The Good, the Odd, and the Ugly

From time to time, I have written about the unusual things that I have encountered during the day. Sometimes I use the word unusual instead of the stronger (to me at least) “strange” or “bizarre”. I write these stories because they struck me as noteworthy…or blogworthy. I hope you find them interesting as well because this is going to be one of those times.

The first one was a phantom from my commutes. The last time I had seen this person he was being hauled off the bus because someone claimed he had exposed himself. Actually, I think he just wore his pants below his but in what I consider one of the strangest fashion trends I have seen (and I grew up during the big hair, big shoulder pads, flap jeans, zubaz etc. era). I don’t understand it, can’t quite figure out how the pants don’t fall even lower and cause the person to trip, and don’t like it. Regardless, in addition to being hauled off the bus for the potential public nudity, the person was also asking for money and cigarettes. Since the cost of cigarettes is so high, it might as well be another form of currency. Based on what I have seen in prison movies or TV shows, maybe it already is.

He was annoying, but pretty harmless. That is of course until he decided to puke in one of the doorways, rather than get off the bus. Unpleasant is a word I suppose. Gross is probably a more apt one. This caused the bus to go out of service a few stops later and had us waiting for another bus. Oddly (I saved this word for this case) there was an “extra” bus waiting at the hub we were told to get off at. The driver from our bus boarded that one, brought it to the stop and we went on our merry way. As for Barf Simpson, he stayed at the stop. He strikes me as having some issue, but understanding that he is not welcome is obviously not one of them.

On a brighter note, the next thing I saw, while not completely strange, was just out of context enough to make me smile….and then ponder marketing, colours, and symbolism. As I got off the subway and I was walking up the stairs towards the exit I noticed the person in front of me. Actually, it wasn’t the person so much as the rather large pink canoe paddle she had secured somewhat precariously to the back of her backpack. It was neon pink. The stop we were at was not near a river so I was left to conclude that maybe she had paddle from Toronto Island to the mainland as part of her commute….or something else, but it was morning and my coffee had not kicked in.

It got me thinking about the time my coworker and ski buddy remarked that she wondered why everything marketed to women had to be pink. She lamented that this was the case from fitness equipment to bicycles to clothing to a line of tools at the hardware store. I didn’t really have an answer for her, but it seems like the idea hasn’t gone away.

What do my readers think of this? Is this kind of marketing offensive?

The last thing worth writing about was the man I saw walking his dog on a Segway. Skipping over the possible dangers to the rider or the dog, (and mostly I worry about the dog) it just made me wonder about walking the dog. Mostly when I see people walking their dogs. I kind of get that it’s the people and not the dogs who really need the exercise. Maybe the dogs are walking the people. This guy on the Segway certainly wasn’t getting any exercise.

Much of this weirdness was redeemed by an excellent hockey game with an excellent result. Way to go Leafs!

A House Shrouded in Mystery and Trees

The work week had been long and no life affirming bike rides had taken place. The next best solution was a feast of Chinese takeout food without worrying about the calories. The overly full feeling was something else, though.

Forgetting about the toll the work week had taken on both of us, ignoring the inner sloth that recommended collapsing onto the couch in a puddle of blah, and not taking into account that the sun was going to go down in the not too distant future, the suggestion of a walk around the neighbourhood was agreed to hastily.

If you’ve never been to Toronto, you might not know it for the green city that it is. There are lots of trees and lots of neighbourhoods with big backyards, small streams, trails, and lots of unique houses. There are also far too many condominiums, big box stores, and overpriced restaurants–but there is no point in putting the ugly picture next to the pretty one. North of Toronto in the GTA, where my girlfriend lives, much the same can also be said. There are a lot of old trees, old neighbourhoods with HUGE yards, and lots of hidden charm. These neighbourhoods probably had modest houses at one time. Sadly, monster houses with monster price tags have been built in most of these places.

We set out on our walk without a clear picture in mind. We headed west, then south, then west and then…well, we figured it out as we went along. We saw some beautiful monster houses (which I later viewed on Google satellite view and remarked at how big the yards and driveways were). We also saw some of the smaller houses that must have been the original ones in the neighbourhood. They were cute, but paled beside the new grand palaces.

That was my feeling for most of those small houses until we came across one little house with a classic A-frame shape. The property it sat on was located in a bend on the street. Its driveway was beside the house, almost as if it didn’t belong to the place. The house was shrouded by trees. It wasn’t blocked by a row of trees like the one across the street. Instead, it was camouflaged. You knew the house was there, but you could so easily pass by it and not see it unless you knew it was there. It was kind of magical. The building wasn’t new, but wear and age were hidden behind a mask. There was no gate (like many of the others had installed) but you still felt shut out as if you needed an invitation.

We wandered many streets, and saw many interesting styles of architecture, but that house was the only one to make that kind of impression. That was the only one to write about.

We eventually made our way back to Yonge street–sadly we came out near a dodgy motel (and the internet backs me up judgement) and finished our walk amid strip malls and uninspiring new townhomes. Our bodies were sore, the health apps installed on our phones were chirping happily, and our souls were at peace.

Hockey is Back

It was good to have hockey back today.

Opening nights are supposed to be festive and full of both nostalgia and future thinking. There was very little of that. I guess Covid 19 has kicked that in the ass–and pretty hard too. Hopefully next year will have a bigger opening ceremony.

Many years ago, for two years in a row, I was able to get a ticket to opening night. It was so good to be part of the crowd. We had anticipation of the coming season. We had hope that our heroes would vanquish all of the challengers. For those first moments, anything was possible.

It is weird to watch hockey with piped in crowd noise. I keep wondering if they have microphones in people’s houses or if they are using Siri to transmit real noises. Probably not–but you just don’t know for sure.

It was good to have hockey back. It brings a bit of normalcy to my life. It makes things seem like they are going to get back on track. I enjoyed the game and I was glad I made time for it in my schedule. It is no doubt that it is Today’s Perfect Moment.

A Timely Gift…..sort of

In the middle of teaching my phone rang. I had the ringer on silent and had no intention of answering it. I figured it was someone trying to sell me airduct cleaning. I did notice that it was a very local number, so I forced the call to my answering machine. When I checked my message during the break, I quickly understood that it was actually a message from my neighbour.

She explained that two newspapers had been delivered to her house. She thought it might have been mine. When I answered that I haven’t taken delivery of the newspaper in quite some time, she started wondering aloud about it. She explained that one paper was on her porch and the other was in her bushes. I listened to her theories but really couldn’t respond. These kinds of things stress her out. She doesn’t even like it when the mail truck makes a poor three point turn into her driveway.

Actually, I guess what really happened was that the first attempt at delivery ended up in her bushes and knowing that she was very likely to complain, they decided to deliver another newspaper to her porch rather than even attempt to retrieve the first one. I don’t know whether I should applaud their problem solving skills or roll my eyes at their laziness or their obvious disinterest in trudging through the snow. If they deserve any break, it could be that it was actually dark when they delivered the newspaper, and they might have found it difficult to track it down……maybe.

In the end she offered me the paper. While any windfall is deserving of a Perfect Moment, that isn’t quite it. What made it a Perfect Moment was that the complete Toronto Maple Leaf schedule for the shortened 2021 season was in this particular paper. I am unsure why they thought Tuesday was the day for this rather than Monday, but since they employ sketchy delivery drivers, I shouldn’t expect any logic anywhere else in the company. I would have found the schedule online when I needed it, but to be given a gift like this seems like a fantastic omen.

That is how I am going to look at it.

Back in the Classroom

The students have been clamouring for it and today we made it a reality. We had face to face classes for the first time since mid March. For me, it was the first time back in the classroom since mid February.

I was given a mask and a face shield. The students were given instructions to keep their masks on at all times and maintain physical distancing rules. The school has a whole host of changes that involve not using some of the equipment, limiting the ability of students to congregate and restricting access. I have a line not to cross and no photocopies shall be given. There are other rules and sanitizing equipment, but you get the idea.

I was a bit nervous to go in and teach today. I was more nervous to ride the bus and subway with a bunch of strangers than the students. I knew that the teaching would suffer a little, but it might be time to open up again. There are only a few students left at the school, but there seem to be a bunch in the Toronto area who have been waiting to take face to face classes, so it might work out.

I probably would have been fine to continue on for another month giving classes from my spare room. However, the students really want face to face classes. Therefore, we are taking it slow. There are only a handful of students in the school and things are scheduled so they are not able to mingle. We are only there for a few hours on Monday Wednesday and Friday, so it isn’t every day yet.

I am not sure ESL is meant to be taught this way, but I will do my best to carry out the plan.

Play-by-Play

In my last year at University I became a born again Toronto Maple Leafs fan.  That year, I watched or listened to every game.  This was no mean feat as I didn’t have cable TV and there wasn’t widespread adoption of the internet.  The games weren’t broadcast in HD either, but that’s a rant for another day.

If you read the second sentence, you will  have already picked out that I listened to many games that year.  Whenever a game was on and it wasn’t broadcast on a station I could get with the rabbit ears, I turned on the radio and listened to the play-by-play calls.  It wasn’t watching, but it was still pretty good.  It had a different kind of feel to it.

I wasn’t going to be home this evening so I set the PVR to record the game.  However, I managed to catch most of it at my Mom’s place and decided to listen to the last period as I drove home.  In fact, I was listening to the game when I drove past the arena (Scotia Bank Arena) where the game I was listening to and half of the games in this Covid 19 confused playoffs are being played.

Although the result was not what I hoped for, it was still nice to listen to the very excited announcer on the radio.  I wasn’t quite transported back to that last year of University (the names are all different now), but I was taken to someplace nice.

Driving At Night

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels.com

Driving at night is not always good.  Sometimes the lights of other cars is blinding.  Sometimes the traffic jams and the sea of red brake lights can give you a headache.  Having nothing on the radio can only make this worse.  I could make a playlist, but I kind of like the randomness of the radio.

Last night, I made the west to east journey across the bottom and the virtually perpendicular northward journey up the east side of Toronto.  The views were just like those shots you see in movies that they use to convince that it’s New York or Chicago despite the fact they probably filmed it in a completely different city–often Toronto.  Though it may have looked like stock footage, it had it’s own beauty.  It was a Perfect Moment.

I left just as the sun was going down and hit the highway on-ramp just in time for the fiery ball to extinguish itself in my rear view mirror. The radio was playing a “totally 80” theme that had Quiet Riot mixed with Sinead O’Connor, mixed with the Beastie Boys.  The road was not as empty as it was a few months ago, but considering they were playing hockey in Toronto and I was going to pass the arena, it wasn’t bad at all.

Sometimes, when you watch movies, the scenes from car windows driving along the road take on an unreal quality–sometimes surreal if that is what the director is looking for.  I came across a building that featured a top floor brilliantly lit in purple behind translucent glass.  Could it be a club or a restaurant?  Is it a gym that wants to put everyone’s workout shadow on display?  I really couldn’t guess, but I thought it was beautiful how it was the only solid pink thing in a skyline full of dark blues and dark shadows.

There were other scenes too.  I watched motorcycles–one sleek Japanese machine and one loud Harley–dueling up the road.  Neither rider acknowledged the other.  I saw an ice-cream truck lumber along the road, no music playing and no customers anywhere in sight.  Reading the Watch For Children sign on the back just doesn’t have the same significance.

My drive concluded with Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride.  It seemed so fitting.

Appreciation

I am still not completely processed the whole, I’m now 50 thing yet. However, I have had to write that on a few forms and it is starting to sink in.  Expect some blogs in the next few days to focus on whether or not I feel any different.  In the meantime, I would like to write a short blog of appreciation.

While it wasn’t a surprise party, I wasn’t the one inviting people and I had no idea what was going to happen. I expected to see my friends and family, but I wasn’t expecting that any of them bring gifts.  While I was mistaken in that, I was blown away by their generosity.

What surprised me most is how well the people in my life know me. The gifts clearly reflect that people know me quite well.  And I thought I was a mysterious enigma.  Obviously not.

While this isn’t Today’s Perfect Moment, it is a Perfect Moment.

And, yes, my friend brought me a can of Labatt 50 to mark the occasion.  Apparently, according to the person at either the beer store or LCBO (I don’t remember where he bought it)  this is “a thing” and it happens at least once a week.

Brightening my Break

Today’s Perfect Moment came upon me while walking through the halls during my break time. I teach a lot of a hours in a day to compress my work schedule.  Work has been very accommodating about this (and to others as well) and has given me the same level of classes to teach all day.  It isn’t necessarily dynamic, but it does make planning and paperwork a little easier.

On days like yesterday, when things are going a bit slow and the students aren’t responding as well as I would like, the break can be a welcome relief. Mostly, I prefer to go to the staff room and listen to others vent, or make a cup of coffee, or just collect my thoughts.

These days, however, the staff room and the halls are a bit of a ghost town in the afternoon. The reasons for this include weakening economies in some of our main clients’ countries, difficult regulations and procedures for getting a study visa, and winter being less popular for studying in Toronto.  It is also possible that dire news of the corona virus has had an effect. We have no students from China, but it may affect people’s perceptions of traveling in Canada.  Our numbers have been low since December, so this is more of a problem for the future of the company rather than the current problem.

This ghost town vibe led past a corner classroom with a fantastic view of the backyards of this part of Toronto.  These backyards are narrow, but incredibly deep and have beautiful large trees.  If I won the lottery, I might be able to afford a down payment on one of them.  As I passed the classroom, I noticed that the sunset was casting a fantastic glow on the trees.  I might not have caught it in this picture, but it was spectacular.  It brightened my spirits and gave me a little bounce to finish up the day.

A Job Well Done

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You know that part of the airplane journey where the captain comes on over the loudspeaker and tells you about the flight you are going to take. The Captain predicts the flying time, claims that we are going to be early if the tower lets us leave on time,  and then makes some jokes about the food.  At the end of the flight, the captain later comes on and thanks you for flying with that particular airline, informs you of the current temperature and bids you a final goodbye.

I do enjoy these rituals of flight. They get me excited for my destination and let me know that something different is happening.  I guess it is similar to hearing the “start your engines” call at a car race.  Maybe it is not dissimilar to the advisory when getting on a scary amusement park ride.  Something different is about to happen.

Today, I heard one of those announcements in a rather unusual place. I was on the subway, slowly creeping towards my destination when the voice over the PA system said something like

Attention ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching Finch station.  We will be arriving shortly.  On behalf of the TTC, my driving partner, and myself, I want to wish you a wonderful evening.

I was a bit dumbfounded. The usual TTC voice is a disinterested one that can barely pronounce all the syllables in the station names.  My students often remark that when they can understand the TTC driver’s announcements, they will feel very confident in their English.

I am not entirely sure why I am drawn to this moment or why it is Today’s Perfect Moment except to say that I can appreciate it when someone does their job well–above and beyond what is expected of them. I also like being reminded that I am going to get on a plane in a few weeks and depart for a warmer climate.