June 28th, 2011

Away for a Little While

Just wanted to give you a heads up that Rose-coloured is going on vacation for two weeks…or a little less. I suspect I’ll be eager to get back to the blogosphere. In the meantime, here are some nice links to help you fill the deep dark void where reading my natterings usually goes:

The Good News Toronto is a newspaper about good people doing good things here in Toronto. I saw a writing contest they are running on places for writers and thought, “Toronto has a good news newspaper? Why don’t I know about this? …I bet it’s probably religious.” Not that there is anything wrong with a religious newspaper, it’s just not for me!

Anyway, as far as I can tell, The Good News Toronto folks are a secular and cheerful bunch and I think this paper might be a good thing to start my day with–so encouraging! (FYI, here’s the thing I had it confused with, The Good News Bible) I’m rose-coloured by nature and a Toronto-resident by choice, and I love the city I chose. It’s nice to read about others who love it too, and are working to make it better.

Anyway, I’m not eligible to enter the contest, as it turns out, but maybe you are? Also, here’s a fun Toronto story, because it is vaguely appropriate to add one here:

Yesterday, I was on an elevator when a young Asian couple got on with a) a baby in a buggy, b) a large bulldog on a leash, and c) the woman in the couple talking on a cell. I did not pay any attention to the cell-phone conversation, because I was focussed on petting the dog (the guy said it was ok). When she ended the call, though, I realized the man and woman were talking to each other in heavily accented English. I wondered why, then realized that their accents were *different* and just because they were both Asian didn’t mean they were from the same place. Then she said that apparently, the husband of the friend they were calling hadn’t been able to talk to her because he didn’t speak English–an immigrant from a third place, married to a friend of two other immigrants. This is terribly Toronto to me, and very cool. Also, both baby and dog were adorable.

Ok, another link for you is to The Bloggess, a snarky woman journalist somewhere in the states who is really really funny. She’s also a loving mom who writes a mom column for the Houston Chronicle, so though it’s less straight-ahead sweet than the last link, this is still not a grouch-inducing sort of funny.

I have no idea why I think you need to read only cheerful things while I’m off, but apparently that’s all I can provide for you today. If you want serious/existential/grim links, you’re going to have to provide them for yourself.

Upon my return, I will give 30 points to the first person to identify the little-known but much-beloved (well, at my house) sitcom character who is quoted in the title of this post. Hint: the other catchphrase this character used to say is, “…but I’m feeling *much* better now.”