My Toronto Includes Patrick Byck
Patrick Byck, One Part Media Analyst, One Part Project Manager
Taddle Creek Park at Bedford and Lowther
What is your most favourite place in the city? The Annex – on Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst and even a little west into the Korean Business District, as there are a few gems in the area.
What is it that you like about this location? I can see a movie at the Bloor Cinema, head down to the rooftop of Paupers pub on a summer night, or hit Future Bakery at any hour. Close to home and generally a great meeting place because of its proximity to both subway lines
Where is the best place to eat in the city? The best place to eat in the city is ZiZi Trattoria, again, in the Annex, along with the Biryani House in Roy’s Square at Yonge and Bloor.
What do you like about living in Toronto? The TTC; being a 20-minute transit ride from just about anything; the islands in the summer; seeing just about any concert that I could choose from on any given day; the affordability of rehearsal space that provides the quaint delusion that semi-literate bloggers like me can start a band and be successful, regardless of talent or drive (we’re now recruiting a singer for our band, but the entire process reeks of effort).
What do you hate about living in Toronto? I hate people that say “Spa-deena” even though I’m quite sure that is the correct way of saying it. I hate Castle Frank Station, because really, wtf! I hate the fact that the home next to me sold for almost $800,000, which proves that I’ll be shut out of housing market until I’m 80. I hate Queen Street West and the fact that most people panhandling there make more money than I do. I hate the Gardiner Expressway, parking Nazis (traffic wardens), the lack of any discernable point to the Sheppard line, and the Eaton Centre/Yonge & Dundas.
Where would I find you on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the city? Playing tennis anywhere there is a free court, which generally means the chain link jobbies at Ramsden Park, or at the Blooming Minge (a secret court just north of College Street, near Ossington). Disparaging Queen Street West while walking down it and cursing the line up for the patio at the Black Bull.
Who is your favourite Local Celebrity? I don’t have a particular favourite, although Zanta and his push-ups are quite spectacle on the subway in the dead of winter, given that he’s shirtless and uttering “YES YES YES YES YES” while admiring his biceps. Ben Kerr was always interesting.
Car, Bike or Transit? Transit. No need for a car in the city unless the TTC imposes a wildcat strike. Those moments make me wish I hadn’t sold my last bike, but it was time for another, which I have yet to buy.
Favorite personal story or commentary on the city Visiting the CN Tower with my family while on vacation in my mid-teens. The glass floor was recently installed and my brother and I were performing a pseudo-mime act (running on the spot, trapped in a box, sitting zen-like on the glass) for German and Japanese tourists. Watching my mother come around the corner and shriek like a banshee at the site of two of her offspring sitting on what appeared to be nothing yet not falling into the abyss.
My Toronto includes Peace, love and happiness between TTC management and the union…waking up in May and not having to hear the term “Smog Day” ever again; a complete housing bust allowing me to buy a home instead of nursing my lease on the cheap while waiting for a 250 square-foot condo to come available for $400,000.
