Returning to Vancouver from four years of life in Korea got me thinking about how many times I've moved in my lifetime. In this story, all names are omitted. :)
Move #1 - 1972. I was three years old. We moved house in fall, I have been informed. I do have very vague memories of our old house with no furniture in it, I guess from the actual day we moved. I spent 17 years of my life at 3870 West 37th Ave. It encompassed all
the firsts - first loves, first deaths, first joys, first year of 14
going to Thetis Island in the summers ... first pets, first dead pets
(We all had them! Admit it!) ... first crush. I remember lots of snow
in the winters, in the early days there. The bamboo that couldn't be
uprooted. The awesome huge red apple tree that we climbed right up til
the months before I moved out. The side yard, which was the dogs'
bathroom, which I cleaned once a month as part of the round of chores.
Fortunately they were small dogs.
Move #2 - 1989. I was 20 years old. I moved in with N. and D. and S. in the West End. L. and L. lived upstairs. I played guitar on the rooftop to calm my nerves or just for fun. Once I had sex on the rooftop. That did not calm my nerves, but it was fun.
Move #3 - 1991. First I lived with my boyfriend and his roommate. Then, when the boyfriend cheated in a hugely obnoxious fashion, I threw him and the roommate out. My best friend at the time moved in. It was a basement suite, and when it poured rain the water would come into the living room, which was on a marked slope. This situation led quickly to
Move #4 - 1992. My friend and I moved to another apartment, this one near Commercial and 1st. HUGE ceilings, we could have played volleyball in there. I bought a plant and named it Robert. My friend found true love. I moved again ...
Move #5 - 1993. I moved in with O. to a decent little place at Thurlow & Haro. Right next to the Canuck Riot in '94, remember that? *rolls eyes* Otherwise, we had a great time living there. It had a walk-through kitchen arrangement, and O. would chase one of my cats though there. We were on the second floor, at the back. Once, a drunk man wearing only boxers and socks climbed onto our balcony and calmly chatted with O. as I called 911. He fell getting back off the balcony and over the fence and still managed to elude the cops. Well done.
Move #6 - 1995. Another basement suite, and then later I took over the main floor of a house, back near Commercial Drive. The back yard was supposed to be taken care of by the landlord, but he never did, and so it was a huge jungle of grass and morning glory. It was an ok place, I guess. Kinda falling down around me, but then they decided to demolish it anyways, and I had to move again.
Move #7 - 1996. I lived with THE ROOMIE FROM HELL. Basement near Commercial and 6th.
Move #8 - 1996. I moved in with my friend Q to get away from the ROOMIE FROM HELL. We had a nice ground-floor suite in a house near Kingsway and Broadway. There were hops growing wild along the fence to the east. I tried to make tea out of them. Don't do that. We had a nice barbeque and DJ party in the back yard one time.
Move #9 - 1998. I moved to my own place, another basement suite, near Cambie and 17th. It was incredibly dark and depressing, although it did have a very groovy stove. I got fed up with it fairly quickly.
Move #10 - 2001. I moved to 14th and Main. It was lovely. My apartment had red hardwood floors (not in good condition but oh well) and a cool aqua-painted wall where the sliding doors led out onto the balcony. I got a good tropical look going on in there, which was helpful during the rainy depths of winter! And by the way - if you recall I bought a plant named Robert back at move #4 - he was still with me.
Move #11 - 2005. I moved TO KOREA. That was something more complicated than I had imagined. And I had absolutely no say over where I would end up living (well, I could have complained after the fact). I was very lucky to score a HUGE studio apartment. Compared to the places some of my friends there were living in (and still are living in!), I had a palace. I even managed to host a 9-person dinner party in it. It had a view of Korean writing and a lobster on a sign, and some sky.
Which brings us up to Move #12 - BACK TO VANCOUVER. And I'm sure I haven't finished moving yet. *groan*
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