Almost Paradise

On Thursday morning, I headed to Toronto for a short visit. All week, there was warning that a volatile weather system will cause havoc. Sure enough, snow and ice pellets piled up overnight in Ottawa. But amazingly the bus arrived in Toronto early (by a few minutes). It's often 30 minutes late even with perfect weather.

But it must be the Toronto effect because everything felt great. Even the setting sun seemed to glow winsomely. There was no snow here, just a pleasant fall afternoon. By 4:30 pm in Ottawa, I can barely keep my eyes open. But in Toronto I was invigorated amid the throng of pedestrians and cyclists. Even the cars were a part of the lively scene, probably because they can't travel faster than 40 km/h.

 It has been 6 months instead of the usual 3 since my last visit to the dentist. So there seems to be more gunk than usual when I rinsed after my cleaning. Though I appreciated his expert treatment, to charge an exam fee plus 0.5 unit of polish and 3 scaling units ($261 total) for 10 minutes of work was highway robbery. Afterwards, feeling ravenous instead of merely lethargic, I crossed the street to Pam's Roti for a chicken roti dinner. I was happy to see the regular worker there. Their eye operation didn't fix everything and they'll have to go back in early December for more surgery. I wished them luck because everyone seems to be having health issues.

I inhaled the curry chicken wrapped in a toothsome dhal puri shell. Was it always this large? Pam's has replaced the bland lettuce side dish with a tasty slaw. At $14.95 all in, you won't find such deals in Ottawa for flavour, portion size, and price.

For this visit, I found an Airbnb around my former stomping grounds of Bloorcourt and Bloordale. More precisely, it was at the edge of my old neighbourhood just down the street from where sin meets salvation. While I was unpacking, a cleaner knocked on my door. He hadn't quite finish setting out the toiletry. He also gave me a quick peek of the other rooms. I snooped around more thoroughly later on since there were no other guests Thursday night. It was obvious that these all used to be rental units: mine would have been a studio/bachelor. I think renters would be thrilled to continue to live in these ("rustically charming") apartments with exposed brick walls and hard-wood floor. But alas, they've been off the market for about 7 years to serve as pricey overnight rentals.

It's great these options exist now so people don't have to always stay in a bland hotel room in the touristy part of downtown. But if I was landlord, I would only set aside 1 unit for visitors, leaving the rest as long-term rentals for local residents. This would be a win for everyone. In any case, the cleaner wasn't my host. He was a next-door neighbour helping out while the owner was laid up from back surgery.

Even within the six months, many changes were afoot. The foundation for the massive construction at Dufferin and Bloor has been laid. Little Mexico (La Tortilleria, Latin World, Tierra Azteca) has a new contender at a former Ethiopian restaurant which was, ironically, once a Mexican place 15 years ago. A drug store replaced one of the last Portuguese business. But once the neighbourhood has gentrified, it was over for a hyper-local place that sells some women's clothes but mostly children's garments for religious rites like baptism and first communion. Across from the library at Gladstone, Taco Bell will try where Starbucks once failed. Fried chicken instead of vegan diner food is on the menu a block away. I was surprised that long-time stalwart The Common has shuttered and moved in with Wenona Lodge. But a coffee shop that closes at 4 and a bar that opens at 7 pm make perfect sense. Finally, will clayArt Studio and Sad Songs Cantina near Lansdowne survive? While some succeed, numerous trendy shops have also failed in semi-gentrified Bloordale. What will the next six months bring?