2016

Wednesday May 11, 2016
I learned that I have not written about what I learned in a long time.

Thursday may 12, 2016
I learned that if you are making a blind fold that is intended to make a performer look like Oedipus Rex with the bloody eyes on a white rag, you should not leave it lying around the kitchen. It will horrify your child.

Sept 2015

March 22, 2015
I learned that putting your ideas down on paper can make people take your words more seriously than if you had just said them.

March 23, 2015
I learned that when working on a computer you can never predict how long something will take. A simple, 10 minute estimation on a small job can take over an hour. Tea gets cold in over an hour.

April 2, 2015
I learned that helium balloons can last over a week, but only if you buy the good ones. The cheap ones fail after 1 day. The lesson…Cheaping out is more expensive if you want your balloons to last.

April 3, 2015
I learned that making a “simple” elastic band helicopter out of straws and paper clips is really not so “simple”. After spending way too many hours experimenting, my helicopter still barely does more than fall to the ground. But mostly I learned it is fun to try.


Sunday April 14, 2015
I learned that your body can get on a plane and go somewhere far away but it takes time for your consciousness to catch up. Am I really in Halifax?

Monday April 15
Hailing from Halifax while rehearsal directing with Mocean Dance. Title of the dance work… Sable Island. I learned Sable Island is a rare, fierce, ever changing, slightly scarey, beautiful, ever-resilient entity. As are the incredible dancers and the incomparable Serge.


Tuesday, April 16, 2015
I learned that when you meet new people, in an attempt to understand them it is easy to categorize them as this or that but the more you get to know them the more you realize that people, individual people, go way beyond any category you can give them.


Tuesday July 28, 2015
I learned that an issue that is bugging you can be turned over and over in your mind for many sleepless hours. Vanilla pudding is no help.

Wednesday July 29, 2015
I learned that if a stranger yells at my daughter I turn into a raging fury of tiger–ness and lose all my polite upbringing.

Nov 26-Dec 8

Wednesday November 26, 2014
I am learning that self preservation is an obstacle to peace.

Saturday November 29, 2014
I learned that no matter how tired or stressed you are you should always look where you are going, or else you might trip on a pile of sticks and mess up your ankle.

Sunday November 30, 2014
I learned that during a 10 second complete black out before the emergency lights go on, an orchestra of young wind players can keep going without dropping a beat.
Tuesday December 2
A sprained ankle can turn an alarming shade of blue mixed with yellow and green.

Friday December 4, 2014
I learned that no matter how low energy, end-of-the-weekish you feel an evening project meeting can be amazingly inspiring and fun and make you forget all about being tired.

Saturday December 5, 2014
I learned that contemplating the “road not taken” when you are tired, hungry and your house is a mess and the dinner needs to be made and your partner is out of town, is a recipe for emotional turmoil.

Sunday December 6, 2014
I learned that an ankle can take longer than a week to be fully functional after a sprain.

Monday December 7, 2014
Sometimes so many things can happen on a Monday that you think it must be at least Wednesday by now.

Tuesday December 8, 2014
I learned that when you truly see how brave, grounded and willing a group of young actors can be, it can take your breath away and leave you with tears in your eyes.

Nov 21,22, 25 2014

Friday November 21, 2014
Today I learned that it is possible to feel like you are in the middle of nowhere in downtown Toronto. I admit getting a coffee is a challenge, but I love working at Fort York.

Saturday November 22, 2014
If you sit alone in the blue barracks at Fort York, you too will learn there is more than one ghost there. They are friendly-ish.


Tuesday November 25, 2014
At Fort York they give fake guns to school children and have them pretend to shoot people. We see this outside the window while we are in the Blue Barracks studio working on “the Art of Peace” project.

Nov 15,16,17, 2014

Sunday November 15, 2014
I learned that the combination of snow and the Santa Claus parade creates two contrasting feelings, one of cozy happy Winterness and one of panic that I should get the Christmas shopping done. Advertising works.

Monday November 16, 2014
From watching the last leaf on the tree outside my window tenuously hold on for so long in the cold winter breeze, I learned that sometimes you just have to let go.

Tuesday November 17, 2014
Today I learned that the shadow patterns of trees are just as beautiful without leaves.