every place I have ever lived.
Wow, I started writing this sometime last year and forgot about it completely. Finally finished it today.
Inspired by malloreigh's entry (I'm even copying her formatting!), here is a post with all the places I have lived in.
1984-1985: I believe my parents were living on Oak Street when I was born. If I am correct they moved out around the time my mom got pregnant with my brother Riley. Above is my mom with me as a newborn; I'm assuming this is their house because of my dad's records in the background.
1985-1988: We lived in Granny's basement suite in Coquitlam near Como Lake. I don't have a lot of memories from here, although a friend of my mom's and her two kids moved in after us so I do remember the feel of the place from when we went to visit them. Apparently I used to love going upstairs to visit my great-granny because she always had candies. Above is me in the backyard with my parents and Riley, my aunt and uncle (Mom's siblings), and Pamela Martin and her kids Max and Olivia.
(no photo)
1988-1991: Our house on Fleming Avenue in Coquitlam was where we lived until Maddie was born and it just wasn't big enough. This was where I fell out of a tree house and got a concussion, and where I broke my arm falling off the neighbours' playset. I was a pretty accident-prone kid. It was right across the street from the train tracks, and we used to cross them and take a path through the forest that opened up behind Westwood Mall. Walking to my elementary school meant taking the overpass across Highway 7, which was exciting to me because of the spiral ramps.
me, age 14, in our kitchen
1991-1999: We lived at the big old house on Dewdney & 238th in Maple Ridge for the majority of my childhood. I remember as a kid first being distressed by how long it took to get there from our old place in Coquitlam, and then being awed by how huge it was. The attic had a master bedroom and ensuite, plus another bedroom. Two bedrooms plus kitchen, living, and dining rooms on the main floor, and then another bedroom in the basement, along with a gigantic playroom, the laundry, and a small room (in which, after a couple of years, the carpet got soaked when it rained) that we used as a sewing room. The basement bathroom always had spiders in it. So did lots of other parts of the basement.
My brother Travers was born in this house, in my parents' room while I slept through everything in the other attic bedroom. We got our first dog, Othello, in this house. I could fill books with ridiculous and happy childhood moments in this house, but I won't.
We moved a couple blocks over when my parents got divorced in 1999, although my dad lived here for another year or so before he had to sell.
Pia in my teenage bedroom
1999-2003: the pink house at the dead end of 237th was where I spent most of my teen years. We first moved in with my mom living upstairs and her friend Pete living downstairs in the basement suite, and pretty soon afterwards my mom took up with Jimm. This house was newer but smaller than the last house; Riley slept on a futon in the living room for a month while they built him a room in the (attached) garage and the four youngest were doubled up in the two upstairs bedrooms, and all six of us shared a bathroom. I liked living here because I had a few friends in the neighbourhood, so we'd often just show up at each other's houses or go for walks late at night. I left this house a year after my graduation, when I moved to Omaha. The rest of the family moved out about a year after that and sold the house for over $100 000 more than what they paid for it.
August-September 2003: 92nd and Pacific was my first home with Patrick in Omaha. We only lived there for about month; it was his mom and stepdad's old place which had been sold and they had moved out, but the new people didn't take possession until late September so she said we could stay there while we looked for a new place. It was a lovely little place. Wood floors, big deck, ensuite bathroom, and a nice yard full of trees and wild rabbits. I was sad to leave it, but it wasn't very close to either of our schools so it wouldn't have been very convenient, even if we could have afforded it. And we had so little furniture and stuff at that point, and so many boxes we didn't bother to unpack that it never really felt like a 'home'.
September 2003 - July 2005: Crosswinds was a moderately priced and moderately okay apartment complex at 72nd and Pacific, near the university and Elmwood Park and groceries and stuff. It had a west-facing balcony and window so on summer afternoons it was unbearably hot. We had air conditioning but almost never used it - sometimes, before we got our rabbit, we'd just open the door to the hall and let the building's AC come in. Other days we'd just go down to the pool, which always had loads of dead bugs but it was shady and nice regardless. The building had cockroaches at one point, and we had to hide the poor bunny at Patrick's mom's place while they sprayed the apartment.
I liked living here because it was flat and near to lots of stuff so in the non-winter months I just rode my bike everywhere while Patrick was at work, but the bus system was a joke, so if I wanted to go anyplace remotely far away I needed a ride (hence the missing of numerous amazing concerts downtown). In the winter icicles as long as four feet (see above) would gather on the awning above the steps, making them icy like you wouldn't believe.
(no photo)
July 2005-January 2006: After moving back from Omaha, I lived for a few months at my dad & Sharon's place in South Burnaby. It was a fairly small place but with a full basement and a living room full of music and movies. I didn't have the internet there so I read a lot and went to bed early (I was having to get up at 5:30 for my job in Kitsilano so it made sense). In some sense it was nice to never have to worry about food or bills but after living on your own, it does feel very intrusive and limiting to go back to your parents' (although Dad and Sharon were generally decent to live with).
January 2006-August 2006: I moved in with Tamara, who was living on East Georgia near the PNE with two other girls, Alice and Nicole. The kitchen had no drawers and all the cupboards were so high that you needed a footstool to reach your food if you were under 5'10". The bathroom was practically on the porch and thus was freezing all of the time, and we had a washer but no dryer. None of the rooms had closets, and under the stairs was a treasure trove of old roommates' forgotten clothes and junk. At one point no one had a working key so we just didn't really lock the back door. This is why the rent was only $1100 for a 4-bedroom house. Oh, and during the PNE people parked in our back lot because the landlady would sell the spaces, and there was barely enough room to squeeze through the back gate. Our landlady was batshit crazy and super rude and after she gave us our eviction notice we basically left behind as much crap as possible and smoked in the house, letting the ashes fall right onto the floor half the time. I do miss the adorable tiny version of Bert (Tamara's cat) that lived in the basement suite below us, though.
August 2006-December 2008: The Vag House on 49th and Main was a legacy. Originally inhabited by myself, Tamara, Steph, and Danielle, we dubbed it the House of Awesome but that wasn't the name that stuck. After Danielle moved out, Valerie (and later Chris) moved in, and after that Lucas took their place and Tremaine moved in with Tamara towards the end as well. Aaron and Weston also stayed with us rent-free for a month or two each, and while Weston was a fun guy and all, Aaron was a much better houseguest because he cleaned while we were at work, asked before commandeering the shower, didn't sit around in his underwear, and didn't try to fix a broken sink using a hammer (in his underwear).
We constantly had houseguests or friends stopping by and everyone worked weird days and hours (and I think all of us had bouts of unemployment while living there) so it wasn't uncommon for people to, say, be drinking on the lawn at 2am on a Wednesday. Epic parties, a bed in the living room, a Christmas tree that got decorated for a different holiday every month, couch in the kitchen, two separate incidents of bedbugs, the smell of curry wafting up from the basement suite downstairs... etc. We had some awesome times but we had some rough times and some drama-filled times and some douchebag landlord times too. All in all by the time we disbanded I think we were pretty tired of living in a party house and were ready for semi-adult lives.
Dennis and Weston in the kitchen after the legendary Mock Formal.
My room when one time we decided to make a blanket fort and drink whiskey inside.
January 2009-present: I moved in with Jeff at Blühaus (I named it) in East Van by the PNE again (incidentally, Steph lived here before the Vag House, and it was Jeff who took her room when she moved out). It is a house not without its quirks: leaky faucets, kitchen drawers that are not secured on their runners, a shower made for only tall people, a shower where you have to sit down, windows with screens that fall out, a front door that may as well be left open for all the draft it lets in... but all in all I love it here.
Jesse and Jeff in the kitchen, Thanksgiving 2010.
living room window.
backyard in the spring.
kitchen windowsill.
our bedroom.
Inspired by malloreigh's entry (I'm even copying her formatting!), here is a post with all the places I have lived in.
1984-1985: I believe my parents were living on Oak Street when I was born. If I am correct they moved out around the time my mom got pregnant with my brother Riley. Above is my mom with me as a newborn; I'm assuming this is their house because of my dad's records in the background.
1985-1988: We lived in Granny's basement suite in Coquitlam near Como Lake. I don't have a lot of memories from here, although a friend of my mom's and her two kids moved in after us so I do remember the feel of the place from when we went to visit them. Apparently I used to love going upstairs to visit my great-granny because she always had candies. Above is me in the backyard with my parents and Riley, my aunt and uncle (Mom's siblings), and Pamela Martin and her kids Max and Olivia.
(no photo)
1988-1991: Our house on Fleming Avenue in Coquitlam was where we lived until Maddie was born and it just wasn't big enough. This was where I fell out of a tree house and got a concussion, and where I broke my arm falling off the neighbours' playset. I was a pretty accident-prone kid. It was right across the street from the train tracks, and we used to cross them and take a path through the forest that opened up behind Westwood Mall. Walking to my elementary school meant taking the overpass across Highway 7, which was exciting to me because of the spiral ramps.
me, age 14, in our kitchen
1991-1999: We lived at the big old house on Dewdney & 238th in Maple Ridge for the majority of my childhood. I remember as a kid first being distressed by how long it took to get there from our old place in Coquitlam, and then being awed by how huge it was. The attic had a master bedroom and ensuite, plus another bedroom. Two bedrooms plus kitchen, living, and dining rooms on the main floor, and then another bedroom in the basement, along with a gigantic playroom, the laundry, and a small room (in which, after a couple of years, the carpet got soaked when it rained) that we used as a sewing room. The basement bathroom always had spiders in it. So did lots of other parts of the basement.
My brother Travers was born in this house, in my parents' room while I slept through everything in the other attic bedroom. We got our first dog, Othello, in this house. I could fill books with ridiculous and happy childhood moments in this house, but I won't.
We moved a couple blocks over when my parents got divorced in 1999, although my dad lived here for another year or so before he had to sell.
Pia in my teenage bedroom
1999-2003: the pink house at the dead end of 237th was where I spent most of my teen years. We first moved in with my mom living upstairs and her friend Pete living downstairs in the basement suite, and pretty soon afterwards my mom took up with Jimm. This house was newer but smaller than the last house; Riley slept on a futon in the living room for a month while they built him a room in the (attached) garage and the four youngest were doubled up in the two upstairs bedrooms, and all six of us shared a bathroom. I liked living here because I had a few friends in the neighbourhood, so we'd often just show up at each other's houses or go for walks late at night. I left this house a year after my graduation, when I moved to Omaha. The rest of the family moved out about a year after that and sold the house for over $100 000 more than what they paid for it.
August-September 2003: 92nd and Pacific was my first home with Patrick in Omaha. We only lived there for about month; it was his mom and stepdad's old place which had been sold and they had moved out, but the new people didn't take possession until late September so she said we could stay there while we looked for a new place. It was a lovely little place. Wood floors, big deck, ensuite bathroom, and a nice yard full of trees and wild rabbits. I was sad to leave it, but it wasn't very close to either of our schools so it wouldn't have been very convenient, even if we could have afforded it. And we had so little furniture and stuff at that point, and so many boxes we didn't bother to unpack that it never really felt like a 'home'.
September 2003 - July 2005: Crosswinds was a moderately priced and moderately okay apartment complex at 72nd and Pacific, near the university and Elmwood Park and groceries and stuff. It had a west-facing balcony and window so on summer afternoons it was unbearably hot. We had air conditioning but almost never used it - sometimes, before we got our rabbit, we'd just open the door to the hall and let the building's AC come in. Other days we'd just go down to the pool, which always had loads of dead bugs but it was shady and nice regardless. The building had cockroaches at one point, and we had to hide the poor bunny at Patrick's mom's place while they sprayed the apartment.
I liked living here because it was flat and near to lots of stuff so in the non-winter months I just rode my bike everywhere while Patrick was at work, but the bus system was a joke, so if I wanted to go anyplace remotely far away I needed a ride (hence the missing of numerous amazing concerts downtown). In the winter icicles as long as four feet (see above) would gather on the awning above the steps, making them icy like you wouldn't believe.
(no photo)
July 2005-January 2006: After moving back from Omaha, I lived for a few months at my dad & Sharon's place in South Burnaby. It was a fairly small place but with a full basement and a living room full of music and movies. I didn't have the internet there so I read a lot and went to bed early (I was having to get up at 5:30 for my job in Kitsilano so it made sense). In some sense it was nice to never have to worry about food or bills but after living on your own, it does feel very intrusive and limiting to go back to your parents' (although Dad and Sharon were generally decent to live with).
January 2006-August 2006: I moved in with Tamara, who was living on East Georgia near the PNE with two other girls, Alice and Nicole. The kitchen had no drawers and all the cupboards were so high that you needed a footstool to reach your food if you were under 5'10". The bathroom was practically on the porch and thus was freezing all of the time, and we had a washer but no dryer. None of the rooms had closets, and under the stairs was a treasure trove of old roommates' forgotten clothes and junk. At one point no one had a working key so we just didn't really lock the back door. This is why the rent was only $1100 for a 4-bedroom house. Oh, and during the PNE people parked in our back lot because the landlady would sell the spaces, and there was barely enough room to squeeze through the back gate. Our landlady was batshit crazy and super rude and after she gave us our eviction notice we basically left behind as much crap as possible and smoked in the house, letting the ashes fall right onto the floor half the time. I do miss the adorable tiny version of Bert (Tamara's cat) that lived in the basement suite below us, though.
August 2006-December 2008: The Vag House on 49th and Main was a legacy. Originally inhabited by myself, Tamara, Steph, and Danielle, we dubbed it the House of Awesome but that wasn't the name that stuck. After Danielle moved out, Valerie (and later Chris) moved in, and after that Lucas took their place and Tremaine moved in with Tamara towards the end as well. Aaron and Weston also stayed with us rent-free for a month or two each, and while Weston was a fun guy and all, Aaron was a much better houseguest because he cleaned while we were at work, asked before commandeering the shower, didn't sit around in his underwear, and didn't try to fix a broken sink using a hammer (in his underwear).
We constantly had houseguests or friends stopping by and everyone worked weird days and hours (and I think all of us had bouts of unemployment while living there) so it wasn't uncommon for people to, say, be drinking on the lawn at 2am on a Wednesday. Epic parties, a bed in the living room, a Christmas tree that got decorated for a different holiday every month, couch in the kitchen, two separate incidents of bedbugs, the smell of curry wafting up from the basement suite downstairs... etc. We had some awesome times but we had some rough times and some drama-filled times and some douchebag landlord times too. All in all by the time we disbanded I think we were pretty tired of living in a party house and were ready for semi-adult lives.
Dennis and Weston in the kitchen after the legendary Mock Formal.
My room when one time we decided to make a blanket fort and drink whiskey inside.
January 2009-present: I moved in with Jeff at Blühaus (I named it) in East Van by the PNE again (incidentally, Steph lived here before the Vag House, and it was Jeff who took her room when she moved out). It is a house not without its quirks: leaky faucets, kitchen drawers that are not secured on their runners, a shower made for only tall people, a shower where you have to sit down, windows with screens that fall out, a front door that may as well be left open for all the draft it lets in... but all in all I love it here.
Jesse and Jeff in the kitchen, Thanksgiving 2010.
living room window.
backyard in the spring.
kitchen windowsill.
our bedroom.