No traffic during the weekends. I can always excuse traffic on weekdays, but ON A WEEKEND? Oakville could never.
The best trail system in the GTA. Such a great combination of lakefront trails, suburban greenway trails, and deep river valleys. It’s so underrated that these gems exist in the GTA, and Oakville is the only suburb that preserved most of them. 200+ kilometers of trails. Probably the main reason I would live here.
Downtowns with character (Oakville, Bronte)
Frequent GO Train service to Downtown Toronto
Close to Hamilton and Buffalo
Lake Ontario is actually very underrated. It’s a great place to enjoy the water and hang out.
Restaurants are decent (for most cuisines)… and for any other cuisine it’s not even far from the rest of the GTA.
It’s actually QUIET for a suburb. Children actually play on the street, and it’s full of suburban amenities you would like for a young family.
Oakville has loads of cool people š
This isn’t actually a pro but there’s no proper mall in Halton Region? Mapleview is the closest to one but it’s also terrible. Square One is close enough so it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve always had a very contentious relationship with Pride Month. While I am aware of the history, and the sweat, blood, and tears people have put in to advocate for gay rights, it never really felt like my battle. I’m a openly bisexual person to many of my peers, but it never really felt like a battle I ever had to face.
One time my dad asked me what country this flag represented
Unlike a lot of “coming out” stories you hear about, I’ve never really felt different sexually. If I had to label it, I would say my life so far as been one big, rolling ball of anxiety of other issues and struggles that came before my sexuality. I never really gave it a thought, and I honestly don’t even think I can tell you when I even came out. Sure, I’ve had my struggles with my sexuality at times (parental expectations and the need to feel “normal”), but compared to other problems, it seemed like a blip in the road.
I can be honest and say that I’ve never really seen a need to “come out”, but ultimately that’s a privileged take that I can hold with my own life. Not every “coming out” story blossoms as beautifully as mine has so far, and that’s a challenge we will continue to face in the world. Although my sexuality may be mine, my struggles are not. As I continue to experience life on this earth, experiencing the setbacks I put myself in, I’m realizing the limits of my own sexuality.
In a couple of words, I don’t even feel like I am out. I’ve minimized my sexuality to such a small block of myself that it no longer forms a part of my already repressed personality. Every time I have to “come out” (because as I’ve learned, you never just come out once), I get this sense of overwhelming hesitation to come out. Because, maybe for myself, I haven’t even really had the time to accept this over-encompassing part of my life.
Not even getting into “bisexual erasure”, but I think it’s time to really take the time to learn about my sexuality. I’ve never even kissed a dude yet, so maybe there? (JK). This year, I’m gonna take the time to live for myself, and Pride Month is a good reminder that this is a privilege I get in life. Thank you, and I hope y’all can support me on my journey.
I have a really complicated, on and off relationship with my adopted hometown, Toronto. In many ways, I think it’s a really great city ā Toronto Summer is the epitome of life. I totally agree with the theory that Torontonians try to shove a year’s worth of cultural relevance in the three months that compose of summer. However, Toronto sucks for so many reasons ā the cost of living crisis, kinda long winters, and for some reason related to climate change, a lack of sunlight. However, while I still live here, I’m determined to make the best of my time here. Here’s a list of things I will be doing this summer to make the most of a great Toronto summer:
Visit a Toronto Museum that I’ve never been to
Any sporting event I’ve never been to
Raptors
Argonauts
Toronto FC
Maple Leafs
Comedy Show at The Second City
A theater production at Mirvish
A good street festival (Do West Fest, Salsa on St. Clair, Caribana)
Kayaking
Ontario Day Trip to a small town or hiking destination
Canadian Opera Company performance
A trip to Montreal
Let me know if I should add anything to my list, or if you’d like to join me! All feet and hands welcome.
One thing that I am grateful for this May is a truly beautiful park day.
Every once in a while, I like to take some time out of my day and do two things:
Take a long walk in a park ā people watching, enjoying the sunshine, taking in the kids playing in the playground, the runners, bikers.
Sit down on a park bench with a good book and a beverage
I’ve found over the years, that there’s a good amount of great places in the city to just enjoy the space, and enjoy what the city has to offer. Taking a great book and just reading while other people enjoy the space is a true blessing on a warm summer day.
I often take for granted how accessible and easy it is to just enjoy the outdoors ā most often a free, third space. If you’re reading this, take some time to enjoy a great park day! Seven minutes or five hours, it’s still a great way to ensure that you’re feeling connected to the land. Take up some space, and enjoy some shade.
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Honey graham crackers, toasted sugar bits, and milk chocolate tumble in vanilla ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Probably one of my favorite flavors, the vanilla greek yogurt provides such a great base for the toasted sugar bits and graham crumbles to meld together, creating a delectable combination! Out of all the regular flavors, I reach for this one the most. Would buy again.
Dark chocolate, honey roasted salted almonds, and coconut shavings tumble in coconut ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Totally edible, but the coconut flavored yogurt kinda threw me off. Also just not a fan of coconut and almonds together, didn’t know what I was expecting. Would NOT buy again.
White chocolate chunks and graham cracker crumbles tumble in key lime ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
This is S’more S’mores’ more tangy and fruity cousin. The key lime yogurt provides a great tart base for the graham cracker crumbles, and the white chocolate bits provide that bit of sweetness to balance it all out. Love it and it’s in my regular purchasing rotation. Would buy again.
Chocolate cookies and creamy icing pieces tumble in vanilla ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Kind of basic, but also kinda lovely? It’s just crushed cookie crumbles in yogurt, so kinda easily replicable without the need to purchase these convenient packs. I like it, would buy again, but only if needed.
Peanut butter cups, milk chocolate chips, and peanut butter clusters tumble in chocolate peanut butter ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Three words: dark chocolate yogurt. Gross. Ruins everything, would not buy again. The rest was fine but way too decadent with all the chocolate and sugar on top. The cold chocolate bits were just OK.
Graham cookies, creamy frosting chunks, and coated rice crisps tumble in strawberry ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
This is actually pretty good! The strawberry yogurt is great, the frosting chunks and graham crackers actually help replicate the feeling of a strawberry cheesecake. All together works pretty well, but I think it could actually use a hint of tartness to pull it all together.
Cookie dough pieces, cookie rice crisps, and milk chocolate chips tumble in vanilla ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
In my top three flavors, the cookie dough pieces ARE SO GOOD! It doesn’t really meld together with the yogurt but it’s very addictive. It has a bit of a salty crunch to it, and with a hint of tartness it’s a flavor that actually works very well. 100% will buy again since it comes in that combination pack with the S’more S’mores.
Oatmeal pastry pieces and frosted cinnamon crunch tumble in peach ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
I really like this flavor! It does in fact taste like a Peach Cobbler. The oatmeal pieces work really well in creating that cobbler like taste, but I would say that it work taste even better with some fresh peach bits in it, but they probably don’t add that in due to shelf life issues. Overall, a solid hit ā nothing too exciting, but still very good.
Dark chocolate, chocolate cookies, and coated rice crisps tumble in mint ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Mint greek yogurt isn’t good at all. The toppings do not help with this particular issue, and in fact I think they might actually make it worse. Would not buy again.
Red cake crunch, creamy frosting chunks, and chocolate cookies tumble in cream cheese frosting ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
It’s basically like the Cookies and Cream flavor, but with a hint of tartness coming from the cream cheese flavored yogurt. Overall, I wouldn’t get this one again because it’s pretty basic, but I would not be opposed to buying it again.
Flaky pastry crumble, icing pieces, and sweet lemon clusters tumble in tart lemon ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
I just like lemon flavored items, so I have strong biases towards this particular flavor. Love lemon yogurt and the clusters are so dreamy. Would buy again but can live without it, because Key Lime Pie is still the superior citrus flavor.
Strawberry Lowfat Greek Yogurt with brownie pieces, white chocolate chips, and cocoa swirl chunks.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry is a secret killer ā I’d say it’s pretty similar to the Cookie Dough flavor. The brownie pieces are similar to the cookie dough chunks, and the combo works pretty well. I will repurchase because I like that textural mix (the lack of mix).
Cake bites, frosted rice crisps, and pastry pieces tumble together in birthday cake flavored ChobaniĀ® Greek Yogurt.
Honestly, I was a bit confused on this one. On paper, it does sound very texturally interesting ā rice squares and cake bits. However, it tastes more like if you blended a vanilla cake with yogurt, so I would say the flavor is similar. Nothing offensive in flavor, just kind of boring at the end of the day, so I wouldn’t get it again.
6/10
Flavors I did not try on the regular rotation
Salted Caramel Crunch
Peanut Butter Dream
Chocolate Haze Craze
Boston Cream Pie
Coconut Caramel Cookie
Cinnamon French Toast
My Overall Thoughts
Overall, I tend to gravitate towards flavors that have a lot of “crumbly” pieces (graham crackers), or large chunks that don’t incorporate into the yogurt at all (cake pieces, brownie bits, cookie dough bits). More fruity flavored yogurts work best (no chocolate, please!), and the chocolatey flavors need to be balanced out with cream. Overall, if I had to pick one flavor to eat for the rest of my life, I would say Cookie Dough is the overall winner. I ranked other flavors higher, but this is a solid flavor that I don’t think I’ll ever be bored with.
