Best case Monday

With summer finally arriving in Toronto, I'm finding it hard to go to work. Happily, today is turning out to be better than expected. Both my boss and my immediate supervisor are out of the office. While this scenario is conducive to slacking off, I have actually been productive because meeting a deadline has been compatible with listening to "Q" on CBC Radio, which featured an interview with one of my favourite writers, David Sedaris. I actually laughed until my spreadsheet became blurry, though my co-worker might have perceived sobbing stifled by hastily grabbed tissue paper. The podcast of the interview should be uploaded soon so check it out.

Quick notes on two street festivals that I visited over the weekend:

Taste of Little Italy - A smaller event than Taste of the Danforth that was heavy on food offerings from everywhere but Italy. My friend made a point of eating Italian food at the festival but was disappointed after his determined search resulted in some rather ordinary ravioli.

Big on Bloor - It was unfortunate that this one day festival took place during steady day-long rain on Saturday. The weather meant less crowding for Joe and me but we felt sorry for the sodden vendors, especially the ones without any shelter. One thing that I like about the Big on Bloor Street Festival is that it features up and coming crafters and artists that I do not normally see at bigger events. Eric Cheung had his Orphans Plush sitting in an old suitcase, open to the elements. He came out from the shelter of a store front to give us a whimsical tale about the dolls and explain how he had learned to sew in order to produce them. The Orphans were so appealing and well priced that we couldn't resist adopting one. We named him Walter and discovered that he longs to become a ballet dancer in spite of his footballer's build, which he attempts to camouflage with the vertical lines of his tight sweater.