Snow Patrol in Toronto.

There are numerous alternative rock bands that I'm into, but Snow Patrol has been always on the top.

Tunes from their albums have made my days and nights so pleasant and refreshed my mind all the time.

I don't know if it's because of their band name, but the songs always remind me of the winter times I had in Ottawa. Perhaps it's because I often heard them while walking to school in a snow covered morning or skating on the canal. 

For the most of people, Snow Patrol would be remembered as the band that sang 'Chasing Cars',

but for me, this band is remembered as a band that is like a hot chocolate on a cold winter day in Ottawa.

-

p.s. I guess I don't have to visit Northern Ireland just to see this band (:

p.s.2  I'm crossing my finger that I won't be having a final exam on that evening.

January 29, 2012

There is a part of a day when snow turns its plain colour into this stunning colour- R154 G86 B114

However It's a meaningless colour data measured by the Photoshop, which won't reflect my feeling nor yours.

So I highly recommend you to take a closer look at the colour of snow, around a sunset, when you get a chance.

I hope you could also appreciate this lovely colour and its crystal sparkles, 

and the awesome feeling of crunching you get, while walking on snow that no one ever did (:

This Week's Grocery.

Our campus doesn't provide residential meal plans, so I have to cook for myself for the most of the time (unless I grab a Subway sandwich in cafeteria).  When I tell people about this, many of them get surprised and look at me in different eyes. Going grocery every weekends and looking up recipes on the internet was definitely not the kind of first year college life I expected nor dreamed of, but I gotta be honest- it's not bad :D 

Oh.

To whom it may concern,

The picture does not reflect the amount of food or the kind of foods that I eat every week. Many of the items that you can see from the picture are for othe long-term, not daily basis. I bought 4 bottles of spaghetti sauces because my favourite brand was on sales (which doesn't happen very often) and got more potato products than usual (hash browns, patties, fries) because all of them ran out at the same time (Yes).

I have more vegetables and fruits in the fridge. Really!

Sincerely,

A Healthy Consumer

January 21, 2012

I went a grocery shopping as usual but heard a song that I have forgotten about it for a while. It sounded very familier and I was able to whistle the melody by heart when the song was only at its intro. Since the unexpected encounter, I've been on a massive search for the title of this song but I haven't been really successful. It's a bit hard to find the song without knowing any of its lyrics.

This is literally killing me and I don't think I will be able to sleep until I find out about the identity of the song.

-

Search boundary is limited to the New Age genre-

Remembering Metcalfe Street.

Well, this is not an example of well composed photo for sure; There is an inappropriate window grid that blocks the view and the reflection of stairs is appearing on the photo like a ghost. Moreover, there is no unique subject that particularly stands out within the frame, other than this plain view of the Metcalfe street and some building around it.

However, this is the photo that I can simply stare at it for hours and unconsciously revisit my piles of memories, including those thoughts and feelings that I had at the time. If I may use a cliche to describe it, I could literally feel 'A rush of blood to the head'. What make this ordinary picture special for me is, not what I see from it, but how my feelings are attached the space and the scene. An articulated perception.

The Metcalfe Street has been my home for the past four years; during the period of the arrival to Canada until the last summer- the high school graduation. It was also the street that I could see from my window  day and night and walked through spring to winter. 

The earliest memory of the street is when I just arrived in the city and visited the Museum of Natural Science with my mom and sister. From that point: There were times my mom used to drive me back home from a baseball game, and as she drived I could feel the spring breeze through my hand hanging out of the window and see the late- summer sun that is about to set. There was time when Metcalfe Street became pseudo- Elgin Street and took over all the traffic, when Obama first visited Ottawa as a new president elect. There was time I used to walk on the street with the girl that I liked; Who would've known that a simple walk could be such a nervous-breaking, an unforgettable experience.  There were times I used to walk around in the midnight, with my camera strap on my shoulder, exploring the empty city. Walking on a street with no presence of automobiles, humans, and noises have been one of my favourite experiences and looking at this photo always remind me of that. There were times I used to walk back as late as 2am from the uOttawa library to home and woke up at 6am to go to band practices. Looking at the piece of Parliament building every morning always reminded me where I live.

Even though I'll eventually visit Ottawa again in the future, but it's hard to tell whether it's going to be feel the same as I left. Regardless, this is the street that I can recall my high school years and think about my confused adolescent times.

Washington, D.C.

One of the courses that I'm taking this semester is called the 'Cities and Environments' (GGRA03H3S). It's an introductory human geography course that looks at the characteristics of modern cities and environmental issues, and their interconnections. Some of the major topics include: urban forms and systems, population change, climate change, water scarcity, planning for sustainable cities.

Interestingly, one of the sections of this week's assigned reading was about the history of the development of the political capital Washington DC, the city that was designed to reflect the national identity, which I've been twice.

My first encounter with the city was on the year of 2004, when my family travelled through the East coast of the North America. At the time, I was in around grade 5 or 6 and this city full of political infrastructures and memorials didn't really interested me so much. It was probably because my lack of understanding or knowledge on the American history, but it was also because of my strange obsession (or idolization) of the cool- good ol' New York City, just like anyone who would be visiting the States for their first time. 

Luckily, I had an opportunity to visit the District of Columbia again during the last Christmas break, thanks to my roommate who is from Virginia and have offered me accommodations. It was very refreshing to explore around the political capital of a nation. The bureaucratic atmosphere somewhat reminded me of the Wellington Street of Ottawa, but it was in whole 'nother different level. 

The following paragraphs are taken from the book 'Cities and Nature' (2008) by Lisa Benton-Short & John Rennie Short. I want to leave these paragraphs on this post because they do reflect of what I've seen  in the city and provide good narration for the unique characteristics of it..

"The development of political capital, Washington DC, underscores the attempt to embody political ideals with a developing sensitivity to the natural world. The 1791 design of the new federal capital reflected the struggle to create a space representative of American ideals and aspirations. The city was from the beginning rich in the physical and symbolic expressions of democratic ideals and a reflection of the formulation of national identity." 

"The neoclassical spatial order of the capital city was partly inspired by monumental planning trends in France. Common in France was the use of radial patterns imposed upon orthogonal streets, which offered an urban typology for expedient circulation, enchanting entry vistas and possibilities (space) for defining neighbourhoods. Within these monumental plans were symbolic spaces. Designing celebratory public spaces in squares and semicircles was supposed to give the city an air of grandeur, delight and edification. All of these planning elements were well known to L'Enfant and eventually incorporated into his design." 

"Central to the plan were two hills- one called Jenkins Hill, which would be the site of Congress and the other to the west would be the President's Palace (later called the White House). L'Enfant intended the two critical government buildings to be separated by space, a metaphor for the need to separate the branches of government. "

"L'Enfant's broad vision of a capital of buildings, public squares and promenades reflected the new country's optimistic outlook. It was a design intent on celebrating a ceremonial city, the center of national government and culture. The plan was on an immense scale, far beyond the size or even expectation of the government at the time."

Luftpost.

I received a post card from my good friend who is currently studying 

at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Best of wishes from Canada, Moritz!

Professor Nick Eyles.

I'm taking an Environmental Science course called 'Introduction to Planet Earth' with Professor Nick Eyles, who have filmed a mini-series documentary on CBC, as part of the David Suzuki's 'the nature of things'. Although I've only been to his lecture once so far, I could already sense that this course is going to stimulate both my interest and knowledge in Geoscience.

My professor uses his own book as a course textbook and recommend his students to watch his documentary series on CBC website. He is also a self-claimed motorcycle enthusiast. How boss is that!

Megabus.

Early reserved ticket for New York to Toronto: 12$

Writing this post on Free Wi-Fi courtesy : Priceless

National Gallery of Art.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The last time I've been to this museum was when I was in grade 5 or 6, still living in Korea. On that summer, my family rent a car and traveled the Northeast region of the United States and Canada for the spirit of vacation. Of corse at the time, I was not able to speak English nor felt the need. Although I was not able to read much descriptions nor understand the science , the scale of the museum and the variety of the exhibits totally blew my mind.

It's only been 6 years from that point, but so many things have changed in the meantime. 

Although the exhibits of the museum still fascinated me, I couldn't stop thinking about my past self.