We are Siamese if you please!

The past couple weeks have been relatively tumultuous. I had to get my stuff together to move downtown Toronto. The day I moved in was rainy, dreary but yet, still wonderful. The feeling of finally leaving the nest was just too good to be dampened. My social calendar is filling up rapidly in the past days of being down here. Ahhh.

Many things have changed at work, a new era is upon us, whether it is good or bad has yet to be seen.

The walk to work is a dream, it takes less than 20 minutes and the hustle and bustle gets underway.

The feeling of independence is just..........bliss.

Speaking of lack of independence, today's feature birth is


CHANG AND ENG BUNKER 
(1811-1871)

Chang and Eng Bunker were born to Chinese parents in Siam (hence the now largely defunct colloquialism Siamese twins). They were "discovered" in 1828 by British merchants and sent them on a world tour of curiosities. In 1839, they terminated the contract with the merchant and decided to settle down in the United States (Wilkesboro, North Carolina specifically) to make a hand at farming. On 1843, they married two sisters, Sarah and Adelaide Yates.  Both couples shared the same bed for a number of years, until the wives got seperate households, with the men spending 3 days with one and 3 days with another. 


They died within 3 hours of one another in 1871.




 

Inaugural Post

Today started as per usual, I got up, brushed my teeth, went downstairs to watch television before I begin my long start to the day.

The inglorious suburbs ... there's no work here, just homes, strip malls and plenty of space for kidlets to play. I loathe Mississauga. Its lack of culture is astounding to the wannabee culture aficionado. The extreme planning of these communities leave no room for spontaneity. Rigorous planning rarely breeds character.

I start my morning commute on the Mississauga Chanceit (aptly nicknamed for its unpredictability at times). I got the friendly bus driver this morning, who I greeted with a cheery "Good Morning!" I do this with all bus drivers, in hopes that the days where I may be running for the bus they may wait for me. I sit down opposite the sun, I am grumpy in the mornings and a speck of sunshine is not conducive to my mood.

The bus drops us off at the GO Transit, where I catch the train into downtown Toronto. My bias is obvious, as I love the hustling, bustling city life. I believe there is beauty in chaos, and that is epitomized in the downtown core. Union Station a beacon of organized chaos reaches epic proportions of commuters at rush hours. There is only one direction you may go, safely that is.

I manage to avoid this by taking a shortcut. I walk from Union Station to my workplace. Ahhh, there has been major construction going on as of late. I see a construction worker with Bass Pro Shops hoodie, and giggle to myself.

Day at work goes as normal.

Nothing special, nothing too bad. Just a whole lot of meh.

The day ends with a quick retreat from the office. I am not alone in this, I am sure. As with most suburbanites, our desire to get home as soon as possible prevails. I've seen people jump into the train at the very last moment, even with a train leaving a mere 15 minutes later. Some people see their jobs as not a joy in their life, but a necessity in order to have the two cars and the suburban "dream".

I hasten my normal pace to get to the train station. I too wish to get home as soon as possible if only so I can do what I wish I could paid to do. That is write a bit, learn about history and surf the internet for time consuming websites.

I jump on the train with a few minutes to spare and pop open my recent book, a gift from a dear friend. The book, Medieval Queens by Lisa Hilton, has me enraptured and intrigued. Since my distaste for commuting has grown even stronger as of late, I force myself to only read that book only during those times. Thankfully, my commuting will not continue for much longer as I will be moving downtown for the summer, where an adventure begins.

I come home to the sound of the television blaring, the smell of dinner cooking, a warm smile and a dog wagging her tail. These are warm thoughts, and will be something greatly missed.

Until next time, keep fit and have fun!

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