Friday, May 16, 2008

Crazy Canadian goose and Toronto the Lame

For the last couple of days we are laughing at this persistent goose who managed to chase away a fisherman and his dog. In Canada even the geese come with attitude!


In one of my previous posts I mentioned how Toronto is falling from grace as a tourist location. The reasons cited in the survey say that Toronto doesn’t have much to offer. Once you’ve seen the CN tower and the lakefront, you’re pretty much done. So the city hired comedian Russel Peters to act as the spokesperson for Tourism Toronto. What can he do? Probably crack a few jokes about the city so we can officially laugh at ourselves! Wouldn’t it be wiser to work on attractions which could bring the tourists back? Now Toronto is not only lame, it’s laughably lame. This morning CHFI radio hosts Erin and Mike couldn’t understand what’s so lame about Toronto. “There are so many nice places to shop and to eat,” they said. From my own experience as a tourist, eating becomes important when I am tired of sightseeing, and shopping matters only for the souvenirs. Sightseeing would be nice if there were sights to see. Torontonians, it seems, are not only unfriendly, they are quite blind and pretty dumb. When we figure out there has to be more to offer than shopping and eating for tourists to flock to the city, then we’ll be on the path to improve its standing. Until then, “lame” is the right qualifier.

Speaking of food—apparently, raising cost of food worldwide will soon reflect in the restaurants across Canada. This summer, just in time for the tourist season, we can expect reduced menus and higher prices and the worse quality food. Which will add to the Toronto’s list of attributes: lame and laughable with expensive and bad food.

Today I managed to escape from work two hours earlier to start the long Victoria Day weekend. We spent the evening talking about Dubai, about the possible move, about the possible stay and everything in between. In her mind, Maggie is already furnishing an apartment in Dubai, while I’m torn about what to do with the house: to sell or to rent out? I wonder how disappointing will it be for both of us if the offer falls through? We are trying to focus on the positive aspects of staying in Toronto if that happens, but we are both nervous and excited. In just two days our steady, boring (or should I say lame) life in Toronto turned into a whirlwind of excitement.

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