Ottawa

I took the nation's capital (Ottawa) by surprise on Tuesday in search of a domicile. I woke up at 6 am on tuesday (after about 2-3 hours of sleep) and left 16:30 on wednesday. After seriously walking around the whole city east of the canal, I had nearly given up hope since every place was either taken, a welfare nightmare (osgoode chambers), or psychotic landlord (one nasty lady said over the phone, "absolutely no visitors"). I was left with two places, one on Robinson avenue, which was awesome, and one 419 Nelson street. Both had their advantages, but the one on Nelson is so much closer to everything, so I signed up! It is about a five minute walk to campus and is close to just about everything else. My new address this fall is 5-419 Nelson street. The landlord is super cool and nice: he even gave me a ride to the bus station and said I could move in August 26 or so at no charge. The place is furnished (bed, desk, fridge) at 450 a month util included. My only concern now is phone/internet, which is is extra. As long as I'm paying under 500 a month total I'm content.

I stayed at the Jail House hostel: it is centrally located and costs under 30 bucks a night for a room, which is pretty decent. Be sure to bring earplugs, because people on the floor like to talk. I was also awakened at about 3 am by the post-bar rush (damn Quebecers! Just kidding; they're awesome). I heard a lot of French in Ottawa, which is nice. I didn't get a chance to see much of the city apart from the residential areas I trudged through, but I like what I see. I'm really looking forward to moving there in about 5 weeks.

Incidentally, I had some books and music to keep me occupied on the long 10 hour round trip: I had with me two of Coldplay's albums as well as Strapping Young Lad's latest effort (not as good as "Alien," but still good) and Decapitated's latest offering (good bedtime music for the kids). The latter is pretty darn heavy, but is great for those who like the double bass drums (as I do). Literarily, I surprisingly had no 18th century material, instead opting for Dickens' Great Expectations. Along with D.H. Lawrence (whom I am also reading now), Dickens is an author I've gravely neglected. I also found Kalidasa's play about Sakuntala for 5 bucks last week; a great find and an interesting piece of literature. More on that when this story develops.