Toka Instead of Enemy

There is an Indian tribe that does not have a word for enemy in their language. They use a word "Toka" which means a person who is different from you and is not your ally.

Just a simple note

It's a hot beautiful summer in Ontario. I am settling down at work which I like it very much so far. Life is good. Nima and I ride a bike with couple of friends every other Sunday. Last week we were riding along the river and at the same time there were people were walking their dogs, few people were sitting on a bench talking, a family or a group of friends were walking. I felt grateful. Happiness is that simple :)

I have something in my mind to do. I don't wanna talk about it know. I should do it. I know I can. I am telling to myself for that you should get a cottage or something with a nice view, clean your mind and sit. I don't know maybe later maybe now.

:):):):):):):)

I am finally coming to see you. :):):):

JUST GET REAL

I failed my G driving test today. Here in Ontario when you pass the road test you get your G2 driving test which expires in 5 years. Before this happens you have to get your G liscence.

Honestly I thought I've done a great job. I looked at my mirrors like every freaking 5 seconds, checked both sides of the intersection even when the green light was on, try to stick to 40 km/hr speed limit, pooooh

When the test finished the officer told me "unfortunately you didn't meet the ministry requirements today,..." He lost me at "unfortunatellllllllllllly".

What really bothering me is that here in Ontario people drive like crazy (I mean in Canadian scale). If you dare stick to your speed limit, cars will tale-gate you really bad, and even worse you might even meet with some of the drivers finger. If you stop behind every stop sign for "1001, 1002, and 1003" I bet someone will honk for you or the other driver whose turn is after you will just go.  If you look at into your mirrors every 5 seconds I bet you will ended up having an accident for not paying attention to your front. You see drivers here talking on the phone, texting, eating, even rare occasions reading.

I am a good driver for god sake. Never had an accident in the past 5 years.  I think the ministry should get real in examining the applicants. Instead of pretending that as a good driver you should pass 250 items, just see how skilled I am, How comfortable I am, If I am a danger to the road..What is the benefit of pretending to be "by the book" for 20 minutes and then go back to this jungle and drive as we all know how.

I have to book the damn test again, take few hours off the work again, pay the fee again...
I am pissed off you can tell ..

Ride on The River

It's been almost five years that I am living in Ontario. Ontario has an interesting motto "yours to discover" which really fits for this beautiful province of Canada. From the very first day Nima and I tried to visit different places here, either in cities or out there in woods. I know there are still places we haven't visited yet but I can claim that we saw a good deal of it.
One of the coolest place here in Ontario is Elora village. The village itself is very pretty specially with Grand river passing through. You can rent a tube and ride on this river in Elora Gorge. The experience was amazing. That day the weather was hot and humid. By the time we arrived there, it was a big line for tubing and I was really disappointed when the girl behind the cashier told me they are sold out. We went back there at 4:00 pm. The weather was getting cooler, we got two tubes, got on the school bus which gave us a ride to the launch area.
I sat on my tube and the ride began. I loved it. I felt like a leaf dragging by the flow, here and there. The river has few rough sections along which addeed up the spices but in general it was an amazing experience. At some part it was so calm and quite I could only hear birds singing and the soothing sound of the river. I was in heaven. Nima had a small accident at one of the rough sections his tube overturned and he felt in the river. Nothing major the river wasn't deep and he soon manage to got on his feet and control the tube.

Just give you few tips, get there early in the morning or later in the afternoon to have a chance to rent. Of course you can bring your own tube. If you like camping stay in Elora Gorge conservation and enjoy the night of Grand River. While tubing mind your butt :)

Before I close this post there is one more beauty we visited Elora Quarry. This is a bowl shape little lake surrendered with rocky edges. Swim to the center of the lake and look up.

Bravo to Brave

We went to cinema to watch Brave last night. Before the movie started they showed this amazing short animation called "La Lunar". I loved it
Here you can watch part of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVCXjmdMd4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Good night

A Day Trip

This morning I called home to say hi to my mom. I usually call her up when I am driving to work. My baby sister, Helia answered the phone. The voice wasn't quite clear and I mistaken her with mom.

"Hi mom" I said.
"Hi child" My sister teased :)
"Oh Heli, is that you..how are you doing? how's things? How was your day trip the other day"
Helia asked me if I have time because the day trip ended up quite adventurous. She told me all about it and I couldn't believe what I heard. At some point I started laughing and all day today every time I remember what happen I can't stop giggling. The story has kind of "due date", or "hangover" fast pace genre.
I wish I could ask Tod Phillips to Make a movie out of this :)

Quote of tonight

"Everybody makes a mistake , minimize it fix it and move on" :)
Fictional president of the United states , west wing tv series.

دالانهای تنگ و دالانهای گشاد

اینجا هستم و اینجا نیستم.
راه میروم..راه میروم تو پیچو خمهای بی‌ انتها و دالانهای تنگ و گشاد این ذهن. هزارو هزاران در..هزارو هزاران پیچ..تاریکو تاریکتر..روشنو روشنتر.
باز می‌کنم.
اولین در..باد کلفور می‌پیچه..من و پیراهن هوا رفته..من و جنگل ما..من و رودخونه باریک کم عمق..منو اسب جمشید..الاغه پیر..رخش..در و میبندم
درِ بعدی..نه این تلخه.
درِ بعدی..صورتم چسبیده به شاخه‌های تنومند گردو..مزه شیرین انجیرهای سفید تو گرمای شمال..منو لیزا..نه نه تلخ نشو..در و میبندم
باز می‌کنم صورت مهربون و آبشار ساواشیی.
باز می‌کنم عروسی‌، رقص..چهری پر اضطراب پدر..وکیلم؟؟ بله!
این اتاقها..این پیچو خمهای تو در تو، منم..گره‌هایی‌ هست که آرزو می‌کردم هیچوقت شکل نمیگرفت..طرحهأی هست که میخوامشون...بارها بیشتر
غم فیسلوفم می‌کنه و شادی ساده لوحم …
ساده‌لوح هانه فیلسوف شم نمی‌شه؟

K'naan in Toronto

Last night it was Luminato's opening night. K'naan performed a free concert. Matt Galloway came to stage before K'naan for introduction. I looked around there were people from different origin, K'naan himself is originally from Somalia, his guitarist looked like a Latino guy, the guy behind the keyboard looked like an Asian guy. This what Toronto is about "Multiculturalism". This is what Nima and I both love about this place. We are open to new cultures, new foods, new dress, ...I love to get to know people with different background. I don't like to live in Canada but only goes to Iranian restaurants and only have Iranian friends, there is nothing wrong with this but not for me. I want more than that

Abakhtar

Abakhtar means north is the name of my dad's seasonal magazine. When he was here in October we were talking about how these days Internet is the main source of information. I encouraged him to make a website for Abakhtar to introduce it better, to find his own readers. He did it
Here is the link: http://abakhtariran.com/
Here is his bio: http://abakhtariran.com/index.php/anjoman/31-asatid/78-mahdavi
As a proud daughter the first thing I have done was to vote how the website is. Of course I voted really great :)
It's funny the options are:
Not too bad
Good
Very good
Great
Really great :):)

You noticed there is no really negative options available you kind of have to like my dady's website. Why not

Life is a dance we must learn

I can't stop listening to this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L5WitGvF2U&feature=youtube_gdata_player
It has a simple and sweet lyrics. Nima and I have started watching this English tv series called Forsyte Saga which is about life, love and relationship. I love the song at the end of each episod. Here is the lyrics.

Life is a dance we must learn
Into the night we will turn
Time holds the secrets of our song
Moments are given, then gone
Come have this dance with me darling
I'll hold you tight till the dawn
Let the night see how I love you
So the moon can tell the sun
One more time around the sky
Kiss each tear that you have cried
Soon the day will tell everyone
I'll love you till I die
Look at your hair flowing in the night
Look at your lips in this light
Just let me kiss them this one more time
Nothing was ever so right

Hang in there Little One

I came out of the building that suddenly I heard a man behind me said "look it's still up there".  I looked at the tree and say a young raccoon hanging the very end of the up-most branch. It was a windy day with strong gust of 100 km/hr. The Baby raccoon hanged tightly to that branch with closed eyes. "She is probably scared to come down" A man said. "Yeah, maybe she is waiting till night when no body is around" I replied. "I'll check up on him tomorrow morning and if he was still here I'll  call for help."
"Hang in there little one" I said to myself. the day after I came back there was no sign of her.

Thanks Apple

I love my iPad. This beautiful piece of technology is just perfect for blogging in bed just what I am doing right now. I was looking into my gmail drafts. I saved few poems or writing that I liked as a draft. I was reading through till I saw one email dated back to 7 month ago. I wrote the email to a very dear friend who asked me something but I never sent the response. I just felt I shouldn't. I remember writing my response with so much care to avoid any heart feeling or misunderstanding but still after finishing the letter I couldn't sent it. It didn't feel right. Still I am not sure if I should have pressed the send button or not.
There is another draft written to the editor of a journal. That one I should have definitely sent. Here is a lesson for myself next time I will express my opinion with self confidence. Promise

Tomorrow with my boss I am heading to a site to audit a tunnel construction. Believe it or not I can not find a pair of safety rubber boot with steel toe protection for myself. I checked several stores and the last one told me quite searching. A young guy who was trying to help me told me here there are none for women. All of the available safety rubber boots are for men and the smallest size is too big for me. I am going down the shaft climbing down a vertical ladder 20 m long I can't afford falling heavy boot in the air. Down the tunnel is always muddy and regular safety boot doesn't do the job for me.
After googling for a long time I finally found a pair of rubber safety boot for female which was design for fire fighters. I was so excited and ready to order till I realize that they currently don't ship anything to Canada. My next hope is to find. Steel toe guard to attach to my regular boots. I can't be the first female with small feet inspecting tunnels here in Toronto or am I?!!!

Entry for April

These days everything are kind of quite. Nima and I enjoying spring and cant wait for summer. I like my new work place, what I am doing, my colleagues, all.   I am 32 now, no kids and have no plan for a one. My parents never push us for a grandchild but recently my dad started asking about it :). He is so funny when trying to ask but not to push. It's a big deal raising a child and I don't see that in myself. I don't want to have a baby just for the sake of not being alone when I am getting older. Well I guess I will feel like it when it's about time hopefully before it's too late.

Innovative Soul

I

I wanna be that lamp.

Happy Norooz

March 20 at 1:15 am spring came to northern hemisphere. We have been lucky in Toronto with warm weather of 24/25 degree. Earth is alive again. I prepared our 7c table. I came home the other day and find this beautiful hyacinth push away the curtain to reach the sun.
I wish you all a spring full of joy, good news, health, wealth (why not)...

 Happy Norooz

Fruits of Life - Part II

When I was 15. back in high school I had a very nice geometry  teacher. In my class we were only 19 students. He told us once "Kids I am telling you, the best friendship for a lifetime are happening during these years, behind these desks. Look at me now, after all these years being grown up and all that, still when I feel blue I go to a bank where my old friend from high school works there.

I had the same classmate from pre-high school (3 years) to the end of high school (4 years). 7 years from age of 11 to 18 gave me a chance to develop strong bounds with some of my classmates. I don't know how but still at the age of 32 when I see my classmates I became that kid again. Nadia is one those pre-high school/high school friends that we keep in touch. Last time I saw her it was after my wedding (5 years ago). She couldn't make it to my wedding and came to see me after. I always loved her for her pure kind heart as big as Pacific ocean.

She lost her mom 6 years ago in an accident couple of days after her younger sister's wedding. Another sister of her was in a car and seriously injured. Nadia was really strong getting over her loss and helping her dad to put the family together. She did her best to help out her sister to recover from her serious injuries. I always loved her for being so generous.

I am really bad with phone calls, one of my big flaws I guess. I sent her emails once in a while but the internet inside Iran is always slow and shaky. She couldn't always check her e-mails or reply me back. Couple of weeks ago I finally called her up on her cell.She recognized my voice after a hi.

"Hiva, is that you? How are you doing girl? what's new? have a baby yet?" Nadia said excited.
"No baby yet" I replied.
"Idiot what are you waiting for?" She said.
"How about you Nadi, any boyfriend yet?" I asked.
"No boyfriend yet" She replied.
"Idiot what are you waiting for?" I said.
"I missed you so much." "I missed you too."

And just like that we continued talking. After almost 3 years that we haven't talk, after almost 5 years that we haven't seen each other, when we talked it was like never this gap existed. It was like we have been together just yesterday. This is a kind of bound that I like.  The trust in our friendship with Nadia. After all these years still at the age of 32 I know I can pick up the phone. Call her up and just talk about my day. Nadia is one of the sweetest fruit of my book life.

Good Stuff

Finally after a long time today I had a chance to chat with my cousin (Behi) and her lovely husband. Before I came to Canada we all lived in Tehran and hang out all the time. We were very close, still are despite the long distance. Have you ever had a friend in your life that you didn't need to explain yourself to her/him. She/he just knows what you mean by few words. Have you ever had a friend in your life that just sitting next to him/her makes you feel much better. Behi was/is that person in my life.
When Mr Behi join the club I couldn't be happier. He was my gadget guru, book guru, technology guru..We used to sit and talk for hours about our favorite topics.
Today he told us about this cool gadget "fitbit". It is the same size as a memory stick. You put it in your pocket and this cool piece of technology track your daily activities and tell you about how your week was in terms of acitivies you've done. He also bought this "Wi-Fi Smart Scale" that track your weight, % body fat, and BMI over time and sync your weight data to your Fitbit.com account through your wireless network.I think I know what to buy Nima for Valentine. ;)

Happy New Year

Nima and I went for one week trip to Punta Cana in Dominican Republic this new year holiday. This is our second sun destination travel after Cozumel Island. I loved it. Beautiful sun, tropical vegetation, grinish blue ocean, warm and wavy with a very fine white sandy beach.
The ocean was warm and slightly wavy. We floated on the waves felt weightless like a leave on the water. We took an island tour which was very interesting. Our guid was a mixed American/Dominican with american accent. We went to a local coffee and cocoa plantations. The farm was family owned who were happy to have visitors. One of the family member I think the father cut the cocoa fruit in half. It was full of seeds with a soft white cover.He told us to eat the cover which was sweet and sour and inside was find a cocoa been. That was what they would dry later and pack to go. Our guid told us that these family are doing ok in this area financially. He gave us a tour inside their house. Basically it was very basic shelter made of wooden wall and tint roof. No shower. Washroom and kitchen was outside. The family looked simply happy.
I loved the nature, beautiful flowers. We visited a local school, had lunch in a resturant with home made food, and ended our tour with boogie riding in Macco beach.
We had different experience in Cozumel and Punta Cana. In our resort in Cozumel they had entertainment every night, which was always related to their local culture, dance, music, etc. But in Punta Cana it was mostly western specially music of eighties or nineties. Even in a shuttle to airport the music was Bee Gees, Donna Summer, etc. There was king of sense on humor in different individual (local people) we met in Punta Cana. In both country where we went, sellers were eagerly try to force you to buy something from them but in Punta Cana this was much more aggressive. Even when Nima and I were walking to get fresh air if there was any store around the seller would come out and shout to attract your attention.

I shared some photos from the beautiful nature around.