It was cool again this morning, probably as cool as the day before (so, relatively cool). The hotel had a large breakfast buffet, probably the biggest we’d seen. It was quite nice, although it wasn’t particularly Colombian. We took a cab and got to the airport relatively quickly, despite it being a weekday. I looked …
Category: Personal
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 12 – February 21, 2016
It rained today, the first time it rained on our trip. And that was kind of funny because it was supposed to rain the entire time we were in Medellin and I think a few other times. Anyway, it was just sprinkling too. We took a cab to the bus stop and had to wait …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 11 – February 20, 2016
This morning we headed to the northern bus terminal, one stop farther on the metro than the northern gondola. We were able to find our bus counter rather easily and our bus. We were early, which was good, and sat on the bus for a bit before it took off. It’s a 2 hour so …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 10 – February 19, 2016
I woke up feeling much, much better. I would still have some minor digestive issues over the next few days, and it would take rather a while before I felt completely myself again, but I was able to enjoy our holiday once more. I don’t know whether that’s just the thing that happens with stuff …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 9 – February 18, 2016
Everything goes to shit…literally Please know that the following may not be something you want to read so if you’re grossed out, maybe wait for Day 10. NSFW as they say.
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 7 – February 16, 2016
This morning we went to Playa Blanca. There was more than a little confusion: Nobody picked us up despite the pledge yesterday that we would be picked up. We could have walked four times before we finally got in a cab. First, our hotel called them and they said they were on their way. Then …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 5 – February 14, 2016
Valentine’s Day. One of the cool things about this hotel was the breakfasts. Every morning we had a choice of “American” or local breakfast, and I ate the local every day: empanadas, arepas, a local sausage and limes. Plus, fresh fruit juice! Good stuff. This morning we walked over to Castillo de San Felipe, which …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 3 – February 12, 2016
This morning we took a cab ride to Monserrate, a mountain that overlooks Bogota. For the first few minutes of the cab ride, we worried he was driving us up the mountain, as we had to go up high to get on a beltway that runs along the hills. The cabbie took us to the …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 2 – February 11, 2016
After breakfast, we took another long cab ride to a mall, where we met Loon, our guide, for a tour of one of Bogota’s big food markets. We tried the following over the course of the morning: 1.Breakfast Sancocho de pescado Fish soup made with plantain, yuca and potatoes. Arepa de queso – Colombian arepa filled …
Riley Goes to Colombia Day 1 – February 10, 2016
We got up sometime after 4 AM, though I was up from 1-something until 2-something, due to my usual anxiety about leaving for a big trip, and because I was anticipating the alarm going off any minute.
Riley Goes to Colombia – Prologue
I spent most of the last two weeks in Colombia; it was my first visit to South America.
Shyness and Desirability
I have been meaning to post something about my continuing shyness on here for the last month. It would have gone something like this: Even though I have had numerous moments in the past five years where I’ve still made shy, I was convincing myself that things were different. What had changed? Well, I felt …
Now is the Winter of My Discontent
On October 23, 2015 the longest romantic relationship of my life ended. When I say the longest, I also mean the only serious one, the only one that was ever successful. And, at least for me, it felt like it was the only thing in my life that was permanent, that would never change. We …
I won the internet lottery!
I’m sorry I’ve been so bad about updating this site lately. Life has sort of gotten in the way; we got a puppy I have been working on a new book, and I published my second book. Also, I have been working a little too hard at making sure my pop culture blog is in …
On the sanity of living with another human being
I have vivid dreams. I mean: really, really vivid. Sometimes they are so vivid I am convinced I am living them, until I wake up. Sometimes they are so vivid they take the place of my memories and I occasionally get confused about whether or not something realistic that happened in a dream actually happened …
Crazy Italians: On the Cultural Disconnect Between Myself and Italian Cinema
Nearly a decade ago, when I was living in Australia, I went for a couple of organized tours of parts of the country I had never been too. One such tour occurred in the southwestern corner of Western Australia, an area that is one of the most beautiful I have ever been to in my …
Cineplex doesn’t want me seeing movies, that’s for sure
So yesterday the GF and I went to our first movie in a theatre since TIFF, and our first non-festival movie (together anyway) since last spring or thereabouts. We went to see Shame, a film we were both interested in seeing.
RIP Gerald E. Tucker
Though Professor Gerald Tucker initially confounded me, as he did many first year students, he became one of my favourite professors at Bishop’s University while I was there – perhaps my favourite. He never finished the curriculum for any class I took with him – I’m not sure we ever made it 2/3rds of the …
Statistical patterns based upon past behavior cannot predict individual choices OR: Why we have PINs
I spent all my money on beer and food the first two days of the Wolfe Island Music Festival. That’s okay, I had a good time. But I should have brought more with me. I know that now. Next time. I wanted to eat something on Sunday before we got on the ferry. We would …
Did Weird Al really turn me into a music snob?
I am a music snob. I can do nothing about it. I prefer music that tries to be unconventional, “un-trendy,” different and is not aimed primarily at profit or notoriety. I have always wondered where this came from.
Riley Goes to Gaspe, August, 2010
Friday August 6, 2010 Once again I feel like a foreigner in my own country. My inability / unwillingness to (re?) learn French makes me feel and act differently than I do in all other parts of Canada. I should just try to pass myself off as an American (which is only mostly a lie). …
Aaaaaaaawkward…
So, we just got our new students at work. We get students every summer. They help us out. It is a good thing. Some of them have worked with us before, others not.
Milk
My family has some odd traditions, like any family. One of them is this:
About last night…
So there’s this folk singer. Steve something. Can’t remember his last name. He does covers and his own songs.
Reunion
So I didn’t write about this last week, I guess because I didn’t have much time on le net. I went to an, ‘ancestral’ lets call it, cottage on Bob’s Lake – that’s near Sharbot Lake, that’s 40 min or so north of Kingston – last weekend. We used to spend a fair amount of …
Almost had my first major accident…
I guess I can’t say first accident since I did drove into a snow bank last winter… So, I just dropped my dad off at the airport. I’m entering the 401 collectors and I’m wanting to stay in them so that I can exit onto the 403 (you know, at that weird exit that only …
Saturday…for lack of a better title
In the cd player: nothing, it’s too early I was planning on catching the 9:37 bus. Apparently my mom wants to come pick me up. This changes things substantially. I could have slept in. Oh well. I had no intention of going out last night. But I did. So why? Because Jenny’s friend, who’s been …
Things
My computer pissed me off last night. So far I’m okay with it today. Maybe not my computer. Rather certain things that happened with my computer (whether it was to blame or not). In the CD player: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I’m on a jazz kick. Had some Coltrane on last night. This …
Unions
Firstly, the party went very well.
Grades
Listening to Neil Young on my computer. I won’t rant about how awesome he is. The other day (Thursday!) when I went to pick up an essay for a class (worth 50% of my mark) I was more nervous about a mark than I have been in 3 or more years. I can’t remember really …