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September 8, 2006
Toronto Film Festival - Night One
I generally try to keep my personal life out of work, but I’m a bit stuck on what to write on and had a fairly interesting night, so what the heck! I started off meeting up with an old school friend. I was early and wound up in this packed bar where a bunch of old colleagues happened to be. It was fun to catch up on the old days when I was anchoring what was billed as the webs first wireless Internet TV station. Eventually my friend showed up and the evening went on…
We dined on calamari on a patio while sipping wine down in the trendy Yorkville district. We chatted about the college days and what has transpired since then. We were out on the patio and throngs of people were passing by. The Film Festival is in full swing in Toronto and if you’re going to be any place to catch the buzz, Yorkville is it!
After dinner, we parted ways. A friend was supposed to meet up with me so I pulled up a stool at a bar and grabbed a pint of Strongbow. Almost the second I sat, this beautiful, but cracked out, woman came up to me. She had art that was selling in a charity auction downstairs and she was pushing to get me to bid. Clearly, she had no idea who she was up against but it takes more than a pretty face and some serious talent to get me to buy on impulse.
Finally, she moved on and then a young brunette stepped up to the bar to order a drink. We got to chatting. She was antagonistic, but charming. It turns out she was in her forth year of J-school and wanted to edit a majory literary magazine. Beauty and brains is a tough combo to come by these days. Perhaps I should have dropped my number while we chatted about the uses of olives outside of martinis?
By this point, it was just after midnight and my friend decided he wasn’t going to make it so I made a move for home. However, on my way, there was this other bar with a live jazz act, so I stopped by for a glass of white wine – probably my sixth for the night. I was yapping with yet another movie producer (they’re all over the city right now) about his documentary on the hardships of living in Cuba under Castro when the waiter came up to me to let me know that a group of girls had bought be a glass of wine. I made my way over and sat with them while listening to the sounds of this grungy Goth girl who was wailing away while strumming on a guitar. The one downside to the wine incident was that the girl who bought me the glass of wine lives in New York. Such is my life!
Finally, I left the bar at what must have been close to two AM and decided it was time to go home – but I figured I should stroll around the area to see if anything else caught my eye. As it turns out, the bars are open until 4AM for the film festival. Just my luck! I found a club and spent the rest of the morning dancing with some of the waitstaff from the bar I had been at previously and with what I’m pretty sure was a hooker and her pimp. It was quite funny, actually. She was dancing with this tall lanky guy who was trying to throw her around and do dips and she wound up cracking her head off the concrete a few times – but that didn’t seem to put a damper on her evening!
Well, that was night one of the film festival for me. After it all, I don’t really see there being any need for a night two… at least until I sober up! Anyone free to hit the town tonight?
Posted by CupidsReviews Doug at September 8, 2006 3:51 PM
