Mini Vacation in Ottawa

I got into Ottawa early on last Thursday. I killed some time at the bus station, as I didn’t want to annoy people at home so early in the morning especially on a work day, then headed over to Dean’s. He had a shift later for his new job at Home Hardware, but we were able to fit in breakfast at a nearby diner beforehand. Mmmm, pancakes and bacon. The gig at HH is in addition to the contract database stuff he’s been working on. I’m still impressed at his abandonment of unfulfilling jobs at profit-hungry corporations.

Still tired from the bus ride into town, I went back to Dean’s place to nap for a few hours while he headed off to work. I walked over to his store later on to meet up for lunch at one of the many Royal Oak establishments in town. Afterwards I wandered around the Glebe for a while, then back up Bank Street towards downtown. Since Dean had an Oxfam thing right after work which would keep him busy for the night, he offered me his car to get to Billie & Ryan’s place.

Billie gave me “directions” to her work (”oh, you meant that left hand side of the street”) and I got my first taste of driving in rush hour Ottawa traffic. There were also the issues of it being much darker at this time of day now, plus it decided to start snowing – nothing too major, but enough to accumulate on the back window of a car without a rear window defroster. Trying to get on the 417 was crazy, with everyone else trying to do the same, especially the folks heading back towards Montreal. The expressway itself seemed to be at a standstill, so we took an alternate route that I would be hard pressed to retrace on my own. Billie works a long way from home, and even when they get a car I don’t see how it will be much quicker than the bus considering all the traffic to be dealt with.

But lack of proximity to work is about the only knock against their new place! Damn, they hit the jackpot. It’s kind of a townhousey-loft type setup. On their main floor they have a nice, cozy living room with fireplace and big window facing out on the street. Past a little dinning area is a huge kitchen, completely decked out: large, stainless steel fridge, dishwasher, double sinks, lots of cupboard space, plus all the usual stuff. There’s a little balcony, and a set of doors behind which you find the washer and dryer. At the top of the stairs to the second floor is where the loft aspect comes in, as you can look down to the living room. It’s spacious enough for a futon and a craft/work table for the projects they do. Up here is the master bedroom, with its own little balcony and a walk-in closet, plus the guest room/computer room. Very sweet, I could totally see myself living in a place like this. It may not be ideal for a family (I noticed a definite lack of minivans in the neighborhood), but for an aspiring yuppy it’s definitely suitable.

As for location, how’s this: looking out the window of the guest room, you can see that the property backs onto the parking lot for a Future Shop; facing the building and turning to your right, you’ll spot the Silver City just past the end of the cul-de-sac. The commercial complex also includes a Chapters, some restaurants, a huge ass Loblaws (one of those that blurs the lines with department store & pharmacy), Old Navy, and more. They’re also a short drive/bus ride from the huge ass St. Laurent shopping centre.

I thought I was jealous of my brother’s new apartment, but he’s got nothing on Billie & Ryan’s new place.

Billie’s friends Kat and Natalie came over to watched a taped episode of Desperate Housewives, so Ryan and I took the opportunity to hit up Future Shop for the final touch to their place: a wireless router. We got that set up during commercial breaks of Survivor, so now Billie (and guests like myself or Sven) can use a laptop with ‘net access anywhere in the house.

Next: Hanging out with Dean on Friday.