Strangely Up and Down

A rather quiet weekend. The freecycle barbeque necessitated a trip to a box store for various barbequing implements. Mall-head on top of yoga-head meant that I wandered around Home Depot for ages and ages, vaguely looking at random things for 45 minutes, followed by a return trip because I'd forgotten 2 of the very important things I'd gone for in the first place.

Though I'm not sure the chain and lock to attach the barbeque to the fire escape is actually necessary. A bike I presume to have been stolen and dumped was sitting in the same spot, undisturbed, for 2 weeks until I called the police to come pick it up. Does that make my neighbourhood safe or unsafe?

The Anna Camilleri reading was amazing. A smallish crowd, but appreciative. Every time she stopped, someone would implore, "Read one more piece. Please." She'd oblige. And then she finished and we sat there. And she sat there. And we sat there. And she said, "You're all just sitting there." It was a funny ending to a reading.

She knows her material very well, reads it smoothly, and has a beautiful, gravelly voice. A bunch of us went out for a beer after, but I monopolized her partner Tristan's time, and didn't talk to her at all, which is a darn shame. Though I had a great time talking to Tristan.

Sunday was a satisfying, if not all that fun, day. Did laundry, hemmed pants and a skirt, vacuumed and mopped the floors, vacuumed my ceiling fan, washed all the crystals on the light fixture in the hallway. Greg's comment? "Huh, Montreal must have been really traumatizing." I thought of that again as I was mopping some splatters (from previous tenants) off the hallway wall.

As a big treat for all my industriousness, I headed down to Preston St. around 10 pm for gelato. See, I couldn't hear the horns any more, so figured the World Cup brouhaha had died down. Nope. At 11.30 I heard at least one more big cheer, away up here in Chinatown.

Darlins, I'm off to Washington, for the last of my jet-setting until September. I'll try to post from there, but we'll see how it goes. Jesus, I can't wait to be home and I haven't even left. Though I hear Washington is a great city.