Shirin Delsooz

My Life Adventures and Thoughts

Buskers Aren’t Necessarily Homeless

At the metro the other day, a flute player was piping away. He continued without a flinch when an old lady stared pitifully, pulled out a sandwhich from her purse then placed it into his music case.

I decided to take a picture of this to inform others that not all musicians are beggars. Many buskers are professionals who take busking very seriously. They set an ambiance! Usually, busking is the last resort for musicians who haven’t a clue on how to monetize their talents.

For some, it’s a difficult decision after spending countless hours of practice, getting into obsene amounts of debt from music school and then face the possibility of being confused for begging.

Always At Dora’s

On a Saturday in Toronto, I love spending the afternoons at Dora’s! Celtic session, Irish staff, charming decor and drinks all combined can easily take your imagination away to a land of unicorns and leprechauns.

In case some of you regulars don’t already know, the session is no longer on Sundays. So yea, it’s on Saturdays! Even better for us working folks!

Here is a pic of me with the music gang a few months ago.

My Rescue Experience Featured on CBC Radio!

Last summer I was at the bus stop way late at night when some total creepy dude was staring me down. I’m usually the only woman at the late night bus stop so I was expecting some attention like that, but man was this dude ever creepy. I thought I was overreacting to his stares, but when he followed me out the bus I knew it was bad news. It took a turn for the worse when he started a conversation with me when we were all alone. I was freakin’ terrified. I had no idea where to go, what to say or what to do! I was in the middle of the nowhere suburbs Scarborough at 3 am! You could imagine how relieved I was when this total teenaged stranger rushed to my rescue! You can hear the full story on this week’s edition of Definitely Not the Opera on CBC.

I didn’t know how to repay him, so I added him on Facebook to wait for an opportunity! He turns out to be a really cool actor so in the meantime I’ll do a proud plug of my new friend Ryan Drummond!

Listen to this week’s edition of Definitely Not The Opera on CBC.

What I did last Sat.

I was at McVeigh’s to see one of my favourite performers, Bill Craig, and he was so nice to let me join him on stage to do the “Star of the County Down”.

A few guinesses, and good friends around really added to the fun.

My friend filmed it with all my bits of fumbling! Check it out!

Stepping into Traditional Quebecois Dancing!

Hello folks,

Guess what I tried? Quebecois traditional dancing! I was totally lost and confused, but nevertheless, I never had so much fun! I never smiled so much that my face hurt! I’m totally going again, this time I hope I’ll have a better idea of what’s going on and my dancing partner will be just as patient!

I learned how to swing. And FYI, the dance was held in a community centre. And somehow it was a lot better than any night club I ever went to. I didn’t lose my hearing, I had room to move, and there were no egos.

I got dizzy with all the twirling. But it was such a rush! So I’m definitely going again.