Sure here we are...

There’s nothing like knowing you’re leaving a place to make you really appreciate it. You begin to take note of all the little things and take stock of what you’re leaving behind.  The biggest realisation for me, since deciding to leave Vancouver for Toronto, was when a man walked past me in a pair of shorts, in mid January.  The day before I left, it was a balmy 13 degrees in Vancouver while the weather on my phone read -16 in Toronto.  A crisp drop of 30 degrees, my dear friend Fob pointed out.  Thanks Fob. But I suppose last night the change in weather was the least of my worries. The change of life was definitely a more daunting prospect. It was agonizing to say goodbye to the city and to my friends.  Vancouver is shockingly beautiful and the west coast life style is a pleasant one, but leaving my friends behind (yet again) was a thousand times more painful than glimpsing at the mountains one last time. I won’t get too sentimental but needless to say, I have quite possibly the most amazing group of friends that I spend far too much time with, and I’ll miss that the most. To see a fine example of such tremendous friendship, click the link below. (But don’t believe everything you hear) Props where props are due, huge thanks to Becky Philpott, Fergal O'Brien, Mariella Koc-Spadaro and Jon Ebrell for their technical and artistic wizardry, and for avoiding me for a week so they could pull this off.

http://www.vimeo.com/18938871

 Also can't thank Jason Intile enough for these amazing portrait collages. The photos don't do them nearly enough justice.

 So on to the point of what brings my fingers to the keyboard today…Toronto! We arrived, its official. I left the comfort and love of Vancouver for a bit of fun in the chilly streets of T.Dot. We arrived a couple hours ago and our first impression from the air was, well, startling.  As we began the descent I pulled up the blinds on the plane’s window to try to catch a glimpse of the landscape below. I looked down at what I thought was an expanse of white cloud but alas, I was so very wrong. It was land, and it was blanketed in white snow as far as the eye could see.  So, first impression of Ontario? Get. Me. The. Fuck….you get the point.  

But all was not lost. After a dodgy 15 minutes in a taxi queue with ears freezing and hands numbing, we finally got a taxi and headed towards the bright lights of the big city (and by bright lights I mean the CN Tower cuz it’s the only Toronto landmark I know).  

 First impressions have been positive.  What we noticed first was, people! Unlike Vancouver (which is reminiscent of a wild west ghost town replica theme park in the off season – even on a Saturday night in the ‘vibrant’ entertainment district) Toronto has people walking the streets, and people in pubs, and people milling about doing things that people do in big cities (well, most of them anyways).  Even late on a Monday night in January in severe cold, people are out.  We like this. A lot.   

 Now, it’s only been a couple of hours so I can’t say much else about the city but I’ll sum up what we’ve gathered so far.  The buildings have a lot more character here, and it reminds me a lot of Dublin. The loft we’re being put up in is unreal, and we’re officially never leaving.

The Mexican restaurant on Queen West that we ate at tonight with Marianna (my Rethink co-worker extraordinaire) was unreal, one of the best meals I’ve ever consumed.  So far, Toronto food is doing well.

http://www.milagrorestaurant.com/ 

There’s definitely a lot more going on here in the arts, music and culture scene – and that was apparent to us the minute we walked out of our apartment. We may not be able to go for a hike in the mountains or canoe up a river, but let’s face it – we never did any of those things anyways! I’m far more excited at the prospects of a 2011 filled with interesting people, new music and that societal gem – culture.

So, as hard as it’s going to be to fall asleep tonight thinking of all the great friends I left behind 2,000 miles ago, it makes it a little easier to know I’ll be waking up to some pretty exciting new things.