New country, same slacker blogger

So it turns out, I've been living in Canada for a month now. Toronto, to be exact. The Queen West 'hood to be even more exact. I've settled into my apartment, already had a great visit from my parents who made the "easy" drive (9 hours each way!), and have worked at least 6 days a week since I got here. Some things don't change.

It's crazy cold here this week. It's weird - the weekend i arrived, there was a TON of snow on the ground but there was a warm patch so it melted like crazy my first two weeks here. Now there's no snow but it's anywhere from -10 to -18 during the day (celsius, mind you) and way colder with the winds. However, I bought a proper winter coat (so warm! so quilty!) and I'm adapting...going back to that thick skin I developed in my 4 years in NH. I can feel the blood thickening already.

Here are some pics of the new pad...
Living room:















Kitchen (a full kitchen! no more mini fridge and microwave/oven combo!):














Bedroom (it's tough to get an angle on but bigger than it looks):

















and bathroom:


















Not pictured - my ensuite washer and separate dryer (!) and all the awesome closet space. Also, a super cool patio which is where the doors in the living room lead to. What's crazy is that I'm pretty sure the paint color in the bedroom and bathroom is the EXACT same color as my living room back in LA. So that's probably why it felt like home instantly.

I'm subletting from the girl who owns it, who just moved in with her boyfriend. It came furnished (including all kitchenware and TV and DVD player!) which is super rare here in Toronto. There are only 5 condos on my floor - all 1 bedrooms. The rest of the units in the fairly large building are all townhouses. There aren't many building amenities but it does have a guest suite you can reserve, which was great for my parents' visit, since I'd just gotten all my boxes delivered the day they arrived. It's only $65 (canadian dollars, mind you) a night and it's on my same floor. But when most of you come to visit you can stay on the pullout sofa for freeeeeee. Or in my bed and i'll stay on the sofa. Whatevs.

I'm in a cool neighborhood with lots of funky spots to eat, drink and be merry. And it's an easy streetcar ride to work. A little crowded maybe, but an easy commute once I make it on.

Here are some pics from my parents' visit. They just came for the weekend and were a huge help getting everything set up and cart stuff around in the car. What a novelty - a car at my disposal!




























Since then, I got my hair chopped. Really really, unintentionally, chopped. I'm still getting used to it. But here's my new Toronto look.












Ok, that's all for now. I'm coming to LA March 28-April 4th so please get in touch if you'd like to have lunch, coffee, dinner, drinks, anything. Would love to see as many people as possible!

I'll try to come up with some funny stories about mounties, hockey or the word "eh" for my next post.

Oh and here's a pic of me and Julio (who also worked on Gnomeo in London) all bundled up on the streetcar.