Let the adventures begin

I’ve been unemployed in Toronto for 6 weeks now, and I’ve figured out how to fill my time.

A few weeks ago, it felt like I’d be wallowing in profound homesickness for the rest of my life. Back home I’d found my favorite yoga studio of all time, a vibrant music community, and had started building closer relationships with family members. Things seemed better than ever when I left, so naturally I’ve felt some grief. But sadness will only grow if you feed it, so I chose to distract myself by finding some good things here. And as it turns out, that's incredibly easy. Last week, upon returning from a week visiting friends and family, I delved into some new activities.

Thursday: Ecstatic dance night with friends

Friday: Sleeping off a cold, cooking, chores. Checked out a music festival downtown with Sean (transit time: 1 hour). Watched university fashion students doing a random catwalk practice after crowd dispersed.

Saturday: St. Lawrence Farmer’s Market, solo, since Sean works this weekend. Rescued an inchworm stuck to a raspberry by placing it (raspberry and all) in a flower planter. Evening: Sean drove us to friend’s house in the “country” (Markham) where we enjoyed live music, bonfire and conversation.

Sunday: Checked out UU church, met choir director and a few other folks.

Monday: potluck at a friend’s house, where we ran into a half dozen people we knew (yay!).

As you can see, there’s plenty to do in Toronto. So while I accept (despite anyone’s well-meaning opinion), that I’ve lost something by leaving the place where I first laid down roots, it would be an understatement to say that Toronto compensates for my loss. There are 10-12 festivals every single summer weekend, 3 ecstatic dance nights a week (to my knowledge), farmer’s markets everywhere (to the tune of having one at the local shopping mall), and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Living in a city like Toronto is the kind of thing that could change you. I already feel myself becoming more optimistic, more interested in things, maybe a little more bold. Could it be because I live in one of the safest, most beautifully diverse cities in the world? Could it be the opportunities and capital out there calling my entrepreneurial spirit forth?  Could it be that I’m in love and feel grounded and supported?

Let the adventures begin.