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30 August 2004 - 11:56 Gah� I feel all out of sorts today. I guess it�s something to do with spending the last two days sitting outside being baked first, air-dried later and finally rained upon� Whatever� I got to thinking about all the places I�ve lived in my life and it stuck me that I am a freakin� nomad. Still. Each one of them had it�s own wee story to tell� 1. Ottawa, Canada. 1970 � 1973 Place of birth and also site of the house my dad built. Also possibly the most boring city on earth. OK � maybe it�s a little unfair. 2nd coldest capital city in the world. I don�t know which is the coldest. Left while young, so luckily felt no real affiliation. 2. Heriot Row � Edinburgh. Scotland. 1973 � 1974 Still young. Quiet street in the New Town. Shallow Grave was set on that street. I have very vague memories of it. I recall my dad didn't want to be in the city. It was a short stop until my folks bought something else. 3. Totleywells Cottage, South Queensferry. Scotland. 1974 - 1989 The house I grew up in. That house that my parents rebuilt. The house that holds a thousand memories and stories... It was an old farming cottage with stables and a cattle barn attached. We, as a family, redesigned not only the cottage, building a 2nd floor, but also the outbuildings, developing the stables and building a roof over the back stoop. My mother built a riding school... starting with a single pony and finally ending up with 16. Summers spent lpayoing the the nearby woods, winters spent cursing the damn horses, as their water systems would freeze up and my brother and I would be sent outside at the crack of dawn to break the ice and fill endless water buckets in subzero temperatures. The piano would echo through the house, I was the only one who would play it. It was a safe place. A place of massive nostalgia. On the occasions that I have been back to Scotland, I have made it a point to see how the place is doing. I still feel like I own a piece of it... and it seems wierd to park up on the corner and stare at it like some kind of stalker from across the field. I guess everyone has their family home. Their safe place. I guess I just invested my childhood there. 4. St Chads, Durham, England 1989 - 1990 Although I still technically live at Totleywells, this was my first University residence. I spent a year there, feeling like a misfit. It was an apparant honour to be accepted to Durham university, being regarded as one of the top tier Unis in the UK. I hated it. There was a huge animosity between the local people who's mines were all closed and the rich University kids whos mummy and daddy sent them to Durham. I survived on my grant for a year. And decided to take a year out and transfer. I went home. An unhappy year. An unhappy place. 5. Bishop G Halls, Lincoln, England 1991 - 1992 Transfered to Lincoln, the city I would spend the vast majority of my pre-return-to-Canada time in, after a year out, and moved into Wickham Hall - becoming one of the "Wickham Lads". There were 5 of us in a hall of 40. The rest were all women. Made some of the best friends I have there and have nothing but fond memories of a year where Me, Stan, Gus, Ian and John covered each others backs and got up to absolutely ridiculous highjinks. Like batmanning Lincoln Cathedral. Like launching stealthlik attacks on the other floors and waging wars of ridiculous proportion. Three of the 5 of of us were drama students also... we had active imaginations. 6. Cottingham Road, Hull, England 1992 - 1993 Our specialist year with our affiliated University. I didn't pay my rent for a year and got stuffed that summer paying it back. Lived in a tiny house with 7 other people - 4 of the 5 original "Wickham Lads" were there. It tested our friendship, and for the most part we came through. One of our drama course friends died of a brain hemorrhage one day. So suddenly. So unexpectedly. Hull was a dirty rough town, but it had character. I made some good friends there... somehow scraped through the academic year intact. I still have no idea how that happened. 7. Burton Road, Lincoln. England. 1993 - 1994 The first time I lived with a girl. Her name was Jo Nice. It was the worst thing we ever did. We actually ended up despising and hurting each more that we needed to... The land lady was a complete witch also... **smile** I do remember having sex in the rain in the back yard one time though. So it wasn't all bad. Needless to say, we broke up. I hope she is doing well... Oh. I graduated. 8. Spring Hill, Lincoln, England 1994-1994 Moved in mith my mate Stan for a summer. Worked with youth service. Played copious amounts of playstation NHL, with my Canadiens beating out his LA Kings 1000000000001 - 1000000000000. Met Bev that summer. The first girl I really loved. 9. Sixfields Close, Lincoln, England 1994 - 1995 Moved in with Bev into a one bedroom apartment near where we both worked. It was functional - nothing more. The hot water tank burst on Christmas day. We were looking to buy a place together. 10. Penny Cottage. Normanby by Spital, Lincolnshire, England 1995 - 1997 My first house. Our first house. Until she upped and left two weeks before Christmas. And after 2 1/2 years together. And I still don't really know why. Still. I rebuilt the upper bedroom, finished the floor in the spare room. Looked after 5 cats. Played pool for the pub team. It was my haven. I loved it. I felt that it had been taken from me too soon... I wasn't done and never got closure. Yet through all of that, It was a happy place. Not just the cottage. The village. They embraced me. Accepted me as one of them. I'll never forget them. The drive to work was one of the most beautiful; tree lined and single traffic. Driving through little villages called "Saxby", "Est Firsby" and "Spridlington"... The harsh reality was that I couldn't afford to keep it myself. So I sold it. And walked away, after paying estate agents and lawyers etc etc etc with a cheque for the grand sum of 83 pounds. 11. Sixfields Close, Lincoln, England 1997 - 1998 Same street. Different townhouse. It was functional, but with the memory of Penny Cottage still so fresh, it was painfully bland. I met Vanessa. I sang in a band. My life was deteriorating. I started to accept second best. I realised this fleetingly and Vanessa and I broke up. 12. Wollaton, Nottingham, England 1998 - 1999 I moved in with my mate, Pete. I worked with him, and we were/are good friends. Had a fling with with a Derby girl called Jo. I broke her heart, because I knew I didn't want a relationship. It was a short stay, because for reasons that I still don't fully understand, I got back together with Vanessa. It was an odd few months that I spent with Pete. I have absolutely no lasting impression of them... 13. Burton Road, Lincoln, England 1999 - 2000 Moved in with Vanessa and commuted to Nottingham for work. The carpets in the place were absolutely discusting, and after much bitching with the rental people, they changed them. Were robbed in the first week after having moved in there. Took my entire CD collection. Stuff that I know I won't replace. Decided to move to Canada. Decided to move with Vanessa. Had to get married to make it easier. Got Married. Can you taste the enthusiasm? It was another example of settling for second best. Which is harsh. But true. That house was nothing but bricks and mortar to me. Although I loved Lincoln. I continue to do so. It's a beautiful city. Full of honest, good people. 14. Lawrence Park, Toronto, Canada 2000 - 2001 Lived with my cousin Jason and his wife. They split up while we were there. It was so horribly uncomfortable. I turned 30 in the middle of it all. Still. They had a built in pool and in the heinous summer humidity, it was the perfect hide away. Cousin moved out. I was looking for work. It was very, very difficult. Cracks in relationship started to show. 15. Keele Street, Toronto, Canada 2001 - 2001 Finally managed to land a job and took first place in Canada. Moved in on New Years Day with a raging hang-over. Hated the new workplace. Mine was the only wage. Job offer out of the blue came from Montr�al. Took it. Glad to get out of Toronto. 16. Abelard, Ile des Soeurs, Montr�al, Canada 2001 - 2001 A faceless apartment that my folks found for me as I had 1 week to move. 10 minutes from downtown. Realised that I was supporting wife on all levels: spiritually, emotionally, financially with nothing in return. Cracks widening. Nuns Island was a like a winter rabbit warren. There was no social life, and it was difficult to get out and meet people. I guess I was lucky to be working downtown where I could... decided to move where there were people... "Met" A 17. Monkland village, NDG, Montr�al, Canada. 2001 - 2002 Basement apartment in cute neighbourhood. Had a great housewarming party... but never settled into it as we split. Met A. I left. 18. Sherbrooke Street, Montr�al, Canada 2002 - 2002 Moved into "Kabul Towers" and into a really foul studio apartment. I think I moved in there to punish myself for my indiscretions. It stank. Was horribly equipped. I hated it, but needed to be there. Made a friend in Chris on the 17th floor, who worked in the same building downtown and had moved from Toronto, in exactly the same situation as me. We spent the summer drinking. A lot. Some of it fun. Most of it pretty tragic. I lost a lot of control that year. 19. Lincoln Street, Montr�al, Canada 2002 - 2003 Moved in with Barry. Met him at my sister's wedding 3 years earlier as he was my brother in law's best man. Other than the 4 flights of stairs to get to the apartment - and the cleanliness of the communal areas, it was a pretty nice apartment. New York Style, with an exposed brick wall and a fireplace, french doors leading out to a balcony overlooking the street. Close to McKibbons pub. AT Christmas we found so many Christmas lights that we lit up the apartment internally and externally like a rainbow. I'm pretty sure people thought we were gay! (Not that theres anything wrong.....blah blah) Probably didn't help when we came back from the Rocky Horror Show plastered in makeup and glitter - only to find the normally unlocked front door, locked, and both of us keyless. Barry shimmied and let me in. Had a couple of silly flings which went nowhere. Met Jen. We became good frinds quickly. She was just so..."in touch"... Regained some control. 20. Overdale. Montr�al, Canada 2003 - Moved in to new condo, buying it. Some small drama with Sister. Barry moved too. Realised that I was crazy about Jen. 9 months after I met her. Some wierd kind of human gestation thing, I guess. Told her. Then left for Scotland. Then came home. Retold her. She took a couple of weeks to figure it out, and was waiting for me at my door at the very second I called her. Like some schmucky sickly, but beautiful movie. She told me she felt the same. Barry moved out. She moved in. Not immediately... but she's in. And home feels like home for the first time since I left Penny Cottage in 1997. She is the second girl I am absolutely in love with. And I don't plan to let her go... Where have YOU lived?
   My life is rated NC-17. What is your life rated? |
