I was surprised to find a common theme among some of the things I wanted to mention in this blog post. All of these moments involve potential misunderstandings and resolving them peacefully.
A) Neighbours
I live in Toronto. Because of the insane housing market in this city, people can't afford to buy a house for themselves. On my street, there are a lot of properties with rented basements. Often, the tenants aren't there long enough to get to know them well.
For the past few months, my husband noticed that often he'd find spill marks all over our side of the shared driveway. This was becoming an annoying pattern, so much so that we began to take photos of these "deliberate dumps". Why would someone empty their water bottle or coffee cups on our property when they have their own space? We prepared to write a note to our neighbours to point out the action and ask them to stop.
It just so happened that the renters were hanging out by their doorway when I was about to run an errand. Even though I can actually be shy around strangers, I approached them and banally asked about the poured liquid on the driveway.
Well, it turns out that this wasn't meant to disrespect our property at all. They explained that, in their culture, they offer water to the sun and, because of the way our houses face, there is no sun on their side of the driveway, so they need to pour it where the sun hits, which is our driveway.
I had never heard of this cultural tradition before, so I looked it up. This Medium article explains how this is meant to honour the Hindu sun god.
I am really glad that I did not enter the conversation "guns blazing". Having a conversation face to face instead of writing a note allowed me to broach the topic with more sensitivity than I was going to do.
B) AI Project
I am getting close to the end of my TDSB writing project. It's been a relatively solitary endeavor, even though we have working groups. I wasn't sure if I was on the right track with some of the lessons and guides I was developing. I didn't see many other samples in our shared folders.
Three things helped. First, I had the chance to chat with the hard working Salma Nakhuda about a separate topic. She is working on another project for the board and had a question that permitted me to "test out" with her some of the lessons I had drafted. Some of the interactions we had inspired me to take some of the lessons in new directions. Secondly, we had a group meeting scheduled for July 25. Meetings aren't always my favourite way to spend time, but reviewing expectations and clarifying goals was useful. Third, I had the chance to chat with Tracy Jansen-Sequeira, the elementary project lead. I peppered her with questions and she has been active in looking at my documents and providing feedback on what needs altering. Communicating directly with an expert helped to feel as if I'm moving in the right direction.
C) BNL Concert
On Friday, July 25, I attended the Barenaked Ladies concert at Budweiser Stadium downtown. It has been a long time since I've gone to a concert, especially one of this size. My last concert was at Casino Rama for Boy George and Culture Club, which was a much smaller venue. This event was 12 000 attendees. The hometown event was #32 of their 38-leg tour.
The group has been around for a long time (as you can see by their biography) and the last time I was at a BNL show live was their "Mr. Rockin's All You Can Eat Salad Bar" tour. (I still have the concert program.) The crowd was a huge mix of ages. There were kids. There were teenagers. There were young adults. There were older adults, like me.
I am unfamiliar with appropriate concert conduct. My daughter, who has attended more concerts in her 25 years than I have in my 53 years, says that there's a disagreement about whether it's okay or not to sing along at concerts. Thankfully, this wasn't an issue, as the acoustics were loud enough so that I didn't really hear anyone else singing. The challenge was around standing during the show. I bought a single seat in the last row, close to, but not on, the aisle. It turns out that I had a couple of empty seats on either side of me. I believe in sitting in my designated seat, so I did. Thing is, when Barenaked Ladies began to play, five people sitting right in front of me stood up to enjoy the show. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that then, I wasn't able to even see the big screens. I don't know the proper protocol about sitting vs standing. To prevent conflict, I just slid over into the empty seat right on the aisle. That way, I had an unobstructed view of the screens.
By finding my own solution, instead of forcing the other concert goers to abide by my standards, everyone was able to enjoy the show in their own way. There's no need to fight. This message was reinforced for me when Ed Robertson stopped his intro to "Hello City" to tell some people in the front to stop fighting.
The concert was quite enjoyable. I took a couple of photos and a few videos. I am continually amazed by the talent that Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Tyler Stewart possess. They are proficient musicians on several instruments. Their accordion version of Van Halen's "Jump" was a delightful surprise, as was the medley they played at the end. (Despite being an enjoyer of primarily 1980s and 1990s pop, I have a fondness for Chappell Roan's song, "Pink Pony Club" and they sang a bit of it at the show.) The opening acts (Fastball and Sugar Ray) were also entertaining.
I enjoyed the concert so much that I may try to purchase some more CDs to supplement the ones I own from earlier in BNL's discography. (Yes, I still own a CD player. I'm that old.)
D) Fixing My Tooth
The day before the concert, I saw my dentist because there was a small problem with a back tooth of mine. I thought that there was something caught in the tooth. It didn't feel right. My wonderful dentist, Dr. Michael Tom, kept looking and asking questions. I found it hard to find the right words to accurately describe what I was feeling and to pinpoint the exact location. Dr. Tom didn't give up and he eventually found a miniscule chip in an odd spot on the tooth. He also noticed some "gum trauma" and surmised that I might have had something stuck there before but that it fell out after doing some damage. I really appreciate my dentist and how he persevered, even when it was not obvious that there was a problem. He believed me when I said something didn't feel right and didn't dismiss my concerns. I am thankful to have such an amazing, attentive dentist.