It's somewhat odd that the past two Mondays have been so dreadful, weather-wise. Two weeks ago, it was starting to rain and the temperature was dropping. In addition, there was a massive snarl up on GO Rail (due to a strike at Union Station!) and the TTC was having a melt down as well. Fortunately, I had biked in but wasn't sure whether I would bike home or not. I decided to risk it, but got pretty wet. Then the last 10 minutes or so it started snowing! I was so disheartened. I was supposed to go swimming or maybe to the gym, but in the end I could only drag myself out to buy some snacks, and then I went back home.
Last week, I had planned to just bike in and leave the bike and come back for it Tuesday. But then the weather looked like the rain was going to hold off for another hour and be a gradual rain, so I risked it. I was only a few blocks from the office when it just started pouring. I got completely soaked, and what made it exceptionally bad was the rain was so heavy it got into my bike bag and damaged the corner of Arlt's The Flamethrowers, which indeed I only had with me in the first place as I thought I was taking the TTC home! I was simply in no mood to go swimming after that! It definitely didn't help that if I had waited another 40 minutes, the rain had calmed down to a Vancouver drizzle. I mostly just sulked the rest of the night.
Those were probably the two low points, though I certainly didn't enjoy doing taxes as they were extremely complicated and I owed the US quite a bit. I was able to use this to largely offset my Canadian taxes, however, and according to my figures the CRA owes me this year. Now I am quite sure I'll be audited, as I am every year. Anyway, I found out too late that I didn't fill in Schedule 2 for the IRS, not that this would have changed anything, but I'll see if they ask me to send it in. I fortunately caught my Canadian return before I mailed it without Schedule 7, as that would have caused a lot of complications. Anyway, tax season is over for me.
One other bummer is that one of my credit cards seems to be on the blink. I guess if you use it too much, the chip can actually wear out! Anyway, I've got a replacement being sent, but it's still annoying.
I was able to drop my bike off for repairs after the parts finally came in, but I had to hustle to make it in time, and I had no idea that Broadview was such an uphill obstacle course. It took a long time for me to catch my breath and not feel like I was having a panic attack...
I've actually been out and about a fair bit. Two weeks ago I saw a play* at Assembly Theatre and then Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba at Buddies in Bad Times. Buddies was still doing the contract tracing program on top of vaccine passport, and unfortunately the staff were very inefficient, so that was a drag. The play itself has tragic moments, but I just don't think it counts as a classic tragedy, as the central character's flaws don't bring her down and indeed her iron grip on her household is just as tight at the end as it was in the beginning.
On Friday, I saw a great jazz show. Joshua Redman came through with Christian McBride and Brian Blade! Brad Mehldau was supposed to be there but was sick. They found a very good replacement though: Gerald Clayton. I've seen Redman two or three other times, including in Toronto just as he was beginning to break. I've probably seen Christian McBride before but don't have any proof. I do remember I thought the ticket price was too high to see him play at the Toronto Jazz Fest in a covered tent at City Hall so I passed. Probably I should have gone. This was the same night that Bruce Cockburn was playing Massey, and I do wish that one of these shows had been moved by a few days. Oh well.
That Sunday I took my son to the TSO where they were doing an all-Russian program! Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by Jan Lisiecki, followed by Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. It was very well done.
I didn't have nearly as much planned for this week, though I did switch a TSO concert from Thurs. to Wed. so I could see the early pre-concert concert. They did Martinu's Revue du Cuisine, which was quite interesting (in my mind more satisfying than Martinu's The Rock, which was on the main stage). I was mostly there to see Dvorak's New World Symphony, which I've seen many times and generally try not to miss when it is playing.
Anyway, somewhat at the last minute, I decided to go see a jazz set at Crow's Theatre. Since there wasn't a show running at the theatre, they moved the time up to 9, though I think I would have preferred 8:30. I read through one report during the first set, and then I stuck around for the 2nd set. This decision was made easier because the band took a very, very short break. During the 2nd set, I reread pages from my workplace comedy and eventually added another 2-3 pages. I don't really have an outlet now that SFYS folded, but I should try to keep writing anyway. I then went to the gym afterward! I didn't get home under 1 am. That is definitely the last I've worked out, though sometimes I start pretty early.
Sat. also at the last minute I decided to go see the Toronto Youth Orchestra because they were doing Prokofiev Symphony 5 (and the tickets were cheap). I tried to convince my son to come, but he had too much homework. I was also able to swing by a few art galleries: Bau-Xi and some tucked away in 401 Richmond. The main downside was that someone stole my bike light while I was at the concert. Grrr. People suck.
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| Christine Dewancker, Material Flow, 2022 |
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| Suzanne Morrissette, granny, 2022 |
It was raining today, but I decided to bike over to Beach Cinema, as it is so close. I ended up seeing The Lost City, which was pretty amusing. It felt almost like a remake of Romancing the Stone.
Now I had planned on getting out to Hamilton today, but the strike is really disrupting GO Bus service, and it is very unclear if buses are going to run, or you have to get out to Port Credit first. I find the whole situation upsetting, and I can't believe that Metrolinx doesn't seem to have a strategy in place to deal with this. Even getting a court injunction saying that the strikers cannot block the bus terminal would be some kind of action. Anyway, the exhibit I wanted to see at AGH has been extended through mid-August, so I should be able to figure out another time to go, hopefully after the strike has been settled or the strikers tossed in jail, whichever comes first. And while it wasn't my major consideration, the Toronto marathon would also have messed up the buses, so it was just as well that I avoided downtown.
It's looking like a fair bit of rain in the forecast for this week, so that's not such a great start to the week, but I guess we'll see.
* I guess I shouldn't be too shocked, but I saw two actors I know reasonably well in two different plays. Both had picked up quite a bit of weight. I'd say I'm back to my pre-COVID weight, though around the time COVID hit, I had picked up some winter weight and I haven't lost that yet, but one battle at a time.
Edit (5/2) And I suppose nothing quite represented the up and down nature of the last two weeks like the Raptors. They performed poorly in Game 1 and were decent but overmatched in Game 2. They really should have won Game 3 but got unlucky. Then they stormed back and were great in Games 4 and 5 and the first half of Game 6, but then the basketball gods turned on them and the Sixers just couldn't miss any 3 they jacked up and it all went downhill from there. Apparently the Raptors totally wore out the Sixers center who will miss at least the first few games of the next round. Indeed, if the Raptors had held it together and won Game 6, they very likely would have taken Game 7 as well. But it was not to be, and now I won't have to spend any more mental energy on following the playoffs...
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