Bus rides make me emo.

And if you never stop when you wave goodbye/ You just might find if you give it time / You will wave hello again / You just might wave hello again

- John Mayer, Wheel

As I sat on the bus on the way to work, I suddenly realized that I only have five more days of work, 10 days until I move out and a mere three weekends left in Toronto. Then it got me thinking about all the little things that I'm going to miss about this place. Even though I lived in Kingston during the school year for four years, downtown Toronto has always felt more like home to me and it's been great finally being a Toronto resident this summer. From my experience, I feel that there's not much love for Toronto, especially from Torontonians, so here is my little list of the things that I will miss about the T-dot:

The TTC

Sure, it's crappy-ass, usually delayed, old, dirty, squeaky and sometimes smelly but there is something relaxing about my morning commute to work. Compared to Hong Kong, "rush-hour" on the TTC is like an after-dinner stroll in the park. I don't have to fear being whacked in the knee by someone's huge "red-white-blue" bag filled with pirated goods from Shenzhen and people here actually WAIT until you get out of the subway before they step in. WOWZERS! And I think it adds a little bit of character when I hear different subway conductors announce each stop, even more amusing if they make mistakes. "Osgoode ... Sorry Saaaint Patrick ... I mean Osgoode Station."

95 ****** St. (ha TRY AND FIND ME)

Sure, it's crappy-ass, old, dirty, poorly constructed and sometimes smelly but it's cheap, conveniently located and I get to live with my bestest buddy. I will miss the shower seranades.

Festivals (and Harbourfront!)

Jazz & blues festivals, Hip Hop/Breaking/Turkish/Chinatown/Filipino Festivals, Caribana ... of course I was too lazy to actually make it to most of these events but it's nice to know there are things to do if I ever decide to get off my arse.

Reggaeton/Soca (and funk)

Hip Hop at clubs is great but there's nothing like doing the willie bounce or any other kind of bounce to a Beenie Man track. And on that note, I hate to sound like an alcoholic but ... $3 drinks baby!! YEAHHHHH! CHUG CHUG CHUG! DOWN THAT SHIETTT. WHAT?! A CHASER? THAT'S WEAKSAUCE!!! Okay, I'm done.

Clothing Sizes

Well, there's nothing really special about the clothing sizes except they actually fit me and storekeepers don't have to yell across the floor that the shirt I have on (that cuts off my circulation) is the largest one they make.

Diverse range of babies ... and boys

I admit that I get most excited when I see babies. Last week, I was in the crappiest mood and as I walked back home on Dundas, I looked up to see a row of 7-8 tiny people with their faces smushed up against the fence as they waved bye to one of their teachers. Seriously, is there anything cuter than that? Black, brown, yellow and white babies playing together in harmony. That is the way life should be.

Tim Hortons, Baskin Robbins, shawarma, sweet potato fries, streetmeat
... and all that other good stuff that's so bad for you.

"Free" Health Care

Hurray for OHIP. It ain't perfect but I appreciated all the free shots and appointments I had at Queen's health.

The....close proximity?

I love how in 20 minutes, you can walk from Chanel on Bloor St. to King's Noodle in Chinatown, which is 30 seconds away from Kensington Market and from there you can walk down to the Harbourfront in 15 minutes.

The People

You know who you are. :( :( :( I'll save this one for a later post.