would you still be my compass The way I describe the location of my apartment in Ottawa is "good location, but not much of a neighbourhood". Not that the neighbourhood is scary or dangerous - it's just that there's nothing here, really. We live off a busy street, on a bit of a "promenade" that consists of several large apartment complexes, and the only handy things within about a fifteen-minute walking distance are a Shopper's Drug Mart and a Tim's. I suppose I got spoiled in Calgary living right across the street from a shopping plaza. I miss my London Drugs!

On the up-side, the building is super-close to the "transitway", a road designated for bus use only. My ride to Carleton is usually about ten minutes, and my bus comes every fifteen minutes all day, so I have no issues with transportation. The bus system is great in this city, really. But I swear the bus drivers are a bit crazy and one of these days I'm going to either be sick or see somebody get run over. The transitway, since it is open only to buses, has a speed limit of 80 kmph. Well, the drivers whip along there probably closer to 100, veering around sharp corners and slamming on the brakes when we approach the next stop. I've never been prone to motion sickness in my life, but I've felt a little ill a few times on these speed machines.

This morning leaving Carleton I had a driver who was a tad impatient with the pedestrians, too. He pulls up rather quickly on some oblivious dude taking his time getting off the road, then he pulls in super-close to the sidewalk, where dozens of students are waiting, so close that I saw a guy duck, because I think the mirror clipped his ear or something. Eep.  | ¶ 1:26 p.m.