To Canada, but not as I originally planned...

This afternoon, I'm flying from Baltimore to Buffalo then renting a car and driving the rest of the way to the Toronto area.

This visit is to attend a family funeral in the Woodstock/Drumbo area but I'm padding a little extra time around the events for various family & friends functions since I don't get back to Ontario all that often these days.

Originally, I was to stay with friends John & Chris in Toronto's Pape-Danforth area but both of them are suffering from a particularly nasty stomach flu so I'm quickly making alternate arrangements. At the moment, I'm not sure if I'll be staying in downtown Toronto or closer to various sisters in north Mississauga... I hope to have that nailed down shortly.

In any event, if anyone in the greater Toronto area would like to get together, let me know. I can't make promises at the moment about my own availability until I confer with the family about the funereal arrangements but we can coordinate by e-mail as the details become clear.

To Canada, but not as I originally planned...

This afternoon, I'm flying from Baltimore to Buffalo then renting a car and driving the rest of the way to the Toronto area.

This visit is to attend a family funeral in the Woodstock/Drumbo area but I'm padding a little extra time around the events for various family & friends functions since I don't get back to Ontario all that often these days.

Originally, I was to stay with friends John & Chris in Toronto's Pape-Danforth area but both of them are suffering from a particularly nasty stomach flu so I'm quickly making alternate arrangements. At the moment, I'm not sure if I'll be staying in downtown Toronto or closer to various sisters in north Mississauga... I hope to have that nailed down shortly.

In any event, if anyone in the greater Toronto area would like to get together, let me know. I can't make promises at the moment about my own availability until I confer with the family about the funereal arrangements but we can coordinate by e-mail as the details become clear.

DC Lambda Squares Plus Class - #1

The first class session last night went very well! We have 19 dancers signed up for Plus, mostly from DC Lambda Squares but a handful also from Chesapeake Squares. Including the angels, we had three squares on the floor with a handful of additional angels and club members standing by, the largest group I've had the pleasure of working with so far.

A few folks are still stuttering on some Mainstream calls and oddly, it's not the calls one might think. "Scoot back" is an issue, but "spin chain thru" is not. Go figure. I'm confident we'll get those kinks worked out; I suspect it's a lack of experience more than a lack of knowledge or exposure. And now that we know the weak spots, we can drill those as we slowly ramp up on Plus.

This was also our first dance session ever for the DC Lambda Squares in our new home. First Baptist Church dramatically raised our rent recently so we've shifted our classes and club nights to National City Christian Church over on Thomas Circle. (Anyone attending Mid-Atlantic Leather at the Washington Plaza Hotel will notice the *huge* Romanesque church columns of NCCC just around the circle to the west.)

The social hall is carpeted but is still pretty easy on the feet. The air conditioning is a little feeble against the heat & humidity of DC summers but a couple of floor fans makes it tolerable. The shape of the room does cause some echo and it sucks up all the treble sound; tweaking the bass/treble settings on the sound system helped. And we have a stage so the callers can see all the squares on the floor a lot more clearly than at FBC. In all, I'm happy with the new space.

DC Lambda Squares Plus Class - #1

The first class session last night went very well! We have 19 dancers signed up for Plus, mostly from DC Lambda Squares but a handful also from Chesapeake Squares. Including the angels, we had three squares on the floor with a handful of additional angels and club members standing by, the largest group I've had the pleasure of working with so far.

A few folks are still stuttering on some Mainstream calls and oddly, it's not the calls one might think. "Scoot back" is an issue, but "spin chain thru" is not. Go figure. I'm confident we'll get those kinks worked out; I suspect it's a lack of experience more than a lack of knowledge or exposure. And now that we know the weak spots, we can drill those as we slowly ramp up on Plus.

This was also our first dance session ever for the DC Lambda Squares in our new home. First Baptist Church dramatically raised our rent recently so we've shifted our classes and club nights to National City Christian Church over on Thomas Circle. (Anyone attending Mid-Atlantic Leather at the Washington Plaza Hotel will notice the *huge* Romanesque church columns of NCCC just around the circle to the west.)

The social hall is carpeted but is still pretty easy on the feet. The air conditioning is a little feeble against the heat & humidity of DC summers but a couple of floor fans makes it tolerable. The shape of the room does cause some echo and it sucks up all the treble sound; tweaking the bass/treble settings on the sound system helped. And we have a stage so the callers can see all the squares on the floor a lot more clearly than at FBC. In all, I'm happy with the new space.

Toronto!

I have arrived in Toronto, more or less intact and as scheduled.

My morning at the office, the drive to Baltimore-Washington International airport and the flight from BWI to BUF were all collectively uneventful. My car at Budget was waiting for me, and they upgraded me at no charge from an economy class to a Ford Focus --if one could call that an upgrade. Ah, well... the car runs and I can give it back when it falls apart.

The baggage carousel at Buffalo was intriguing. One expects to see suitcases and bags. I didn't expect to see a single sock, followed a few minutes later by a t-shirt, followed yet later by a box of Triscuits. Hmmm.

Crossing the border was mundane. I flashed my Canadian passport at the very cute muscle-puppy border guard with huge, muscular arms and a bemused smile, then scooted along to pay the bridge toll. Yup, once again I forgot to pack the Fastoll transponder so I had to pay cash to cross the Peace Bridge. At least it was a chance to break one of my $20 CDN bills.

The commute to Toronto from Buffalo took longer than anticipated, thanks to me arriving in Hamilton just as the evening rush hour was starting. It was largely stop & go all the way.

Alas, I arrived in the big city with still no place to stay, although I did receive several offers from friends and family as a fall-back position. Once here however, I located a bar with free wireless, grabbed a drink and started both catching up with e-mail and searching for a reasonably priced hotel or motel.

Apparently, there's some major conference stuff going on around Toronto. I checked all of my usual best candidates: Holiday Inn, Days Inn, Marriott, Embassy Suites, Comfort Suites, The Grand, The Primrose, etc.. Ultimately, I find a not unreasonable rate at an Econo Lodge. They don't have parking available and they charge for wireless Internet, but I'm not likely to be around in the downtown during metered parking hours and I've grabbed a signal from the Days Inn across the street, so I'm fine. As long as the air conditioning is functioning --it's uncommonly hot & humid here in Hogtown-- I'm a happy camper.

Now to get dinner. Since I'm travelling solo this time, I get to indulge myself in the worst possible culinary excesses and wonts. Since moving to the US, I've missed Pizza Pizza, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, the St Lawrence Market and a host of other Canadian establishments. I'm now going to visit them all. Possible in one evening. Stay tuned.

It does feel good to be back, if only for a few days.

Toronto!

I have arrived in Toronto, more or less intact and as scheduled.

My morning at the office, the drive to Baltimore-Washington International airport and the flight from BWI to BUF were all collectively uneventful. My car at Budget was waiting for me, and they upgraded me at no charge from an economy class to a Ford Focus --if one could call that an upgrade. Ah, well... the car runs and I can give it back when it falls apart.

The baggage carousel at Buffalo was intriguing. One expects to see suitcases and bags. I didn't expect to see a single sock, followed a few minutes later by a t-shirt, followed yet later by a box of Triscuits. Hmmm.

Crossing the border was mundane. I flashed my Canadian passport at the very cute muscle-puppy border guard with huge, muscular arms and a bemused smile, then scooted along to pay the bridge toll. Yup, once again I forgot to pack the Fastoll transponder so I had to pay cash to cross the Peace Bridge. At least it was a chance to break one of my $20 CDN bills.

The commute to Toronto from Buffalo took longer than anticipated, thanks to me arriving in Hamilton just as the evening rush hour was starting. It was largely stop & go all the way.

Alas, I arrived in the big city with still no place to stay, although I did receive several offers from friends and family as a fall-back position. Once here however, I located a bar with free wireless, grabbed a drink and started both catching up with e-mail and searching for a reasonably priced hotel or motel.

Apparently, there's some major conference stuff going on around Toronto. I checked all of my usual best candidates: Holiday Inn, Days Inn, Marriott, Embassy Suites, Comfort Suites, The Grand, The Primrose, etc.. Ultimately, I find a not unreasonable rate at an Econo Lodge. They don't have parking available and they charge for wireless Internet, but I'm not likely to be around in the downtown during metered parking hours and I've grabbed a signal from the Days Inn across the street, so I'm fine. As long as the air conditioning is functioning --it's uncommonly hot & humid here in Hogtown-- I'm a happy camper.

Now to get dinner. Since I'm travelling solo this time, I get to indulge myself in the worst possible culinary excesses and wonts. Since moving to the US, I've missed Pizza Pizza, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, the St Lawrence Market and a host of other Canadian establishments. I'm now going to visit them all. Possible in one evening. Stay tuned.

It does feel good to be back, if only for a few days.