Salsified
Well... I have discovered one interesting side-effect of my new location.
As most of us that live in Toronto, and some who don't, are aware, this is a very, very multicultural city. Also, a city that is very big on street festivals: one of the world's largest Pride celebrations, plus Caribana (a Caribbean festival), Taste of the Danforth (Greek), Corso Italia Festival (Italian, obviously), and a whole bunch of others I can't think of offhand, most notably including the Salsa on St. Clair festival -- a Latin American festival.
Which takes place this weekend. On St. Clair West, between Christie and Winona.
We all recall that I live a block west of Christie, right?
So yes: there is a Salsa festival going on directly outside my apartment. Crowds, booths of Latin American good and merchandise of various sorts, sound stages with live music, dance areas (one of them being the very intersection I live at the corner of), etc. The dance area right outside my apartment is one where they are giving lessons, so the music I have been hearing all day has been frequently been accompanied by an announcer's voice calling out things like "Right! Left! Right! Left! Now, forward! Cha cha cha!"
Despite the fact that this is an annual event, and there are posters up everywhere, I had somehow managed to completely forget about it until last night.
On the bright side, I do not need to bother to play any music in my apartment this weekend, as that would be quite redundant.
On the less bright side, if I want to listen to any other sort of music this weekend apart from Salsa, I am out of luck.
Anyone who phones me this weekend should probably bear in mind that I will not be able to hear the phone unless I am sitting right next to it. And even if I am, hearing you on the other end may be slightly challenging.
Were I inclined to feel like a cranky misanthropist at this particular point in my life, I would probably be finding this all highly annoying. Instead, I have opted to find it entertaining, and I think I will now go out and check it all out from closer up. I have to go get cat food anyway, and that means going straight through three blocks of the festival to get to the pet supply store, so I might as well check it out along the way.
However, we will see how entertaining I still find it by the end of the weekend. This may be a test of my ability to maintain a positive attitude in the face of all things, including unexpected Salsa festivals.
As most of us that live in Toronto, and some who don't, are aware, this is a very, very multicultural city. Also, a city that is very big on street festivals: one of the world's largest Pride celebrations, plus Caribana (a Caribbean festival), Taste of the Danforth (Greek), Corso Italia Festival (Italian, obviously), and a whole bunch of others I can't think of offhand, most notably including the Salsa on St. Clair festival -- a Latin American festival.
Which takes place this weekend. On St. Clair West, between Christie and Winona.
We all recall that I live a block west of Christie, right?
So yes: there is a Salsa festival going on directly outside my apartment. Crowds, booths of Latin American good and merchandise of various sorts, sound stages with live music, dance areas (one of them being the very intersection I live at the corner of), etc. The dance area right outside my apartment is one where they are giving lessons, so the music I have been hearing all day has been frequently been accompanied by an announcer's voice calling out things like "Right! Left! Right! Left! Now, forward! Cha cha cha!"
Despite the fact that this is an annual event, and there are posters up everywhere, I had somehow managed to completely forget about it until last night.
On the bright side, I do not need to bother to play any music in my apartment this weekend, as that would be quite redundant.
On the less bright side, if I want to listen to any other sort of music this weekend apart from Salsa, I am out of luck.
Anyone who phones me this weekend should probably bear in mind that I will not be able to hear the phone unless I am sitting right next to it. And even if I am, hearing you on the other end may be slightly challenging.
Were I inclined to feel like a cranky misanthropist at this particular point in my life, I would probably be finding this all highly annoying. Instead, I have opted to find it entertaining, and I think I will now go out and check it all out from closer up. I have to go get cat food anyway, and that means going straight through three blocks of the festival to get to the pet supply store, so I might as well check it out along the way.
However, we will see how entertaining I still find it by the end of the weekend. This may be a test of my ability to maintain a positive attitude in the face of all things, including unexpected Salsa festivals.