You have to pay to live somewhere. Yes, it certainly does suck - in a perfectly communal system (a la hippies, East Germany pre-1990, or pre-contact North America), we wouldn't have to worry about this additional hassle of urban life. Rents are through the roof in Toronto, but luckily there are many more apartments available than when I was but a snot-nosed undergrad.
The lease is nearly up at my current apartment. By the end of August, BLAMMO! I'm out on my ass. So a week ago today I figured it was time to get down to business - find myself hot new digs for the fall. I picked up the day's classifieds, and hit the nearest coffee shop - orange highlighter holstered firmly in left pocket, ready to draw.
I stood in line, mentally preparing myself for the annual arduous task. A momentary lapse of despair briefly came over me, as I recalled the sometimes (who am I kidding? ALWAYS) painstaking apartment hunting process. Circle ad. Call number. Set up viewing appointment around already hectic schedule. Look at apartment. Ask obligatory questions. Apply. Get references. Get first and last month's rent together. Sign lease. And the most druding duty of the whole hubbub - moving itself.
Quickly snapping to, I shook of this almost mournful daze. "Uh, one medium decaf please," is all I could muster to the cute coffee slinger. She saw the glimpse of joyless frustration in my eyes, and said nothing else. I paid, looked for a secluded corner table, and prepared to get down to business.
After about twenty minutes of circling and calling, I was ready to venture out to take a look at the first bachelor pad. It was in a nice part of town, and the rent was reasonable (keep in mind, I was looking for my own place - no roommies - so anything under $750/month is reasonable). To make a long story short, it was a gong show. Shit. 0 for 1.
The next day was more of the same. Both places were relatively decent, and in even better locations, but it just wasn't in the cards. 0 for 3. I planned on resuming my search Saturday. The outlook was already not great - I would be competing with thousands of students looking for accomodation for the upcoming fall semester.
Dejected, I picked up the classifieds once again. One unmarked gem caught my eye: "Queen and Bathurst - Bachelor apt.". "How could I have overlooked that?" I shouted aloud, smacking myself in the jowls. "It must surely be rented," I continued. For this is not only my favourite part of town, it's also the favourite of thousands of others. I called, and much to my delight, it was still available! I checked it out the following Saturday. Let's just say things went so well I dropped off the deposit the next day.
I am still amazed at how relatively smoothly and quickly that went. I have pinched myself a number of times since. How could I have found an apartment in a mere five days? Previous searches have dragged on for weeks, with tensions and stress levels rising to towering proportions. But now, I can relax for the rest of the summer. How sweet that is.
Stay tuned for housewarming details. Bring potato salad!
Well, not really. Because of our unrelentingly frigid winters, summer has by far been my favourite season since my earliest memory. As soon as I could walk, I could swim, thanks to growing up on the shores of gorgeous Georgian Bay. So why do I continue to toil in the urban heat island of Toronto? Well, a man's gotta eat. And on the other hand, it makes trekking up north come the weekend that much sweeter.
Don't get me wrong - Toronto in the summer is absolutely beautiful. There are a tonne of social and cultural activities to do. Weekend music and food festivals. Outdoor concerts. And last, but not least - downtown patios. I could waste every afternoon chilling at a table with friends on a slab of concrete in the urban umbrage. People-watching is an ancient and revered pasttime in the city.
The city summer is fun and all, but it's pretty difficult to relax. And that's why I join the pollutant parade up the 400 as soon as I finagle a few days off work. I don't have to do anything up there for fulfillment. Sit on the beach. Get browner. Play some guitar. Enjoy a cold one. Swim. Golf.
I've accoladed my hometown in this space before, but I really feel it deserves yet another shout-out. As a teenager, I took that paradise for granted. I just wanted to be in the city with the flourishing music scene and the hipsters. That part has been cool since I've lived here, but it's made me appreciate G-Bay a lot more.
Ahh summer...at least it comes back every year.
Waub's summer mix for July 2004:
The Stooges - Search and Destroy
The Police - Next to You
AC/DC - It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock)
The Icarus Line - On the Lash
Eagles of Death Metal - Only Want You
Prince - Musicology
Jay-Z - 99 Problems
The Polyphonic Spree - It's the Sun
My Morning Jacket - Run Thru
Queens of the Stone Age - The Bronze
Blind Melon - Tones of Home
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Up Around the Bend
Ween - You Were the Fool
Loretta Lynn - Have Mercy
Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady
The Pixies - U-Mass
Every Time I Die - I Been Gone a Long Time
Slayer - Dittohead
Some of you may be aware that I work part-time at Canada's trusty Weather Network as a news writer. It's a great job and I really enjoy it. For the next little while, however, I'll be taking a break from my writing duties and filling in for the reporter. That means I'll be putting together weather-related stories for the news segments that air at :12 and :42 past every hour.
My first two stories came together pretty well and ran for the first time last night. Altogether, I'll have five reports in. They'll run at random for the next month in the aforementioned "Weather News", so tune in whenever you get a chance and you might catch one of them.
It's been pretty exciting so far. So let me know what you think!