
To say that I’m having a bad week is a bit of an understatement.
As if saying goodbye to Beano wasn’t enough pain, my car broke down this morning before I was due at work. I was driving on King Street and the engine completely died on me. I didn’t even have enough momentum to let the car roll over to the curb. I was sitting on the streetcar tracks and my first instinct was to get out of the way! I put the car in neutral and pushed myself to the curb with one hand on the steering wheel. (One kind soul saw me pushing my car and stopped to help me, which I’d like to state for the record happened in Parkdale, a neighbourhood I like but gets a lot of bad press.) I also wanted to shake my fist at the universe, yelling “WHAT NOW?!?” — but I ran out of hands.
Best not to tempt fate, anyway. Know why? Right now I’m sleeping on the floor of my bedroom because on Friday night the skylight leaked a puddle of water right in the middle of my bed. Since my apartment is shoved together in piles because the back roof is getting fixed, the futon mattress was propped up in the hallway. At least I had something else to sleep on — it was either that or a camping cot. I also slept on the floor so Beano could sleep with me without having to jump. In the last few weeks he barely made it up to the bed.
The bedroom has a different roof from the one at the back — the back roof is currently in construction limbo. That’s right, all progress was halted this week due to a dispute between the owners and the contractors. Should I be surprised? There are more people being added to this saga daily. I’m caught in-between, sleeping on the floor and surrounded by furniture. I don’t have the time or energy to be angry about it, the house isn’t mine and I’m busy with two jobs and volunteer work.
I could go on with a litany of things that have been falling apart around me, but I won’t… instead, I decided to look for light in all this darkness. It’s there, I just had to go find it. So I walked down the street to the lake with my camera to look for light and remind myself why I live in this house, in this neighbourhood, in this city, doing what I do. I know deep down why I do, but I needed the reminder.






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