As summer 2022 comes to a close, I reflect on what has been the best one I’ve had yet.
The move
Four years ago, I had just gone through the breakup with Jean. I felt at the time that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be and that a move back downtown would be a first step towards it. I was half-right for the wrong reasons.
I found this apartment in the gay village. Despite its 435 square feet, it had a full-size kitchen with granite counters and in-unit laundry. I didn’t mind that it was dark from having the only windows face a brick wall as I was at work all day, there was an outdoor pool with lounge chairs, amenity rooms that acted as de facto living rooms, and there were nearby coffee shops. This would be more like a glorified hotel room; a place to sleep with all my activities being outside the home.
Then the pandemic hit. My job became remote, the amenity rooms and pool shuttered, as did those coffee shops. I was now in my apartment 24/7. The lack of light was especially rough; you couldn’t see the sky at all from inside my place. It was like this for two years. Had I known it would last so long I would have moved earlier; but initially in the pandemic we thought these closures would only last weeks, then months.
Last fall I got a realtor. Unfortunately, house prices had gone up 68% in the previous two years alone, and kept rising throughout the search, making it impossible to find anything affordable. I couldn’t compete against homeowners and dual income earners. So finally on April 16 I reached out about a two bedroom rental in Vanier. I moved in two weeks later and spent thousands to furnish it so that it would feel warm and cozy.
Being in this space for the summer would be one of the many reasons it would become my favourite thus far.
Local adventures
I took a whitewater kayak course with Joy. We camped over in Palmer Rapids. I’ve always had a fear of drowning with this sport, and this was my chance. I gave it a shot for one day and bailed on the second, reading an old copy of Lord of the Rings in the rain and dogsitting instead. I’m so glad I tried it, even if it didn’t work out.
I went to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. It felt like the whole city had come out! I also went to the Jazz Fest; listening to music both outside and in a Jazz-bar like stage at the NAC. I also checked out the various Rib Fests that took place and the Busker festival.
I went on multiple adventures around the city, including the Carbide Willson Ruins with Kammy and the Bonnechere Caves with Dean.
I got to kayak a bunch and swim in various lakes, including one a short bike ride from my place. Some of these were with Pleiade, Rita and Kammy.
On that note, I got a hybrid bike! And tried mountain biking for the first time on trails around Ottawa.
The Ottawa Trans Library opened, which I got to check out and make pals at. I also expanded my own library of books and documents related to Canadian trans history.
Over the summer I also got to go to the St Albert cheese factory, watch the Canada Day fireworks, check out a bunch of local antique shops, go to a leather event in a park, go to Toronto for a dinner in Chinatown with work friends, and so much more.
Quality time
This summer I also got to spend some meaningful time with Joy:
…and Jamie:
…and Pleiades with their adorable doggos:
San Francisco
Then a few weeks ago was a trip to San Francisco for meetings. I checked out the trans district in the Tenderloin, and found the site of the former Compton’s Cafeteria:
Lots of people were living in tents or out of their sedans. I was staying in SoMa, where the office is also located. There was an exposed needle outside my hotel and another outside the front door of my office. At the pharmacy next to the hotel, the toothpaste was in a locked cabinet, and while there, people stole two boxes of cola and booked it. It was inexcusable that a city of less than 900,000 with a GDP comparable to the entirety of Sweden would have so little in the way of affordable housing and social supports.
I of course watched Fox News for shits and giggles:
I didn’t have time to explore, but next trip I’ll want to try more of the food and get around.
Pride
Capping off the summer was Pride, resuming after a two year pause induced by the pandemic. I went to the trans picnic, the Pride night market, and finally the Pride parade itself. The trans picnic had a whole new generation of baby transes and queers in attendance, which was lovely to see. The parade, for its part, had trans flags everywhere – something you would have never seen even less than a decade ago. I ran into pals and made new ones.
Fulfilled and content
So here I am now, after an amazing summer. Best part is that there’s still weeks to it left. Add to that the emotional growth of the past few years, and I’m the person I wanted to be, embracing my middle-age, and feeling empowered to create the future I want to see.
To the future!