So, Ashley and I made it to Toronto and that’s when we kind of disappeared from online. That’s because we didn’t have Internet for a week and when we finally got it we were still busy furnishing our sweet place. So what’s happened in the past two weeks? I got a job at a company here in Toronto called Keek. It’s a tech startup and I’m doing iOS stuff, and I work midtown at Eglinton & Yonge. My subway commute is about 20-25 minutes from my door to my desk. I’m still settling into my job, but I think it’s going to be a right fit for me.

Ashley and I are still waiting for the final piece of furniture to be delivered tomorrow; you never realized how essential a couch is in your day-to-day before you have to sit on the floor to watch Season 4 of The IT Crowd, which is as amazing as everyone said it is. Important info about apartment is that it is slick, even given that it’s a basement. Awesome location. Awesome landlords. Awesome neighbours and a backyard. Once we get everything settled, we’ll post pics and get some feedback. Oh, and the cats love it here.

Using graduation as an excuse, I bought a nice espresso machine. I mean a nice one. The Anita by Quick Mill. Now that I have a serious machine to match my serious grinder, I’m being schooled at how awful I actually am at espresso. But it’s a learning experience. The bottomless portafilter brutally displays flaws in grind distribution and tamping and having a non-thermoblock machine gives me actual steam power, so I had to learn how to actually steam milk. I bought those VST Precision portafilter baskets I blogged about a while ago; I’ll let you know how they go once they arrive. Still waiting on my new Reg Barber tamper.

Toronto itself is amazing. There’s so much to do and see, and we’re taking it easy because we know we can’t see it all. Food is amazing (maybe a little too amazing) and the food we’re making is also amazing. Fresh, local Ontario produce is very accessible. And cheap! There’re also specialty stores for interests we have. For instance, the Green Beanery is just down the street and the other day, I found a hat that was too big for my head. That’s never happened. Also, we saw Canada Day fireworks at the harbourfront and attended the Pride Parade with over a million other people the same weekend. It was amazing.

So we’re doing well, still a lot to do to get setup. We’ve got this weekend to relax a bit, since we’ve been doing a lot of running around. We’ll lounge (on our new couch!) and have a good time.