Overdue update
I'll try to go light on the details. Here's a capsule of the past two weeks or so:

- Had a nice farewell weekend. Special thanks to Katie for the party, Maryanne and Carly for the Adios Amigos collage, and to everybody else that bid us adieu.
- Picked up the U-Haul/Loaded the U-Haul with minimal effort. Special thanks to Scott and Nick.
- Played with an automated turtle.. "Gotta take it slow.." Special thanks to Arturo the electrical engineer for shorting its circuit/rendering it inanimate.
- Had an emotional late night send-off, and then another in the morning.
- Mastered truck driving on the 401 with only radio rock. When did arena rock become "psychadelic" ??
- Pulled into our new neighbourhood just as Portugal advanced to the final 8.
- Realized there is a strong Portugese community present in the neighbourhood, as evidenced by the relentless honking and cheering that carried on for hours after the game.
- Moved into the new place (second floor of an old house with a fantastic balcony).
- Took it easy for a day -- biked, walked, subway'd around.
- Went to first day of my new job. Did random office stuff for first 1/3 of day, then travelled up to Jane and Finch in an attempt to do some community organizing. Visited apartment buildings showing evidence of gunfire. Continued on; though somewhat jarred.. tried to remain positive. Unfortunately, three more days of long hours and insanely difficult work cemented the fact that I needed a new job.
- Felt not a little put off by first week in Toronto
- Saw Matt Gale and his special lady friend. Enjoyed the company, did not enjoy the hiccups.
- Canada Day: went north to Brampton to visit with Tara's family. Witnessed Uncle Murray's "shocker" hand-signal.
- Overall had a great holiday weekend. Decided I would quit my job Tuesday morning.
- Quit Tuesday, found a new job by Friday. New employment is the polar opposite of community organizing in neighbourhoods vilified, stereotyped and exploited by, for example, the media.
- New job is still with a non-profit, this time the Internet Archive (check out archive.org) ... I will be scanning books which are to be available for free online. Stable hours, weekends off, free U of T library card, and ability to listen to music while working all meant I accepted the job without hesitation. We'll see about the repetative nature of book scanning. Working in the U of T Library will be a positive work environment as well.
- Contacted a few people about jamming/providing bands with drum help. Supposed to meet up with people today and tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. It'll be hard to replicate (certainly can't replace) the jams/amazing times that were had in Ottawa.
- Warmed up to the kitty (fatcat!) that lives in our sublet. Barbongo is an independent cat that shits outside. Just the kinda cat I dig!
- Have constantly been thinking about returning to school. Have found a few programs of interest, in both Political Economy and Social Geography. Trying to figure out exactly what I want to be working on... have a few ideas that need to be narrowed down.
- Overall just enjoying the sheer size of the city. Love the fact that Anglo culture is dwarfed by all the other cultures present in Toronto.

I guess that's about it.. we love the fact that the Ice Cream Man comes by every night, and that a sugar cone is ony $1.50!

Finally -- we want guests, so come on down!