it is the absurdity that makes this city a place worth living in.
st-patrick's day parade, thousands of people gather downtown to drinking, make noise and get sick in public. lots of students. lots of old white irish men. a couple of people from different cultural communities. the parade is essentially not commercial, which paves the way for the most absurd floats to appear. one said: "i had breakfast with st-paddy's", other were ads about diving schools, or high school football programs. not to forget the kiwanis, the lions and, you know, belinda stronach. oh! i had forgotten how much i disliked bag pipes.
there were also a lot of cops around, as there should be whenever public drinking is on the bill. they were mostly going around asking people "what have you got there? beer? alright, just make sure you put it in a plastic cup. enjoy!" now, i've never seen a cop actually tell someone to enjoy their beer in public. it was quite priceless!
we hung out for more than two hours and the floats kept coming, so we opted to ditch old st-pat's and head for the closest dumpling place to warm up.
this is j. - the culturally confused - celebrating st-patrick's day with her friend from mexico by eating dumpling in a manchurian restaurant. i guess that probably explains why i fit in, but mostly why i never quite do.
posted by cynicalcosmopolitan @ 8:47 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Ah, it's more fun that way. I was just thinking more about the other communication topic, two things in particular.
One is that we keep ties with people that we wouldn't have been able to previously. Like the really good friends from a few years ago that life has pulled you apart. Even if you don't keep in touch all the time, you know they are just one email away instead of an awkward phone call or gone forever.
The second one is this exactly! Our little debates that we had in emails seem to have shifted to our blogs, and we can keep the debates as long as necessary, and maybe discuss them a bit better and with more input from others. Hmmm.
Oh ya, and I keep meaning to ask you, can I link your blog on mine?
hmm,
i think the keeping ties (or even recreating connections) component is key.
you know, i had a friend who came to canada as a refugee from kosovo. her integration here was a little painful, i imagine, as she had left her friends and extended family behind, or scattered throughout the world.
one day, as things were getting better for her (she had made new friends in school and such) she got an email from her bestfriend who was now living in danemark. had it not been for technology, these two would have spent years wondering whether the other was safe and happy. now, they definitely knew they were.
the blog phenomenon is interesting. i think, sadly though, people are a lot less critical when reading blogs and you don't get the same quality of debate online as you get face-to-face. it is simpler to shut the other person off online (by not responding or making provocative comments) when you don't have to deal with the immediate reaction. that seems to allow for a lot more and a lot less at once.
but, sure, you can link... and i'll link back (if that's ok!)
-j.
remember st jean baptiste day? in chinatown?
k.
yes, i do. in fact, as confused as i am i find myself going back every year.
-j.
p.s. i must admit that i'm starting to like the folk dances and the cantonese pop music.
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