18 - Volume Two - Club Med Turks & Caicos

Stephen and I spent the last week of January ( wonderfully, it was a frigid and snowy week in January) at Club Med in Turks & Caicos. People generally don't walk around an all-inclusive resort with their wallets, but on the day that they are leaving, they are lounging around the main bar, getting their last mango daiquiri and exchanging emails with the new friends that they have made.

Several people we had been hanging out with during the week were leaving on the Friday, so I brought out my Something From Your Wallet journal.



The above entry is from Cher, who was on the same snorkeling boat as us one day. It was the day that Stephen spotted a nurse shark and took a great video of it, as well as many photos.

Here is the link to the nurse shark video that Stephen put on You Tube:
Nurse Shark video




If you look at this image in the right light you can just barely see Renee's contribution - a peppermint lifesaver! Not the easiest thing to scan. Renee is a friend of Cher's.


Zalida, who we met down there at Club Med Turks, who lives not too far away from us. The little yellow stickie note is the air miles she has, on what airline I do not know, but it seems to be a lot of miles.



Melissa from New York City. Bit of a hines story here.

When we first met Melissa, she was constantly checking her Blackberry. A bit later the same night, we were sitting in the theatre area talking to Melissa and another fellow Club Medder, Bob. Throughout the conversation, Melissa would be checking her Blackberry and writing emails (this was at about 10 at night, or even later). So ... I bugged her about it. You're on vacation, for crying out loud, get rid of the Blackberry. Melissa explained that she runs her own business, she just hired a brand new assistant who is holding down the fort while she was gone, she simply cannot jeopardize her own business by ignoring her clients and not replying to her new assistant. .... I continued to bug her. You've made that choice. You've put yourself in this situation where you're on vacation but you're not really on vacation. Although I continued to stay on her case about it, I ended up feeling pretty shitty about how I was talking to her. I was not cutting her any breaks.

The rest of the week, I felt a bit of tension every time I talked to Melissa. And I felt like crap about it, because she is a really nice person, and I was an ass towards her.

On our last day at Club Med, the dreaded day when you are forced out of your denial and forced into airplane clothes, Melissa was bound and determined to give me something from her wallet. She had put together a whole pile of things and wanted to let me know that I had made her take a look at her life in an otherwise neglected perspective. I think that the collage she put together in my journal and her words are wonderfully cathartic (I hope it was, anyway).

I will definitely try to get in touch with Melissa the next time I am in New York City. And I will be hoping that she has been taking the time to enjoy life and her hobbies a little bit more. And I will be more careful in my words and my judgement towards others.




the Elizabeth story

17 - Volume Two - GRTTWaK January '09

On a cold and snowy night in January 2009, Dan Misener hosted the sixth rendition of "Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids", affectionately known to the regulars as GRTTWaK, the king of all acronyms.

Thanks for the plug, Dan, and for the folks who follow this Blog, please be sure to check out Dan's project at http://grownupsreadthingstheywroteaskids.com/

Dan's submission to this journal can be seen at Blog entry #6 (go to the bottom right of this screen and click on it - his entry is towards the end of that post).



Jenna, wife of Dan, one of the sweetest human beings I've ever met. I always enjoyed her boy-obsessed journal entry readings at the early GRTTWAK nights, but it seems that Dan's project has become so successful that he needn't rely on friends and relatives to fill the roster any longer.



As it happens, Stephen and I will be going to Edinburgh this coming September, so perhaps this list will come in handy.

Another example of something carried around by someone for MONTHS ...... Love it!



An expired health card, this is a first! Aaron read at GRTTWAK, so I guess he was not a friend or relative of Dan's. I remember Aaron's reading was quite humourous, and that he was extremely composed on stage. Turns out, he's an actor.

Hmmmm....maybe he was only acting like a grownup reading something he had written as a kid.



A ringing non-endorsement for Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream.



Love the "old school Blackberry" comment. Colin is a sound guy, works usually at Hugh's Room, I believe (we've seen him there, anyway). The meeting he is referring to was in preparation for a night at the Delta Chelsea when Raoul & the Big Time were playing, a band that we have been following for a while. Stephen and I had every intention of going to see them at this Blues Summit, but for some reason never made it to the show. Unfortunate.





Top marks for funniest entry of the night, perhaps the entire journal.
(click on it to blow it up big enough to read more easily)

16 - Volume Two - Wood Guy

One night at the Horseshoe, we were there super early. We sat on the stools against that little ledge between the open floor and the seating. One other guy was there as super early as we were, so we asked him for something from his wallet.

So if you need any furniture designed, look this guy up.

15 - Volume Two - Chester, Nova Scotia

Perhaps one of the oddest entries. In October 2008, Stephen and I spent a weekend in and around Chester, Nova Scotia. His paternal grandparents had a stunning property nearby and Stephen spent many summers there. Something from Stephen's wallet in Volume One is a small sticky note with the lattitude and longitude of this property, known as "Swallow Point".

One night in Chester, we went to the Fo'c'sle Pub. We stood at the bar and had a pint, while a rather inebriated gentleman told us all kinds of tales. Although a questionable decision, I asked him for something from his wallet. This in itself was quite a task. He was very concerned about giving me something that could lead people on the Intenet back to him or give away anything about him. He gave me one card which I glued in, but then he changed his mind and pulled it off the page. He then gave me this card and we got a piece of tape from the bartender to tape it in, in case he wanted to take it back. Luckily, the fact that it is taped in allows us to see what is written on the back of the card.

Puzzling.

14 - Volume Two - Another Afternoon at the Rex

Months go by ...... the city has so much going on, and we saw so much great music. The "Give Me Something From Your Wallet" journal did not come out again until the fall.



Another afternoon at The Rex .... got to chatting with this woman who was sitting beside us, down near the stage. Stephen insisted that her entry had to be something from her wallet, so I believe she pulled a fast one like my friend Lisa and put the Rex calendar in her wallet, if only for a moment, so that it could be taken out of her wallet and contributed.




Justin Bacchus's Mom. Justin is a regular performer at the Rex, and has a very proud and promoting Mom.

I think this entry might be the closest I will get to Obama.

13 - Volume Two - An Afternoon at the Rex

Many a Saturday afternoon is spent at The Rex. One of our favourite acts to catch there is Jerome Godboo. (http://www.jeromegodboo.ca/)

On this particular afternoon, Dave Rotundo, Jerome's regular Rex co-hort, re-joined Jerome after being away in Mexico for a time.

When Godboo & Rotundo play the Rex, you best get there real early. The place gets PACKED; much foot stomping and hooting 'n' hollerin' goes on. Good times.


On this particular Saturday (June 21, 2008), we arrived late and ended up asking a couple of ladies if we could join them at their table, the table all the way in back next to the kitchen. Little did we know...



This is Jerome's Godboo's (now) mother-in-law. (At the time of this contribution, Jerome and her daughter, Jane, were engaged). We became part of the extended family, sharing that table with them. Jane showed up, and Jerome came back to chat between sets. Wonderful folks.



After Godboo & Rotundo, we moved a little closer to the stage and started up a conversation with the people sitting beside us. They were staying in Toronto to learn English, and they were very happy to get tips and suggestions from us on places to go, things to see, and bands to catch in the coming weeks.

Her blog, mentioned here, is http://100fronteira.zip.net/
Check it out! Some great photos of Toronto. Brush up on your Portuguese.



This couple, I believe, were sitting on the other side of us. It was the week of the Toronto Jazz Festival (I will stifle any commentary, being someone who grew up and went to University in Montreal, a city with a PHENOMENAL Jazz Festival...... biting my tongue........) and Margaret contributed her ticket stub from the previous evening's performance by Dr. John.

I can't recall the difference of opinion about the bass player, but I do remember the bass player, a beautiful young woman (her photo is on a poster on the east wall near the front). Women bass players, and really young bass players are both fairly rare and unusual occurences at The Rex. I remember thinking she was very engaging.

12 - Volume Two - Mimi

For Christmas 2008, my boyfriend, Stephen, bought me another "paperblanks" journal, same size and format as Volume One, different cover. Going up to someone with a completely empty journal is a bit daunting, and I had also decided that I would have one self-imposed rule: no entries from people I know. 100% strangers 100% of the time (we'll see how I do on that one .... stay tuned).

Stephen and I were at the Horseshoe one night and, just as I had started off in Dublin, I thought I'd ask a bartender. I already had an entry from Bob, so I asked Mimi.

This is Stephen's favourite entry. It's a bit special when people give up things that have a history, that they've been carrying with them for a good extent of time.