A Creature of Habit
The TIFF program book is sitting on my desk, and my office smells of fresh print, which means I'll be eating at Arby's today. Why? Because three years ago I grabbed my program book when I left for lunch and happened to flip through it while eating curly fries and a ham sandwich. And the next year I did the same thing. And now it's a habit -- one of the many TIFF-related rituals I observe each summer.
Others? After checking into my hotel on Thursday afternoon, I immediately walk to a crappy pizza place on Yonge and eat a slice while people-watching. After lunch, I pick up my tickets, thumb through the thick stack, and then buy some groceries in the bottom floor of College Park. I always carry the same old leather bag throughout the fest and meticulously squirrel away used tickets in one of its front pockets. My favorite habit is walking slowly to morning movies at the ScotiaBank, arriving just a few minutes before the screening time, and grabbing a cup of coffee on the way into the theater. These, I have to admit, are some of the most satisfying moments in my life.
Come to think of it, most of my habits are food-related, and they're all as essential to my TIFF experience as the movies are, probably because they often involve conversations with old friends. I always eat at least one meal with Girish at Zyng. I always grab a chicken shawarma at St. Patrick Market. I always run into Andrew and Moen at the food court in Village by the Grange. (I'll always associate the taste of pho with the Cinematheque Ontario.) Late in the week, I always end up at Fran's, exhausted and incoherent, after another 4- or 5-film day.
Anyone else have TIFF rituals?
