Torontonian in Edmonton

Y'ello Blogicals!

I'm so glad you made it this far down from feeding my fishies. :)

This is my first trip to other parts of Canada since I became a Torontonian.

After over a year in downtown TO, it doesn't feel like I've come to Edmonton, a different city, it feel like I've come to Edmonton, a completely different country. I think I now understand a little better why people get the air of general ignorance from North American travellers: after living in a city for long and getting used to it, one forgets that things can be slightly-to-very different anywhere else. Partly because one hardly feels the need to leave one's city as it provides everything one would need. So travelling makes us feel like everything is at odds from what it should be, simply because it is different from what we're used to.

Although, admittedly, I haven't been to, or seen the downtown area of Edmonton, so far it's so quaint, calm and quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto.

But here's the difference: On the ETS (equivalent to TTC) bus I rode today, the driver not only greeted every boarding passenger with a smile (mind you, most TTC operators do the same if you take the time to reciprocate - which I try to do), but she made sure to say a hearty "Goodbye!" everytime anyone got off the bus, loud enough for the people exiting through the rear doors to hear. That made me smile. I smile easily.

Edmonton is white... there are vast expanses of fields and they are all white; it was beautiful, especially in the (somehow jolly) winter sunlight.

But what struck me the most today:

I've ridden Toronto public transport a lot since I got here. Most Torontonians, given the usually long and lonely commute ahead, usually tune out the world and dive into their own personal modes of escapism. That usually means games, music and other apps on their Blackberries and iPods and iPhones. I've noticed that Edmontonians, given the same average length of  commute, rather put their gadgets away and are happier to read or stare out of the window. It seems more peaceful and content with life. Actually, I'm not sure how to phrase it, but it just seems healthier.

Subway Smash!

The other day, I was heading to school on the streetcar and I overheard a conversation that made my entire week.

For those of you familiar with the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) subway system, you'll know there's a strip of yellow on the edge of the platform that customers are instructed to wait behind for their safety as trains come and go.

[Image source: http://transit.toronto.on.ca/archives/data/images/061117_ttc_subway_300-thumb.jpg; Accessed: February 14, 2010 - 9:17PM]

Now, as is human behaviour, a few of us push that rule and stand as far in front of the line as we dare. So begins our story:

This lady apparently frequently stepped over the yellow line while waiting for the subway train to arrive, much to the angst of her friend (who was narrating the story in the streetcar). Well, one day, this courageous lady managed to get herself a concussion.

See, as a subway train comes into the station, a TTC employee within the train opens his/her window and sticks his/her head out to ensure all is well on the platform during embarkation and disembarkation of the train. The trains can come in at rather high speeds and, unfortunately this one day, our brave young lady's head was in the way. Their heads collided, and apparently her marks of battle included a giant swell on the side of her head, in addition to the aforementioned concussion. The narrator could not recall what had happened to the unfortunate TTC employee who made the fateful blunder of dutifully doing his job.

How close to the edge of the platform could she have possibly been? What point was she trying so desperately to prove to herself? What point was she trying to prove to society? What point was she trying to prove to the authorities that had the audacity to tell her not to stand in front of a stupid yellow line?

And the sad part: people with this kind of attitude are also the same kinds of people who would turn around and blame the ailing TTC for the mishap the first chance they got. I'm not saying she did, or will; but if it happened, I can't say I'd be surprised.

Sometimes you just have to wonder...

Stupid Smartphones!

So, my roommate has a Blackberry.

Now, apparently, when they need to be charged Blackberry's get your attention by vibrating.

Last I checked, wasn't vibrating one of the things that help chew-up battery power?

On Life and the Universe... but Mostly Life.

Life is amazing, mystic, a journey, scary, fast, overrated, precious, whatever you want to make of it.

Life is also one slapstick joke after another. We humans are the subjects of the comedy we inadvertently make. It sounds like we're all sloppy slackers just jumping from one stupid mistake to another. We are! But really, would you have it any other way? Who wants to have their life so meticulously thought out that they never create any comedy about themselves?

Our own idiocy may (or may not) be the one thing holding back our progress; but it is also our greatest quality. It's what makes life so amazing. I will refer to two things that I personally hold dear to help me remember that life is worth laughing at (at appropriate times). Firstly, one of Albert Einstein's quotes: "There are only two things that are infinite: human stupidity and the universe. And we're not too sure about the latter." Now, I may have the actual quote wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's close enough. The second, the Darwin Awards - a tribute to the great men and women (and children) of history that have contributed to the progression of humanity by eliminating their chances of procreation due to their pioneering spirit of curiosity and idiocy.

Everyone has experienced the phenomenon of human stupidity: you may have heard about it in the news; it may be an urban legend; you may know someone who knew someone; or you may have done something yourself. Don't worry, no one has the right to judge you (I hope), and the best way to deal with it is chuckle.

This is why I love shows that poke fun at some of the things we do in society. Shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy and Southpark all take whatever is happening in the news, and poke fun at how and why society is doing whatever it's doing at the moment.

So, as I post whatever it is that tickles my fancy, usually about the hilarity that surrounds my life, all I ask from anyone is to just admire the extent of human fallibility.

Sometimes, you just have to stop and wonder.