Winter Camouflage

            On Monday morning during song practice I saw a white pickup truck drive by, covered in snow. It looked like a camouflaged ghost.

I got an email from the model coordinator at OCADU offering me two short notice jobs for Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night, so I took them. That meant I had to take a shower on Monday though. The sacrifices I’ve made for that school!

            A week or so ago I received a letter from Ontario Housing asking me to call them to discuss my application. I applied for Ontario Housing when my daughter first moved in with me, which will be twenty years ago this fall. I was looking for a two-bedroom apartment back then. We went to see one or two but they were either too expensive or in complexes where dealers were hanging around. I don’t really want to move out of my place, but I want to keep the option open just in case I suddenly have to leave this apartment. I called them and was on hold for half an hour before I finally spoke with someone. He told me that several landlords have called me since October. I hardly ever have my phone turned up these days but I didn’t tell him that. I just said I would answer if they call as long as I’m not at work or in class. He reactivated my application.

            Early that afternoon, I was two-thirds of the way through a siesta when I got a call from Ontario Housing offering me a one-bedroom apartment at 245 Dunn Avenue. She asked if I wanted her to book me an appointment. I said, “Just a minute” and I looked it up online because it sounded familiar. That’s the place that all the fire trucks race to and also the place that an exterminator pointed to when I asked him, “What’s the worst place for cockroaches in Parkdale?” I flat out told the Ontario Housing worker that 245 Dunn is a horrible place and not to bother booking me an appointment there.

            I finally finished writing my review of  Shab-e She’r.