On the Mend

I'm definitely better though not 100%.  I went out of the house briefly on Friday.  Saturday I ventured downtown.  I picked up a few books from Robarts, then stopped by the Hart House Museum.  I found myself pretty sweaty even from just normal exertion like walking but I was coughing a lot less.  I caught the train to St. Patrick to head over to the AGO.  I stopped to grab a slice of pizza, and while eating, I emailed Coal Mine to try to move my Sunday ticket to Thursday.  I really wanted to call their Box Office.  But incredibly, they are handling everything online and through email.  I'll just jump to the chase and say that even with over 24 hour notice, no one got back in touch, which is inexcusable.  I've been a supporter and tried to be understanding since the fire, but at some point, they need to rejoin all the other theatre companies and have a proper Box Office.  I've decided I am not going to renew my subscription for next season, and I plan on telling them that tomorrow.

Anyway, I ran into Bau-Xi.  I found out that Bau-Xi Photo has moved to Dupont and Dufferin, so I'll probably see that much less often.

Then I saw the Sarindar Dhaliwal exhibit at the AGO.  I managed to get there about 10 minutes before all the speeches started, which meant I could actually see the art.  I enjoyed it, but I wasn't blown away like I was with Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at the Whitney.  I was feeling a bit rocky, and kind of wish they had the talk in the atrium like usual (with enough chairs!), but I was able to lean against a column. 

Sarindar Dhaliwal, Indian Billboard, 2000

I was glad that Sarindar kept her remarks quite brief (not much over 10 minutes), and I left shortly after that.  Actually, I did take a very quick look at some Canadian art on the 2nd floor.  I wish this was a bit sharper, but it is an older man who looks almost exactly like William Kurelek's The Bachelor.  Too droll...

I actually thought that Nina Amin would be at Yumart for the closing of her show, so I walked over there (401 Richmond) next.  It was interesting to see that virtually all of the calligraphy pieces (and all the ones I found intriguing) had been sold.  That's just as well (and of course so great for the artist!).  If I do buy any new art (and I really shouldn't without a major boost to my salary!), it will be from this year's Toronto Outdoor Art Fest, which I still need to review at some point...

I saw a few other things of interest at 401 Richmond, though it looked like Abbozzo was right in the middle of a rehang.  I did find out that there will be sort of a history exhibit about Ontario Place at Yumart in August, so I'll probably stop by for that.  Also, in a roundabout way, this visit reminded me I needed to check out The Image Centre at TMU.  Fortunately, I have until Aug. 5 to see the Spring/Summer shows, including one featuring Jin-me Yoon, and I didn't just miss out which sometimes happens.  I kind of wanted to sit down on the train to Union, but my Presto pass had expired, and it wasn't that long a walk.

When I finally got there, I had a bit of an internal debate on whether to just go home or stick it out for the Summer Music concert at 7:30.  I was able to sleep a bit at the office, grab some sushi and still made the concert with 5 minutes to spare.  I've been cutting things close for weeks now!  (Which probably hasn't helped my overall stress levels.)

I'm proud to say I didn't cough once during the concert.  That gives me some confidence that the play on Sunday will also be ok, despite my general annoyance.  I found the Brahms Sextet #2 to be pretty interesting, though it went on a bit long.  In fact I really wish the concert had been 15 minutes shorter, but you can't have everything.  I just have to hope that I didn't use up too much of my reserves on Saturday.  I guess I'll find out soon enough. 

¡Basta!