of Safety, fresh off a bill opening for legendary post punkers Mission of Burma. I also got to see Russell Fernandes’ Shikasta as well as the tremendous improv stylings of Ghostlight, where Marco Landini made funny faces at me as he played and I caught up with Justin Small and Katia Taylor from Lullaby Arkestra. I also got to hear some music when I visited Andrew Innanen DJ-ing at Czehoski’s one late night. Later in the week, after discussing the inner-workings of a hydro-bong and flying marsupials with Ryan Mills, I got to hang out with the boys from the Old Soul, drinking beers on College Street before a band rehearsal, which as usual, resulted in Luca in some state of partial nudity.

Family gatherings are always part of trips home. As always my cousin Joanne was in for the duration. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to her sister Jane or Jane’s kids Justin and Meaghan, but I did see her brother Hubert, his wife Gladys and their precious baby boy Ethan. Also, on my last day in town, Doods and I spent time with our Godsons Gabriel and Daniel, their parents Raquel and Chuck, and Teresa, my cousin Rachel’s kid.

Daniel, Teresa and Gabriel in Etobicoke, Ontario

Me and Ethan in Cambridge, Ontario.

KGIC, the International college which I taught at in Toronto was another stop I made (a couple of times) to see bunch o peeps. The usual suspects were all there: Farris, Sheila, JoMo, HappyGirl Michelle, David, Ryan, Barb, Ramil, Angie, Ana and Nanae. Yanela Perez-Brown gave me such a hug, I think the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion wrote a song about it once! Trevor Marshall and Joyce King were both going through their own tough times, but they had smiles on their faces! Because Randy Ray was so sick with some mono-turned-tonsillitis virus, I only got to see him briefly right before I left. The substitute-teacher trio of Shayne Fogel, Sarah Govier and Kathleen Robson are always nice to see. I had a Greek dinner on the Danforth with Kathleen and husband Kevin Chlebovec, who, as usual, tried to convert me into a Phish fan.

I love just walking around Toronto at any given time and those chance encounters. Like running into Antun Bosniac in the rain. Or seeing comrade Mark Kozar at a Vietnamese restaurant, or bumping into high-school friend and Kensington Market artist Rafi G, who was on a short vacation from England, where he, his wife and child have been living for the past year. The evening on the Danforth produced impromptu meetings with former advertising co-workers David Stewart and Catharine Dunlop and my former roommate and Reiki healer Dawn Quiacos.

My going away gathering was at the cozy Communist’s Daughter, where Tara White was overseeing to things behind the bar. It was about seeing old friends like high-school holdouts Colleen Fava and Tina Iantorno. The Old Soul and Saffron Sect boys were there, as I finallay hooked up with my man Gaven Dianda. I also saw Commie bartender and trumpeter extraordinaire Michael Johnson (who I inadvertently cock-blocked) and childhood friend Jonathan Marisol (who I intentionally cock-blocked).

Recently, many long term relationships of people I know and love have ended. Not to air out anyone’s dirty laundry, but Toronto looked pretty different to me, as no more than six couples I only knew for years existing in relationships, are no longer in them.

The Doods and the Wesley in High Park

So, as you can see, in my ten days in Toronto, I lived ten months worth of Shizuokatime. And I am still recovering a week later. If I did see you and forgot to drop your name, please leave an angry message here so I can reminded that my wacked out brain forgot you!

Two days in Manila

July 22-24

I landed in Manila to see my mom and dad for about four hours (most of that spent in Manila’s awful traffic). They picked me up with one of my aunts, uncles and three of my cousins, all from my mom’s side of the family. They dropped me off at my cousin Judy’s place in Marikina and then, due to the dark clouds rumbling in the sky, headed straight back to Laguna province (about two hours away), where they are taking care of my Grandfather Jesus

My two days in Manila where pretty much spent in the house because of a monster typhoon hitting the Philippines with a vengeance. Most of Manila was closed down, including schools and government offices due to the weather.

With that and the fact that armed security was all over the place due to numerous protests to the much reviled Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and her annual State of the Nation Address, I thought it better to stay put, tending to my one-year old Goddaughter Anjali and drooling over my (second) cousin Veca.

Veca and Anjali

You know the weather is really bad when I spend the day helping Judy and the employees of her jewelry making business. I ended up making bracelets for a few of my students.

I stepped out once, only to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie (which was a disappointment) with Veca at a local mall in Marikina. Movie prices in the Philippines are equivalent to $2 Canadian – a far cry from the $20 for a flick in Japan.

It’s strange because when I go to malls in Manila, I tend to see people I know, and this never happens to me in Toronto or Japan. This time I ran into Jeng Tan, one of my first Filipino friends I ever made who wasn’t related to me. She recognized my voice as I was leaving the mall and she was entering, and she did a triple take before yelling out my name. Of course being in town for only two days, I didn’t really tell anyone that I was coming, but hey, I love when that shit happens.

I got up at 5 am and had one of the most pleasant drives I’ve ever experienced in Manila. Unfortunately, my destination was the dreaded Nino Aquino International Airport, without a doubt one of the worst airports I’ve ever been to.

My plane headed out way ahead of schedule and I even made some friends with a few Filipinos heading to Canada for various reasons, including a little girl name April, who only recently became a Canadian citizen and will join her parents, who live in Willowdale, Ontario. Congrats, April – for becoming a Canadian citizen, not about Willowdale.

April trying to hide her missing front teeth

Doing all this solo travelling, it was nice to have people to hangout with at the airport and having someone to watch my stuff while I go to the washroom. Maybe I’ll enlist some travelling companions for my next big trip – any takers? I’ll provide unlimited amounts of food and hugs to anyone willing to travel abroad with me!