by Lexine

The Toronto Trip, Pt. 4 – “Falling For Niagara”

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3 here

On November 1st, I ventured out to a region that only the locals knew and was mostly free from tourists. On November 2nd, I would venture out to one of the biggest tourist traps in Canada that everyone and their grandparents knew: Niagara Falls!

This was one of the places I HAD to go to if I were to visit Toronto. And I couldn’t have picked a better day to go: the weather was clear, and I needed some major eye bleach after the mess that was Game 7 of that World Series from yesterday. Photo dump time!

Fall colors blooming at a nearby park
View of the Rainbow International Bridge that connects Canada to the US.

I was a bit tempted to cross that bridge step into New York state for the first time. But with border crossing comes the modern-day Gestapo border patrol, and with the last name and skin tone I have, some of those officers may see me as a target.

Another images of the Falls
Fall colors by the Falls!

A friend of mine who had visited Niagara Falls told me to stay in the area past sunset, as the falls do a “light show” at night. She didn’t lie!

The Falls shortly after sunset (with a near full moon in the sky)
Another view of the Falls at night
Rainbow falls!
A rainbow and a moon

What my friend didn’t tell me about Niagara, however, was this gaudy but intriguing strip right by the falls: Clifton Hill.

One view of Clifton Hill
Another view of Clifton Hill
If the gift shops by the Falls doesn’t rob you of your money, the casinos by the falls will.
A catch-and-release find at a local souvenir shop.
The Sky Wheel, part of the fun attractions found at Clifton Hill
View of Clifton Hill and beyond, from atop the Sky Wheel

I guess if one gets bored by the falls, they can always escape to the flashy lights, the casinos, and the uber-large Ferris wheel found at Clifton Hill. Not pictured are the miniature golf course and the go-kart speedway. I was a bit tempted to go go-kart racing, but I drive a shit-ton (whether for work or play) to begin with, so I watched a race instead. All I took part of was the Sky Wheel, as you can see. $15 CAD (or around $11 USD) to ride five cycles on the wheel. 

A little pro-tip: if you’re going souvenir shopping at the Falls, do so at one of those discount gift shops at Clifton Hill instead. I saw some shot glasses at a gift shop by the Falls and they were at least $9 CAD. The glasses I bought at Clifton Hill were only $2-$3 CAD.  

Loved my time there! Another trip I can now cross off my bucket list.

I got one more part left to my Toronto trip. Stay tuned…

by Lexine

A Holiday/End Of Year Sale!

Happy Holidays! 🎄🎁🌟

Now through January 1, 2026, get a copy of my eBook The Playgirl for half-off its original sale price! Far cheaper than a tiny cup of Starbucks coffee, and a lot more ethical as you’re supporting an independent artist with no corporate ties at all! Did I mention my work is also 100% free of A.I.? And racists and transphobes need not bother with my book; they’ll hate the hero. *hint-hint*

This sale is exclusive to Smashwords–nowhere else!

Click here for your copy…

by Lexine

Royal December

Princess Diana by Patrick Demarchelier for US Harper’s Bazaar, December 1995

One thing I noticed while doing these throwback cover entries is that almost every cover star I’ve talked about remains relevant to this day. Even if Britney and Christina never release another new album, they’re still icons and we still talk about them one way or another. Celebrity in the 90s/early 2000s remains top-tier, and Diana remains the most famous face of the 90s, IMO. It’s pure coincidence that she gave an exclusive cover story to Bazaar, which, thirty years later, would get an exclusive cover story from her future daughter-in-law, who herself is also globally famous and has faced her share of media scrutiny. (Side note: the Dec. 2025 issue of Bazaar was the only cover this month that was fine. All the others looked rough as hell. The same can be said for the comments about Meghan’s cover, but that’s another rant for another day.) 

by Lexine

The Toronto Trip, Pt. 3 (Halloween, Apples, and Baseball)

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

One nice thing about my birthday trips is that I get to celebrate two consecutive holidays: my birthday and Halloween! While I expected a place like Toronto to be full of Halloween activities, there was one event I looked forward to: Halloween On Church. 

It sounded similar to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval (an event I’ve gone to in the past), which meant I HAD to go to this. It had also been years since I’ve had some actual Halloween fun. Last year, my Halloween plans in Vegas had to be dropped, but for a good reason. This year, I made up for it. 

I thought about posting this on my Bluesky the day before Halloween, hinting at what my costume would be this year. But I had also brought another costume with me and mulled over which look to choose. In the end, Lily from Duolingo won. 

I had a purple wig, some purple clothes, a Duo plushie (albeit an imperfect one), and I nailed down her unamused look (though you can’t tell, I know). I also had four people compliment my costume, which I’ll take as a win because I rarely get compliments over my costumes! 

Now, for some really great costumes I saw at the event…

Someone dressed as mutant tic-tacs.
Another Tic-Tac costume!
A Borat sighting!
These masked party-goers
A guy in a blond wig holding a cutout sign that says “Coldplay Kiss Cam”
Doodlebob sighting!
The Smurfs
It’s Britney, bitch!
A fascist bitch
Dinosaurs roaming Toronto
Two cows and a pink shark
This person covered in crows…I think there’s a film reference to this?

However, Marge Simpson here wins it for the night!

This still has me in stitches. 

A barbershop/salon called Ho’s Place
A snippet of the crowd (it was HUGE!)
A damsel on the balcony

Though smaller than WeHo’s Halloween Carnaval (which encompasses one mile of Santa Monica Blvd compared to, oh, the half-mile party on Church Street), HoC gives WeHo competition with its eccentric costumes, festive atmosphere, and it being in Canada where (for the time being) people don’t have to worry about their human rights being violated or the costs of their health insurance. (I low-keyed envied all the locals because of those things!) 

The costumes weren’t the only things I had my eye on that day, however…

Continue reading →

by Lexine

The Toronto Trip, Pt 2 (The Birthday)

Part 1 here

As it has been every time I went on vacation, I post about it weeks after I finished my travels. Not the first time I’ve been late. Time for a photo dump of the day I turned 41, complete with my typical babble.

It had to rain on my party! Though it was cloudy when I took these pics from my rental condo, it would rain later in the day and into the night. Couple heavy rain with temps no hotter than the mid-40s (or at 7 Celsius since we’re in Canada) and you got me noping out on going out entire day. Which…actually worked fine for me. I have a birthday tradition where I choose not to go anywhere, whether I’m at home or on vacation. Last thing I want on my born day is for it to be ruined by stuff out of my control (traffic, people being pricks, etc.); at least when I stay home, most of the time, I can control my environment.

There’s no better food to have on a rainy day than sweets! Sugar-free sweets, in my case. What you see in the pics came from a sugar-free/Keto bakery called Yoona’s Kitchen in north Toronto. You may find this hard to believe, but this is the first birthday cake I’ve had since going low-carb. Cake is still something I’ve yet to bake, so I allowed them to bake it, complete with the Happy Birthday message (and my real name, which is why I had to censor that out). It’s carrot cake (my favorite cake flavor of them all), and it was muy delicioso! Those other sweets you see also came from Yoona’s. No, I didn’t eat them all that day. My favorite among them were the mini turtle cheesecake and nutella cupcake (the two sweets on the bottom right corner in the first pic).

My other birthday tradition that I started last year is watching birthday episodes of my favorite shows.

The End Credits version of Lisa’s birthday song with that sax solo still slaps to this day!

My birthday was the last full day at my lakeshore condo rental, and I made sure I enjoyed the rest of the amenities before I had to check out the next day.

If every birthday would involve staying home, admiring lovely city & lake views from my home, eating all the sweets I want & watching my favorite shows, and then have some pool-and-hot-tub time at night, that would be ideal!

I originally intended to post my Halloween here, but that will be in the next installment. Part 3 coming soon!

by Lexine

My Birthday Trip So Far

One of my long-time birthday traditions is staying home on my born day, whether I’m at home or vacationing somewhere. It’s currently showering here in Toronto *sobs*, and going out in the rain always blows, so it’s probably a good time to recap my birthday trip so far before I go back on the road tomorrow.

View of South San Francisco from my BART ride to SFO

View of San Francisco and Marin County from my plane ascending.

View of Lake Tahoe from my plane.

I don’t go fly that often, and I found myself looking out from my window seat during most of my plane ride instead of watching movies via the in-flight entertainment. I also finished up a chapter of my latest work-in-progress after stalling on it for days.

A sunset view from when the flight crossed the Canadian border. 

Touching down in Toronto!

Coming from Trumpistan, this was a welcome sight to see. 

Had a steak and poutine (omg carbs!) dinner at a place called Jack’s, courtesy of my auntie who picked me up from the airport. I’ve always wanted to try true poutine, and you may find this hard to believe, but I didn’t finish all that in one sitting. The steak stuffed me up.

Continue reading →

by Lexine

Forty-One

Hi, I’m Lexine, and I turn 41 today. Feeling fab (despite Toronto weather raining on my born day) and I know I look good. No filler (why bother) but I got some sugar-free birthday sweets (courtesy of Yoona’s Kitchen)! It’s also the first time having a low-carb birthday cake (I’ve yet to make one for myself), and it’s tastyyyyyy. 😋 (It’s also partially censored because my real name is on it.) 

And just like last year, I’m still not yet ready to show the rest of my face! 😜

by Lexine

Happy National Coming Out Day!

I originally saw this prose on Tumblr years ago, and despite it being so good, I have no idea why I didn’t bookmark or download/screenshot the text. It’s a good thing I was able to find it again, although I found it on one of the cesspits of social media. And while its message is 13 years old, it also remains relevant.

Also, it’s been 19 years since I came out as Bi. No social media posts, no party, not even another person in the room when, in the summer of 2006, I fully came to terms with who I was then (and still am). Not everyone who knows me in real life knows that I’m Bi, but that’s OK. That’s what Coming Out Day is all about: come out if/when you’re truly ready.