Thursday, 31 May 2012

Melbourne Vs Toronto

      This website > http://torontostrife.tumblr.com/ < go to it study it and when it makes no sense to you, move to Toronto and the penny will drop.


        Having lived in Belleville for most of my life, Toronto for the past several years and Melbourne for the last few months I have developed a very interesting propective on what each place is in relation to each other. The strongest and most well formed opinions are about T.O.This has a lot to do with its great contrast to Belleville and Melbourne and its similarities to other places I've visited or have strong perceptions about. 




         Toronto is a consumer's city to life into Toronto you have to want to intake things. You don't really have a choice not to. If you are the kind of person who just wants to go to work, go home, stay in and love your family then Toronto is very unlikely for you. Rather you are going to have to desire to see things, meet new people, do something interesting on a regular basis and consume many of the things that are placed before you. Toronto enjoys the newest thing there is. It is very much at the front of the wave seeing and passing everything first and its this that makes is disposable. Toronto values the things they can use up and throw away as soon as the the next thing comes up.  This makes for a fast pace and exciting lifestyle. But there is very little history in Toronto. Torontoinas are not particualy intrested in what can before the, rather they are much more intrested in what is coming next. They're actually rather futurist in their beliefs that what came before is irrelvant to what is happeneing now (wow, thanks theatre theory history). The analogy of Toronto being like Sydney is appearing rather accurate. 


(Yay! One of my own pictures!)

           The other half of this is the Melbourne is like Montreal. And this I feel is rather true. There is a history here that is held on to, you can see culture here. You can see what Melbourne is built on rather then having it have been torn down and replaced as the history would be in Toronto. There are cultural museums, an aquarium and a casino all right downtown. Federation Square  is actually more about the celebration of Federation and culture then about the biggest brightest adds on the buildings facing inward (like Dundas Square). There is a river running though the center of the city and there is a lot of culture based around it. There is a cultural center and a botanical gardens right in the heart of the city. I say with pride that Melbourne is a much nicer city then T.O.


     But the public transit sucks.


     I honestly never thought I would miss the T.T.C but I will weep for joy from here on out every time I have to wait 15 min for a bus because Metlink is SO MUCH WORSE. How Melbourne got voted as the worlds most livable city with a transit city like this I will never know because I feel it really knocks back my quality of life.


There's no place like...

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

The Countdown Begins

     My mom just brought it to my attention that I have something like (depending on which part of the world you are from at the time that I write this) 35 days left in Oz until I come home.

     I don't know how I feel about this. Please make it stop.

    There's no place like...

Mail Time! Featuring a Chimpmunk!

     My lovely Dessa Bell (aka. Katherine Noyes) sent me my first Canada themed postcard which I got last night after nerding at Kevin's house. In the same bunch of mail I learned that I am O Positive which means I can donate blood to anyone, yay! But saving lives is not as exciting as receiving a postcard from someone you love and miss as much as I do my little Kanadian Koala as I am her Australian Chipmunk. See?




     This is what Chipmunks look like to me- always a little angry, tell me you can't see the family resemblance. 


     I'm always ever so thankful for every piece of mail I get and am always thrilled to hear from wonderful people like K-Tron.


    There's no place like...

Thursday, 24 May 2012

May 19th - Ros & Guil Closes

       The show has closed. By the final two night the show had really found its groove and set off. It was a shame it took this long to find the best show in the final nights but we have learned a lesson. Regardless, it was a blast and I am thrilled to have been involved. This is a taste of what we did with our final night warm up. Every time I watch this I just want to get back to those moments.














       So very drunk, so very fun.


      There's no place like...

Monday, 21 May 2012

My Little Australian Home

      A video tour of my room on campus. I swear my room being this clean is not a rare as you think though you couldn't tell by looking at it now...



      ...the thumbnail keeps going back and forth between a screen grab of my postcard wall or the line up of wine bottles (Which one will you get?!). I'm a classy broad.

There's no place like...

Friday, 18 May 2012

Who Doesn't Love a Good Package?

   
     Now imagine that but "I gotta package! I gotta package! I gotta package! Hey hey hey hey!" because that was what I was doing after I pranced, PRANCED, to the MRS office with my notice slip.




     I've been waiting for this for so long! I have been promised by Mr Evan Armstrong for months that I was getting a care package and I squeeeeed with joy when I got it. Its perfect (its seems mst of the things that get mailed to me are perfect... maybe its because they are mailed) and I love all the contents and no you don't get to know whats in it - just like you didn't get to read the postcards.  I really hope this keeps up, I am going to keep sending people postcards and letter even when I get home because they are wonderful things and people should do it more often. I am so fortunate to have to love and affection coming from Canada that I do and it always makes me feel amazing to receive it in such wonderful, thoughtful and personal means.


      Yes I know I owe you a real post soon, but things have been so busy with the show and all my papers due. I promise I'll do a real entry soon.


      Hurray for fun filled packages! (Get your mind out of the gutter).


There's no place like...

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Thursday May 10th - Saturday May 12th: Ros & Guil Are Dead


       The show opened this week to a sold out house. I think we did okay. Its hard to say at this point how things are going with only three shows. All the stuff that was hilarious in rehearsals that the directors decided about my character is not flying with audiences. I've not changed anything and maybe I just got used to hearing them laugh at it and so not hearing the audience do it is disheartening but we carry on. I don't mean to pass the buck here on this matter but I didn't, and wouldn't, have made this choice for Gertrude but I do see why its entertaining. Perhaps I'm thinking too much of the original from Hamlet and need to think more about the comedic one in Ros and Guil.

        Regardless here are some awesome pictures taken by one of our techs!











      We have 5 more shows to go and then a kick ass closing night party where afterwards it will be a good thing that these people won't have to see me again because I expect I'm going to scare them.


There's no place like..