More TIFF

Not going to lie, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to do a whole lot during the limited time we had in Toronto (As I was writing this we were on our way home, driving past a streetside antique market. Icanteven...). A lot of our time was spent walking far away to theatres or getting trapped by red carpet street blockades. Or by me trying to drag my friends to the most Asian restaurant possible. All I wanted was some sushi from the multitude of sushi restaurants around but that didn't happen either. Sadness.

But besides that, TIFF itself was a great experience. It's always great to have to filmmakers and people involved in the process around to hear their own take on the film after we viewed it. I wasn't able to get any gala tickets but I'm sure they were amazing! I was also really excited to be out of the country for the first time and observe how the world works outside of the US. It was really interesting when we were told about how Canadian cities don't really have "bad neighborhoods" like the US does in pretty much... every city. The whole place was generally glassy and so clean! And their theatres were all HUGE.

(I'm standing on Chicago :)

On a slightly different note, we crossed the Canadian-American border into New York State on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The lines weren't as long as expected (maybe travelers didn't even want to chance it) and border patrol were actually nice when we had to go in for stamps. I haven't traveled often throughout my life and once I'm away, I always miss home and familiarity. Coming home today just seemed more special than usual.

Though I'm living in NY for the year, I haven't been to NYC yet. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be there today. I would probably be a crying mess all day. The only thing I can compare it to is if (hypothetically) the same thing had happened to Chicago. If the Sears Tower had been hit instead... I don't know how I would ever be able to look at the city the same way again. To not see that icon at the end of Rand Rd. on a sunny day... unfathomable.

Fly your flags proudly today:

(mine is above my bed, given to me by a friend in the military)