Pining for Thunder

You know that stage, somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, where your mind wanders aimlessly, and things you may have forgotten about surface? I had a case of sorts of just this thing the other night. I was in bed, on the cusp of sleep, when my mind started to float back to my time in Thunder Bay. For those of you who don't know, I lived in Thunder Bay, in Northwestern Ontario, for almost a year (end of August, 2006 to the end of April, 2007), so if such a place seemed random, well, now you know that it really wasn't.

I'd say why my mind chose to reflect on Thunder Bay is beyond me, but that would be a lie. Though I really do not miss how cold the winter was up there, I do find myself having a deep desire to return. I don't have to live there (not unless the winters are a bit warmer), but I'd love to go back for a week or so to visit. I miss how crisp and fresh the air was, how starry the sky was at night, walking along the path beside the river behind the residence, and the overall beauty of the place. And the Hoito. Oh god, how I miss the Hoito.

Thunder Bay has itself a bit of a Finnish population, if I remember correctly, and the Hoito is a Finnish restaraunt. The Hoito is famous for its pancakes, and they're about to become better known, because when I was watching You Gotta Eat Here on Food Network last night, guess which place was featured? That's right. As if I wasn't missing Thunder Bay and the Hoito enough already. Should you find yourself up there, and want to know what the place looks like, here you go:

Open the doors, go down the stairs, and discover what food heaven really is.

There are other things about Thunder Bay that I miss, other than the Hoito. I had started off in Confederation College's flight program before being removed due to math and physics kicking my sorry arse. I'd generally have morning flights, and I must admit, the Sleeping Giant in Lake Superior really was a sight to behold first thing in the morning. Even after the sun had fully risen, it was still something to see.

The Sleeping Giant is the result of an Ojibway legend. On the left, you can see the giant's head, with his arms crossed over his chest, resting peacefully in the waters of Lake Superior. Instead of going into the details surrounding the legend, here's a link for Thunder Bay Tourism:

http://www.visitthunderbay.com/sleeping_giant/index.htm

I never had the chance to explore the Sleeping Giant when I lived in Thunder Bay, and that's another reason why I'd like to go back. I'd like to go explore all the things that I missed, and return to a few places of importance.

Whenever I'd look out my window in residence, walk along the river, or for that matter, walk along any sidewalk up there, I was always guaranteed to see Mount McKay. If I was missing home, taking a look at it would be like gazing upon the Hamilton Escarpment from the downtown.

  

Granted, I didn't always have a water view, but I think you get the point.

There are people in that city too who I would love to see again, especially a couple of former teachers of mine. Charlie Wilkins, a Canadian author, taught, "Storytelling as a Personal and Cultural Narrative". His class prompted me to take a "Native Literature in Canada" course for my degree. He was also the one who told me that if I wanted to make a living in life as a writer, I'd be more than capable as I have the skill. The other teacher I'd like to see again is Jacquie Cottingham. I had her for assertiveness training, psycology, and a student success class. Actually, I'd like to be able to thank her. In her assertiveness class, she taught us all the fine art of negotiation ("When you negotiate, everyone wins, whereas when you compromise, someone's left a loser."). I must admit, at 19 years old, I was thinking to myself, "when the hell am I ever going to use this?" When I went to the Dominican this past November, I managed to use the power of negotiation to get from two pieces of jewllery at $120, to four pieces to the tune of $40. I can just hear Jacquie now, telling me it was a good thing she taught me how to negotiate.

You know, when I started to write this, I thought that I'd maybe get the urge to go back to Thunder Bay out of my system. Now, I'm missing it even more. I guess that means I have to add, "return to Thunder Bay" to my "Things I'd Like to Do" list. Thankfully, there's WestJet...



Pictures compliments of Google Images.

Review: The Adventures of Tin Tin

This afternoon, I met up with a few friends at Yorkdale Mall, as one of them was back from school in Kansas visiting for a bit. It was decided that we would see the new Tin Tin movie. Once again, talk about taking me back to my childhood.

Steven Spielberg did the film, so with that knowledge alone, I figured Tin Tin would turn out well. Not only did it turn out well, but it was even better than I'd anticipated. If you're familiar with the original cartoon that used to be aired on Saturday mornings back in the nineties, then you'd probably notice, and be amused by, the subtle ties to the cartoon at the beginning of the film with a set of caracatures done by a street artist.

The side-story, at first, may seem insignificant, but once the main story gets going, you notice how important something seemingly small can become. Thomson and Thomson are on that case, and if you know what those two are like, you wonder how anything could be solved by them at all.

The best scene, hands down, was the story told by Captain Haddock. I won't give away what it was about, but I can say that Omar deemed the scene better than anything you'd find in the Pirates of the Carribean films. It was nothing short of amazing.

As always, Tin Tin, though he may be a reporter, is on the greatest adventures, is a Jack of All Trades, and always has a plan in his back pocket. Of course, where would Tin Tin be without Snowy, his trusty canine side-kick, who was also fabulous, as always.

I love how the movie ended with the ability to do a follow-up. I'd presume that there would be a second Tin Tin movie. After all, he's not your average explorer-detective. He's the one everyone wants to aspire to be. Presuming that there will be a sequel, I could only hope that it'd be like this one. It was fun, exciting, full of adventure, and reminded me of why I love Tin Tin. I highly recommened it. If you don't like it, well, that would be a travesty.

Tin Tin for the win!

Happy 2012!

Another year has passed us, and a new one's just beginning. We made it! May your 2012 be happy, healthy, and all that you hope it can be! Happy New Year!