The Streetcar Shuffle (and other news)

Day four of commuting by streetcar has allowed me to observe the peculiar ritual that I am naming the "streetcar shuffle". Basically you are supposed to enter the car from the front only, then either (1) stand along the perimeter facing toward the window or (2) if perimeter is full, enter car as quickly as possible and slowly move down the centre of your aisle. This shuffle usually happens over the course of a few stops so you can strategically situate yourself as close to the rear exit doors in anticipation of your intended stop. This may or may not work according to the volume of bodies packed in the car.

For the most part I have found my fellow city residents to be a friendly and civil lot. There have certainly been some interesting characters but overall I am pleasantly surprised. In fact, I have had far more "Hello", "Excuse Me", and general courtesies on a per capita basis than I would encounter in a typical day in Kingston (population 125,000)!! 

 

There is a West Elm in Liberty Village and we took a peruse and found a gorgeous bath mat for our en-suite bathroom. I had not heard of West Elm before. They are part of the Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn group of stores. We loved the store and we met the sweetest and most helpful staff member too.

Mark's long-time friends Toni and Dave suggested we meet at Bier Mrkt on Wednesday night to take advantage of Oktoberfest specials. This place has over 100 beers on the menu, and the limited-time-only Bavarian Pretzels were awesome.

As I was getting shaggy, I ventured this week to one of the great barber shops of Toronto, Aristotelis. I managed to get seated within 20 minutes and got an amazing and attentive cut from Tito, a Venezuelan who emigrated to Canada 31 years ago. 

Looking forward to having our first moved-in weekend. We are brunching with a friend on Saturday and then planning to head to IKEA on Sunday to get some bookshelves so we can put all our books in place.