today was our Toronto trip!!!!! it was tiring but a lot of fun!! i rarely get to go into the city, so i'm hoping that changes in the coming months, especially if Steve keeps bringing me along on various adventures with him. i always tell him i don't care what we do, i'm just happy to be included.
we went to see Penn & Teller at Meridian Hall. Steve is a big fan of Penn in particular. i was also into them when i was a teenager - they actually inspired me to create an original story about the relationship dynamic between two female magicians, which i eventually scrapped because it sucked - but yeah, they definitely left an impression on me at one point.
the show turned out to be even better than i expected. Steve picked some good seats for us, even keeping in mind my preference for an aisle seat. the guy sitting directly in front of me was massive so i couldn't see much at first, but after Steve politely explained the situation he ended up switching seats with his partner, who was shorter. they were really nice about it though i still felt a little guilty about inconveniencing them. the old lady behind me also spent much of the show coughing loudly which irritated me & also triggered my contamination OCD, especially because i couldn't tell whether she was properly covering her mouth or not. but aside from those small hiccups i was mainly comfortable & had a nice time.
during the show Teller selected Steve & i to join him on the stage, which was nerve-wracking but i'm glad i did it because the trick itself was a lot of fun. he had me trace Steve's face onto a sheet of glass which he then smashed with a hammer. i was a bit frazzled by the stage lights & didn't fully catch what happened next but somehow the glass was revealed to be completely intact again. he let us take the glass home afterward & upon closer inspection the drawing is slightly different from what i originally drew so Steve & i have developed a theory on how the trick was done. but it was still a great trick & Steve is extremely thrilled we got to go up on stage, so i'm really glad i did it. Teller quietly guided me through the trick at certain points which resulted in me developing a small crush on him even though he's nearly 80. he's kind of got a Bilbo Baggins thing going on.
unbeknownst to me Steve also paid for a meet-&-greet afterward, which was an interesting experience. i may be projecting something in some way here but when i walked into the room & saw these two tired-looking old men sitting there my immediate reaction was to feel guilty & a little sad. they just seemed exhausted & Over It. i felt bad suddenly for taking up their time even though they were perfectly pleasant. the atmosphere was strange too; the room was very quiet & i felt like i had to whisper when i spoke to them. i've always had a kind of unusual relationship with celebrity culture, i'm not much of the Fanatic type - i mostly see them as people doing their Jobs, i guess. i think maybe i would have preferred a more Organic interaction & because they just seemed so tired i couldn't shake the feeling that i was bothering them. i'm probably definitely overthinking it but the whole thing left me feeling oddly solemn afterward. Steve is a superfan & even he agreed that the experience felt a little strange. still, i'm really happy that he got to finally meet his heroes & he seems happy about it as well. the reality of the situation is that they were probably fine & they've done a million of these events before & have settled into a sort of rhythm about it plus trying to create a personal interaction in a paid setting that's ultimately Completely Artificial is probably Not Easy. again, i'm just constantly overthinking.
before the show we wandered for a bit around the Eaton Centre, which was fun. i was pleasantly surprised that i didn't get completely overstimulated, the crowds were relatively sparse & we got around the place without much trouble. i was sad to learn that the Disney Store is gone but we did check out Miniso, where Steve bought me some cute wet wipes for my purse (an OCD essential). i also wanted to visit Indigo but we ran out of time.
overall it was a really nice day. the worst part though was definitely the commute, which there & back totaled about 4 & a half hours on public transit. i actually quite enjoy bus rides but by the end of it my ass was hurting & Steve was getting uncomfortable as well.
sorry if this post is a little rambling, i mostly wanted to get my thoughts out about the day while they're still fresh in my brain. i'd love to return to Toronto sometime soon & we're already making plans. & despite my weird feelings about the meet-&-greet it was undeniably pretty cool to meet Penn & Teller.