The Day That Did Not Go As Planned

Yesterday did not go as planned at all, and aside from the ending, I guess it generally went ok.

I'm getting better at predicting just long it will take me to bike across the city, but I am not much better at actually leaving on time.  I really wanted to leave at 11:30 to try to make it to Abbozzo Gallery (and Bau-Xi on the way back) and then Howl's Moving Castle at 12:55 (though there is about 10 minute wiggle room due to trailers and so forth).  However, I got a late start at the gym, and I didn't actually leave the house for the galleries until 11:40.  It didn't help that I was riding into a strong headwind, which probably cost me another 5 minutes.

I really find it challenging getting out to Abbozzo, which has moved to a space along the rail path north of the GO Bloor station.  I certainly don't normally bike west of Dufferin (though I biked west of High Park to see the Bloor West Village Players on Thurs., and it took just under an hour to bike home!).  The exhibit did catch my eye, and it was interesting (embroidered elements from cityscapes from foreign cities, mostly Asian but perhaps Islamic as well).  But I might not have gone out there if I had realized quite how long it would take to get there.

Adrienna Matzeg, Late-Night Snack, 2026

Adrienna Matzeg, 7-Eleven, 2026

Since I was already so far west, I stopped at Bau-Xi on the way back.  I have tried two other times to get out there, and both times they closed a bit early on me.  I wouldn't say I saw a lot that was different from what they always have on view, but I saw a few things of interest. 

Casey McGlynn, Navigating the Layers of the Earth, 2024

Casey McGlynn, 11 Horses in the Round, 2024

Michael Woolf, Transparent City 02, 2007

I certainly didn't dawdle, but even so, the clock was ticking, and I had a sense I would be late.  I got to Avenue Road/Queens Park, which ultimately turns into University and saw that it was already 1:01.  There was no way to make it to Carlton in time, so I ended up turning down on Queens Park and then saw the art in Hart House and dropped in at Robarts.  I was trying to track down a misplaced poetry collection by Yusef Komunyakaa and searched up City and Selected or Collected Poems.  I ended up generating a fairly long list of collections to investigate, and then I went up into the stacks.  I ended up finding the missing book (though perhaps ironically Komunyakaa's Magic City is not a selected or collected volume).  I'll write up a different post about this extension of Poetry Month.

Then I dropped off my bike at the garage near work, then took the train back to Yorkville.  I picked up my painting and chatted a bit with the folks there.  I wasn't in the market for anything else (having spent enough on art for a while!), but this Ferron piece was nice.

Marcelle Ferron, Soleil Noir

I then hopped back on the train with my piece to try to get it to the framer in time.  It wasn't to be, however.  The framer closes early on Fridays and Saturdays.  Had I known, I should have used the time to try to call up RCM, as they are going to let me exchange my ticket to Hilary Hahn after all.  I'll just have to do it on Tues.

I was starting to work out all kinds of different combinations to see if I could see Howl later in the day or on Sunday.  (It's a bit tricky because apparently the programmers there think sufficiently highly of the English voice cast that they are alternating the subbed and dubbed version, whereas for Spirited Away they only programmed the subtitled version.)  Then I realized that I could simply go on Monday.  And in fact, the current plan is to go to the gym (and wrap up by noon or so), then head over to Carlton to catch the 12:55 showing.  Then I may stop in briefly at the AGO, though I may skip that as the AGO is only open until 4!  I should get at least a bit of work done and try to do some reading as well.  That's not a bad plan, I suppose, and perhaps I can actually stick to it for once.

At any rate, after I dropped my new painting off (just in the basement for the moment), I had just about an hour to "relax" before heading back out to the Rex.  I was planning on sticking around for the late night set as well.  However, I hadn't booked any seats -- and they were pretty full.  I could have sat in the back, but I didn't really want to.  I also wasn't entirely sure how well I could write, as the group that was on first had a vocalist.  I decided to just bail.  I ate at Ginger instead and read a bit more of Vera, then picked up my bike and rode home.  I ended up reading the rest of Vera that evening.  So it was a bit of a disappointment to not see the show at the Rex, but not such a huge deal in the grand scheme of things.