I guess I was wrong...

I had thought this G20 weekend would have gone much better had regular citizens just been out on the street going about their daily lives. Well apparently that got you arrested this weekend.

The disturbing reports keep coming - fortunately so many journalists were caught up in it because they seem to be believed over the general public who could have ulterior motives.

You law and order types can try and excuse the police actions here, but how do you justify them arresting an entire TTC streetcar of people - including the driver? The streetcar got caught in one of these blocked off zones -blocks and blocks away from the secured zone. How do you spell police state? Heads better roll people, that's all I'm sayin'.

Okay, I'm back on Front St and inside the condo. This whole situation is still making me very tense. Of course the riot police three blocks away at Queen and Spadina doesn't help with that.

Everybody has already said everything that can be said about all this. I will only add that I lived for the better part of the year in basically the world's capital city with motorcades and nuclear summits and K9 teams where I worked, and never did I feel like this. Never did I feel like it was a police state where civil liberties were ignored and still hooligans ran rampant over the streets.

You want to search pregnant woman on their way to Starbucks? Fine, but then how is it that such destruction and chaos seemed to rule the weekend?

I am a veteran protester. I love a good protest or rally. But what cause was actually served or supported by any of this?

So that was easy...

It took all of...15 minutes to get to the island airport this morning. No traffic. No people. Hardly even any police. Front Street was a ghost town.

And so now I sit with my complimentary iced tea and cookies and internet in the lounge for two hours.

Everyone was their usual pleasant and cheerful selves in Porterworld. I even joked with security about England's chances of winning on Sunday (non-existent but we have to keep the faith!)

It's all new and bright and shiny here - my first time in their new terminal. Note to self in future allow ten more minutes just for the walk.

I feel tense. Living down here right now makes you feel tense. There are now police on every corner (fence or no!) for blocks around. There are no people. On my way home this afternoon, one cop motioned as if he was going to stop me at the corner of Spadina and Front - he didn't, his partner just waved me by. But this was 2 in the afternoon - I was just getting home to watch the Denmark/Japan soccer game (poor Denmark). I shouldn't be stopped on the street for that.

Tomorrow morning will be interesting...

And now I'm carrying a bunch of stuff to Ottawa with me that I wouldn't normally but I'm a bit concerned about this building when it's half empty as it's sure to be this weekend. These are the things we have to think about. Ridiculous.

Quake!

So I'm folding laundry (which was about as productive as I got today other than watching soccer and doing some yoga before I went out apartment hunting) and the bedroom starts to shake. Really shake. And I think, wow, that Go Train sounds really close. Then I think, "oh god, someone has run a tractor trailer into the fences or has just blown up the convention centre" but then, to my relief, I realize that it's only an earthquake.

Condo still stands. All is well.

I'm so going to end up in jail

Today's dialogue with the police:

Me, standing next to a fence in the middle of Wellington street waiting for the light.

Female Police Officer: Wait for the light please.

Me: I wasn't going anywhere.

FPO: Well some people don't realize there is traffic still on the other side of the fence.

Me: And I suppose if I were hit by a car that would distract you from your fence guarding duties....

I got this notice from the condo yesterday in response to the G20 that is slowly surrounding us:

"With the world leaders gathering nearby, traffic both pedestrian and vehicular in the area will increase significantly..... To avoid the added traffic and unnecessary inconvenience, we would recommend residents and their guests enjoy their weekend away from the city core. If you need to stay in we would highly recommend that you avoid leaving the building either on foot or by motor vehicle."

So basically LEAVE or you will be trapped inside.

Welcome to My Neighbourhood (with a U)

Just another Saturday afternoon at Union Station. Don't mind the fences, apparently they are only temporary.

After a lovely dinner with good friends, I took a cab back to the condo. My cab driver was female. I think this is the first time I have ever had a female taxi driver. She was friendly, drove ridiculously fast and I'm pretty sure could have kicked my ass if she'd wanted to.

Tonight I felt more like my old self. Maybe it was because I had a good day visiting various friends and spent an hour in a book store on my own. Maybe it was because I was back in the theatre seeing Rock of Ages (kick ass band), but whatever it was, I may have turned a corner in my readjustment to city life, which is good.

After the show I had a lovely drink with my two favourite Canadian stage managers and we somehow closed the bar (oops). My 10 minute walk back to the condo, which is normally very empty, tonight was equally empty apart from the 12 policemen I passed on my way down John St. Here was one of my exchanges:

Policeman: Good evening

Me: This must be very exciting for you.

Policeman: Yes ma'am.

Me: Well thank you for guarding me on my walk home.

Other Policeman: We are guarding the fence actually.

Me: Make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

Policeman: Don't worry, it won't.

But thank you G20 for making my walk home at 2am a safe one.

Not helping

The fact that the default position for Torontonians is "rude" does not help me adjust to being back from DC. DC where the default position is "polite". It's a southern city! This extends to people holding open doors and giving up seats but also includes just not being all over the sidewalk, blocking it entirely for everyone else. I have to get my big city groove back I guess - but boy, I'm finding it hard.

Back in Black

Last week I went to a launch of this year's wine from Stratus, a Niagara vineyard (the Riesling was quite lovely). During my time in DC, I attempted to diversify the colours in my wardrobe, ie not wear black all the time. So, I was still in this mode when out on Queen West. I had on a cute navy blue dress and pink shoes (Steve Maddens!). The rest of the room was in head to toe black. Yup, I am back in Toronto. The shoes were clearly too much.

At least I have funky eye glasses....

I realize that likely no one is ready this now, but I felt compelled to tell someone about part of my night. And since it's late, I'm writing it down.

I was just at a lovely wedding on Ward's Island. Even though it poured with rain this afternoon, even though I don't tend to like weddings (though I go to many), this one was lovely. Two people just so well suited for each other and who have only added to the other, not detracted. Whatever compromises they have made have not been "sacrifices", they have just been what made sense.

Most of us caught the last ferry home. There was another wedding on the island and so many of their guests were also on this ferry - along with the band that had played that wedding. About half way across the lake, the trumpeter started to play and that beautiful dixieland sound echoed over the water. It was haunting and soulful. Couples started dancing. He played until we reached the mainland and then serenaded everyone off the boat. It was really magical and a moment that was nearly perfect. I think it was brought to me to make me feel happier about being home - I've been feeling homesick for DC (while it's lovely to see people and I've missed everyone, I feel at loose ends and restless). But there is magic here even as the G20 fences go up barricading the downtown from itself.

Last day...

For a last day, today has been a good one. I started out mailing a box northward - which I did in Arlington. Note to self, always mail from Arlington. It was fast and efficient and seemed cheaper than mailing from the Watergate or the bullet-proof glass enclosed 14th street station (oh, the holdouts from when it was the ghetto my old hood was also colourful...)

I then hit the Air and Space Museum on the Mall (finally) and the Hirshhorn collection. This makes my Smithsonian museum tally 10 of 19. Not too shabby really, considering I only missed ones like the Postal Museum (and if you've used USPS you would not blame me!) Air and Space is impressive as you might expect. Apollo moon landers, Sputnik, Spirit of St. Louis, Wright Bros flyer, I mean the place is full of iconic history. And very well laid out and easy to follow. Though full of very loud children so I only lasted about an hour and a half but feel I saw everything I wanted to.

The Hirshhorn is a small collection of interesting modern art mostly from the 60s and mostly American. They had a special exhibit by French artist Yves Klein who I did not know but was amazed by. The exhibit was also curated extremely well so you would enter a room and be breath-taken by what you saw. His work was mostly monochromatic and so one entire room was aquamarine. The Hirshhorn is a cylinder and so the rooms are curved. The aquamarine spread around the curve so it was all your eye could see. I wish I'd written down one of his quotes they had on the wall as it was very moving and similar to what an artist friend has told me about finding his way in to his own art. Yves spoke about how when he started with colour it felt like he'd found himself and had finally come home in his work. Maybe that opened up the collection to me as well because I found it all very moving. "Lasts" are hard.

I had lunch out in Eastern Market with a fellow and her mom at a little cafe that had been written up about but I hadn't made it to yet. (good but over-priced) And so I've said my final fellow good-bye.

There are so many people to thank for me being able to go on this adventure and feel I've been successful. So many friends who have helped when I've been a stressed out crazy person (more of that to follow!!). I am very lucky. And of course my family who have been so proud...it's all been amazing. Even the hard bits. I wish of course that my Mum had known that I'd been accepted here, but I feel she's been with me for it all, walking with me, having a good chuckle and enjoying all the flowers.

I suppose I have to decide what to do with this blog now! We'll see what the next chapter is before retiring it completely.

See you all soon.

Philly is ....colourful

No, I have not completely abandoned you yet just spent my couple of days in Philadelphia. Strange city. Perhaps it was just my experience with it but it seems to me like a city in need of a good wash. Plus I think I was allergic to it - it could be that it's just really polluted and DC is without heavy industry and so has quite clean air - but I coughed up a lung for two days.

One of my friends lives in probably the worst area of town (not the friend I was staying with) so driving him home was...interesting. At least we kept the hubcaps on the car. We did a few tourist things - the Liberty bell, Benjamin Franklin's grave and home and then some strange things - the Mummers' Museum- not the British mummers but a strange Philly custom of men dressing in fancy costumes (usually as animals or woman) and parading down their main street on New Year's Day. The museum was awesome. Likely built in 1958 and hasn't been touched since. And nothing worked. I think we were the first visitors in months -or ever- I thought it was weird and creepy and brilliant.

And I had water ice. This is a Philly thing. It's like a slushy but thinker and less watery- so maybe like a slushy crossed with a snow cone. It was refreshing on a 92 F day. I had the cherry which is a apparently their most popular flavour but I did find it odd as a phenomenon. I mean, it seems to be everywhere in the city but no one outside of the city knows what it is.

OH and we went to a drive up teller. Not a drive up ATM but an actual teller. Well a teller at the end of a speaker that you sent things back and forth to through a tube. I have never heard or seen such a thing but Arlington now tells me they are everywhere. Is it just me that didn't know about them?? It was so weird and strange! Anyway, you know I'm easy to please when I find that exciting....

Overall a good couple of days but not a city I'm going to rush back to.