snapshots of ottawa

1. April 20 was 420, the infamous designated day for celebrating certain plants. I do not have anything to say about it, because obviously I would not partake in such an event, but I will note that the haze of smoke that rests above all the tokers gathering at Parliament Hill under the watchful eye of the RCMP and government snipers is about as Ottawa as Beavertails itself. Another thing about 420 that I find very Ottawa, or at least very Canada, are these posters that the Young Liberals have been posting all around downtown for 420, attacking NDP leader Thomas Mulcair for his views against decriminalizing pot.

2. PROMdemonium was the next day, Saturday. I think all cities have something similar - Vancouver has the People's Prom, Toronto has Fake Prom, and Ottawa has its "radical, community-oriented, gender-bending, bike-loving, enviro-humping, queer-diggin, slow dancing, big dress wearing prom that you never had!" I think it started off as an event to allow all the LGBTI folks to have a prom that they actually enjoyed, and then it eventually snowballed into, in my opinion, one of the most fun events for all the young cool people in Ottawa. My own high school prom was not wonderful or terrible, and surprising only in its unremarkable mundane nature. We rented a limo. We had dinner. We danced. We took photos. We went to some night club in Bells Corners, back when it had night clubs. The only mildly exciting event of the night was when my high school boyfriend and i fought, which, really, was not that unusual for us at that point either. Luckily, by the time you come around to your third or fourth adult prom, you know how to finally handle high school again, and how do to prom right. You've been drinking long enough to know how to not ruin a fun night out by being sick (although somebody in the gender neutral washroom didn't that night). You stop caring about what everyone thinks, you stop wanting to be like everyone else, and you finally feel like you can wear whatever the heck you want. You dance however you want. You dance with whoever you want. Girls don't have to dance with boys, boys don't have to dance with girls, and girls and boys can dance alone. It's kind of nice. 3. And then there was Monday morning, like a slap to the face. Here is my final snapshot of Ottawa: my backyard. in APRIL. Which is precisely why I'm leaving for Toronto for a little while. Toronto has no snow in its forecast for the week. Stay tuned for updates on Toronto adventures!