OH, Canada!
Apr. 26th, 2005 09:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrdreamjeansGreetings from the Delta Chelsea in Toronto. The weather here is overcast and the temperature is in the 40s, a big change after a week of sunshine and 80-degree temps in Ft Myers, Florida. I have today off before beginning our six-week run; this week will be a busy one as we open on a Wednesday matinee. Our performing schedule for the first week includes double shows on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and single shows on Thursday (opening night) and Sunday afternoon.
The week in Ft Myers was successful; houses held steady at about two-thirds, as our time in the Florida came just after many of the snowbirds had returned North. My Cousin Shirley and her friends attended the Saturday matinee and enjoyed the show immensely. Due to a stomach bug that was going around...and allergies which affected Kathy, Shirley saw Angela as Eva. Since, Rachel was also out, we were down one woman in "Aristos". I had no partner to circle in "Peron's Latest Flame". I had to circle myself. I was worried that I wouldn’t get around in time:) Ha!
It was a long travel day. Up at 4:30am on Monday, the troupe traveled in three groups. Six people were routed through Chicago and then on to Toronto; 24 of us flew from Ft Myers to Toronto via Newark and the final group of 20+ flew through Cleveland before arriving in Toronto. The first two groups will receive double overtime for the infringement on the night travel ban in the contract; the last group will receive overtime for traveling 12 hours on the day following a performance.
Our company manager, DeAnn, did a terrific job in preparing for the border crossing. Her manifest was complete and organized; everyone had passports and no secrets. We didn’t have to individually go through immigration, nor did we have to collect luggage and have it gone through. It was just about as painless as possible. I did have one minor shock, a bit funny in hindsight. One of my suitcases weighed 46lbs; the other weighed 54lbs. The desk agent for Continental told me I needed to shift the weight to get to the 50lb per bag weight limit. I pulled out two pairs of blue jeans. The TSA guy put them on the scale and they weighed exactly four pounds! Two pairs, four pounds!!! Yikes! It’s not fair. Our tiny women and skinny dancer boys don’t face that problem:)
My hotel room is small, but comfortable. The Delta Chelsea is right off Yonge Street, a short walk from Church Street with all of its bars and businesses geared to the Gay & Lesbian Community. After grabbing supper at a diner, I walked around for a couple of hours , making a mental note of the clubs and coffee shops which teddybtoronto thoughtfully identified for me in an email. I am hoping a club called the Barn and Stables will have two-steppin’...fingers crossed. A huge two-story mural on the side of the building shows two men, dressed as cowboys, obviously dancing. I can only hope!
My activity on the internet in Toronto will be intermittent for the next six weeks. I’ll be incurring extra charges every time I sign on to AOL. I have a local number for AOL and there is no charge by the hotel for local and 800 calls, but I checked with AOL billing and I’ll have a $2.95 an hour surcharge added each time I sign on because I’m in Canada. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a less expensive way to access the internet, but for now, I’ll write my posts off line, sign on to post, read mail quickly and sign off. In Ft Myers last week, I had to watch the clock and sign off every 30 minutes before they started charging 10 cents a minute. It’s hard to concentrate when you’re watching the clock.
I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to read live journal during the next month and a half. I ask my LJ friends to email me information or posts you really want me to read during this time. I want to keep up, but I can’t afford to sit online for hours and scroll journal entries. It will break the bank. Signing on and off the internet will be held to a minimum....Oh Canada.....
The week in Ft Myers was successful; houses held steady at about two-thirds, as our time in the Florida came just after many of the snowbirds had returned North. My Cousin Shirley and her friends attended the Saturday matinee and enjoyed the show immensely. Due to a stomach bug that was going around...and allergies which affected Kathy, Shirley saw Angela as Eva. Since, Rachel was also out, we were down one woman in "Aristos". I had no partner to circle in "Peron's Latest Flame". I had to circle myself. I was worried that I wouldn’t get around in time:) Ha!
It was a long travel day. Up at 4:30am on Monday, the troupe traveled in three groups. Six people were routed through Chicago and then on to Toronto; 24 of us flew from Ft Myers to Toronto via Newark and the final group of 20+ flew through Cleveland before arriving in Toronto. The first two groups will receive double overtime for the infringement on the night travel ban in the contract; the last group will receive overtime for traveling 12 hours on the day following a performance.
Our company manager, DeAnn, did a terrific job in preparing for the border crossing. Her manifest was complete and organized; everyone had passports and no secrets. We didn’t have to individually go through immigration, nor did we have to collect luggage and have it gone through. It was just about as painless as possible. I did have one minor shock, a bit funny in hindsight. One of my suitcases weighed 46lbs; the other weighed 54lbs. The desk agent for Continental told me I needed to shift the weight to get to the 50lb per bag weight limit. I pulled out two pairs of blue jeans. The TSA guy put them on the scale and they weighed exactly four pounds! Two pairs, four pounds!!! Yikes! It’s not fair. Our tiny women and skinny dancer boys don’t face that problem:)
My hotel room is small, but comfortable. The Delta Chelsea is right off Yonge Street, a short walk from Church Street with all of its bars and businesses geared to the Gay & Lesbian Community. After grabbing supper at a diner, I walked around for a couple of hours , making a mental note of the clubs and coffee shops which teddybtoronto thoughtfully identified for me in an email. I am hoping a club called the Barn and Stables will have two-steppin’...fingers crossed. A huge two-story mural on the side of the building shows two men, dressed as cowboys, obviously dancing. I can only hope!
My activity on the internet in Toronto will be intermittent for the next six weeks. I’ll be incurring extra charges every time I sign on to AOL. I have a local number for AOL and there is no charge by the hotel for local and 800 calls, but I checked with AOL billing and I’ll have a $2.95 an hour surcharge added each time I sign on because I’m in Canada. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a less expensive way to access the internet, but for now, I’ll write my posts off line, sign on to post, read mail quickly and sign off. In Ft Myers last week, I had to watch the clock and sign off every 30 minutes before they started charging 10 cents a minute. It’s hard to concentrate when you’re watching the clock.
I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to read live journal during the next month and a half. I ask my LJ friends to email me information or posts you really want me to read during this time. I want to keep up, but I can’t afford to sit online for hours and scroll journal entries. It will break the bank. Signing on and off the internet will be held to a minimum....Oh Canada.....
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Date: 2005-04-26 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2005-04-26 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 04:03 pm (UTC)LOL
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Date: 2005-04-26 03:26 pm (UTC)TO huh? Damn. I could hop in the car and be there in time for din din. Oh well. We'll have Montreal.
Emails it will be then!!!!
Enjoy!!!
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Date: 2005-04-28 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:32 pm (UTC)If you can't replace your laptop soon and have a PMCIA slot, you can get a wireless card. Even a G3 should do high speed. In 2001, I ran DSL on an old Pentium 133 with 64MB RAM without problems for the most part.
But best to replace I agree.
I'll try to remember E-mail for a while!
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Date: 2005-04-26 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 11:54 pm (UTC)I found Toronto to be a very clean, modern city and I enjoyed our visit immensely (I was the one responsible for calculating metric/English conversions). I also made a fool of myself while having my US dollars converted to Canadian bills, speaking very slowly and loudly to a young woman who was probably fluent in at least 5 languages (*Blush*).
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Date: 2005-04-28 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 10:00 pm (UTC)Temperatures are trickier. Water freezes at 0C, 15-20 is jacket weather, 21-23C is pretty comfy, 32C equates to 90F. You just have to fill in the gaps and adjust for your own comfort levels.
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Date: 2005-04-27 01:31 am (UTC)cultcommunity. Our private opinion (which we make public as often as anyone will listen) is that there are *no* ugly Canadian gay mail square dancers. :-) If you have trouble finding two-stepping there, we'll be happy to tap our Toronto friends for info.We attended the 2002 gay square dance convention in Toronto (my "duo" icon was taken at that event) and I believe that they offered two-stepping each night with a DJ after the square dancing ended at 10 or 11. That's typical of our conventions, anyway. Plenty of overlap between the two groups.
Have a great time north of the border! We heart Toronto!
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Date: 2005-04-28 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 01:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 06:30 am (UTC)I'll see if I can think of a solution to the "AOL surcharge" problem.
It might be too much trouble for the money saved, but perhaps you can sign up for one of those "one month free trial" offers with AOL Canada, which would give you access at no surcharge.
http://www.aol.ca/portal/home/index.adp
There are some Internet cafes near you, but I don't know if they are really any cheaper than the $2.95/hour surcharge you are paying to access your US AOL account.
In any case, I am glad you made it, and I look forward to meeting you soon.
Oh, and don't forget half-price fajitas on Wednesdays at Hernando's Hideaway, if you have a hankering for Tex-Mex food. *grin*
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Date: 2005-04-28 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 11:43 pm (UTC)I'm glad the info about Toronto has been useful. I know it is always a bit of a hassle to be in a new city, and I'm glad I could help a little bit in making the surroundings a bit more familiar.
I hope the rehearsals in the new theater and with the cast changes are going well, and I look forward to getting a chance to meet you soon.
Heart Canada!
Date: 2005-04-27 11:57 am (UTC)Sigh! If I had money, I'd buy a cabin in the canadian rockies to throw weekly (ahemm)parties for my LJ beloved... :0)