Overheard in Toronto

Wanna peek into my diary again? It won't be as sweet as last time, I'm sorry. Background: I spent the summer in Toronto working, and did all of my sight-seeing alone. So I had a lot of time to people watch (or eavesdrop, your call). And I heard some pretty funny/ interesting things along the way which I jotted down into my journal. Here are my favourites :)

 

1. Little boy: "Pa, you smell like a traffic light"

2. One teen guy to another: "I've figured it out though. You can wear like jeans and a t-shirt, and if you wear nice shoes people will be like 'Oh, you look nice!' It's crazy!"

3. One teen girl going up an escalator, the other going down. First girl shouts "Hey, where did you get your skirt? I love it!" Second girl: "Oh! Garage!" and walks away beaming :)

4. Kid looking in a big fish tank: "Are these fish real, or are they dead?"

 

5. Son: "Daddy, how did he get in here?" 

Dad: "It's so hot that even the birds are taking the subway."

6. One rich teen girl to another: "What is grit?" "Oh, it's like bad risotto."

7. Mom to son: "I love you too, kiddo. I love you all the way to Africa and through all the safaris and into another universe."

8. Teen girl: "But I honestly think that I'm a really interesting person and that everyone wants to come talk to me."

9. One woman to another: "So wait, you don't have decent bookstores but you have spas where fish eat your feet??" 

10. 2 kids, boy and girl about 12, talking about pigeons. "In pigeon world, I think he's daaaaamn!"...."No, I think he's probably oh heellllll no!"

11. Guy, early 20s: "Yeah I shaved my back and glued it to my face."

Well there you have it, a glimpse into the minds of strangers. Some made me laugh so hard, others made me smile. Also, just as a sort of disclaimer- none of the people in the photos are connected to these quotes. 

All for now :) 

Orla

Love & Passion{fruit}

(I am about to share with you a page from my diary. I never do this, but it's so special that I think you should get to read it.) 

July 2nd, 2012

Starbucks, Toronto

I think I am witnessing the beginning of a new relationship. :) I was here a few hours ago reading with a yummy vanilla latté, and I noticed a man and a woman sitting at adjacent tables talking. He is in his late 40s, and has the kindest eyes and a receding hairline. She is younger, though only slightly. She is Asian, with silky hair brushing her shoulders and noticeable laugh lines vouching for her happy personality. They were both sipping the remaining drops of their passion fruit iced teas, their chairs turned awkwardly to face each other. It made me smile. :)

Now, 3 hours later, I have returned for yet another vanilla latté (I guess my secret addiction is out now...), and they are sitting at one table, which is cluttered with empty cups of what was presumably passion fruit iced tea, and I can hear them sharing stories of their college days and hopes for the future. There is something undeniably comforting and heartwarming about witnessing two grown adults reduced to the nervous flirting and chit chat of pre-teens. I love it. 

And... They just left. Together. :) 

In This Moment

Reading... 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver. I haven't quite been sucked into it yet, but it seems very interesting. It will be a book I either love or hate, and I'll continue reading to find out which.

Excited about... Meeting up with Raine and Liv, the only 2 people I knew from Toronto before arriving here. And I get to see them June 8th! :)

Planning... A morning in a coffee shop with my journal.

Watching... Two squirrels playing hide and seek in the trees outside.

Dreaming (having nightmares) about... Awful kidnappers trying to shoot me. Watching scary movies make me so miserable for days, I don't know why I put myself through it.

Feeling... Way too hot, but pretty happy :)

Wanting... A big glass of icy coke.

Grateful for... My wonderful host family for the summer. They are just the sweetest people. :)

Collecting... Pretty postcards, photos and pictures to make a collage on my bedroom wall.

One Year

Oh, how time flies. This is me exactly a year ago, the night I graduated secondary school (high school). And right now, I'm sitting on my bed 3000 miles away in Toronto, Canada. If you told the girl in the picture that that's what she'd be doing in a year, she would have laughed in your face. Politely, of course.

+ One year ago, I was spending 85% of my time studying for final exams, and 15% worrying that I wasn't studying enough.

+ One year ago, I was feeling low and defeated. I wasn't a very happy person at all, and I didn't know how to fix that.

+ One year ago, I was miserable at the thought of leaving school, yet oh so desperate to get into University.

+ One year ago, I felt like a caged bird. I needed badly to spread my wings.

+ One year ago I felt lost. I had no idea what the future held for me.

+ One year ago, I thought I knew who I was. Oh, how wrong I was.

+ A year later I have finished a year of my nursing degree, and I have enjoyed every second of it.

+ A year later, I am surrounded by people who love me, and boy is the feeling mutual. :) 

+ A year later, I am working as a nanny in Canada. CANADA! 

+ A year later, I am feeling so much more comfortable in my own skin. I'm not perfect, but I am learning to embrace what I cannot change. 

+ A year later, I have learned a whole lot, and I'm still learning. The most important lesson from this past year? I cannot control everything that happens to me, but I can control my reactions and emotions. And I feel empowered. :) 

+ A year later, I am loving most parts of my life. And it feels incredible. :) Here's to another year of change. I can't wait to see what else is in store for me. 

today is day one

I rarely fall in love with material items (my guitar is not included). But when I saw this little diary on the shelf yesterday, I knew it was meant to be. As I flipped through it's pretty pages, it wooed me with its charm. 

I feel as though it really understands me, it knows what I want and need. It makes an effort with its appearance. It respects me and my busy schedule, and is willing to cater to it. 

It pushes me... 

Inspires me... 

It listens to me...

And it cares about my opinions. 

Yes, I am pretty certain that this diary and I were made for one another. :) 

Breathings of Your Heart

Read it once. Then read it again. Let it really sink in, listen to every word. I just think it is so beautiful. It describes perfectly how I feel about writing. It captures the emotion in a way that I never could. 

I have been asked so many times why I keep a diary, and I never really know what to tell them. It makes me feel silly to tell them that 'I just like recording memories'. It's the truth though. I haven't been journaling for very long. I had random entries from about 2008, but I've only been doing it regularly since January 2011. And now I can't imagine not doing it. 

Some people like to write when they feel angry or a little down in the dumps as a way of getting rid of negative feelings. I am the opposite. I have a rule that no negativity whatsoever can enter my journal. I write only happy things (though occasionally if I feel something negative should be recorded, I mention it briefly), and then when I read back on it it puts me in a wonderful mood. 

I like to write in different places, and I always record it in my journal. This year some my favourite writing spots have been Disney Land Paris, a little coffee shop in Galway, sitting in a tree near my house, at the airport and on the airplane to Toronto, and in my bed. :) I record the date and time, sometimes what I'm listening to, I stick in photos, tickets, to do lists, doodles, random lists, everything and anything that would be fun to look back on. I just love my diaries. If you keep a diary, I'd be really interested to hear about it! 

Love always, 

Orla

Dry Spells

Sometimes I go through dry spells. I think I've written about them before on this blog. It might last a week, maybe two, and my creativity just stops flowing. I stop playing music, I have no interest in reading or writing, I can't craft, and even my conversation seems dull. But I don't really mind when that happens.

I don't mind at all. Because when that dry spell is over, my creative mind goes on overdrive. This week I have rediscovered my love of reading, and I have really enjoyed 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky and 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have written a happy song inspired by my summer in Canada which I will share with you when I'm finished tweaking it. I've written so much in my diary, and now I'm coming back to life on my blog too. Happy days. :) I always know that every dry spell is followed by a wonderful shower of inspiration and creativity.

Happy List

I have way too many notebooks. One of them is dedicated entirely to little things that make me smile on a daily basis. The idea is that when I'm bored/ stressed/ just feeling a little bit down, I read through it and appreciate all the good things about my life. It never fails to make me smile. :) Here are a few things that have been making me smile lately.

+ Baby Taylor recognising herself in photos

+ Watched Beauty and the Beast

+ Icecream with Kate

+ Went to visit Nana

+ Sampson playing with a giant branch

+ New book smell

+ Painting with the kids

+ Tried to drink an espresso- ew! 

+ Skyping Raine and Liv

+ Half-price notebooks- love. 

+Made chocolate banana muffins

+Dean (age 5) fell asleep on my lap

Have a lovely day, and remember to appreciate the small things. :) 

With love, 

Orla