This past Monday was Blue Monday, the most depressing-est day of the year. The mid-winter blah-day, the point in winter when even those without seasonal affective disorder start to feel the weight of the long winter.

When we're young, we fantasize about our futures. The younger we are, the fewer constraints we place on the potential of the Universe, and ourselves.

Docking my Bixi at the corner of St. Laurent and St. Catherine, I weave through the shiny new CIBL radio station and dodge the long line outside Club Soda. The air smells faintly of grilled meat and poutine from Pool Hall, and I jaywalk across the street toward the door of Café Cléopâtre.

Concepts come before the words for them are invented. Whether it's a new idea or a naturally occurring pattern freshly noticed, at first we find ourselves in the midst of klutzy explanations, wordy choruses of “it's kind of like…you know?”, with varying levels of hand gestures.

Hung with glowing neon spider webs and pink lighting bolts, Coup D’État sits patiently on the corner of Clark and Marie-Anne, waiting for clients and walk-ins.

“We're leaving hesitation in 2024,” Andrew told me by phone the other night. He was hyped, pumping me up to face the new year with my shoulders back, and my boots laced tight.

It's Christmas day, y’all! It's weird that as a society we only celebrate Christian holidays on a grand scale, so if you feel left out, I wish you whatever joys and feasts you prefer.

Trained in the culinary arts, Fiona brings a passion for fresh, local flavors to every dish. Her childhood in Ukraine and China sparked a lifelong fascination with diverse culinary traditions, which she now weaves together with a focus on foraged ingredients and the magic of fermentation.

Today is my birthday (hold your applause). While I do love me another trip around the sun (and I thank Everything for it), birthdays this time of year are weird. It's hard to throw any kind of party a week before Jesus throws his.

There’s free popcorn on a table to the right, and interviews for Letterbox are being held in the hallway. Giggling students crouch over the microphone and compare notes…