A new home, a new job, and… another new job

This past weekend I moved most of my earthly possessions to Jenna’s. As of August 1, we will officially be cohabitating, and no longer spending enormous amounts of money on two separate apartments. The move was remarkably easy thanks to Rae and her car. There are still a few things at my old place, but all of the big stuff is gone.

Also, I’m happy to report that I have a new-ish job. Starting August 13, I’ll be working on the new Nora Young show Spark. It’s a great concept, a great team, and I can’t wait to get started, but I’m really going to miss all the people I work with now.

As well, I’ve been offered a job at my alma mater, Ryerson. I’ll be teaching audio production part-time in the School of Radio and Television Arts. I have one section of BDC101, and it’ll take up my Tuesday evenings starting in the fall.

Wow.

After writing that, I realized what an enormous amount of my life changed in the past two weeks.

Smog Dog

I’ve lived in Toronto for almost three years now. The whole while, I’ve never purchased (much less consumed) a hot dog or sausage from any of this fair city’s ubiquitous street meat vendors.

Last night, all that changed:

Special thanks to Jenna for getting me intoxicated enough to make it all happen.

Last bike ride before winter?

Today, I picked up my bicycle from College and Clinton and drove it home. The sun was shining, I had a brand new haircut, and every traffic signal turned green for me just in time.

I’m tempted to put my bike away for the winter, because it just doesn’t get much better than that.

I hate phones

But after moving this past weekend, I realized that I need some kind of telephone. And prices the way they are, the convenience of a cell seemed worth the premium over a land line.

But cell phone companies are evil. They rope you into 2 or 3 year contracts with the lure of cheap or “free” phones. And mostly, their “free” phones suck. I had a 2 year contract with Bell Mobility that ended in the Spring. It was nothing but headaches, and I resolved to never give them any of my money ever again. Ever.

So I did some research, and figured it out something I’m pretty happy with:

I picked up an unlocked Hong Kong version of the Motorola SLVR from Canada Computers at College and Spadina for $219. The same phone, locked to Rogers Wireless, would cost $389.99 without a contract.

Then I walked into Fido at the Eaton Centre, signed up for the recently announced $30/month Urban plan, and ponied up $30 for a Fido SIM card.

So: an unlocked GSM phone, a monthly plan I can change or cancel anytime, and no dealings with Satan Bell. Not too bad.

Cell phones suck. Cell phone companies will always rip you off. But this way, I feel like I’m getting ripped of the least.

A journey of a thousand miles…

… begins with a single parka.

Yes, it’s true. I’ve started moving into my new place. As of September 1, I’ll no longer be living with Phil and Tristan. I got myself a tiny little bachelor apartment at Victoria and Shuter. It’s close to Jenna, close to work, and close to the Queen subway station.

Even though I won’t move the bulk of my stuff until this weekend, I started today. I stuffed my parka into a plastic shopping bag, dropped it into the milk crate on the back of my bicycle, and drove it down the street. Luckily, I’m not moving far.

It looks pretty lonely all by itself in my closet, but soon enough, there’ll be more than enough crap crammed in beside it to keep it company.