I did get a fair bit done today, though there were many small frustrations along the way. I did make it over to Abbozzo Gallery and looked at a few prints. I was very tempted by this dragon, and its compact size means I could hang it a few places, including in my home office.
But I think I would eventually exhaust its mysteries. This one really grabs me much more, though trying to figure out where it would hang is a major dilemma.
Anyway, I then reversed direction and made it over to the Regent Park pool by about 11:20. I really needed to leave by 12:25 or so to make it up to the Botanical Gardens. I managed to get 19 1/2 laps in before nearly running into a guy doing an extremely slow backstroke in the medium lanes, and I got so frustrated I left. I find the actual swimming at Regent Park to be really frustrating (compared to Matty Eckler), and it is completely hit or miss if the spa pool is open (far more often it is not open), so I may have to switch back to Matty Eckler on a more regular basis.
The streetcar finally showed up, and I made a pit stop at Dundas and Yonge. I actually grabbed lunch as well, which I hadn't planned to do. I did make it up to the Botanical Gardens with about 20 minutes to spare. That was the last time the TTC really worked for me. The concert was nice, but it ran long, which made me extremely anxious, and I ultimately left towards the end. Still, this wasn't nearly as bad an experience as the time I tried to bike up to the Botanical Gardens and the refusal to actually put signs on the paths led me astray in the park and I took the wrong turn, which made me quite late -- and extremely pissed off. (Getting back was no picnic either.) So I do think it's time to just stop going to these concerts in the gardens.
I should have made it back to Carlton Cinema in time but the 54 bus was bunched horribly. Two went past (in a pair) right as I got to the street, and then there wasn't a bus for close to 10 minutes. (Quite frankly, the bus drivers know that driving like this is a complete disservice to the public, so I can only conclude they are just assholes.) It didn't help that the TTC has redone all the bus stop info with a small sign saying that until the Eglinton Crosstown opens, ignore the current markings and assume previous bus routes are in place. This doesn't actually help anyone who is new to the system. Normally, this wouldn't matter too much, but the 54 makes a turn off Lawrence to Leslie, and it is completely unclear whether it makes the stop after the turn or not. Certainly those two drivers that flew past didn't seem inclined to stop at that particular stop to pick up any passengers. So I walked over to Lawrence, and once again there was no marking at the stop to say which bus would actually stop there, and there were no 54s anyway. Finally, a 162 came along. Now this is a very interesting route that winds its way through a lot of mansions in the Bridle Path. I'm glad I saw them, but not on this particular day! But I still should have made it in time. Famous last words. Once you get to the Lawrence (East) TTC station, they have closed all the entrances at Lawrence, and you have to walk two blocks to the northern entrance, but the buses don't divert up that way.* Unbelievably shitty customer service (and the signage just rubs it in even more). I missed at least one and probably two trains because of this, and then the slow zones kicked in and we just crawled from Eglinton to Davisville and then Summerville. It was clear I was going to be 5 minutes too late for the start of the film (even taking trailers into account!), so I went home instead, feeling completely pissed off. The TTC lets me down so many times, and I resent being stuck on it during the winter. This wasn't even a shutdown or police activity causing havok but the general shittiness of their service and utter lack of communication and concern about the traveling public.
Now I can probably see the movie I wanted to see (A Traveler's Needs, which I got shafted out of seeing at TIFF) on Wed., and then stick around and watch Blade Runner, but it still totally messed up my day. I did manage to finish Taking Care. Many themes from The Quick and the Dead show up in these stories, and indeed one of the characters (a bit of a rustic simpleton that seems to have wandered in from Deliverance) in the story "Woods" uses the quote the quick and the dead, which is from the New Testament. My favorite story was "Train," but I liked several of them, if they didn't erupt into gothic violence. I have about 100 pages still to go with Maqroll and might wrap this up tomorrow. I have put a hold on Ginzburg's Family Lexicon, so will probably read this fairly soon. I think in the meantime I will read Nova's The Informer and Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods (which is likely a rereading so it may go a bit faster). I may then switch over to another towering stack and read Animal Dreams, Cool Water and Russo's Empire Falls. This will likely take me into Feb., and at that point I may pick a few more books off this list.
I can kind of tell that I am going to have a tough day tomorrow as well. I was expecting Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf to run about 3 hours, which means it would end at 5, but now they are saying it is closer to 3.5 hours, which is frankly ridiculous. Anyway, I need to run over to Union immediately after the play and catch the Kitchener Line over to Bloor. There is a 5:50 Kitchener train I should be able to take. It should have been easy to make this connection, and now I am not at all sure I can make it. I am supposed to see La Dolce Vita at the Revue at 6:45. I will have time to make it and grab a slice of pizza or something fast, but only if I make this train or the 6:00 UP Express. I guess there is no point panicking just yet, but I am not pleased that the production run time keeps creeping up.
I guess that's enough grumbling for one night.
* Don't get me started on how absurd it is that the Museum stop only lets people off in Queens Park, which is a solid 10 or even 15 minute walk to the ROM, and it will be probably two years before they reopen the entrance closer to the actual museums (and the music department building).
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