New to Nuit Blanche

Last night I went to my first Nuit Blanche in Toronto; conveniently the friend I went with is much more familiar with the city and was able to help guide me to the best areas in town. We started North of where I live at the Spadina House and Casa Loma stables. Spadina House had a number of installations that were spaced along a path in their beautiful garden. They also had an interactive piece where one person at a time could put on special glasses and control bubbles on a projected screen (I didn't try it, but my friend thought it was pretty fun). The installation at the Casa Loma stables recreated a birch forest with speakers built into the trees and lighting effects to change the feeling of the forest from light and airy, to dreary and mysterious.

When we were finished with the installations north of Dupont, we hopped on the subway, got off at Union, then worked our way back north. It was disappointing that Union did not have any installations but after walking only a few minutes we were in one of the most heavily populated areas. Walking along Bay, we stopped at the Design Exchange, looked at a fun house, took a break on the steps at the corner of Bay and King, then continued on the City Hall.

There were a number of pieces to see in an around City Hall, but my favourite piece of the night ended up being the suspended pieces in the Eaton Centre titled Vertical Constructions: Dancer #1 and #2, by Max Streicher. The sculptures were made of recycled billboards, sewn together to create abstract shapes that the artist wanted to represent speed and movement.

After much walking we made it to our final destination, Market 707, an urban food court that transforms shipping crates into food stalls. While many of the items were sold out, it was still a great place to finish off, and we enjoyed Korean veggie pancakes and chicken curry dumplings before our quick ride home.

Artistic Anxiety

I love to help a friend out, but when they ask me to design, draw or paint something on the spot I get very nervous. Yesterday my boss asked if I wanted to go to a ceramic painting event, where the bowl I paint will be put into the kiln, then sold at a silent auction for a scholarship fund. I'm excited now, but when she first mentioned it I got worried immediately, I don't want to be the one who makes the ugly bowl that no one buys. If I painted something and knew it was only going to be me stuck with it that would be fine, but I'm supposed to be helping raise money. Thankfully my boss reassured me that lots of people plan ahead and even provided me with this year's theme. If it turns out well I will be sure to post an image.

Two Off the List

In my second year of college I got a job at the information desk. Because of the nature of the job, my boss focused a lot on how we could build our soft skills for the future. One of the things she highly suggested (i.e. forced us to do) was attend Connect workshops, a series she created for just that purpose. While I don't remember what the results were for my personality test, who I met at the workshops or any of the ice breaker games, the workshops opened me up to participating in other similar exercises.

In January I did a one hour questionnaire that asked me to write down things I wanted or valued from a list of characteristics and aspects of life. In addition to that, the questionnaire wanted me to write a list of things to accomplish in the next five years. At the time I thought it was probably a waste and that I would throw the list out or find it many years later, but instead I found it a few weeks ago. I am happy to report that I have accomplished two things on my list. Not only did I take a web course, but my work paid for it. In addition to that I joined a recreational volleyball team and am back to loving sports. I didn't think I missed group sports, but after smiling through the entirety of my first two games I am convinced.

Next up on the list is a trip to Croatia and learning to scuba dive, here's hoping I can accomplish both on an amazing trip to Europe.

Hittin' the Books

I was talking to a friend last night about reading and after a few minutes we realized we had experienced the same thing mere days apart. After not reading a book for a long time, we picked one up and wondered why we had waited so long. Reading a newspaper or magazine is nice, but getting sucked into a great book is infinitely better. I've mentioned this before, but I've been trying to read all the magazines I set aside while I was in school. Every once in a while I let myself read a book instead and all of a sudden I'm making time to read and end up staying up late to fit in a few more pages.

Another thing my friend and I realized is that reading a traditional book rather than an e-book is much more tactile and satisfying. Currently I'm reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, and I love that I can see my progress by how far into the book my bookmark is. My parents asked if I wanted an e-book for Christmas last year, and I declined for a couple of reasons, in addition to the greater enjoyment reading a traditional book provides, I also love to see all of my books on my shelf (probably my favourite thing in my apartment).

Overall, I love having time to read again. After making a Google spreadsheet of all the books I've written down that I want to read, I've realized that reading will continue to delight me for the foreseeable future.