Searching for Tao, 7573 Kilometres from Home

August 13, 2005 20:26 +0000 | Moments In Time 0

the sky is overcast, a welcome change from the last few days of scorching heat. i woke up early to get things in order after falling asleep at 8:30 the night before and i've spent much of the morning darting about my apartment preparing the place for the arrival of an old friend. my home is finally clean, dishes put into the dishwasher, floor swept and statically-sound. even my wallhangings are in place.

starving, i reach for a box of "life" in the cupboard, fill up a bowl, pour the milk and lean back against my stove shirtless, with the bowl in hand. my bare feet hold me to the floor and i look out my window to the less-than-inviting-but-friendlier-than-before world and consume my kid-food. the cereal is tasty, sugary even and for a moment i wonder if that sugar is natural.

o well time to go buy some food for tonight.

July 15, 2005 19:18 +0000 | Moments In Time Personal Life 0

it's the summer of 2003 and i'm still living in ottawa. feeling the stifling grip of the town closing around me, i'm walking home through "downtown" when i see a mini poster on a telephone pole:

VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS: SUMMER
THIS SUNDAY AT THE NOTRE DAME BASSILICA

suddenly i'm very excited about the whole thing. i'd been wanting to see the bassilica ever since i moved into the area and here was the perfect setting: a classical performance of one of my favourite composers. after much coaxing and a little complaining from chrystal i manage to convince her to come with me to sit in the hot and humid old church and enjoy the show with me.

"the show" consists of no more than 7 musicians who, seated at the front of the church are almost entirely hidden behind the heads of others who thought to arrive earlier. the lead violinist, a slender girl with long curly brown hair stands up, and with the small accompaniment behind her, she makes the church sing... this is vivaldi's "summer", and i am near tears.

yesterday i was taken back to that moment in time thanks to taavi's new audio system at home. he's gone out and bought brand new $2500 studio monitors (note, these aren't speakers. such a word is an insult to these beautiful things). he sat me in his chair, the monitors pointed at me and loaded a cd into the tray. it wasn't perfect, but it was almost exactly like being back there in the bassilica.

thanks taavi.

July 07, 2005 05:47 +0000 | Moments In Time Society & Culture 0

after the show tonight, i hopped on the bloor line east at yonge and between the long, normally painful wait between subways, i was treated to a singular gift: there was a girl on the subway platform staring out into the opposite wall, she had long, dark golden ringlets of hair with a baseball cap on and in her own little world, she was singing...

...and she was awesome.

an old man came up to her and mumbled something rather quietly and she in a friendly, but evidently louder voice replied: "i'm sorry, did you want me to stop singing?" the man replied sheepishly in the negative and she responded, "i'm sorry, but it's my birthday and i've had lots to drink and i just feel like singing" to which i responded from a few feet away: "well happy birthday!".

she thanked me and the man smiled, walking away... but not too far. he wanted to listen to her sing some more.

the subway finally arrived and we all piled on, and she continued to sing along with whatever song was in her head. i didn't recognise it or i might have sung along. regardless, when my stop came up, i smiled and said: "you have a lovely voice, happy birthday" and got off the train.

it's nice to know that amongst all this nasty tasting air and dirty streets, there's a little bit of beauty... even on the subway platform at night.