Barking Space

Knockbacks In Toronto

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger/Orkutian Ian (The Haligonian). It was a great time.

We met at the Duke of York which is a pub located at the North end of Downtown Toronto, just north of the University. It’s a great place. The atmosphere is warm, and the food is all right (worth mentioning, even though we were only there to drink).

I got there a little late due to some Subway problems. I waited outside, and then wondered if maybe Ian was inside or on the patio. Good thing I checked, because there he was finishing off a pint of Guinness.

I sat down and we had an enjoyable couple of hours chatting about everything and getting to know each other. Funny how it was almost like a catch-up session than a first meeting. The wonders of the internet!

At some point early in our drinkfest, Shellie called us from Boston, to make her presence virtually known. The phone was passed back and forth between Ian and I, and all three of us laughed and had fun.

Of course, the end of the evening came too fast, and we each had to go our separate ways. Ian will be coming over for dinner in a few weeks, and we are putting the hard sell on Shellie to come up to have dinner with us (and bring her hubby-to-be along, too).

I’m glad I’ve made such good friends.

You Get What You Give

Ian and I are a lot alike. We can make fast friends anywhere we go, and we get along with a huge cross-section of people.

One thing that stuck with me after our meeting was how Ian described Toronto as being a very friendly place.

There are quite a number of people who hold the opposite view.

Why is this?

I thought about my own experiences. Usually, I find that wherever I go, people tend to be friendly.

I think that unfriendly people who expect to be treated in an unfriendly manner will not be disappointed. You probably know which type of person I am referring to. The person who is in a rush, and who doesn’t have the patience for people in their way. Or how about the person that walks around with a permanent scowl? Bleah.

I, on the other hand, tend to have either a neutral look or a slight smile on my face most of the time. I also greet complete strangers and I try to be polite. “Excuse me” or “please” and “thank you” are not uncommon for me to say to people.

I think that it would be a worthwhile practice for people who deem a place unfriendly to try and be positive about being there at the outset. They might be pleasantly surprised.

What Brought You Here?

Here is a search that brought someone to my blog…

AOL Search
– generous people (3rd on the list – No clue about this)

Weird.

Filed under: Friends, General Dialogue, Ponderings, Spaces Archive | 6 Comments »