Snickerdoodles

I first heard about snickerdoodles a few years ago from the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Veronica always made Wallace snickerdoodles, and I had no idea what they tasted like. Let’s get this out of the way: snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers bars. They’re basically cinnamon sugar cookies, but then again, I feel criminal underselling them like that. They’re so much better.

The cookies themselves are soft and chewy; something that your teeth can sink wonderfully into. They have a comforting mildness and lack that sophisticated intensity, the kind you might get with a flourless dark chocolate cake. It’s all fine and well to have a decadent treat like that on occasion, decorated with a gooseberry and drizzled with some organic raspberry puree, but sometimes you want something nostalgic and uncomplicated for those rainy days.

Moo.com Business Cards

Free stuff! I was looking into business cards because I thought it would be a nice touch to add to my job applications. Why Moo.com, you ask? I feel their mission statement best reflects my moral values, and their commitment to the environment– okay, I might have picked them because they had the prettiest website.

A sampler comes with 10 cards, and you can choose their Classic paper or their Eco-friendly paper. I chose Classic which sports a really nice thickness and a matte laminate finish. You can jazz up the text side more with different colors and logos, but clearly I was a bit conservative. Forgive me, for I am new to this.

I wasn’t sure what to put on the back of my cards, so I just chose some sunset shots I took last year. If I had money, I’d hire a graphic designer to make me a cool logo instead. But then again, that might be a bit douchey given my age and student status. Hmmm…

For really cool examples of business cards, take a look here.

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Notes:

Actually, it’s only free if you get the “Printed by Moo.com” logo on the front of your card. I didn’t want that, so paid the ~$5. Otherwise, it is indeed free with free shipping.

Hibiscus + Other Healthy Things

It has been over a month since I’ve blogged. I think every blogger goes through this– the whole “Ahh I’m so bad, etc etc.” Except can I really call myself a blogger? I don’t exactly have a vast body of work behind me.

I thought if I was going to blog, I might as well write about the restaurant I’ve been practically living at for the past month. I was vaguely aware of this, but then my friend MK pointed out that I had tweeted about eating there 3 times in the last week…

Hibiscus is located in Kensington market. Just take the westbound streetcar outside College Station, and get off one stop past College & Spadina. Walk down Augusta Ave. and you’ll find it tucked away.

Calm, Composed Notes about the TTC

Despite the fact that the TTC shut down today, I was not going to write about it in order to save myself from a rage blackout. However, my lovely friend YS wrote something on Facebook about them that brought my level of anger towards them to a level so high that I think I’ve reached some sort of tranquil, enlightened state. This is what she wrote:

For those of you who were lucky enough to be at the Yonge & Bloor station during rush hour this morning, you may have noticed 2 TTC workers handing out pieces of paper & happily greeting people. What were on those pieces of paper?? They were double sided COLOUR notices to ‘Please move to the end of the platform to improve service’ (let’s forget that ‘electrical/signal problems’ have nothing to do with improved service). The backside of this flyer showing a MAP of the platform, with coloured arrows indicating the direction in which you should move down (you know, in case you haven’t taken the train at Yonge St. since 1954 and have no idea what a platform looks like). WHAT I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND– is how they can afford to employ people to hand out a bajillion (colour) copies of notices that I guarantee no one gave a rats ass about — but are wondering why they are constantly falling into deficit. MY POINT IS: perhaps instead of fare hikes every few years, an external audit of the TTC’s UNNECESSARY expenses is needed. Rant Over.

I’m sure that all of you can draw your own conclusions. I, however, am a pinnacle of serenity and shall not comment. I would like to make a few unruffled and even-tempered observations about today, though. Some of these were observed first hand, and others were stories told by friends who had been stranded downtown.

• Apparently, a boy asked a Special Constable how the shuttle buses worked. The Constable replied by saying, “Diesel. 6 Engine.” The boy said that’s not what he meant. The Constable said, “I figured.”
• To maintain a balanced perspective, I will preface this point by stating that it was very chaotic at the shuttle bus terminal. However, TTC employees were controlling the number of people boarding the buses. There weren’t that many buses at the time, and yet the TTC told people to stop boarding when the middle of the bus still had tons of room. I felt like I was in Titanic, when they weren’t maximizing the number of people who could go on the lifeboats. I, myself, was late meeting a professor. A PROFESSOR PYR(*#PYurh;oiWHFIFJ:SKLFJ—
• My friend SG walked into the station and saw tons of people leaving. He figured something was wrong, and asked a TTC employee if the subway was working. “You think?” was the reply. SG replied, “Well, I haven’t heard anything, I just got here.” The employee replied, “There’s been announcements all afternoon.” “…I just got here.”

But whatever. I am cool as a cucumber. I totally don’t mind all of that, it’s like, totally huh-law-rious. In fact, I will even end with a tiny anecdote about something good that happened on the TTC!!!

You know how people tend to slow down a lot once they get into the doors? Well, those stupid door chimes were going, and this dude was just getting into the doors while I was behind him. I was all like, “Noooooo whyyyyy” but then he SPED UP. HE SPED UP REALLY QUICKLY as he heard the chimes and I had so much room to get in. He was awesome. I wanted to give him a badge or something, or be like “Fifty points to Gryffindor!”

Going to Hogwarts would be sick.