Brunch with Anne-Marie and Bonita

My Eggs Florentine.

I finally met up with Anne-Marie and Bonita, my floor mates in my condo. Bonita lives in the unit next door; Anne-Marie, two units down. I believe Bonita was one of the first people to move into the building besides me. Anne-Marie moved in about five years ago at least.

I knew Anne-Marie from our days at George Brown College. We were in the same Graphic Design class. After we graduated we lost touch (like most of the people from my class).

A few years ago the elderly gentleman who owned her unit (whom she and her parents actually know) moved out. I believe he was the priest at their church or something like that.

Anyway, the person who moved in had the same name as my college classmate. I noticed this one day after walking by the unit and seeing her name on the newspaper in front of the door. So I left a note at the door asking if she, indeed, was who I thought she was and, lo and behold, she was.

The next two or three years were punctuated by brief meetings in the hall or lobby. We kept saying we would get together for a drink, but never did.

That was until I bumped into both Bonita and Anne-Marie chatting in the hall around month or two ago. It was then we set a firm date to meet.

As it turns out, Bonita, is Anne-Marie's high school classmate. Small world, isn't it? Next door to Anne-Marie is her high school classmate and two doors down her college classmate. All in a row. This wasn't new news. Anne-Marie had mentioned it to me previously.

We met for brunch at 1:00 p.m. I requested that time because I wanted to make it to church on Sunday. I went down with my parents and took the subway back up.

We hadn't made any plans on where to go to eat. I suggested all-you-can-eat sushi at Echo. Anne-Marie doesn't like raw stuff (or is it Japanese food?) and Bonita thought it was too early for all-you-can-eat. We considered Sunset Grill on Yonge, but they don't have windows in there, Bonita said.

Bonita suggested a couple of places. We ended up choosing The Homeway on Mount Pleasant and Erskine. It's a small family-run restaurant that's been open since 1948.

It was fairly busy when we arrived. There was a short wait to get in. We noticed free tables on the patio, but we were warned that there were wasps outside. So we decided to wait for one of the tables inside. That turned out to be a wise decision. The wasps outside were terrible. One brave (or foolish?) couple outside had an awful time fending them off.

After we were seated the waitress took our order. The girls both had orange juice. I had a coffee and so did Bonita. I don't know what she ordered to eat. Maybe it was eggs and something. Anne-Marie had the steak and eggs. I ordered the "Fabulous Florentine" - 2 large poached eggs on a bed of baby spinach and fried tomatoes, atop a toasted English muffin smothered with homemade hollandaise sauce, baked porky beans or home fries. It was very good.

We had a nice conversation over brunch. We talked about what we did for work and what we thought about living in the neighbourhood among other things. I think both of them have a Catholic background. Maybe they went to Catholic schools. Bonita is a high school guidance councillor. I think Anne-Marie is a "runner" at CBC downtown.

After lunch we strolled across Erskine to Yonge. It was a lovely day out. Bonita headed off to do something when we reached Yonge. I can't remember what. Anne-Marie and I walked back home.

I'm happy we finally got a chance to meet up.

*No photo of the girls. Bonita was camera shy.

Michael's Birthday Dinner

Amber's Photo.

My friend Michael invited me out to his birthday dinner on Friday. I know him through my other friend, Rob. They all work together at Nadurra an eco-friendly, hardwood flooring company near Yorkdale Mall.

Michael had e-mailed me earlier in the week telling me about the dinner. It was going to be at Churrasco Villa, a Portuguese restaurant located on Eglinton, near Mount Pleasant. Only a few blocks from where I live. He said they were going to meet there between 5-6:00 p.m., but he'd get back to me to confirm the exact time.

When Friday rolled around I still hadn't heard back from him. No problem, I thought. I only live about 5 minutes from the restaurant. I didn't think they'd be able to get there that early coming from work and having to worry about traffic and parking. 5:00 p.m. rolled around and still no word.

At 6:00 I sent Michael a text and told him to let me know when they arrived at the restaurant. A short time later he replied saying they arrived at the restaurant at 5:00. Hm. I walked over quickly.

Everyone had already ordered their food sometime between 5:30 and 5:45. When I got there they had just been served. I glanced through the menu, but instead, to be quick, asked for suggestions. Brian said, the fire-grilled chicken was good. So I ordered the double-leg with seasonal vegetables and rice pilaf.

The waiter brought my dinner less than five minutes later (I'm estimating). I believe he put my order in ahead of the queue so I could join the others at my table who were already eating. That was nice of him.

It was good seeing everyone again. I don't go in as often to help at Nadurra. Normally I go in and help with labeling samples at the office. And, sometimes, they ask me to help set up or tear down at trade shows. I think they're trying to cut down on costs now. That's alright. I'd rather have my Fridays off to tell you the truth.

I got the chance to see Sandro again. He left the company a few months to a year after I had first started going in. I thought he was a really nice guy. Brian, Ian and Samantha were also there along with Ian's wife and daughter and Michael's friend, Gary, and Michael's wife, Amber. Sandro brought his young son, Luka (sp?) too.

After dinner Michael, Gary and I hung out a bit longer. We grabbed beverages at the nearby Timmies and headed over to the new Minto condos on Yonge. They have a courtyard with outdoor seating. Since it was nice out we decided to take advantage of that instead of sitting inside.

We hung out there for an hour or so and talked about a variety of things from the condition of Gary's father who is in hospital to Shin Dong-hyuk, the Korean man who escaped notorious Camp 14 in North Korea.

It was nice hanging out with the guys. I'm happy I made it out. Even if they almost forgot about me at the beginning of the night.