sketches of the mind

I spent most of last Saturday on the couch watching home renovation shows. For you see I had discovered two shows in particular on the AETV channel - Sell This House and Flip This House. Now that I’m planning on starting my own renovation project (in Sydney) it was great to see how others have been doing it. Prior to watching the shows I wasn’t even aware how important staging was to maximise sales of a renovated property! So now I know. (Miss M if you’re reading this you gotta watch these shows!)

I finally cooked the pasta that I had purchased last week too. So I had three containers in the fridge ready to be re-heated whenever I needed them (as of last night I’m down to one).

After an entire day of exercising my remote control finger whilst training for the couch potato Olympics, I decided to get off the couch and head over to Nathan Phillips Square for the Cavalcade of Lights.

This festive event traditionally falls on the final weekend of November to kick-off the holiday season with the official illumination of the Square and giant Christmas tree with 100,000 festive lights.

Catching the street car from the Beaches to Queen, I walked west along Queen Street until I came upon the square. Along the way I noticed the groups of kids and their parents with their gazes fixed on the decorated store windows, inside of which were elaborate animated displays (similar to those at David Jones in Sydney).

I knew I was headed in the right direction because the Torontonians were out in force, despite the cold weather. If there’s one thing I credit the locals for it’s for not letting the weather be an excuse to not go out and enjoy the festivities.

The ice rink was open and filled with eager ice skaters. The lights were off in anticipation of the big moment when all the lights would go on later in the evening.

Stalls lined the west side of the square, serving hot chocolate, winter gear and other items.

It was at one of these stalls where I purchased a $2 hot chocolate and an apple desert thing.

So with hot chocolate, apple thing, and big ass camera in hand I attempted to find somewhere that I could watch the event comfortably. With so many people there it wasn’t easy. I ended up climbing a flight of stairs to an elevated level where I caught the ceremonial turning on of the lights and battled with the icy cold in order to get some snaps of the moment. My fingers were freezing up and the on/off switch on my camera was getting difficult to control. I managed to get a few decent shots. Good enough for me!

After the lights went on I walked down the stairs and behind the stage to the other side, then watched as some singer came on and took off her jacket to sing (she crazy man!).

As I watched the families and couples having fun being with each other I wished that I had a friend there to share the experience with me. As enjoyable as it was, I think festive events like that are better enjoyed with company.

Soon I decided that I had better head off and find heat because I was losing sensation in my feet.

So I found myself in the lower level food court of the Eaton Centre ordering up a nice and healthy serving of KFC. Yes, it was not a good call on my part and I felt sick afterwards. I noted that the chips and coleslaw were different to what I was accustomed to back in Sydney. The coleslaw was a bright green, and it was almost mushy. Very bizarre. It didn’t taste the best either so I had about two spoonfuls before giving up.

By the time I had finished eating I had already missed the scheduled fireworks displays so I walked back to the corner of Yonge and Queen and waited for the next street car to return home.

As the street car was pulling up to the stop I reached into my wallet to find some coins when a random stranger walked up to me and handed me a transfer ticket from the subway. I had a look of slight shock on my face when I thanked him. He smiled and rejoined his girlfriend. I checked the time on the ticket and it was valid. Though shocked, I was also grateful for the random act of kindness.

How did he know that I had spent far too much last week on public transport? How did he know that I had somehow managed to lose the change from the $10 that I had paid for the hot chocolate and apple earlier? He probably didn’t.

Whatever the case, that single gesture lit up my night more than anything else that I had experienced that evening.