Let's Dance In The Snow And Get Our Feet Wet

I woke up late.
I went to help at load in, back in the props room. Moving all our lovingly constructed set pieces over the road to the Bader Theatre. Met some of the cast, who were all very enthusiastic in helping us.
Finished up at about 2 or 3 and went back to nap (napping really is glorious) and eat olive tapenade with tortilla chips. Woke at 4pm to buy Rogers phone credit (why do you always disappear so fast? Is it because I send at least five texts back to Britain every day? Probably.) and gummy bears for Ami, who wasn't feeling great. She went out to clubs and bars loads last week, as did Blaire. Spose I've got some catching up to do.
After a nice chat curled on Ami's bed for a while, I went to meet my friend from English tutorial who I hadn't seen since last term. I'm glad we got chatting in one of our last classes as English isn't that conducive to making friends, yet the people are probably mostly ones I would get on with. Anyway, coffee at Second Cup (Canadian starbucks) was so wonderful. Meeting people who you can chat with nonstop for hours restores good feelings and excitement at making friends and having conversations.
I walked home with a big smile on my face and Blaire and I got ready to go out again straight after. We headed across snowy Queen's Park to the Hart House theatre to see 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' (lighthearted but enjoyable). I love the slope going down to the theatre entrance, with red carpet and gold walls.
11pm. Walking through the cold, along the downtown streets bordered by skyscrapers and covered in snow heaps. Reach Dundas Street and mistakenly think we are at Sasha's friend's house.
Eventually find our way on to a street car (we are such tourists - we both love them) to go much further west to the terminus of Dundas Street West, then confusingly walk north along a street that is meant to run east-west (grid system, you failed us!) until we reach what seems to us the edge of the city. And yet no. Toronto sprawls. And we're still pretty close to downtown.
Back into a road with trees in gardens and detached houses, Christmas lights still lingering and verandahs often scattered with baseball bats, roller skates, scaffy trainers. Other remnants of interrupted and ongoing family life.
A few wrong turns, lots of staring at the moon and frolicking in the snow later, we reach the right number and go through to candlelit sitting room and many artsy friends of Sasha's. I give her a Scottish bear keyring (which she showed me today is now on her key chain) and a card with spiders on it. I don't know why it has spiders on it. But it also says happy birthday.
We stayed as others dispersed and it was such a nice atmosphere. Drank my cider happily and let the conversation take me and let me go as I smiled at the books in the bookshelfs, at Sasha's friends, some of whom I'd met before, at the songs selected and played on youtube, at the endearing tipsiness of some of those around us, at the parents who came home and chatted to us freely.
We walked the same streets back that were now familiar (exploring residential neighbourhoods two nights in a row - lucky me!) and made the last subway back; without even rushing, we got to the platform just as it pulled in at 1.43am.
Back to Yonge Street with its lights and strip clubs, we headed to 7 West for a much needed dinner, perhaps six hours too late. It's a lovely 24 hour restaurant with chandeliers and church pews and a really great menu. It's busy no matter what hour of the day/night and it's only 5 minutes away from Vic, down Charles Street West.
We chatted and laughed and talked about everything. I'm very lucky to have my roommate as a best friend as well.