Film Festival

An unexpected gift of two tickets to a foreign film causes only the briefest of hestitations; You have the option of taking the two tickets but as you do not have anyone to share them with, you opt to take only one and the ticket donor assures you that she has someone in mind for the other. You arrive at the theatre and not five minutes after you take your seat, the other person who shares your 'pair' takes his. He recognizes that you too are there by virtue of a mutual friend and a conversation begins. The small talk fades away as the evening begins and you thoroughly enjoy your first festival experience from a movie perspective. There is however the added dimension of a more personal slant when the screening is over and another conversation begins. Small talk gives way to bigger talk and the scene shifts to a local restaurant. What a great idea it was to take only one ticket!

Labour Day Weekend

It came as a great surprise to me that the one weekend in the year that I have always dreaded could turn out to be totally fine and without any of its usual back to school/end of summer angst. A slight mind shift will reveal the possibility that both the return to school and the end of summer, need not be fraught with regret but can in fact be a simple transition; we do actually go from this time on to the next and the "going" is truly something we should be grateful for. It is suddenly clear that this is simply the close of a certain season and all that comes with it, so if we can make the decision to greet the fall with open arms we are more than likely to reap the many rewards that this colourful season has to offer which will definitely make our adieu to summer easier to bear. We can look forward to the cacophony of colours that our trees have in store for us and all the apples we can possibly hope to pick will soon be available as well. The usual variety of outdoor sports and activities will certailnly be enjoyed with much less sweat as we head away from the extreme heat and humidity. So as long as we remember to make time for what is really important, we should be just fine. It is true that the long hazy days of summer are perfect times to spend with family, and if we try to maintain that focus, we should be more than good to go when we bid farwell to summer.