Well, not really. But the more I look, the more the contrasts between this summer and the last pop out, for better or for worse. I’ve taken a job this summer as an industrial designer for a company that makes mass-retail patio furniture; for comparison, last summer I worked as a landscaper.

Last summer, my morning commute was a two minute bike ride; this summer, I cram myself onto the subway and head into the heart of downtown to the office, at Richmond and Bay. Last summer I spent the days planting trees, lifting rocks, pulling weeds and mowing lawns - there are times I would have killed to sit in an air-conditioned office. Now, I sit in an air-conditioned office in front of a 22″ widescreen monitor, sketching and modelling chairs in CAD - by the time my half-hour lunch break rolls around, I’m dying to get outside. My wage was 1.5x lower last summer, but I worked 1.5x more hours. At the beginning of last summer, I bought a pair of steel-toed workboots; this summer I bought a pair of black leather loafers (they cost less than half what the boots did - go figure). The first few weeks on the job last summer, I went to bed at 9:00 and was still tired when I woke up; this year I’m still tired, but it’s because I’ve been out drinking with my friends too many nights in a row. Last summer, the boss would take us out for wings and beer; today, the boss was going to take us for a powerlunch at a trendy Japanese restaurant (something came up, so we ordered gourmet sandwiches instead). Last summer, my collar was the bluest of blues (assuming it wasn’t caked with dirt, that is); this summer, I actually have a collar, and it’s weird.

So which do I like better? It’s hard to say. It counts for something that I’m actually working in my chosen profession, but the work I’m doing is driven solely by marketing trends, arbitrary styling, and obscene ornamentation - in my eyes, the anthithesis of what design should be. Workign downtown is actually the best part of the job, though, and I’m looking forward to taking full advantage of it when I get a Metropass in June.

I’m not forgetful enough to say that landscaping was a picnic, but to paraphrase Calvin’s dad, manual labour builds character. You need to shovel shit for a while (figuratively, but in landscaping it was literal as well) to appreciate the actual value of a dollar. If I forget it by the end of the summer, this is written permission to hit me with the landscaping implement of your choice.

More Cuba pics coming soon (hopefully tomorrow).  Seeing these guys up close was pretty awesome.

As I was driving home from work today I saw a dude walking along Yonge with a sign on his back saying he was “The Litter Guy: doing my best to keep the city clean.” He added, “support in the form of money or food is welcome.”  Environmentalism has officially pervaded every form of business, from huge corporations to the entrepreneurial homeless.  I certainly applaud this guy’s actions, and I can only hope there is enough public support for people like this to allow cleaning the city to replace squeegeeing as the number one job for the down-and-out.  Also, it will be fucking hilarious to watch the city’s maintenence unions decry vigilante litter pickers, as seems inevitable.  Remember when they vetoed a plan to have apartment-bound seniors weed/tend public parks, as it threatened their jobs?  Or just watch now, as the city goes after the “thieves” who take empties from blue boxes and return them for their deposit.

Fervent nationalism is absolutely fucking crazy when deeply believed, but pretty damn fun when used in jest. That is what I have concluded after attending the Argentina vs. Canada under-20 football (soccer) friendly at the new Exhibition Place stadium on Friday. There were probably close to as many fans rooting for the Argentines as there were for the Canadians, and the fans at this game were awesomely dedicated, loud, drunk, and rowdy. I wouldn’t want it any other way, and cheering for Canada until I was completely hoarse was fun as fuck, but the reactions of Canadian fans to the Argentine cheering section were pretty interesting. A good many red and white supporters were truly angry that Canadian Argentines were supporting their homeland instead of their adopted home, and chants of “Where do you live?” from the Canadian side were loud and frequent. They were fucking serious, and it was a pathetic mix of racism and/or xenophobia. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re watching a sporting event you have to pick a side to cheer for, and heckling the opponent is as fun and funny as any activity. I would just prefer to leave the politics at home and stick to witty humour, which is why I preferred to help remind the Argentines that they’ll never take the Falklands.

Serious shit aside, this was one of the most fun evenings I’ve had in a while and if any of you can make it to the new stadium I highly recommend it. The place gets louder than the girls I sleep with, and the enthusiasm is incredible. Check it out if you can.

I don’t know how many people actually check this place with any regularity, but if you do/did, you probably noticed we went on a bit of a hiatus. I blame a killer exam schedule, being out of the country, and returning to 70+ hour workweeks. Alternatively, we may just be easily distracted bitches. Regardless, if anyone cares, we’re back.