Today was a rather interesting day with many things on the go. After leaving work, I volunteered for TIFF yet again. This time, however, I was at a new venue, at Elgin Theatre. The theatre captain was pretty laid back and was pleasant to work with. I suppose this is why a lot of people like this venue so much. I asked other volunteers and they mentioned that this is their favourite because they actually treat you like a regular person, unlike other venues who demand services from you. Or so I was told.

In any case, the first film was an Italian psychological thriller. There were some good parts to it, but overall, I was left a little disappointed, especially with the abrupt ending that really didn’t tie many things together.

The next film was the White Stripes Under Northern Bright Lights. Essentially a behind-the-scene look at the White Stripes 360 concert tour in Canada a couple years back, this film, shot in HDCAM, was a fan’s delight, as it was chalk full with interviews and behind-the-scene footage. What more? The director of the film, and none other than the legendary White Stripes were in attendance, and sat in the audience to watch the film.

Volunteering at these festivals gives you these perks, as they walked right in front of me, as I ensured the crowd did not get too wild. It’s just a shame that I’m not much of a White Stripes fan. Fans will, however, try anything to get as close as possible to the talents though. As I was taking my position, guarding the reserved seats, a couple of intoxicated girls come to me and start jabbering away on if they would be allowed to sit in those seats. I gracefully told them that they are reserved until further notice and that I cannot guarantee anything. They insisted on waiting beside me so that they could get first dibs on when the seats opened up. I didn’t mind, and wished they’d go away soon as the smell of alcohol in her breath was just too much. Eventually they went away, and I never did see them come back once the seats became available a couple minutes after the film started. Too bad for them.

So I took the subway home that night. Only the subway lost power in the middle of my commute, for “unknown reasons.” A kind gentleman, probably intoxicated, started reading the daily news from Metro – the daily newspaper. He was actually informative as he read that next week, fellow Torontonians will now be able to call 3-1-1 for non-emergency services such as reporting watermain breaks, potholes, an so forth. Neil Patrick Harris is also ready for the Emmy’s apparently.

He was reading all of this, all the while another gentleman was arguing with a fellow Hamilton Tigercats fan that the Toronto Argonauts were a much better team. He was very persistent in teaching the guy, who was fully decked out in Ticats gear, that the Argos were better in every which way.

The power finally kicks in on the subway lines. The two keep arguing, and the intoxicated newspaper reader sits down, happy that he has done a good deed for the day.

The subway arrives at my stop. I get off, and head to the bus. I get on the bus and the bus starts to depart out of the station. Only the bus stops at the exit. Some wonderfully intelligent individual decides to park their car in front of the exit, blocking any traffic coming out of the station. How brilliant. Nobody was in the car until after a couple of minutes, the driver comes out, doesn’t even rush to move the car, and nonchalantly gets in the car and drives off.

Finally arriving home, I am at peace as I’ve been standing up for all this time.

Ready to go to sleep and start off the day fresh tomorrow.

Just a typical day in the life of a Torontonian.

With all the hype about Black Friday this year, I have to say I got a little carried away and almost made some choices that I may or may not have regretted later on. Now that the Canadian dollar is at par with the U.S., it is very tempting to go shopping in the States, or online at a U.S. based store. The prices there are always much cheaper than what you get here (although that is somewhat starting to change… slowly), and with the conversion rate, it gets even cheaper for Canadians.

So with the busiest shopping day of the year (in the U.S.) being today – the Friday after Thanksgiving – that’s about all I was hearing in the news. Taking a quick look online, I did my own research on how cheap things tended to be. I found this great site http://www.bfads.net that updates regularly and tells you all the great deals that stores in the U.S. will and are having at the moment.

I came across an ad from DELL that advertised a US$399 laptop computer delivered to your door! Now I had to take a second look at that because at that price, how could one not pass up the opportunity!

This was perfect for me as well, as I thought of all the great uses I could give this laptop. Checking closer, I realized that the initial batch of those laptops were already sold out and I had to wait until the actual Black Friday before a new batch would be released. It was hard, but I resisted with all my strength.

I went to Future Shop today just to see what I can find. I suppose you can say it was more of an entertainment trip than anything else as I wasn’t really planning on buying anything.

But then I came across this bin filled with laptop bags and a few camera bags. I search around and find a Lowpro slingshot camera bag that would be great for my use. I look at the bin and it says $34.95! Wow, I thought to myself. Now that’s a great buy! I study the bag some more and find that it really is a great little bag (but one that I really don’t need). After some time, a salesperson comes up to me and asks me if I need any help. She tells me that these bags here are $34.95 but the camera bags are all 50% off. I noticed a discrepancy as I knew that the slingshot bag I was holding in my hand would have cost at least $100, and therefore couldn’t possibly be 50% off.

So I asked her, is this bag not $34.95? I found it in that bin – as I pointed towards the bin filled with laptop bags. She says, “No, someone must have put it in there by mistake.” And so I asked, how much the bag would cost. She takes it, scans it, and comes back. “It is regularly $112.00, so it would be 50% off of that.” So now my $34.95 turns into a $56 investment. I think hard, long, and even harder afterwards. I take a trip around the store as I told her I’ll have to think about it. She slaps on a sticker with her ID number attached to it, ensuring that she would get the commission should I decide to purchase it.

After taking a full spin around the store, I finally decide to give up the slingshot realizing that although even at 50% off, this would have been a great purchase, this is a purchase that I do not really need. More of a luxury item – just like that laptop! – I felt I could do without.

As I grudgingly let it go back in the bin, I knew some happy camper would soon grab it. I left the store empty handed.

And so ends Black Friday.

With so many “so close” purchases, I am gearing up for the holiday spending period, that’s for sure. Now, the question is, what will make me go over and actually start to purchase something?!