Things didn’t start off so well. Our flight left at 5 in the morning Christmas day so we both decided not to sleep. I also decided to empty out the fridge to eliminate spoilage. I didn’t want to throw out the food so I tried to eat as much as I could. There was a time in my childhood where there was a direct correlation between flying and vomit for me. I think my decisions prior to the flight tempted all that history back up again (literally). So the first day in Toronto I lay low, drinking water and chewing on plain rice.

Second day was boxing day. We went to College and Spadina, otherwise known as geeksville. Tipu bought a new processor, RAM and a motherboard. He took his sweet sweet time doing it too. He literally entered the same stores up to five times to make sure he was getting the best products and deals. I was so agitated I then and there changed our previously adhered to agreement to do as much as we could together. Below is a picture of Tipu in geeksville. Boy in candy shop.

In order to appease me Tipu took me to Kensington Market. The food there is amazing and cheap. I had a Jamaican double sold by Chinese for $1.25 and a bottled water for $1. I also had a Mexican chicken Epanada for $3. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier. Kensingston Market also has clothing and furniture but I found it quite difficult to find anything there I liked within my budget. The stores are either pretty crappy or expensive. Very little in between. I liked the Blue Banana. I didn’t get a chance to experience the Bungalow. Below is a picture of me happy and eating in Kensington Market.

On the 27th I did groceries and made lasagna for our hosts. I loved how everything was in walking distance. I also enjoyed how mild the climate was. We were staying with friends who live past Kipling station the entire time we were there. That evening we visited Dzenana and family. We had a lovely evening. Lovely enough to miss the last bus back to our friends’ place.

From the 28th to the 30th we attended a Muslim conference entitled “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” that was held at the Convention Center near Union Station. This was the first such conference for Tipu and I. Overall it was a good experience. It was breathtaking to be in a room full of ten thousand Muslims who were just trying their best to figure out life. Some key speakers were not able to make it last minute but I didn’t really mind. The schedule for the conference had been pretty demanding. The last presentation usually ended at 11pm and by the time we got back to our friends’ place it was around 1am. Morning lectures started at 9am but we didn’t even try to catch those. We were usually present at the conference around noonish. The best lectures were late in the day so it suited us. It was a good first conference for us. Below are some pictures.

New Year’s Eve and Day we just chilled out at our friend’s house. We ordered food, went out for food, made food and just hung out. Our flight back to Winnipeg was scheduled to arrive around midnight but instead we arrived around 3am. My poor Tipu had work the next day. What a trooper.