Alternative Toronto

And no, that’s not Toronto people who are into alternative lifestyles.

I think I’ve spoken before about ‘Alternative Toronto’ – I dream about it every once in a while, usually in different areas of the city but always consistent with the last time I dreamed about it. I keep planning on mapping it out but I never get around to it. There’s a subway station on a platform hanging over the Don Valley, a beach-and-cliff combo downtown, the financial district buildings shift and change size… Anyway, in the past nine days I’ve had two AT dreams, which seems to be an increase in frequency to me.

The first was last week, no doubt, triggered by Steve Roberts’ visit to Regular Toronto for the Restoration Team Q&A – I dreamed that Tavern Night just happened to also be the night all the rich people along Bathurst south of Bloor (in AT of course) had their garbage night, but they tended to put out large items of gorgeous furniture (I’ve dreamed that before too), and commented that next Tavern we really needed to come with a truck so we could get some of it. Steve appeared briefly in a sort of cameo appearance, helping me sort things into boxes, long nails in small wooden boxes, strange. I’m sure that says something about me.

The second was just lastnight – Greg Proops was in town, I ran into him around Yonge and Wellesley in the wide stairwell of a restaurant that was more like a record store or something, and we got to talking and wandered a bit, then he told me he needed to get to 11 Wellington Street East (why I remember that so specifically I don’t know), so we took a streetcar there and met another comedian in a very small bar. I’m not sure who that other person was, but part of me feels like it might have been Nick Frost, though it only sort of looked like him. This one’s new, by the way, never dreamed of that area before.

So what’s up with the AT dreams with special guest stars? What does this say about me? Maybe I feel I’m living in a dreamworld?

Unrelated but also new – I finished Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman (strange but entertaining), revived an ELO appreciation, and have two new oracle card sets (which I’ll write up on my next Tarot update).

Hallowe’en’s coming, are you ready?