New York City is home to thousands of Canadians. The Facebook group for Canadians in New York alone has 1,348 members! A large group of Canadians could be found spread out between the bars Van Diemens and Arctica in Murrey Hill (and the surrounding bars who welcomed the spillover crowds) watching the Canada Olympic Hockey team compete against the best hockey playing nations in the world. The friendly and contagious energy that Canadians exude could be felt all around the intersection of 28th street and 3rd avenue. The Canadian New Yorkers and native Americans alike came together one last time during the final day of the Olympics to anxiously watch the fight for Gold. With Canada scoring the first goal and USA scoring a goal during the last 60 seconds of the game to tie the game and take it to overtime, it definitely was an intense game. As Canada scored the winning goal in overtime the entire bar exploded in cheers, chants and the Canadian National Anthem. 28th and 3rd was the place to be for New York Canucks on Sunday night! Stylester extends its congratulations to Team Canada for the win and to both teams for a fantastic game.

See video footage of fans celebrating at Arctica here: Canada takes the Gold at Olympics 2010

I arrived in Toronto on Friday to rendezvouz with Mum – who’s here for a conference from Pakistan.

From the moment I touched down, it seems like I’ve been eating non-stop! I’ve visited most of my “mother figures” in the city so far and as soon as I step in, I am welcomed with a giant plate of delicious food. It’s really really hard to resist “mom-food” so I’ve obliged and promptly cleared my plate.

mmm!

It’s been super-nice to reconnect with mum. I’ve always thought I don’t see her enough. From the age of 13, when I was sent away to boarding school, I’ve seen her once a year. Now I get to see her 2ce or 3 times, and I really feel like that’s not enough. Although most of my friends who are my age see their parents just as in-frequently. Maybe I’m just a big mommy’s girl and wish I could chat and have heart-to-hearts with her every day.

My Take on Toronto –

So, I have this weird love/hate relationship with Toronto. I’ve spent some of the best times of my life in this city and the majority of the worst time of my life here as well (which was more recent than my best times, & therefore those wounds are fresher). Now that I’ve been away, living in NYC for almost 2 years, I forget how boring and cold and gross Toronto can be. But at the same time, considering living here again is scary because I hate to admit it, but thinking of leaving New York is scary.

New York is a weird city because instead of the persuit of happiness, all you find there is the pursuit of fun. It can be very delusional. I think I’m slightly deluded by the city now, & need to come back down to earth! or Canada (eeeeew)

I went back home to Toronto, Canada over the weekend. The very first reaction I had to going away was separation anxiety from the city, and the second was the same kind of anxiety but for a boy. I didn’t think it would get there, but here I am… a bit too dependant on a city and a boy.

Anyway, the weekend was good, despite the frigid cold weather of the Great White North, and the 9 hours of driving each way. I got to see my 7 year old sister again, and this time with 2 less teeth than the last time I saw her 2 months ago. They grow up so fast!

Through the wonderful world of Twitter, I discovered the newest love of my life: the rock band Bury the Bully.

I was randomly “followed” on Twitter by the grace of the band’s marketing and word of mouth efforts, and what a pleasant surprise! I went on their website just because I saw that they are a Canadian band from a town close to my hometown of beautiful Toronto, and I am a very very loyal Canadian, as everyone who knows me will tell you. After being directed to their Myspace page and listening to the first song on the playlist, I was instantly addicted.