adventures in hogtown

Just returned from my trip to Toronto. Part business, part pleasure, the week away was a much needed getaway from the everyday routine that I'd established at home. I didn't have regular access to the internet while I was away, so I wasn't able to update the blog. Here's a run-down of the trip. Have a seat, you'll be reading for a while...

>> sunday
Flew out to YYZ from YVR. Got my carry-on luggage torn apart and searched. Did they think that an innocent looking face like me would smuggle drugs or bring weapons aboard the plane? I know that they were just doing their job, keeping the nation safe, yadda, yadda...but I couldn't help but feel somewhat violated when the customs guy started running his hands over my underpants. The ones that I had packed in my suitcase - not the ones I was wearing. That would have made me REALLY uncomfortable!

Bumped into the big cheese at the departure gates. Turns out we were sharing the same flight. Luckily, I had changed my seat assignment when i checked in earlier...otherwise I would have been sitting next to him. I can just picture my eyes popping out of their sockets from rolling them the whole flight over! Thank God for small mercies!

Arrived at Pearson International Airport and checked out the snazzy new terminal. The architechture, fixtures, and wayfinding system were state of the art, and quite beautiful. I remember seeing pictures of it while flipping through the pages of AZURE or some such magazine a while ago, but seeing it in person amazed me.

After picking up my rental car (a shiny new maroon Chevrolet Cavalier), I drove to the hotel to check in. Once I got to my room, I called Mo and Kevin and we went out for dinner. We planned to head over to Rocco's, but completely forgot that it was Mother's Day and neglected to make reservations. Seeing the line-up outside the door, we balked and decided to drive east along Queen street to see if there were any other places where we could satisfy our hunger. Finally found a Japanese restaurant with plenty of tables available and settled in for our meal.

>> monday
Day 1 of the workshop: Never have I seen so many graphics people together in one room. The excitment was about to begin! We started out by introducing ourselves and moved into the age old tradition of signwriting using Fasty (a.k.a. IKEA Script). After the marker fumes subsided a bit, we got to see who the real superstars were - certainly not me! I felt like a kid in kindergarten first learning how to write. Thank goodness for the computer age. If the job still relied on marker handling skills, I would be out on my ass so fast!

We did a bunch of other stuff, but none of it is exciting except to geeky graphics people like me, so I won't mention it here.

In the evening, we all headed out to The Drake Hotel, a snazzy place on Queen Street West which has recently undergone a facelift, and now houses a boozin' pimpin' bar, an apparently kick-ass sushi bar, and swingin' lounge with an ecclectic mix of furnishings on the main floor, a classic tavern bar and improv club in the underground...and of course, a hotel on the upper floors. The most intruiging thing about the place, however, is not the strangely beautiful mix of mismatched art and interiors, but the collection of people that gather there. it's a place where struggling artists, established artists, art collectors and patrons, true bohemians and poseurs alike convene to sip on their beverages of choice.

Catching the improv soap opera "Drake 55" itself down in the underground was worth a whole evening's entertainment.

>> tuesday
Day 2 of the workshop: Everything you ever wanted to know about large format printing but were afraid to ask...or try for yourself. After the previous evening's festivities, it proved difficult to keep the eyelids propped up, especially in a dark conference room. The session, however was valuable, and keeping awake was made easier when we moved into the graphics room with natural sunlight flooding in through the windows.

After taking photos and saying goodbyes, Kevin and I drove Mo and Kathy to the airport. Along the way, we crossed paths with the gang from Montreal who were starting their five hour drive back home. At times during the workshops, I envied the rapport that those guys had with each other...then I remembered J and K back home with whom I have a similar relationship, and it made me miss them all the more.

Everyone else on their way home, Johan, Kevin and I were the only ones left at the hotel. Johan had meetings in Burlington the next day, and Kevin was staying an extra day to check out the city. The three of us decided to try Rocco's again and this time found several tables to choose from. When we got back to the hotel, it was still fairly warm, so we decided to walk along the Lakeshore. Had some good conversation along the way, and if we didn't hit the highway, would probably have kept walking into the city.

Got back to my hotel room, and dragged one of the big club chairs out onto my balcony, facing the water. With the sound of the radio playing from the room and a view of the lake across the street, I sat down and prepared for my conference call the next day.

>> wednesday
Another work day...this time, just store visits to North York and Burlington, having already toured Etobicoke and Vaughan earlier in the week. Luigi, one of our suppliers, swung by and took Tina and I for lunch at a sushi place nearby. The weather was great, food was good, and we were on the outdoor patio having a good old time, so I almost lost track of time.

Rushed onto the 407 hoping to beat traffic and make it to my teleconference in Burlington on time. I drove at 140 km/h most of the way there and ended up getting pulled over for speeding. Luckily, the cop was nice and let me get off with a $52 fine, after which he gave me exact directions for getting to the Burlington store. I like nice cops...even ones who give me speeding tickets...especially if they give me a wee bit of an out-of-towner's 'discount.'

Made it to Burlington fifteen minutes late, and after scrambling to check-in, find the conference facility that I had booked, and figuring out how to place international calls, caught my breath and went ahead with the call. Needless to say, it was a relief to finally get out of there and head over to my friend Jenn's place in Mississauga at 7:30.

>>thursday
After the trauma of the previous day, I figured I deserved to sleep in, especially since this was the first official day of my vacation in Toronto. I relished in the fact that I was sleeping on a brand new mattress, with newly purchased pillows and a quilt, as well as freshly laundered sheets covering me. I was in heaven!

Jenn's adorable soon-to-be two year old son, Ebreo was at daycare, so she and I ventured into the city for breakfast. Went to Maggie's on College and Spadina, a little eatery that we had discovered when I was in Toronto last summer. They serve a fantastic breakfast with the best garlic fries known to man, and garnish every huge platter with an assortment of fresh fruit. Plus, they serve a killer fresh-squeezed orange juice! Their website is horrible and doesn't do justice to the place, but I've linked it in case you ever want to go visit.

After a great lazy-day sort of breakfast, Jenn went back home to take her dog Aspen to the groomers, and I drove over to the Bridal Path (the ritzy part of town with enormous mansions, manicured lawns, and expensive cars aplenty) to check out the Junior Youth League of Toronto's href="http://www.jlt.org/showhouse/about.html">Showhome at York University. Basically, a bunch of designers get the old house and redeign it to it's former glory. Each design team gets a room and they have to transform it. I guess the bigger name deigners like Kimberly Seldon get bigger rooms and the lesser known designers got crap rooms like broom closets and bathrooms. There were some good designs though.

The best part of the experience was seeing the demographic of people touring the home. Mostly middle-aged women with rich husbands who fit the classic sterotype all too well. Bleached blonde and perfectly coiffed hair, strings of pearls, too much make-up...lord, it was like a Stepford Wives convention at Glendon House! And they all sort of peered at me from beyond their noses trying to figure out what a ruffian like me was doing in their midst. The little old ladies who were volunteering at the house as guides more than made up for the plastic though. They were the sweetest things ever. A few of them came and chatted with me, asking what I thought, if I worked in interior design, et cetera, et cetera. I like nice little old ladies...better than nice cops even!

Since I was in the area, I went to H&M for a visit as well. They've been lauded the IKEA of the fashion world, so I had to go see for myself. While their prices were good, the clothes were okay. The men's stuff was a little boring, but I did manage to find a few basics to stock up on.

Went back to Jenn's for some homemade curry and a movie - the Jim Sheridan flick, In America. I enjoyed it, but Jenn complained that it made her weepy. Wuss! Meanwhile, Ebreo went out like a light, and Aspen took advantage of the movie and coerced me into giving her a thorough back and belly rub for two hours. It truly is a dog's life!

>> friday
Went to a nifty bagel place for breakfast and then to Burlington, so that Jenn could pick up some stuff from Service Office. I went up with her to check it out and ran into some familiar faces, which is always kind of nice. It surprised me at how un-IKEA-like the offices looked though. Left me a little unimpressed.

We then headed into the city again to check out the Home, Self, Tribe exhibit at the Design Exchange. It was small, and again, a little disappointing. There were also some student works showcased, and while there were a few good pieces, the majority of the presentation boards looked like they were elementary school science fair projects. This is what's coming out of Canadian design schools?!? Scary!

After paying $20 for an hour of parking (pure theivery!), we headed back to Mississaugua to avoid the traffic. Went back home and painted the dining room. And then repainted it. And then taped further. And then painted that. Argued about how much should be painted. Threatened to paint each other with rollers.

Afterwards, we picked out Ebreo from daycare and decided to go to Lucy's Seafood Restaurant for dinner. I think we managed to make it through a few spoons of pasta before the little guy started getting restless. The people at the next table kept giving dirty looks, we got everything packed up and headed home - stopping at the video store along the way to pick up School of Rock. We chose a comedy title chosen purely for the reason of offsetting the weepiness of the previous night's movie selection.

>> saturday
I initially planned on heading over to the Toronto Islands, but as I sat in traffic on the QEW eastbound (stupid emergency paving!), it started to rain. I quickly changed my plans and decided to make the day a strolling around & shopping kind of day. Unfortunately, I had to sit in traffic for another hour-and-a-half before those plans could materialize (stupid Toronto traffic...and on a weekend even!).

Anyway, when I finally got out of traffic, I worked my way up Roncesvalles Village, then over to Yonge and Eglinton. Walked around the shops along Yonge, and then swung by Indigo for some airplane fluff reading (the place abounds with trashy magazines). Wound down a bit at a Timothy's coffee shop (basically an upscale Tim Horton's) with my book until I got tired.

>> sunday
Said goodbye to Jenn, Rodel, Ebreo, and Aspen and headed to the airport. The flight back to Vancouver was pretty uneventful except that I got to sit with Tweedle-dum...or was it Tweedle-dee? This woman we wearing a red and white striped shirt and baby blue lycra/spandex pants. The only problem was, she was shaped like one of the Tweedles (round around the middle), so the lycra and spandex was definitely unflattering, and most definietly wrong!

When we touched down in Vancouver, I realized something. Not earth-shattering, mind you, but an important realization just the same. I realized that the reason I am so fascinated with airports (besides the fact that they're sleek, shiny, and new) is that there's a built-in sense of urgency associated with them. People are constantly on the move - travelling to one destination or another. And no matter how exotic or mundane the destination, they're going somewhere...escaping from their daily routines if even for just a day or two.