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!
When I was in Grade 4, my teacher lectured us on the native culture of the Amazons.
“They believed that when you get sick, it was because you did something bad.”
I shot my hand up high, “Why don’t we go tell them they are wrong!?!?”
“Uh, um, you can’t, uh really do that,”
“But why?!”
“It’s their beliefs, it’s their way of life…”
She trailed on for about 10 minutes. I was kind of taken aback.
At 9 years old, I thought I was offering a logical solution, the same way Spanish conquistadors felt when they invaded and imposed Catholicism.
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.
So get this:
When I was 15, I chatted with a guy online. Snaz was relatively my age, lived in the same town, had an affinity for the arts, spoke French, and was Persian. We had lots in common! He was a street performer, a really cool mime and a break dancer. We spoke a lot but never went the extra mile to meet. It was just cool that way.
I always said it would be better if I would catch him on the street during his mime act some day.
One day I was strapped for cash, I don’t remember what for, but it was probably to pay off my phone bill and pay day was a week away. I didn’t want to ask my mom, who thought I was a reckless teenager. So Snaz said he would lend me the $30 I needed. I gave him my information and he wired me the money right away.
My friend “L” thought it was hilarious, “What? He actually gave you the money? What an idiot! You’re not going to pay him back are you?”
“Of course I’m going to pay him back! That wouldn’t be cool!”
Payday came and I wired Snaz the money back.
We thought nothing of it and continued chatting here and there. Unfortunately, as the internet social scene was going through some major changes, we lost contact over the years.
HOWEVER – eight years later – last summer I sat in Kensington Market to pass the time playing the mandolin when I had the weirdest human encounter in my life.
A guy riding his bike passed by me, watched and gave me some money and left. He came back again to watch some more.
Then he stopped me, “Are you Venus?” (the old name I had stopped going by for many years.) My heart stopped. It was such a long time ago and I didn’t recognize the person at all. I felt like worlds were colliding! I thought no one from my dark suburban past would ever step foot in Kensington Market.
“Uh…” I spoke very slowly, “Um… yea… uh… who.. are.. who are you?”
“We spoke on the internet”
“Um? I don’t know. Who are you?”
“Remember, I did miming”
“Oh Holy FK! You are the guy who lent me $30!!!”
“Yea!”
“OMFG, wtf are you doing here?”
“I work in this neighbourhood,”
So we started talking for a good 20 minutes. He told me he was saving up money so he could build houses in Mexico. We exchanged contacts and began chatting in the Facebook realm. He said I motivated him to get back into street performing.
I just checked my Facebook now and noticed he’s gone again. Maybe he deleted me, or he deleted his profile. Who knows. Maybe its just cooler that way.
Yea. It happened.
I spent my last Sunday at Jean Talon Market. I could describe this experience as being very… vibrant! I don’t know how, but the sight of so much fresh food excites me. It just doesn’t compare to a conventional grocery store!
For many reasons Jean Talon Market is the ideal way to spend a Sunday. It’s the ambiance! It’s the size! And the fact that it’s partially indoors is great because you can enjoy the market in the winter! There’s also nice cafés around, transforming your banal grocery shopping errand to a social experience! Jean Talon Market is so cool that it is the regular set of Radio-Canada’s “Des Kiwi et Des Hommes”.