Toronto's Chinatown

People with full-time jobs often envy temporary employees. For temps, the work never gets boring, they work for different companies, do different types of jobs and in the process meet a variety of people. If they like the job, great, if they don’t they can take comfort in the knowledge that it’s only for a limited time.

During my time as a temp I’ve worked all over Toronto and as such know the city like the back of my hand. Or so I thought. I’m currently based on Spadina Avenue and it feels like I’m no longer in Toronto. This part of the city is Chinatown and completely different from everything I'm used to.

The bad news is … Gone are the beautiful tall buildings. Gone are the smart shops and chain stores. Gone are the food courts. Gone are the numerous little green parks with benches. This is an old part of town where mom and pop stores rule.

The good news is … I was finally able to buy a Bonsai tree. For some time now Dieter wanted a Bonsai tree, so last year I wanted to give him one for Christmas. I contacted a few stores around town, but nobody had such trees. Next, I looked online and found a Bonsai tree seller in California. Unfortunately, having the tree shipped to me was going to cost triple the price of the tree itself. So that was a no go.

But here in Chinatown it’s Bonsai tree galore, one shop next to another. So Dieter is finally getting his tree. Let’s hope the little thing stays alive because Dieter doesn’t exactly have green fingers.

A while ago I gave him two plants, a French Lily and something else. When I visited his office a few months later, I didn’t see either one of the plants. When I asked about them, Dieter had to admit that they were both dead.

So next I gave him a cactus, because I feel that he needs something green in his office and you know what … he managed to kill that one too. I mean really, it’s a cactus … how did he manage to kill a cactus?

The change in scenery in Toronto isn’t the only thing that surprised me. Apparently, the distance between point A and point B, was also new to me.

You might remember that last week I lost my glasses on the subway. I contacted the ‘Lost and Found’ department of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission), but no glasses were brought in. I made an appointment with an optometrist, ordered new glasses and last week I could pick them up. So excited was I that I would be able to see properly again that I decided to walk to the optician. BIG MISTAKE!

I walked from Toronto’s Spadina and Queen intersection to Bay and Dundas intersection and as you can see, it is quite a walk. 

I walked and I walked and I walked and when I thought I was nearly there, I had to walk some more. In heels mind you! Not only that, it was a hot humid day. By the time I got to Bay and Dundas, my throat felt like I had crossed the desert, my legs felt like lead and I had blisters on my toes the size of Texas.

Never EVER am I doing that again. Well today my temp job in Chinatown is over anyway. On to better and more familiar terrain.

The homeless urinate in chairs at Timothy's

Toronto residents, or those visiting Toronto, might want to think twice before taking a seat at Timothy’s coffee shop at 40 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario.

For the longest time, Timothy’s was my regular lunchtime spot. I would order a coffee or tea and then settle down in one of the comfy armchairs to read my book. That routine changed when I visited Timothy’s on February 25th.
As soon as I sat down in one of the armchairs I felt a distinct wetness. When I got up I noticed a huge stain in the chair, with the distinct smell of urine. OMG someone had peed in this chair!

When I approached the lady serving coffee at the time and pointed out the soiled chair, she was not particularly concerned. “A homeless man was sitting there earlier,” she said. “Maybe he had an accident.”
Maybe he had an accident? That was it? She wasn’t going to do anything!
Well if she wasn’t, I was.
Not yelling, but not keeping my voice down either, I informed her that it is unsanitary to have a soiled chair standing around for people to sit in. How many people before me had sat in that chair, and how many would take a seat in it after me?

“What do you want me to do?” the waitress asked. “I can’t turn the homeless away. It’s cold outside”
While I am most sympathetic with the homeless, I draw the line where they think they can relieve themselves anywhere it is convenient.
The building houses a huge food court at basement level, offering coffee, tea and all kinds of breakfast. What’s wrong with the homeless sitting there?
Why do they have to sit in coffee shops? And since when is peeing in chairs permitted?

I flew out of the coffee shop and went straight to Giliani, a ladies clothing boutique.
I couldn’t wait to get out of my soiled pants and into a fresh one.
I was going to buy new pants and Timothy’s was going to pay for it.

To cut a long story short … first Timothy’s management offered me a free cup of coffee.
They upgraded that suggestion with the offer to have my soiled pants dry cleaned.
I didn’t budge though, I had been ‘forced’ to buy a new pants, and I wanted them to reimburse me for that.
Nothing more, nothing less.

And I got it. After contacting Timothy’s head office with an official complaint, they offered to pay for my new pants.
There that took care of that.
While I am satisfied with the outcome of this incident, I am dissatisfied and concerned with how Timothy’s treated my complaint.
The soiled chair remained standing in the coffee shop, and is still there.

If you happen to visit Timothy’s coffee shop at 40 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, and you take a seat in one of their chairs, you might just be sitting in the urine chair. Could there be more than one?