I've been living in Toronto for a couple of weeks now. I used to wonder how well I would take to the city, because I've been living in small towns since I was 7. It turns out I am doing very well here. It is very multi-cultural and I knew that before moving here. I've been to school and courses with people from different cultures and that doesn't bother me. Surprisingly, I don't mind driving in Toronto as long as it is not during rush hour in the morning or after work

The closest grocery store does not have a parking lot so I have to walk there and carry back what I buy. Since I can only carry so much, I found that I was going back every couple of days. That got old quick, so I found a larger grocery store not too far away where I can park my car, load up, and come home. Now the trouble is making sure I can carry it all to the elevator and into my condo :)

There were a couple break ins down the hall shortly after I moved in. I let security know and they were all over it right away. The owners didn't have their alarm turned on. Later security said this happened two or three times to the same units, and they think they know who is doing it. Still, I feel safe in my condo. I can even walk around naked because there are no buildings in front of me. I have a view of the lake, a park, skydome and CN Tower.

My dog gets more walks now that we're in Toronto because he won't go on the balcony. I take him out before work, after work, and before bed. We go to the park beside the building which is quite large and pretty. Below the park (under ground) is a multi level parking complex for the Metro Toronto Convention Center. Every day at 6:00 PM all of the dog owners in the building meet out there and we let our dogs loose to play. Bandit really loves it. With all of these "walks", I was worried that I am getting too much exercise and might start to lose weight. Then I realized that I am not exercising when I let the dog run loose for 20 minutes, so it balances out :) Just to make sure, I had an ice cream cone for the first time in 5 months! I'm not bringing tubs of it home, so I think I'm still staving off my addiction.

Work is going well. I have adjusted to working from home quite well. I am strict about getting to work by 9am, having lunch at noon, and finishing >= 5pm. Since my den area where the computers are has no windows or distractions, I feel like I did when I worked in Orillia. I talk with co-workers over IM and email like in Orillia, so it doesn't feel like much has changed. I have been having some issues getting access to some computers at work over the VPN, and with my Vista laptop, but we've got most of the issues resolved now.

Last Monday I had an interior designer come for an initial consultation. She's going to send me some drawings of my space next week to help choose a plan, then we're going to a furniture store to choose some pieces. Later we'll go to a lighting store to choose light fixtures. Believe it or not, only the kitchen and bathroom have ceiling lights installed. The rest of the rooms have a cap over the ceiling outlet. (It's a new unit that hasn't been lived in before). It will take some time, but in the end I will have a designer look that suits a Toronto waterfront penthouse.

Tuesday morning I have to move out. I'll load up the cargo van and my car, then park them somewhere for a couple days. Then I move into my new condo and hopefully I can get the server back up ASAP. There might be some issues since Rogers has never sold their services to that suite before (nobody has lived in it yet). They had to add it into their database, and were going to phone me back. They haven't yet. Rogers is my one and only choice for TV, Internet and telephone. I couldn't believe it when Bell told me they aren't set up to service that building! My dad says builders make deals with the provides so they can have exclusive rights to everyone in the building.

I've got almost all of the furniture sold. The kitchen table is going tomorrow morning. The coffee table and bedroom set MIGHT be sold tomorrow.. but I don't know for sure until she calls me. I'm pretty desperate to get rid of it. Since she's a co-worker, I'll see if she'd be willing to pay me over 4-5 months. I have a designer coming 11 days after I move into the condo to help me create a consistent look in every room.