Toronto: Week 1

I actually moved to Toronto on the 6th of September, but seeing as I wasn't employed for that first week of Toronto residence, I feel that I really didn't have an accurate impression of what it's like living in the big smoke. The first week was a warm up, a resting period. This past week, that was week one. A full work week, watching the nightly news, dealing with the transit system and experiencing the sights, smells and mysterious packages left on the steps of the provincal courthouse of the city.

My verdict after week one, is that Toronto is not bad at all. Sure it smelled like vomit one day and the people at The Great Canadian Bagel on University Ave. could actually learn some customer services skills from Czech shop assistants, but that doesn't really matter. The people I work with are just awesome, my home is so comfortable, I have high speed Internet!!! and the staff at my local Starbucks are not only efficent, but friendly and fun. In fact, my only complaint about Toronto thus far can actually be applied all over the world as it's not a complaint that applies to the city but to a group that exists within society.

My only beef lies with back-pack wearers. My pet peeve is so minute that it actually only applies to said back-pack wearers when I'm in the subway with them. The rest of the time, I have no issue (besides the obvious fashion ones, but if it does what you need it to do, carries your stuff and keeps your back happy, who am I to go all fashionista on you). No, the only I loathe these people is when we're all standing in a rush hour subway car and they fail to take their packs off. Mayeb they don't realize that they're seriously impeeding the personal space of everyone standing around them, or they can't actually sense that they're jamming innocent commuters up against the car doors because their massive pack takes up the space of 2 or 3 people. I've been on the subway 9 times this week. Include the fact that I have to transfer lines, that makes 18 cars I've ridden in. I've been wedged between back pack wearers at least 4 times already.

Sure, there are times when you're nose to nose in a subway car. Personal contact can't be avoided in these situations. But usually there is enough room for travellers to stand and have their blessed personal space. Pack wearers seem to totally forget how intrusive and gargantuan their packs are and thereby apply the personal space rules of non-pack wearers. This is a huge mistake. They're forgetting that they have pounds and pounds of hard pointy things strapped to their backs and are unknowingly attacking their fellow man as they go in and out of the city.

My solution? Besides mandatory makeovers for the general population, is a simple technique called "take your fucking back-pack off your back and rest it at or on your feet." You can hold it with one hand as you use your other hand to hold onto the safety bars. That way you're totally aware of the space you're taking up, you can still protect your property and you're certain not to be poking me with your stupid bag. I rarely encountered this problem in Prague because if you left your pack on your back you were inviting pick-pockets to take all your heavy pointy objects. Is it possible that crime makes the world less irritating?

Anyway, Toronto is okay. Back-packs on the TTC ... not so much.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Romantic Traffic" by The Spoons.

HRH