Back to the classifieds

So I looked at the famous 2-bedroom apartment in Rosedale today. It's a no go, for me anyway. For starters, it's a *25 minute* walk from St Clair and Yonge. 25 freaking minutes! I kid you not. I walked and walked - the damn street (Summerhill Avenue) isn't even clearly marked. So before I had even seen the place, I'd decided not to rent it. It's not that I mind walking. A fifteen minute walk, I could live with. But I'm already spending close to two hours on the TTC every day - I don't need to add an hour of walking onto that, do I? There is a bus - but I'm already taking the subway and a bus to get to work, and a bus and the subway to get home. Do I really want to add another bus to the equation? No. It's not near anything. Yes, there's a little row of shops next door: the Summerhill Market (grossly over-rated IMHO), a drug store, a dry cleaner's, a bank, a post office. The CPR tracks run directly behind the building. On my walk to the building, two freight trains went by. Now, I currently live with the same tracks and the same train at the bottom of my street, about six houses away. Believe it or not, that six-house buffer zone makes a big difference. The building itself was shabby. It had seen better days, presumably in its heyday in 1949. It used to house nurses for a nearby veteran's hospital (now demolished), which is interesting - a piece of Toronto history I never knew about. The apartment, too, was shabby. The carpet, mercifully, has been ripped up and laminate flooring is being put down in its place. But it kind of bounces under your feet in a weird way - I didn't care for it. The walls were painted a weird mustard-browny-yellow colour. I'd have to paint over them, no way I could live with that. The linoleum in the bathroom was ugly. The original small metal knobs on the doors and closets were interesting to me, as was the original cast-iron bathtub (not a claw foot, alas) and bathroom sink. But the stove in the kitchen was hideous: a dark reddish brown, c.1960 or 70-something. It was a two bedroom apartment - I'll give them that. And there was a separate living/dining area, an L-shape at the end of the apartment. And about five or six windows. But I think I can do better. I hope to look at two more places by next Monday, both further north, in the Yonge and Eligible area. I don't know if I'll move in January - there's that whole 60-days notice and trying to get the most out of my last month's rent rigamarole to deal with. Anyway. We'll see. Onwards and above-groundwards!

Holiday Celebrate

Team holiday lunch yesterday. It lasted about 9 hours. What did I have to drink again? About three glasses of merlot with lunch, and then afterwards, a Liquid Cocaine shooter, a sour apple cocktail, some kind of "cinnamon" cocktail (vanilla Smirnoff, Goldschlager and coffee liqueur), a Smirnoff ice, and finally, vodka on the rocks. I think I've done my drinking for the weekend. Mineral water is my new best friend. If you were out in the Entertainment District last night and saw a group of drunken Bay Street types wearing Santa hats and screeching with laughter and slipping in the snow and slush, that was probably us. Actually, given the time of year and the location, that was probably 80% of Queen and John. Oh, and if you were that cute studenty-type guy, all fresh-faced, wearing a backpack, that we "hired", I just want you to know that we don't expect you to show up for work on Monday. But when you graduate, I encourage you to apply to come and work with us. We're a lot of fun.