Distractions, reflections

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

2008/05/14 One day in New York: Chelsea to Times Square

In my current day job, I probably spend the majority of the days at home at my desk. When I do client interviews, I try to schedule two to three days in one place, and stay in a nearby hotel. It’s a rare occasion when I do a day trip, boarding a plane in the morning, and returning that evening. The flight from Toronto to New York is scheduled at 95 minutes, so making two customer calls in one day is feasible. I’ve never been in the Chelsea neighbourhood before, but precise directions to a taxi driver dropped me off at 8th Avenue and 11th Street. Looking south, the buildings seem to be a few stories high, with a few skyscapers thrown in.

Greg called me on my mobile phone, and we met up. As a good sales person, he knows the preferences of his clients. Our first call was on an executive who isn’t a fan of bagels, but really likes donuts. Thus, we stopped by Donut Haven to pick up a fresh assortment.

We went on the customer call, and then headed northbound on the fastest mode of transportation: the New York City subway. Greg’s home is in Providence, RI, so he says he doesn’t really know the subway lines. By a strange coincidence, all of his clients and the office are all on the E line, so he doesn’t gets lost. Continue reading2008/05/14 One day in New York: Chelsea to Times Square

2008/05/04 Paul DeLong Quintet, The Rex

Going out to listen to music can be a big event for me. I watch for bands on tour, and check listings in local clubs when I’m on the road. Now and then, there’s the opportunity to local musicians playing local venues. I called up Apostolos, and we went out to hear the Paul DeLong Quintet at The Rex, late on a Sunday night.

Paul DeLong is a drummer who has had a successful career. He’s known as a performer in the studio as well as on the road. I didn’t know exactly what the band would be playing that evening, but I was sure that they would be a set of great musicians.

On stage, the band was casual, and were having fun. In the audience, we enjoyed their performance. Watching great musicians performing naturally is a pleasure.

2008/05/03 Jane’s Walk, Lower Don Lands Tour

In honour of Jane Jacobs, Toronto was one of the cities offering a weekend of “free, community-based series of urban walking tours, led by volunteer guides”. Of the 68 tours available in Toronto, I chose the Jane’s Walk on “Creating an Urban Estuary at the Mouth of the Don” led by Ken Greenberg. It was an easy bike ride to the starting point, the Keating Channel Pub in the Port Lands.

Ken Greenberg had described the walk as follows:

Major world cities such as Toronto are in transition, needing to re-integrate strategically important post-industrial landscapes while reframing their interactions with the natural environment. Through a major initiative of WATERFRONToronto the long neglected area where the Don River enters Toronto Harbour is being transformed into a naturalized river mouth in a generous park setting as the centerpiece of vibrant new mixed-use riverfront and lakefront neighborhood that unifies the goals of ecological restoration and urban regeneration. A team led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of which I am part was selected through an international competition to guide this effort. The tour will explore the past, present and future of this remarkable site.

Looking northwest from the pub, downstream on the Keating Channel, the Cherry Street bridge south of Lakeshore Boulevard East is in the foreground, and downtown Toronto is beyond.

Looking east, upstream on the Keating Channel, the elevated Gardiner Expressway turns north to enter the Don Valley Parkway. The Don River would naturally have gone south through the area now the Port Lands, but was redirected at the beginning of the 20th century to flush sewage more rapidly into the harbour as an alternative to the natural path through the marsh. Greenberg foreshadowed the announcement by Mayor David Miller that the elevated roadway would be brought down to grade, and routed further north so that promenades can be constructed along both the north and south banks. Continue reading2008/05/03 Jane’s Walk, Lower Don Lands Tour

2008/04/19 Speeches and Karaoke at the Lowkong Spring Festival dinner

The LowKong society had a good turnout for the spring festival dinner. The table for our immediate family was full, so Diana and I sat at the next table and met some cousins farther removed in the Ing clan. In a change of format from prior events, speeches were given both in Toisan dialect of Cantonese and in English for the first time. The number of attendees not fluent in Cantonese over 50 years old — including myself — is now so significant that the society has needs to change. The elders of the society came to the stage for a toast.

Karaoke is now a regular part of the dinners. An older couple makes regular appearances to sing Chinese opera . This time, Adam stepped up and looked through the catalog to find a tune that he knew. He then proceeded to sing a pop song in Mandarin. This is an irony, because the elders of the society would never have studied Mandarin in school as they were growing up.

We know that we have a large family when everyone shows up, and we take more than one table of ten. Continue reading2008/04/19 Speeches and Karaoke at the Lowkong Spring Festival dinner

2008/04/10 TDSB Spring Festival Concert, Massey Hall

All of our sons have had private music lessons, but not all have been interested in studying music at high school. At Riverdale Collegiate, Noah decided that he wanted to sing, and signed up for vocals class. The Toronto District School Board has a Spring Festival Concert at Massey Hall, where choirs, orchestras and wind bands from across the city perform. The number of musicians is many times the capacity of the stage, so the performance started with the choir seated as the orchestra performed the first pieces.

The orchestras and bands aren’t all of the same size, so moving chairs, music stands and the podium takes a few minutes. Noah performed with the junior choir.

With the dozens of musicians, it’s hard to see faces. Here’s a closeup. Continue reading2008/04/10 TDSB Spring Festival Concert, Massey Hall

2008/04/01 Wartenfels ruins, above Fuschl am See, Austria

I came to Fuschl am See, Austria — in the mountains east of Salzburg — Austria, for my third conversation hosted by the IFSR. The meeting traditionally reserves an afternoon for visitors to take the bus into town, or maybe walk around the lake. Gary likes to walk up the mountain to the Wartenfels ruins. Allenna and I have never been on the walk, so we joined him. We started the walk on the main road by the lake, behind the hotel.

Fuschlsee is a clear mountain lake, from which the village restaurants get the fresh fish daily.

The path starts modestly, in a right-of-way just off the road.

A 90-minute estimate of the walk to the ruins is conservative, and we wouldn’t take that long.

A carving in a tree stump serves to welcome hikers. Continue reading2008/04/01 Wartenfels ruins, above Fuschl am See, Austria

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    • Rethinking work, with the pandemic disruption | IJOTB (2025)
      Two years after submitting an academic manuscript and responding to double-blind reviews, “Rethinking work, with the pandemic disruption” has now been published in the International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior (IJOTB) as earlycite. The article has a DOI (Document Object Identifier), and should be streamed with an official volume and issue number soon. The […]
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