Weekend 11 - It's a Bit, I Dunno...

The weather was a little grey over the weekend, so the motivation to "Get out there and experience Canada!" wasn't quite there. Weekend 11 was probably one of the quieter weekends thus far in all of my countdown days.

That's probably why on Saturday I felt restless and the urge to shop overcame my willpower finally.

I must say it is always a joy shopping at Yorkdale, a large indoor shopping complex a few stops north on the subway line. Reminiscient of shopping complexes in Oz, these large meccas of consumerism makes consuming a breeze. All stores under one roof is often the catch-cry and indeed what could be simpler than having all your heart's desires within the accessibility of one arena?

This also puzzles me, as the "famous" Eatons Centre in the heart of downtown Toronto, effectively consisting of the same stores, in a similarly sized city block, gives me such pains when I am there that I now refuse to enter its doors let alone pass my tight-fisted dollars to its vendors.

Without a detailed examination, I would claim the following defects in no particular order:

1. Poor layout - street level access creates no sense of 'arrival'. The mezzaine-style level shopping makes little impression, with the division and flow of spaces awkward both horizontally and vertically.


2. Lack of direct sunlight - two main floors of shopping are the basement and ground level utilising only artificial lighting.


3. Crowded - due to its central location it attracts a high volume of shoppers thus creating a stressful shopping experience.

Happy with my purchases and experience at Yorkdale I went out with my usual Saturday night friends to Rockwood, the same club we went to for NYE. Unfortunately the sound system gave out a couple of times during the night, and the incessent use of the air horn by the DJ troubled me a little ("More cowbells!" for those who know the Saturday Night Live skit I refer to). However, we were there as support for our friend's promoter friend at this usually fine purveyor of house music and we were given free entry. So to sum, as one of my life mottos declare: free is good.