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I fled to the Esplanade on August 15, 1998. I was previously living in a decent 5 1/2 (2-bedroom) on St. Dominique Street on a 4-month sublet. One morning I woke up to find workmen farting around the place. They began knocking down walls. The landlord decided to do major renovations without notifying me or the tenant. I refused to pay the August rent. InfoMcGill is an incredible resource. It hooks up buyers, sellers, seekers and finders. The ad for the Esplanade was something along the lines of "LAN, high-speed internet, 7 1/2, 3 cool guys, 2 floors, cheap rent. Basically, too good to be true. In April of that year, I tried to move in down the street, but my pet rats killed the deal. I expected the same here, but I responded anyway. The email I got back was from K, since he was taking care of getting a new roommate. They were looking for a second season replacement for D (not to be confused with D). By some fluke I recognized K's name. I met K at V's house the previous December. That was a good start. I went over there looking for the number. 4375...4399, 4419..."Oh God," I thought. I am going to be moving into the only shitty place on this street! 4419 is inhabited by pigeon squatters. It is run down. The stairs are broken. Luckily, I was going to 4425, next door. Thank God. It was part of a beautiful condo complex. I took a look. K was there. I saw my room. It was a little small, but then I saw how Internet connection. K's computer had a special video card. He was watching TV on his monitor!! They ALL played Warcraft. R, another roommate, had a Nintendo 64, and laser disc player and a PROJECTOR!! The rent was cheaper than anywhere I had ever lived in Montreal. But here was the $64K question: What about the rats? No problem. But K had a $64K question of his own: Can you handle pot? I had to think about this. Luckily I had had some experience with pot (all fucked up, of course), and my attitude was relaxed enough. Besides, I remember saying that I would kill to live on this street. A deal was made. The following Sunday, August 15, I moved in. As I was moving, I heard F (another roomate) fucking his girlfriend in the bathroom. "These are my kind of people," I thought. What a misjudgement, especially HER. But she's an entry all to herself. Things went pretty smoothly for a while. I quit my horrible telemarketing job and got one at a distance-education centre. Things were looking up. I bought a new hard drive on Tuesday, November 28. On Friday, December 1, I lost my job, laid off till January. It was quite a blow. I decided to really try pot. Hardcore. Hits from the bong, and what a bong it was. After 3 bowls, I was in another world. I couldn't judge distance very well, everything seemed so far away. K started to mindfuck me. I'll write more about it later. In January I resumed my job, but quit after three days to start another job (in the same office as that telemarketing company I worked for!) to enjoy 5 months of lethargy. It was proofreading the crap that the telemarketers sold. At least I didn't have to sell it. In May of that year, I got a call for an interview for the company that I now work for. Life was pretty tough for 6 weeks (I had to borrow $200 from my ex-gf, @), but things started turning around. Meanwhile, back at Esplanade, I was alone. F had decided to move in with his gf. R was back in Austria and K was visiting him. I noticed some good-looking girls move into our complex on July 1. The following Sunday, I manufactured an excuse to introduce myself: I was shaving my head, but lost the mirror I use to make sure I get everything at the back. I figured they would have something. It was here that the connection to Bathurst, New Brunswick began. I began talking to N, the tall one since she was friendlier. We hung out a lot for a week or so. She eventually met the rest of the roommates. Her own had moved out after a nervous breakdown. Too bad. She was quite the nympho, I'm told, and I could have used the sex. N's ex-bf Mike moved in. Mike is the second from Bathurst that I met and got to know. He quickly became a very good supporting character on the Esplanade show. Since F had moved out, we had to find someone quickly, and this time it was up to me. I used InfoMcGill. Eventually I came up with S (not to be confused with S). I recognized her when I met her. Months earlier we had some people over, and S was one of them. Turns out that K had had a pretty big crush on her, and I was really hoping that he would get laid once in his life, so I invited her to live with us, and season three begins. Sadly she left after four months. But wait, there's that Bathurst thing happening. M, good friend of Mike, moved here in January. Bathurstian #3. In September, it was time for R to return to Austria, so once again we needed another person to live here. These Bathurst people are starting to come out of the wookwork now. A was the next one from this place to join us. K took over R's room and A moved into K's old room. In November of Season Four, D shows up looking for a job and somewhere to live. He never found anything, but he slept on the couch until the new year, only to return there in February until A moved out in May. The fifth and final season had a main cast of myself, K, M and D. M finally made his way out of this place at the beginning of May, when I had my little sick episode at Paramount Theatre. There are so many stories and little things that I don't have the time, energy and in some cases, the inclination to describe here, but these four years have been so incredibly rewarding for me. I am lucky to have made it to the Esplanade. Now we are all leaving. It's sad, in a way, but all good things must end, as they say. To the cast members past and present, I thank you for putting up with me for all these years. I will always look back on this time with fondness. *sigh* Now I will go to bed and finish packing tomorrow. I hope everything goes well, and not just tomorrow. 0 scrawls at the end of this hallThe look: The feel: The taste: ________________________ |
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