Yes, me. The proverbial urban subway-rider. Well, it seems that in the last few weeks I kind of, you know, moved. All the way out of Toronto to this small town up north in the Beautiful Land. It’s all part of my ongoing transformation from Mississauga cube-farm monkey, riding the #82 bus to work and toiling in the bowels of the computer industry, to ???. And I don’t know what ??? is yet, except that it involves iPhone apps, art, tutoring, and/or designing passive-solar houses.
So a chance came up to get a used car. It’s a ten-year-old Neon with 230 000 klicks on the clock. I take care of it, it should serve for a couple of years. It belogned to an acquaintance… who was moving to Toronto to an apartment without a space for a car… meanwhile, I was doing the opposite. I got the car repaired, safetied and e-checked, and got to the vehicle licensing office of the Ministry of Transport with ONE minute to spare.
The lady at the licensing office processed my trasfer of ownership quickly because it was quitting time. The Ministry hit my credit card for sales tax and assorted fees, handed me a new ownership record and a new set of number plates, and then it was done. I had brought my toolkit, so I changed the plates right there in the parking lot. Then I emailed the money to the seller and away I went.
Ah, so perhaps we haven’t seen the last of you yet! You can still drive down for random dinners. It’s been a year or so since we last met up, hasn’t it?
Hey, that’d be cool. I need to go visiting before winter closes in, and also clear out my old apartment and do a few other things, so I’ll be back in the city in a few weeks.
ドもありがと！ Domo arigato! Thank you!(And I know I spelled that wrong…)
That Japanese course is the biggest thing I miss from Toronto. It was amazing. Total immersion… I’m going to see whether there’s a way I can somehow get there and take it in the spring, after the bad weather ends. Maybe they can do a week-long intensive?
Congratulations! How long before you try a road trip to out here in the West?
Just kidding. It’s a heckuva slog–I know; I’ve done it, a few times. Nice to know that you can still make it to the GTA if any of us visit there though!
Its not as bad as you might think, weather wise. But the snow does move in gradients from 12 west as the east west divider, being around the heaviest to Newmarket being the lightest.
So in Pborough itself, might be inundated with all that lake effect snow, the moment you get on to the major routes it will lighten up the more south you go. Major snow itself, will manifest somewhere around December/January and will be a friend and companion until bout april.
I think you mentioned that you were originally from Pborough, so you should know the weather somewhat, but this is the first time as a driver, so pay attention to the weather forecasts, get snows for the car, and dont plan anything that cant be canceled due to weather.
Your worst case driving scenarios up here are fog and whiteouts, you can buy traction somewhat, but you have to be able to see.
Thanks. I am extremely aware of the weather these days. Something about spending time on a construction site. The snow tires are already fitted. I’ll be getting a winter survival kit this week. (I have my dad to thank for that example–he was in the navy and always kept his car tidy, and there were always flares, blankets, sand, and other things in the trunk.)
Ironically, the monthly cost of insurance for me is the same as the monthly cost of a Metropass in Toronto. Of course, the only way I could get away with that was for it to be a cheap car in a cheap postal code. Now, repairs. on the other hand…
Man - personally, I’d be a bit nervous in your shoes. I’ve relied on public transit almost all of my adult life. Aside from a few summer jobs, I’ve never needed or wanted to drive, and I’ve never owned a car.
Believe me, I’ve been thinking of it. I’m not sure the car could make it that far though. My longest planned trip is to Owen Sound to see my dad. And I’ll have the car tuned up and serviced before that, sometime soon.
No worries. I’m just wondering how your system allowed you to type a katakana Do next to a hiragana Mo. I tried it, and my computer automatically corrects the Do on the fly.
Good luck. I hope you’re able to get back into it. Total immersion is the best way, at least it is for me. I’m in final prep to take the N3 exam.
I wish you many free-wheelin’ miles in your new car.
ETA: Wait, you’re Canadian, right? So that’d be many free-wheelin’ kilometers, wouldn’t it?
