the four-oh-one diaries: wrapping up

On Monday, I signed a lease and wrote a large cheque to cover first and last months rent for an apartment in Toronto.  I move next weekend.

As much as I'm glad to be leaving the daily commute behind me (1100 km left), I'm starting to get a bit sad about a few other things.

I'm leaving the place I've lived for the longest continual streak since first coming to Kitchener for school in 2003.  I've been 3.5 years in my cozy apartment.  It's one room consisting of bedroom, kitchen, living room, office, laundry room, and dining room.  But it's been my room.

I'm leaving behind a church that I've called home since early 2008.  I've stepped down from my positions on the set-up team and in the youth group.  The church is looking forward to an exciting fall, and I won't be around to be a part of it.  I'm not looking forward to having to work at finding a new community to call home in a neighbourhood I don't know very well.  I'll still come back, but it won't be the same.

But most of all, I'm leaving behind some significant people in my life.  They've continually told me that I should just continue to commute regardless of traffic and the toll it takes on my life because they'll miss me.  Some people have even suggested leaving the job that I'm just starting to get used to and maybe even enjoy to find one closer to KW.  I won't be able to pop over for evening visits, or have them over for lunch on Sundays as easily.  The Internet is good at keeping people connected, but it still will not be the same as having them sitting beside or across the table from me.  Someone who is available at a moments notice when things suck, or is willing to celebrate with ice cream when something goes well will be available less than desired.  I already experienced this when I left Emmanuel, but this is going to suck more, I think.  I'll still see them on weekends and the odd other time, but it won't be so regular.

New friendships will be formed, new attachments will be created, new stomping grounds will be claimed.  But I don't want to forget the old.

As for now, I'm packing.  And dusting.  I've accumulated multiple years worth of dust on my belongings.  And my pack rat tendencies aren't very helpful.  The worst is receipts.

The walls are getting emptier, the boxes are getting fuller, but an apartment with actual bedrooms awaits me.  Onward and upward, as they say.  I'm usually not one who shows emotions (that's a whole other conversation and probably a counsellor's gold mine), but please, don't mind me if I shed a tear.

torontonia: here i come

I never thought the day would come where I be living in Toronto.  But in  one week from today, I will be packing up my life in Kitchener and moving much closer to where I work in Toronto.

As I will be living by myself in the big city and my friends in Toronto are presently limited to a few people, I will have to explore the city and find new people and places to keep myself occupied and out of the apartment.

I'm open to suggestions of places I should explore.  If your idea is chosen, I will go to that location and write a post about my experience.

It's a big city, much different from where I grew up, but as Carl and Ellie Fredericksen said in the movie Up," Adventure is out there!"

tasty treats with tim: pizza

So I was hopeful to try a video blog this evening, but unfortunately my batteries weren't up to the job.  So I started taking pictures.  But then about 6 pictures in, the wrist strap got caught on a handle and in the process of getting it unstuck, the camera went flying to the floor.  And so my cell phone had to finish the pictures.  And so I present the first episode of Tasty Treats with Tim: Pizza.

First off, make sure you ventilate the space well.

This is my kitchen prior to cooking.  If you note, it's quite messy.  As my mother could have told me, or maybe not - it seems like a good thing to say at least, always clean your kitchen before you make food. 

Now onto the dishes.  Make sure you have a clean dish cloth.  If your dish cloth can stand on end, it's time to get a new one out of the drawer. 

Put the plug in the drain, turn on the hot water, put some soap in the sink, and add dishes to start the process of washing.

Don't forget to rinse the dishes after washing.  As I always tell a certain someone while washing the dishes, make sure you rinse, otherwise you end up having dishes that taste like soap.

Once your dishes have been cleaned, the counters wiped down, and the compost taken out, you are ready to start making dinner.

 

Make sure you turn on the oven to the specified temperature on the box.  This pizza requires 12-14 minutes at 425 F.

Pull the pizza out of the fridge.  To make the pizza better, add extra cheese.  Store bought frozen pizzas don't have enough cheese on them.

But make sure your cheese doesn't have little fuzzies growing on it.  That is why a spare block of cheese comes in handy.

Open the box, take the pizza out of the package, and put it on a pizza pan.

Grate the cheese with your handy cheese grater and put it on the pizza.

Once your pizza is looking great, put it in the oven and set the timer.

When the timer goes off, pull the pizza out.

You are ready to cut it into slices in the number and size of your own choosing.  If you are like me, you are convinced there is no possibility to cut a pizza into even slices.

Add some salad, and enjoy!

the four-oh-one diaries: repairs

My car's been a decent car.  It's gotten me all around south-western Ontario with a few trips to the great beyond, including Ottawa, Montreal, Elk Rapids MI, and Sandusky OH.  It hasn't exploded on me while driving (except for maybe that one time).  Other people have shown their disrespect for my car by keying it, stealing the headrests, or flinging a hunk of concrete at the windshield.  But for the most part, it's been good for getting me around.

The issue comes surrounding repairs.  Parts for my car are expensive.  And the previous owner didn't take great care of it, being on account of holding it on lease for 100,000 km.  Mind you, it's now coming to the point where repairs will be more frequent, but it keeps happening... and they're slowly stealing my soul.  I haven't gone through and figured out how much I've put into this car... I think if I did, I might cry.

I will hopefully lessen the frequency of repairs when I am no longer driving 5000+ KM per month.  Thankfully that is coming up soon.  Less than 3000km to go.

There's your traffic update.

projecting through boredom

In September, I'm hoping to be settled in a new apartment that is many kilometres closer to work than I live now.  Mind you, it's many kilometres away from my family and friends and other significant people in my life.  This distance will be a strain at times, for one being that the relationships will be reduced to minimal time on weekends and the Internet, and for two being that I will most likely have not much to do. 

And that is why I come to you, my faithful reader(s?).  I have decided I would like to be like every other trendy blogger out there and blog as I try a new experience.  Like cooking or reading or something, but I don't really know what that something should be.  So I ask you, my faithful reader(s?), what should I blog about, starting September 4th?  I cannot promise daily, but I want to be more faithful to you, my faithful reader(s?), than I have been for the past few years.  Really, only 13 posts last year?  Pathetic, I know... but I'm doing better this year, despite having gone through a little shove into a different direction.

Suggestion(s?) will be taken until August 19 and then the top 3 (as chosen by me) will be put up for a vote.

I will start the suggestions with this:

A cooking show, because that's original, and it gives me a chance to use my video editing skills and program(s?).