Out & About #217 | New Balance Toronto Grand Opening + McMaster Light Up The Night

Utter awe - it's most common reaction I receive from peers, family, and friends when I inform them that my daily morning routine involves three alarms going off simultaneously at 5 AM. In all honesty, the commute isn't nearly as bad as one would think, considering that Mississauga has one of the largest transportation hubs within the GTA.

Waking up early has its perks. shorter lineups, less traffic on the road, and an abundance of parking spots, just to name a few. Additionally, it also means that grand opening events at 7:30 AM aren't too challenging of a trip to make either.

The "Coming Soon" sign outside of New Balance's proposed location in Exchange Tower had remained as such since last fall, thus failing to draw any sort of excitement from me until the recent spikes in temperature. In anticipation of the warmer weather, I had sprinted to Square One just last week to invest a pair of faux fur-less footwear, only to be informed of their Grand Opening event a few days afterwards.

With every $160 (or more specifically, $159.99) purchase, customers would receive a free pair of 574 Lifestyle Sneakers with a customized insole. Limited to the first three hundred valid purchases (150 for women and 150 for men), I had anticipated the worst as I neared Financial District.

I joined the lineup at approximately 7:15 AM; thankfully, there were only about twenty people ahead of me. The staff were kind enough to allow us into the store several minutes before 7:30 AM. The chaos began from that point onwards.

With the number of customers greatly outweighing that of the store staff, requesting for shoe sizes and processing checkout orders was quite the lengthy process. Ultimately though, I walked out with a new pair of running shoes (to replace my current pair of disintegrating Nikes) as well as the 574s in a striking shade of royal purple. (Also pictured below is the eccentric grey pair from Square One.)

The remainder of the day involved stopping over at City Hall, among other things such as visiting Chatime's prime downtown location.

With copious experiences at the Mississauga location behind me, I had expected nothing less from its Toronto flagship. I had approximately twenty minutes until my next train would depart, and opted to wait it out for the sake of avoiding rush hour back home. This was a very poor decision indeed.

I recall having to wait approximately five minutes to place an order on my first visit, along with not being able to find the washroom at the back due to its concealed doorway. Taking sloth-like order-processing properties to new heights, this round cost me ten minutes in wait time, as well as another seven minutes for drink preparation.

Despite the inexplicably picky and indecisive family in front of me in line, the experience was made a bit better by the girls creating the drinks behind the counter. Though not the most efficient, they were undoubtedly friendly, even donning the welcoming demeanours amidst the crafting chaos.

The Thai Milk Tea and Thai Coffee Milk Tea were equally as tasty as the Misssissauga location, though I can't say I'd visit again due to the high volume of bubble tea-goers in the area. The wait is simply not worth it, especially when the waiting area is a narrow corridor with insane levels of noise pollution (and you have to run to make the westbound train back.)

On a more positive note, the highlight of my day was attending McMaster's second annual Light Up The Night Up event.  Held on the last official day of the classes, the event is intended to lift students' spirits prior to the painful exam crunch by infiltrating campus grounds with carnival rides, games, and a brief assortment of free food.

View the full album HERE !

The event concluded around 10 PM, with an extravagant fireworks display over the field.

I suppose my only regret would be failing to capture better shots of the show, despite having secured a fantastic spot and with the correct equipment in tow. The potential of experiencing severe technical difficulties should not be overlooked; I have since learned to be even more careful in the handling of my equipment, noting that majority of things are best done without external interference.

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