"And this is a direct quote..."

The following is an excerpt for a letter I got this week, and it made me smile so widely on the streetcar, I had to share it.


I started to make a list of sorts—My life in 365 days. Each day I write a thought, something that caught my eye, a song, something that I did, etc.

My Life in 356 Days – January 2010

1 This is the start of something new
2 Slow beginning
3 Find the extraordinary in the ordinary
4 Confessed to Teresa
5 J’écrit en français pour la premiere fois
6 Published list
7 Pleated handbag
8 Pleated clutch
9 Pizza at Terroni. Entered from back door.
10 Republic of Doyle
11 Amore 14
12 Watched TV in the morning for the first time
13 While you were sleeping
14 Pasta with clams
15 Stroll in Chinatown & Le Gourmand
16 Can’t understand North American dating rules
17 Fear is the absence of faith
18 Over Me Now – Gloriana
19 “But… ummm” Greek yoghurt & pretzel cookies
20 Last day of vacation
21 Jake Doyle is hot!
22 “Post-It”! Meredith Grey
23 Do you see the future? An unforgettable hug
24 Positive distance
25 Julie & Julia
26 Long but exciting day. Almost perfect. Harbord Bakery chocolate brownie
27 You’re so beautiful. You smell so nice
28 “When I touched her, I felt the best part of me being touched
29 Yummy homemade pizza
30 Waiting for a call that isn’t coming
31 Dipping toes. Waiting February.


Two things really stood out for me when I read this. Number one: I used to do something very similar in high school—in those day planner/agenda things that were forced upon you for things like organizing homework. When I was 15 I started to write down “What I learned” for each day—and I don’t mean what I learned in class or from teachers; just general life stuff. That was also the year I was diagnosed with depression, so some of it is pretty sad(/teen-angsty?) They are kind of funny to look back on now, though, and to see how much has changed. I did make a ‘zine of some of the pages, and a few of them are at This Ain’t The Rosedale Library. That’s all I’ll say.

The second thing, is regarding #15 on the list: I live close to Chinatown, and Le Gourmand is one of my favourite [coffee] places in this city. Not only are their coffees/mochas amazing, but they make these walnut-chocolate-chip cookies that are beyond any cookie you’ve ever had. They’re huge, and just- so- good. Oh, and the tomato/avocado sandwiches are worth mentioning. Anyways, not the point—the point that I was aiming to make, is that I find it really cool that people that live in Toronto who write to me- I may have seen you before. We may have interacted. You could have been behind me in line at the coffee place, next to me on the subway, know a friend of a friend of a friend, etc. But it’s like that with every body. I think it’s amazing that we’re all connected, and yet so rarely see it. We’ve got all these invisible ties to each other, some stronger than others, criss-crossing and spanning the city, the country, the world. Sometimes I get a glimmer of all these invisible strings. It’s like a vast spider-web blankets this cold city, and I feel warm.