The C is for Comandante?

Admit it. You knew I had to be in the heart of Toronto leading up the start of the G20 meetings/protests & when you didn't hear from me as soon as you thought you would've, you started to get a little worried. Well fear not, for I'm in one piece. And yes, I love you too. Now I assume you're expecting a story, right?

I left home a little later than I originally intended to, mainly because at the heart of this adventure was the first night of classes for yours truly. Why would I want to show up earlier than I needed to for that? So as I hung out, Dad came through & helped me kill some time. I also got a call from Mom which she tried to end with either "Take care" or "Be careful" (My bad for hitting the red button, Madre). I guess I hyped the situation up as if I was going into a war zone, so they & a few others were looking out pour moi. However I've come to the realization that while people I know told me to come back safe, the people I love expected me to come back with a story. So after all my anticipation, I left & was ready for anything. Too bad the first thing I encountered was traffic.

After a journey on the 'public limo', I made it downtown. I didn't have to clear any security, but I swear every street corner had at least 2 officers or a security guard on it. I wasn't going to stir up trouble, but if I was I'd probably have rethunk that goal. I had heard that taking pictures of the fence that runs through the city would lead to police questioning, if not result in me being detained, but there were a few photographers sneaking about so I managed to get in on the action too. By the end of the night, I manged get from the non-secure to the secure side of the fence & back. The whole situation seemed to be overblown. It's far from a "police state" & calling it that is like calling the earthquake we had yesterday comparable to the one in Haiti. Shouts to the GTA's finest for putting in some quality work during this G20 week/weekend.

Heading home on the bus, I was a little disappointed. No real craziness, but I did see this girl who went to school with a cousin of mine. She was apparently working security over by the "fake lake". As we passed the airport, I saw the Russian & Japanese airplanes, along with 3 military helicopters. That's when she claimed that President Obama was to be flying in on helicopters that night. So for the record kids, I didn't fight my way through a protest, but recorded video where I was told I shouldn't, avoided being arrested & inadvertently saw Obama in his chopper! I'd call it a quality adventure; even if I didn't have to start a revolution along Bay Street.