Nov. 15th My Birthday. This is a day I usually treat as a meditative, exploratory day.
Unless it’s a big number I don’t bother with parties. I find the day is much more enjoyable and meaningful if I book it off and wander about and reflect on the day.
This year it fell on my day off, so it felt even more special. I’m up reasonably early, as I like to enjoy as much of the day as I can. My Birthday morning found me up at Eight and engaged in a brisk workout. After morning ablutions and dressing I was outside on the balcony enjoying a breakfast and coffee from the café Downstairs in my building. Strong black coffee and croissant, with some muesli and fruit juice.
I make the effort to write everyday on my YA Novel and so I banged out five hundred words. That was all I could manage. You see I was also a little intoxicated. I had opened a bottle of prosecco along with a dram of single malt. My wobbly-ness was countered by an intense dose of nicotine courtesy of the Cuban Churchill cigar I was also smoking.
Hey it’s my birthday, I can indulge!
My mom joined me in the celebrations and we chatted about art and life out on the balcony. The weather was unseasonably warm with the sun making an occasional appearance. I enjoyed watching the November clouds scud across the sky.
A short nap to clear my head and a hearty lunch of spicy daal and sourdough bread and we head out to the Gardiner Museum to see an exhibit of experimental ceramics.
I particularly enjoyed the work of Brendan Tang who fuses Ming pottery with Manga technology. It was just the right amount of visual stimuli without feeling overloaded.
At my mom’s suggestion we head over to the cafe at Royal Conservatory of Music and in the atrium there, we enjoy some vegan cupcakes with a strong cup of coffee surrounded by ancient musical artifacts and Victorian architecture. The mezzanine at the conservatory also affords a nice view onto the inner courtyard of the grounds; sun and trees festooned in orange and yellow leaves just punctuate the moment perfectly!
We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the old U of T campus and chance upon a bookstore I’ve not been in before, Crux Bookstore sells perhaps the most comprehensive catalogue of Theological books in the city. From an 1830 edition of the collected works of Thomas Aquinas to a very wordy philosophical discourse on Winnie the Pooh. Too wordy. I’ll stick with “Tao of Pooh” thanks!
We continue our walk through the city taking in the changing season. The cool breeze feels good on my face while I crunch fallen leaves under my feet. It’s been a perfect day so far.
We repair back to my condo and then head out to my favourite Vegan restaurant Fressen.
The food is always good here. And over the sumptuous fare I reflect on the changes in the past year. There have been some major ones and all of them good. For the first time in quite some time I feel positively charged about where my life is taking me.
Happy Birthday to me!
Very nice post!
ReplyDelete