I walk Toronto

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Hi and welcome to episode 8 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction

Well, it’s Friday night and I’ve just come back from my first run since New Haven. Normally a run is a good time to relax and clear your mind and just enjoy yourself, but the first run, especially after an extended layoff and especially after coming off of a couple of injuries, is stressful.

Now, not as bad as my attempt at swimming where I thought I might drown, but stressful nonetheless, as I waited for my knee or my IT band or my lungs to give out.

But, I survived.

Of course, there’s a reason for tonight’s run. I’m in the beginning stages of planning a run for November 1 and since I’m planning the thing, I figure I’d better get in shape to run it. Unfortunately, I can’t talk run the damned thing, but you can. The URL is runmore10ka.ca and I encourage everyone to sign up. It’s a 1am start, but because of the time change, you get the hour back. I haven’t been this excited for something in a while. Fingers crossed it comes off as I hope. The swag is good and we’re working hard to make sure that it’s a great and memorable event.

What I’m listening to

Well, the new Dr. Dre came out.

To be honest, I wasn’t going to get it. I didn’t want to listen to it at all. I was afraid. After waiting so long, I figured that there was no way it could live up to expectation, and I thought that perhaps the best thing to do was not listen to it and then it could always be the best album I’d never heard. But, a work mate messaged me to tell me it’s good, so I got it.

It’s fine.

There’s not much more to say. It’s definitely better than Chinese Democracy, but is it as good as the first two albums? Nope. Is it better than the last NWA album? Nope. In my opinion, it suffers from too many guests and not enough Dre. I might be in the minority, but I’ve always been a big fan of Dre’s rapping and there just isn’t enough on the album. And his flow is all wonky in some places – the wishes of his ghostwriters, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t listen to much modern hip hop, so it’s hard to say where this album stands among recent releases, but I’ve listened to it a bunch and fine is the best I can do.

Anyway, it seems strange to talk about Dre on an episode and not play any. I’m not playing you anything off the new album though. Here’s NWA’s 100 Miles and Running. It’s got some of Dre’s best lyrics and flow. Enjoy.

So, what else have I been listening to? Public Enemy dropped a new album the other day, and it’s not bad. No real standouts, but it did make me revisit a track of theirs from 2007. Here’s Harder Than You Think, which is probably their best track in the last 15 years.

To be honest, I had planned to be listening to the new Deafheaven on vinyl not only tonight, but all weekend. All week. For the rest of the month. But, it’s been delayed, so I’m stuck listening to the digital files. I wish I could explain to people what it is I like about them, but every time I try, or every time I play a track for someone, the words fail me. It’s just the best fucking noise I can imagine. It makes me unbelievably happy, in spite of how bleak it can be. Here’s Tunnel of Trees from their first album. Try not to think about what you’re hearing, but instead think about what you aren’t hearing. That’s the best way I can try to explain why I like them so much.

What I’ve been thinking about

Well, it’s been 12 weeks or so since I quit Facebook and Instagram, and I’ve been thinking about a few things.

First, people spend a lot of time on that shit. It kind of amazes me, when I see people walking around with their faces in their phones, not noticing the world around them. Not cool!

Second, I guess I should have told people I was quitting. I’ve had a few friends message me, wondering if everything is okay, or asking why I defriended them. In a way, that’s good. I get to talk to people, not just see what they’re up to on social media. That was part of the point. I want to engage with people, not their photographs and status updates!

Finally, I didn’t quit because of other people. I quit because of me. When life gets hard you have to face it head on, not hide out, wishing you were someone else or somewhere else. That doesn’t work.

This podcast is about my thoughts. If you think social media is cool, then that’s cool with me. If you take offense with something I say, then use the email address I list at the end of every podcast and tell me.

Life is beautiful. I spend a lot of time walking around the city thinking about what a beautiful place it is and how lucky I am. I go to bed late. I get up early. I listen to loud music and smell flowers. I do yoga and play soccer. I eat broccoli by the pound and pizza by the tonne. Life is a gift. Put your phone away and appreciate it. Understand that you can live a full and complete life without sharing photos of it. It’s one thing to want mementos. But are you capturing an image because you want to remember it or are you capturing it because you want people to be envious of what you’re doing?

When I was a stupid teenager, I once told a friend that life is too temporary for owning things. After so many years, I find myself coming back to that. I don’t know why I said it, though I suspect it had a lot to do with my unwillingness to have any type of personal responsibility, but in some ways it makes a lot of sense.

Don’t get me wrong. I am extremely particular, and I appreciate the comforts with which I have surrounded myself, but it’s the extraneous that I have problems with. When I outfitted my kitchen, I purposely stuck to only buying everything I needed to make my daughter her preferred dinner.

Of course, my sneaker collection is now causing me a lot of psychic pain. I think that 2016 could see a lot of really good, slightly used adidas superstars hitting the open market.

Closing thoughts

It’s autumn. Enjoy it. The leaves are turning. You can wear a sweater. You can walk an hour to work and not sweat. Turn your phone off, and get outside. Life is short.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group and Instagram accounts are still up, but I won’t be using them, nor checking them. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 7 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction

Wow, it’s been more than four months since the last episode of the podcast and I don’t know where the time has gone. Well, I have a pretty good idea. I’ve been busy. I’ve been travelling. I’ve been lazy and unmotivated. I’ve had a lot change but it also feels like nothing’s changed.

I don’t know. I guess life gets in the way sometimes. But, a few people have been bugging me for a new episode, so here we go.

Over the past number of months I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few different cities and do a lot of walking in some not-so-pleasant Spring weather.

First, Berlin. I’d been planning my trip to Berlin since mid-Autumn last year – I was depressed and needed something to look forward to, so I entered their half marathon and booked a flight and hotel. Berlin is hard to sum up in a couple of words. The weather was shit, and I can only imagine how much the city transforms when it’s sunny and warm. Seeing the parts of the Wall that are still standing was amazing. I grew up knowing of a divided Germany, never quite understanding how they could just build a wall through the centre of a city and create a completely separate country. Standing in the drizzle, reading about the history of the Wall, and the names and circumstances of those who attempted escape, both successfully and unsuccessfully, was chilling.

The city is much more spread out than I thought it would be and I’d like to say that I saw all of it, but there wasn’t a chance, especially when I spent the majority of my time walking. I did get to see a good amount of it though and I like that it isn’t as quaint as a lot of Europe is to North Americans. A lot of the architecture is modern and well done. It’s reasonably clean and isn’t in dire need of a pressure washing. And the populace is reasonably young and up for a good time.

Currywurst is totally overrated, by the way.

So I drank too much, ate too much, spent too much on socks at KaDeWe, desperately wished I’d brought my winter coat and ran a half marathon.

Yes – the half marathon. Not much to say. Course was flat, my time was fine and I would do it again. If I decide to race in the future.

All in all, if you have the chance to visit Berlin, take it.

I was back from Berlin for less than a week and I had to fly to Arlington, Virginia for five days of training for my new job. Arlington is right across the Potomac from Washington, DC, which is one of my favourite cities in which to play tourist. Plus, my favourite podcast, All Songs Considered, is recorded in DC and I was looking forward to checking out some of the venues they mention.

Tough to say much about Arlington except that it looks brand-spanking-new and it’s hilly. Since it’s my goal to run in every city I visit I walked a 10km route that took me from Arlington into Georgetown, along the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial and then through Arlington National Cemetery back to the hotel. Not too much history then. The next day I ran it.

In May I took a 60 hour trip to Pittsburgh for work. As a Steelers fan it’s a city I’ve always wanted to go to for football, but a fortuitous meeting with a friend of a friend had me thinking that this is a town in which I could have some fun. Indeed I did. If you appreciate a working class town full of friendly people and great dive bars, then Pittsburgh is worth the trip. Yes, I drank too much beer and ate too many Primanti Brothers’ sandwiches, but it was worth it. Oh, and I got to go to a playoff hockey game, which is a strange experience when you’ve been living in Toronto for as long as I have. So yeah, go to Pittsburgh. And if you do, go to Gooski’s. You’ll be glad you did. I kept the running streak alive with a short 5km run along the waterfront. I think the highlight was stopping and going down into a submarine that was docked outside the Carnegie Science Center. Talk about claustrophobic. Oh, and I took a picture of the Mr. Rogers statue outside of Heinz Field. It was a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.

June. Ah June. This episode is starting to feel like a travelogue instead of whatever IWalkToronto is, but I’ve been trying to make the podcast a bit longer, so I’ll continue.

Mid June I budgeted some travel money in one of my jobs and ended up in New Haven, Connecticut. I figured that since it’s the home of Princeton it could be a pretty interesting town. Maybe it is during the school year, but since school is out, it’s not that exciting. I met a fellow Canadian at the pub, where we watched the Canadian women’s soccer team tie the Netherlands, and that was pretty much the most excitement that I had. New Haven is kind of a crummy place. I had what is supposedly the best pizza in the US at a place called Frank Pepe. Think Pizza Libretto, but with a better selection of toppings. Was it good? Yes. Does it replace Vesuvio or UBC Pizza in my heart? No.

I guess New Haven was good for two things. I kept up my streak of running in every new city that I go to, and I gave free ice cream to New Haven’s sizeable homeless population. Fuck it. If a bank is going to pay me to give out free ice cream, then I’d prefer to give it to the people who can’t afford it instead of the people who can.

My last trip of the year, so far, was to Montreal, to visit some friends in town from Vancouver, as well as one of my dearest friends, Josh. I knew it was going to be a great trip as soon as I booked the train. I love the train. The four and a half to five hours it takes to get to Montreal is the perfect length. You can relax. Look out the window. Read. None of the stress of air travel, just chilled out as soon as you sit down. That I was going there to see three of my favourite people and eat amazing food with them did not hurt a bit.

Montreal, as usual, didn’t disappoint. I had a lot of mixed feelings when I lived there. Living 500 kilometers from my wife was the biggest drawback, but there’s also a general lack of common sense that you don’t notice when you visit, but is evident when you’re living there. And then there’s the crumbling infrastructure. But, when it comes to quality of life, Montreal is hard to beat. The ability to buy amazing food is like a God-given right there. And the people are fun and fun-loving. Every time I go, I miss it. I need to go more often.

And that brings me to today. It’s July 15th. Two weeks ago I quit my full time job to go back freelance and I’m back at the place where I’m happiest. Life is pretty good.

What I’m listening to

I decided to buy a wristband to NXNE this year. Partially to support the festival, but mostly because I absolutely, positively had to see Deafheaven. They did not disappoint. I cannot think of a more intense show that I’ve seen. Maybe not since Soundgarden at the Commodore in Vancouver at the end of the Badmotorfinger tour. It was insane. It was cathartic. It was everything I wanted it to be, and then more. I’ve been listening to Deafheaven a lot recently, and I know that they aren’t to everyone’s taste, but something about them grabs me by the heart and the head and the balls and won’t let go. Here’s my favourite song off of 2013’s Sunbather. It’s called Dream House. You should get this immediately.

The other amazing show I saw was Kate Tempest. I grew up loving hip hop, but modern hip hop mostly sucks my will to live. Listening to catalogues of how much awesome stuff the MC has is bullshit. I’d heard Kate Tempest on NPR All Songs Considered, and I liked her, but live she just blew the roof off. I think she’s unparalleled and could be the best MC of her generation. Not best female MC. Best MC. Here is her track, Lonely Daze. Pay special attention to the first minute. ‘Pete had his heart broke once / He never fixed it’ is a line that kills and kills and kills.

Of course no podcast would be complete without some Sleater Kinney. You might have gathered that I’m kind of obsessed with breakup songs. It doesn’t matter if I’m happy or sad, a good breakup song is hard to beat. I’m pretty sure I played this on an earlier podcast, but I don’t care. I listen to this song every day and I think you should too. Here’s Sleater Kinney’s Good Things. Aside from their track, One More Hour, it doesn’t get better than this.

What I’ve been thinking about

Fuck social media. After a rough period at my safe, full time job I decided to quit for my sanity, but not before quitting Facebook and Instagram.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. The amount of time we spend staring into our phones is completely ridiculous. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to experience life. I would sit there at work, absolutely miserable, staring at my screen and thinking about how much better everyone else’s life is. How stupid is that? Facebook and Instagram are competitions. Look at how great things are. Look at me. Look at who I’m with. Isn’t my boyfriend pretty? Staring into screens and avoiding eye contact. Leaving our phones on the table when we’re out for drinks or dinner with friends. Turning the phone over, lest an inappropriate notification pop up and the person we’re with notices.

I was out for drinks the other night with someone and the first thing I noticed when I got back from the toilet is that she wasn’t putting her phone away. Instead, she was taking in and appreciating her surroundings. Or thinking about an art project. Or any one of a number of things that wasn’t staring at Facebook or Instagram on her phone. Or texting someone.

That’s badass. That’s appropriate behavior. That’s my people.

The other thing I’m thinking about is life in general. After what I’ve gone through over the past couple of years I was convinced that I was no longer capable of a full range of feelings. At some point, that changed. Last Monday I was walking to work up Palmerston, admiring how beautiful the street looked and I realized just how lucky and how happy I felt.

Paying attention to your mental health is important. No relationship or job is worth staying in if it turns you into something you don’t want to be. I gave up job security so I didn’t have to go back to therapy and I’ve never felt better.

IWalkToronto – the cycling podcast?

So, I write and record a podcast called IWalkToronto and this summer I decided to become a cyclist. Why? Why not?

As usual, I found myself questioning a decision I’d made at some point in the past and spent a lot of time thinking about whether that decision was still relevant to my life. Now that I’m back working at Yonge and Bloor, my walking commute is an hour each way, or a twenty minute cycle. What could I do with an extra hour and twenty minutes a day? Anything and everything is the answer. It’s summer. Yes I love walking, but I also need time for other things.

The thing I miss the most when I cycle is listening to podcasts, but I think the tradeoff is worth it. And I won’t cycle every day, especially as I continue to rehab after my first crash as a cyclist. Damned street car tracks.

Anyway, life evolves. I think this podcast will, too. I’d like to get back to a regular schedule and hope to do so.

Closing thoughts

It’s the middle of summer. Enjoy it. Life is short.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group and Instagram accounts are still up, but I won’t be using them, nor checking them. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 6 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction – what I’ve seen

Well, it’s the coldest night of the year tonight. With the wind chill, it’s due to get down to minus 40. Minus 40. You know what happens at minus 40? Your exposed skin freezes in 13 seconds. Even with thermal underwear, men run the risk of becoming eunuchs. Anyone with a bit of money in the bank and spare vacation time books a trip to some place warm. Seriously. Minus 40…she ain’t no joke.

I have still been walking, of course. For my walks to work I’ve been wearing thermal underwear, an under shirt, my thickest Iron Heart flannel, a Permaloft jacket, my Patagonia winter jacket, two toques and mitts. Last Friday I did buy some new winter boots – Bogs – that are both water proof and good to minus 40. So far so good.

I have to admit, that with the cold, I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time looking at where I’m going. It’s head down, trudge through the snow and ice as fast as I can go. I know winter can’t last forever, but this week, it feels like it might.

What I’m listening to

Okay, confession to make. I’m still obsessed with Sleater-Kinney’s One More Hour. I can’t seem to stop listening to it. But, it seems wrong to put the song on this week’s podcast since I put it on last week’s.

So, instead I’m going to put on something a bit different. I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer for the new NWA movie, but if you haven’t, take a look for it. When I first heard about the film, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, here’s a group that for all their notoriety, only had a couple of good albums. I’d rather see a biopic on Dr. Dre. Or Public Enemy. But, it is a story, and you know what music they do use is going to be good. So, this week, I’m going to play Straight Outta Compton. As a quick aside, I still remember the day I bought this cassette. My parents went away for the weekend and left me money for groceries. Yeah, right. Chris Torrens and I hopped in my Ford Granada and headed straight for Bellingham, Washington, since you really couldn’t find much hip hop in BC at the time. We ran into Bellis Fair Mall, handed over whatever ridiculous amount they were charging and proceded to play that tape over and over and over. I’m pretty sure it lasted me a couple of years before my stereo ate it on the Langley Bypass…

Anyway, here it is. Remixed version of Straight Outta Compton.

Since I’ve been playing more than one song during the podcast and I kind of like playing music that some or most of you haven’t heard, I’m going to play a song by a guy called Tim Barry. It’s called Avoiding Catatonic Surrender and it has some of the best lyrics I can remember. I hope you enjoy it.

What I’ve been thinking about

There’s been a lot on my mind recently. As I write this, Copenhagen is on lockdown following a shooting in a café and a subsequent shooting at a synagogue. Yesterday, Mohamed Fahmy was released on bail. Our son of a bitch Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird resigned unexpectedly – revelations of a scandal sure to follow…

There’s a lot going on in the world, and it’s important to stay informed. Why? Why do you need to pay attention when it seems like everything is happening half a world away?

Well, it isn’t. It’s actually coming closer to home. The North American media is reluctant to report this way, but when an atheist, or ‘anti-theist’, kills Muslims in North Carolina – that’s terrorism. When kids plan to shoot up a mall in Halifax, that’s terrorism. Any event that makes you think twice about going about your daily routine is terrorism.

I’m not trying to be alarmist, I’m calling things what they are. It’s important to stay informed.

It’s an election year in Canada and before long the rhetoric will be in high gear. Hang in there. There’s a tendency to get overwhelmed by all the bullshit. Stay calm. The whole idea is to bore the general public to tears – or apathy – in order to keep them away from the polls. That way the base decides the race. Don’t give in. Read. Listen to the news. Keep up to date. And when that day comes in mid-autumn, vote.

It’s not just your right. It’s your duty.

Tips on staying healthy over the winter

On my way to work the other morning I saw a runner whose beard was completely frosted over. That to me says it’s too cold to run. Or, he wasn’t dressed properly. Covering your face if you’re going to run in these temperatures is essential. I like to use a scarf, but pretty much anything that will give your face a bit of cover, keeps the heat in and warms the air before it enters your lungs is good enough.

The other thing I’ve started is swimming. Okay, hard to say I’ve started, since I’ve been exactly once, but diving into a warm pool on a cold day is wonderful. I did learn a couple of things from my first swim. First, just because I can run for an hour or two does not mean I have a lot of swimming endurance. I lasted a very painful, very tiring 15 minutes. Ugh. Part of that was spent trying not to drown instead of actual swimming. The other thing I learned is chlorine is hard on the eyes. I was gifted a pair of goggles, but they leaked a bit and by the time I got out of the pool, my eyes were bright red. Have to sort that out.

And, in spite of all the water that I’m drinking, I need to sort out some hand cream. I recommend Kiehls. It’s the best I’ve found. I’m half surprised that my mother hasn’t sent me some stuff that they use on horses’ hoofs. She’s good like that.

Closing thoughts

It’s Valentine’s Day. In honour, I’m going to play the saddest love song I can think of. The Antlers’ Two. I have been lucky enough to see them a half dozen times over the last few years, including three or four times at South By Southwest, and every time I hear this song live it crushes me. Enjoy it.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 5 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction – what I’ve seen

I’m writing this podcast the week of January 27th. January is pretty well over and we’re a third of the way through winter. While there have been some ridiculously cold days, I’ve still been out and about, walking and running regularly. I think I’ve finally got a cold weather running outfit sorted – on Sunday’s 12 kilometers I was actually a bit too warm. My day to day walking gear could use a bit more help. I don’t know if anything will really keep my hands warm – I’m thinking about getting some chemical hand warmers and trying those. You know, the type in the package that you squeeze together, starting an exothermic reaction? You remember chemistry, right?

One thing that I’ve been seeing more and more of over the last few weeks are Lovebots. I love Lovebots! There are a few new paintings and of course Matt, the Lovebot designer, has recently collaborated with Nadege on a special macaron and macaron box, so the Lovebot is on the window of both locations.

Yes, I’ve tried the new flavour, brie and honey. I like it. Not as much as my favourite, vanilla, but it’s good all the same. If you’re at Yonge and Summerhill or Queen and Gore Vale, I recommend you stop in. Don’t buy a whole box, though, unless you’re sharing. Or want to catch the diabeetus.

What I’m listening to

Since the Sleater-Kinney reunion tour is kicking off shortly, I’ve decided to revisit their back catalogue, as well as pick up the new album, No Cities to Love. The new album is good – I recommend that you pick it up if you haven’t already, and get tickets to their March 2^nd show at Sound Academy (ugh). But, it’s their third album, Dig Me Out, that I’ve been stuck on. Specifically, the song, One More Hour.

Okay, I really don’t know why I fixate on certain songs. All weekend I had PJ Harvey’s, Snake stuck in my head. Yesterday it was Pearl Jam’s Tremor Christ. But today, I know exactly why I have One More Hour in there. As far as breakup songs go, it’s one of the better ones, at least as far as I’m concerned. But that’s not it. It’s the chorus. When Corin Tucker sings, ‘Oh, you’ve got the darkest eyes’ in the chorus, it grabs my heart and won’t let go. Maybe I have a thing for brown eyes. Maybe it’s my not so secret crush on Carrie Brownstein – after all, the song is about Corin and Carrie’s breakup. Not sure. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.

Since I’m some type of freak who can’t listen to music while running, I’ve found a new podcast to listen to instead. Canadaland. If you aren’t familiar with Canadaland, and there’s not really a reason why you would be, it’s a website and a podcast run by Toronto journalist, Jesse Brown.

Why do I like it? First, I like that Jesse is trying something new. He’s created an alternative news outlet and has been prominent in breaking the infamous Jian Ghomeshi story, as well as the lesser-known, lesser-cared-about Amanda Lang story. But more than that, he takes the mainstream media to task, which is something that I enjoy listening to. I’m a news junkie. I wake up to the news. I go to sleep to the news. I find it extremely interesting and while I may not agree with Jesse, I like listening to someone who is even more interested in the news than I am. So check it out.

Damn. Now that I’ve mentioned the PJ Harvey song, it’s stuck in my head again. Here it is. Snake, from her album, Rid of Me. If you don’t have it, you must buy it immediately. One minute and thirty-six seconds of awesome.

What I’ve been thinking about

Today I did something I can’t remember ever really doing. Faced with a bit of an unrealistic workload at the office, I asked for help.

I used to think that I could do anything. More work? Add it to the pile and I’ll get it done. And, you know, maybe that was something I could do when I was younger, but now that I have tasks that require more than just brute force and the ability to work all hours of the day and night, I needed help and I asked for it. And, I got it.

I realize that for most people, this is something you do. But for me, this is a bit of a breakthrough. Admitting that you can’t do something, that you aren’t perfect at something, has been extremely difficult for me – near impossible. To me, it was always a sign of weakness. But, it isn’t. It’s a sign of strength. A sign of maturity and it’s taking responsibility. Rather than letting the team down because of my inability to do something properly, I’m supporting the team by bringing in the right people necessary to move things along.

Admitting that I’m weak is a strength.

The other thing I’ve been thinking about this week is the Greek election. If you haven’t been paying attention, the far-left party, Syriza, nearly won a majority in Sunday’s election and it’s being heralded as a potential new dawn in European politics. Rather than go along with the austerity program they had been forced into in return for bailouts, the Greeks are threatening to pull out of the Euro. This may not mean much to you, but to me it’s fascinating theatre. A Greek withdrawal, or ‘Grexit’ as it’s been coined, could lead to other beleaguered countries like Spain and Italy withdrawing as well. What does that mean to you and me? Well, it would be a monumental failure of the Eurozone, which in and of itself is worth watching, but ultimately there would potentially be a period of global economic chaos. Our current economic system itself being thrown into question. And that can only be a good thing. At the very least, if you have a secure job and you’re holding off on buying a house because you’re worried that interest rates are going to go up, don’t be. They aren’t going any where for a long, long time.

Tips on staying healthy over the winter

So, this week they announced that this year’s flu shot has been a failure. I normally get one, but for some reason or other found myself too busy. There’s always a lot of discussion around whether to get the flu shot or not. My thought is this – why not take five minutes out of your day, get the shot and be done with it? Who cares if it only protects you against 40% of the strains? Isn’t that better than nothing?

Despite a lack of sleep so far this winter I’ve mostly avoided getting sick. I’m not really sure why. I’ve been around a lot of sick people. I think the key is while I’m tired a lot of the time, I haven’t really been run down. It’s when you’re run down that you’re vulnerable. So, if I have one tip for this week’s podcast, it’s to listen to your body. If you’re starting to feel a bit off, take care of yourself right away. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they say. Also, an ounce of deception cures a pound of pain, so here you go.

Closing thoughts

Well, we’re a third of the way through winter. The days are at least getting longer, if not warmer. There’s a lot to look forward to this year. Trips planned. Concert tickets booked. And, there’s a lot to be thankful for. It’s easy to get down during the winter. A positive attitude can take you a long way. If that doesn’t work, book something that you can look forward to. It doesn’t have to be a trip or a show. A friend booked her first 10 kilometre race this week and that’s something to look forward to. Well…maybe not the training part.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 4 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction – what I’ve seen

I’m writing this podcast the week of January 5th. Almost a full week after the start of the New Year and the feeling I have is that of new beginnings. Even though winter has firmly taken hold of Toronto and most of the rest of Canada – how I don’t miss Montreal at this time of year – the shortest day of the year has passed and once again there is hope and optimism.

With the cold, I haven’t been out walking as much as I would like. I have resumed running, though, and so far so good – my feet are holding up. It’s the rest of me that feels slow as molasses. It’s hard to get a good pace going with tight muscles that refuse to warm up against the cold, and lungs that feel half-sized. I can only hope that the extra effort I put in now will pay off in balmy Germany in a few months’ time.

I spent some time in Niagara over the weekend and one thing I did see were stars. We took a walk back from dinner along a dark riverside path and could see the stars that are otherwise hidden from view in the city. No, it wasn’t as clear and spectacular as being in the wilderness on a warm summer’s night, but it was still a sight worth seeing. Looking at the sky always helps me put my life into perspective. Makes me realize how insignificant my problems are, and how lucky I am. And Friday night, as I walked along the path, trying not to slip on the ice, while looking up into the sky, I felt very lucky.

What I’m listening to

So, I finally got off the Buzzcocks record I talked about last episode. Yes, it took some doing. I get fixated on things, what can I say.

There hasn’t been another song for me to get stuck on this week. I was recommended a band called Hookworms, and listened to a few songs of theirs. I think the best way for me to describe them is psychedelic garage rock – the friend who recommends them is much more eloquent than me. If that interests you, Google them and don’t be afraid to buy their stuff on iTunes if you like it.

What I have been listening to, since I’ve been back running, is my favourite running podcast, called RunRunLive. RunRunLive is produced by a guy called Chris Russell. I’m new to his podcast, but he seems to be an interesting fellow. He’s roughly 50 years old, knows everyone who runs at least semi-seriously along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and does a marathon every other week. Now, this could all be lies, but it’s what I understand from listening as I huff and puff along during my trots around the paddock. Anyway, his podcasts are perfect for Sunday long runs, as they usually last about an hour. And, since Chris is older than me and in better shape, it keeps me motivated.

Okay, there is one song that I haven’t listened to too much, but I love the lyrics. The song is from the new TV on the Radio album, Seeds. It’s called, Winter, and I’ll play it here. If you like it, buy the album. It’s worth it.

What I’ve been thinking about

As I said off the top, I’ve been thinking about new beginnings. Some years, the calendar changes over and you hardly feel the difference from the old to the new. This year is different.

First, I got through Christmas. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be – thanks to my friends and having a plan going into the day.

After that, though, life changed. I made it through the day. It wasn’t a catastrophe. I still had turkey and stuffing, thanks to Jen and Ian for providing me with leftovers, and then on I went.

Sometimes people build things up in their minds so much that the anticipation of something becomes almost unbearable. The actual thing is rarely as bad (or maybe as good) as what they were anticipating. I think that was Christmas. Once the day passed, well, it was just another day, and life got a lot lighter.

I think it’s time to stop ruminating on my own problems now, and move on. There has been a lot to think about this week. Mostly, I’ve started to think about the bigger problems of the world.

The attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices on Wednesday help to underscore what a precarious world we live in. Imagine doing a job where people actively want to kill you because of the work you do. I work in advertising, and I’m sure there are people that dislike what I produce, but the staff at Charlie Hebdo that were murdered because of what they do.

Insanity.

It was pointed out to me this week that there’s an inevitability to the ever-growing conflict between the Christian-Judeo and Islamic worlds. That is, eventually, Islam of some form, or rather all forms, will win out.

It’s inevitable. Inevitable for one simple fact: they’re having more kids.

This inevitability reminds me of what I experienced growing up in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey. We had a small house in a working class area, surrounded by people much like ourselves. Through the later 1970s and early 1980s, there was a massive influx of people from India and Pakistan – so much so that the formerly English-only street signs were replaced with bilingual signs – English and Sanskrit. Whereas in 1978 my best friends on the street were Corey and Barry, by 1980, my best friends were Bolly and Devinder.

That’s right. Best friends.

I guess that’s the thing. When you’re a kid, and you weren’t brought up by assholes, it doesn’t matter what colour your best friend is, or what God he worships. What matters is if he’s a good kid or not. Does he like playing road hockey and riding bikes? Perfect. Soul mates.

This overly simplistic thinking is what we need for the inevitable change. People want the same things, regardless of their religion. We need to understand that there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Of that, only a tiny percentage are ‘extremists’ or ‘terrorists’.

So why is the news full of extremists and terrorists? Because that’s what shifts units. Sells papers. Gets people watching CNN. Good news doesn’t sell. No one is talking about Egypt’s president wanting to reform Islam. Instead, it’s a non-stop deluge of terror. Extremism. Beheadings. Murder.

I think I’ll end with this. What do you think the people of the Middle East call the foreign armies that have been consistently occupying and invading them for the last number of decades. What did they call the Crusaders?

Peace. Unity. Understanding. Love. These are the things we need.

Tips on staying healthy over the winter

Okay, it’s been ridiculously cold this week. I saw a video of a guy skating to work in Montreal. Ice skating. On the sidewalk.

Having lived there, I think that’s more an indictment on the city and how crap they are at sidewalk maintenance, but that doesn’t take away the fact that it’s cold. Bitterly cold.

So what to do when it’s this cold? Get outside!

Yes. Get outside. But not for long though. Short bursts. I was supposed to run five kilometers on Tuesday, but it was too cold, so I only did four. Four kilometers is much better than nothing. Staying cooped up inside on these short cold days is terrible for you. So get as many layers on as you can – I ran with two pairs of tights, a long sleeve shirt, hoody, running jacket, toque and Patrick Ewing New York Knicks socks on my hands. Yes, I wear socks on my hands when I run. I don’t have running mitts, gloves don’t keep your fingers warm and well Patrick Ewing. You should love Patrick Ewing.

Another Song

Before I close off for the week, a friend introduced me to a band out of Calgary that I’ve been listening to a lot, called Viet Cong. I’m going to play a song off their first EP, called Throw It Away. If you’re into it, go to iTunes and buy it – the EP is only $3.99. Their new album comes out January 20.

Closing thoughts

Well, so far so good for 2015. I am really hopeful for a strange, interesting and fun year. It’s a year to say yes to as many things as possible. A year for new exploration and experiences. A year for growth and for change.

There is always going to be pain and upset in life. It’s how you manage through those challenges that determines how happy you’re going to be with yourself at the end of it all.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 3 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction – what I’ve seen

I’m writing this podcast on New Year’s Eve day. I actually haven’t been walking that much over the last few days – well, not a lot for me. I need to get over my tendonitis issues in order to start training in earnest for Berlin. Spending time off my feet has done wonders, as I’m almost back to 100%. And that’s important, as I only have twelve weeks to go before I take another shot at an 1 hour 40 minute half marathon. My personal best is 1.44, so I have some time to make up.

I have been out and about, though, and one thing that I’ve seen that’s really made an impact is a piece of graffiti on Queen St. West, just past Sorauren. Pink and white letters that state: ‘You are unaware of the effect you have.’ I’ve posted a pic up on my website, iwalktoronto.ca. It’s one of those pieces you can walk past a hundred times and not notice, but I saw it earlier in the week and will be carrying it with me into 2015.

I wouldn’t say I’m overly self-absorbed, but let’s face it, there are times when everyone is. I’ve always been conscious of the effects my words can have on someone, but there have been times when I haven’t cared. Not often, but maybe once or twice a year. Is that still too much? Keeping in mind that you have an effect is important. We all do. Our actions and inactions, especially in our relationships with other people, matter. It’s something I’ll continue to think about.

What I’m listening to

I spent some time over the holidays helping a friend move house, and in return was loaned three boxes of records – all of which he picked without my input, so each is a surprise. The cartons are definitely a mix – from rare Schooly D to rare German Smiths pressings to the odd Australian punk compilation or two. I’ve resolved to go through the collection, one by one, and listen to each record at least once.

Of course I got hung up on one song when I was only three or four records in. The record is the Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady. Buzzcocks are one of those bands who you think you’ve probably never heard, but go through this compilation, and you’ll most likely find half a dozen tracks that you recognize. Now, I don’t remember ever hearing the song, ‘Why Can’t I Touch It’, but it immediately grabbed my attention. At the moment, I can’t think of anything recorded in 1978 that still sounds so fresh and contemporary. It’s got one of those basslines, like Fugazi’s Waiting Room, or AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie, that instantly takes hold and won’t let you go. If you’ve ever wanted something or someone badly, only to find your desire left unrequited…or worse, crushed, then this song is going to resonate. It certainly has with me. I’ve probably listened to it fifty times over the past week and I’m sure I’ll listen to it fifty times more. It’s so teenage boy, is what I think my friend Lisa would say. Anyway, the compilation is available for $7.99 on iTunes, and you should probably buy it.

What I’ve been thinking about

Since the last podcast I’ve been thinking about goals and resolutions for 2015. Well, I’ve been thinking about them for months now, but since it’s the end of the year it’s time to write them down. To start, I went over my goals from this time last year. I’ve been tempted to try to completely push 2014 from memory, but I think that’s a waste. I had a lot of good times in 2014. In some ways that’s been part of the problem I’ve had to face. There were a lot of good things that I’ve spent a lot of time missing, instead of continuing to do them.

The lesson learned is to take what I enjoyed and keep that in mind for what I want to achieve in 2015 and beyond. I know that I need to stay committed to my goals of change and growth – I need to be mindful of the effect I have and make sure that my actions and relationships are positive.

I need to avoid negativity and cynicism.

It’s a difficult thing when your goal is to not do something as opposed to do something, especially when you’re an action-oriented person. Maybe that’s why there are 12-step programs. The actions of completing the twelve steps help to make up for the fact that the real action lays in the inaction – not drinking or doing drugs or what have you.

I know I did some good things in 2014, but I also did some terrible things. Those stay in the past.

For now, my 2015 goals are to read a book a month, a carryover from 2014, to travel more, which so far is looking good with my trip to Berlin, to run at least two half marathons, also looking good with Berlin and Goodlife Toronto booked, to learn a language, and then some goals around time with my daughter. There are some things I was going to add to my list, but rather than make them goals, I’d rather have them as positive outcomes. Especially if they concern relationships with other people. If there’s one thing I learned in 2014, it’s you can’t control the behavior of another person, only your own.

The key, regardless what your goals are, is to remain resolute. Stick to your guns. If you decide you’re going to do something, or not do something, as the case may be, then be unwavering. Sometimes life boils down to simple physics: objects at rest tend to stay at rest. If you’re unhappy with something, then the only way to make change happen is to make change happen. Get in motion!

Tips on staying healthy over the winter

It’s getting colder again, and I’m almost ready to add a hat to my winter wardrobe. My friend Rich was kind enough to bring me back a toque from New York that’s going into my bag when I start back walking to work next week. I might even put it on, though hat head drives me crazy, and I don’t want to be one of those assholes who wears their toque inside all day. If you are one of those assholes, I mean no offence. I’m sure you look cool. Maybe your head is cold. I don’t know. Who am I to judge?

Regardless of what you decide to do about your headgear, here’s my tip for the week: drink more water. Skin dry? Drink water. Lips chapped? Drink water. Urine coming out neon yellow? Drink water!

I’m an eczema sufferer and I’ve had problems with my hands drying out and cracking every winter, until I started to drink more water. Now, unless I’ve neglected the water, or spent a bit too much time drinking beer, my hands stay intact. Which believe me, is a nice thing.

At least try it. Crème covers the symptoms, but does nothing for the cause. Trust me.

Closing thoughts

In closing for 2014, be kind. Until someone figures out how to build a time machine, you only get once chance to do things the right way. Try to do them the right way. You’re going to fuck up in life. It’s inevitable. Try to keep those fuckups to a minimum, especially when they involve other people. Be graceful.

My other closing thought at the end of 2014 is that I feel extremely lucky. Maybe it’s the result of whom I follow on social media, but there was a lot of crap news this year. I’m very thankful to live in a quiet, relatively uneventful part of the world, and I hope that it can stay that way. Any loss of human life is tragic, but the increased barbarism that seems to be prevalent is a horrible trend that needs to stop. I don’t know that the answer is an escalation of violence to act as a deterrence, but there has to be something. Cops need to stop killing unarmed civilians. ISIL needs to stop beheading journalists and everyone needs to stop killing kids.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

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Hi and welcome to episode 2 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.

Introduction

Love Me Till I’m Me Again

I’m recording this podcast on Christmas Day. Work has shut down for the holidays, so I’m missing my two hour walking commute, but I did get in a solid 90 minutes last night when I walked to the east end of the city for Christmas Eve dinner. As you can imagine, it was pretty quiet – not many people on the streets save for those who were running out to their own dinners, or people who don’t celebrate Christmas, heading out for Chinese or Japanese.

One thing I did see that made me stop and take a photo, is a piece of art in the front window of a store on Ossington. I’ve posted the picture on my website, iwalktoronto.ca and on my tumblr blog, iwalktoronto.tumbr.com. It’s a glowing neon sign that says Love Me Till I’m Me Again. I’m not sure when I first saw this piece of art – probably a few weeks ago, but it really made a big impact on me last night. I’ll talk about it more when I get to ‘What I’ve been thinking about’.

Truth be told, it was a pretty dreary walk along Queen Street to the east end of town. The only other thing of note was a fairly sizeable crowd in front of the Bay at Yonge and Queen, checking out the famous Christmas windows. Pretty remarkable and always worth a visit if you’re in the area over the holidays. If you have kids, definitely take them.

What I’m listening to

The thing that I’m listening to the most while I walk is Damian Abraham’s podcast, Turned Out A Punk. Now, if you don’t know who Damian is, he’s the motor-mouthed lead singer of one of my favourite bands, Fucked Up. If you’re at all interested in the history of music, punk or otherwise, and like to hear interesting stories from the guys who lived them, then I recommend it. The podcasts are long, so they’re perfect for a good walk.

Other than Turned Out A Punk, I’ve been listening to the odd Christmas song here and there. I have to make a confession. I’m a huge fan of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas. Yes, I know that it’s a pretty cheesy song. Yes, I’m also aware that it’s extremely condescending to the entire African continent. And yes, Bono really does earnest to the point where you want to punch him in the throat, but what can I say? It’s a catchy tune.

Going back to Damian Abraham, Fucked Up did a cover of the song a few years back with people like Bob Mould, Teagan and Sara, Kevin Drew and a few other notable indie names, with the proceeds benefiting Indigenous Women’s groups. It’s worth checking out. If it’s your first time listening to Fucked Up, don’t let it colour your opinion, though. Check out some of their other work. For sure their album Chemistry of Common Life.

Oh, I forgot to mention the other Christmas song I like – U2’s cover of Baby, Please Come Home. That one always gets me, too.

What I’ve been thinking about

So what have I been thinking about while I’ve been walking?

Love Me Till I’m Me Again. I think the reason that piece of art sticks with me is that it perfectly describes how I’ve felt at various points over the year. When I was having a difficult time at work in the summer, I very much needed that support from my partner. When I didn’t get it, I realized that I was definitely not in the right relationship.

As I’ve moved through the fall and into the winter and I still haven’t felt like myself, I’ve relied on the warmth and generosity of my friends to help me through this period. People who will love me till I’m me again. Sometimes it’s been love me when I can’t even love myself.

Learning how to be alone when you’ve been in relationships for twenty plus years is hard work. It’s scary. But, the good days are starting to outnumber the bad. I look forward to being me again.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about seasonal depression. Days are short, the weather can be pretty dreary and the holidays have always kind of bummed me out. So I’m definitely a sufferer. I don’t know how bad, but I know that one of the main reasons why I left Vancouver is that I just couldn’t take the winters. Give me cold and clear over dark and rainy any day!

How am I getting through it? By talking. If there’s something I’ve learned over the last few months is that you don’t have to suffer alone. You might not be able to talk to all of your friends about what you’re going through, but almost everyone has someone. Take them for coffee, or a beer, or a walk and just start talking.

The other methods I use are keeping active and having things to look forward to. I’m supposed to be training for a half marathon in Berlin at the end of March. Ticket and entry are paid for. But, I’ve got tendonitis in both feet and I haven’t been able to run in more than a week. Instead of letting this add to my depression, I’m finding other things to do. Like this podcast. Getting outside and doing things. Writing. Walking. Being with people.

I’ve also been buying tickets to shows for 2015. The Vaselines. Sleater-Kinney and Jose Gonzalez. I recommend them all, and you can find them on Soundcloud. Check them out and if you like them head over to iTunes, or better yet your local record store.

I’d also love to be able to sneak in a trip to South by Southwest before I head to Berlin in March, but I don’t think it’s on the cards this year.

Tips on staying warm over the winter

Now, here’s how I’ve been keeping warm during my walks. Staying warm in the winter when you’re a die-hard walker can be tough. So far this winter hasn’t been as cold as last, so that’s been good, but I have invested in a new Patagonia winter coat that’s been keeping me toasty. On the colder days I’ve been adding a Permaloft shirt and a sweater and mitts instead of gloves. Also, I’ve seem to have lost my gloves somewhere, so I should have a look for them at some point. I hate losing things, but I’m not really sure they’re lost, just misplaced.

Winter boots are something I haven’t really been wearing, only in the snow. I have a pair of hand-me-downs, but they’re a bit small. And, with my foot being the way it is, I’ve been sticking to sneakers. Adidas, of course.

If you’re going to commit to walking in the winter, a proper winter coat and some quality layers are essential. Spend some time at MEC and get sorted out. The quote I live by is there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear. I’m sure an English guy came up with that one.

Closing thoughts

Well, that’s about it for this episode. Thankfully, we’re almost through the holidays and life can return back to normal.

I want to thank Jen and Ian for having me over for Christmas Eve dinner. And drinks. And Monopoly. I want to thank Damian Abraham for being the inspiration behind this podcast – as he says, get out there and create your own culture. And, I would like to thank the people who have been kind enough to listen to me and offer advice and buy me lunch and hang out when I needed someone to hang out with.

Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I’ve started a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode.

Thanks again.

Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.

Podcast is officially on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/i-walk-toronto/id954072687