Hella Stella

My head is feeling approximately one million times better. This is good.

I was going to weigh in on the parole office debate going on in my neighbourhood, but Megan says it better that I ever could. I agree ten million times over.

It's really easy to get hysterical about these kinds of issues, but it's sometimes better to take a breath and look at the facts. The facts are not nearly as scary as the television drama-version of the issue. What can I say? We live in a television drama-seeking world. This is the kind of issue where people let their imaginations run wild: parole office = dangerous offenders in the area = CERTAIN DEATH. I assure you, I have a vivid imagination, but I don't think moving the parole office nearby will magically make my neighbourhood seedy. Many of the parolees live in and around Centretown as it is. They are my neighbours; your neighbours. There will be no magical influx, no sudden transformation, no night and day difference. There will simply be a parole office... Moved. For chrissakes, the current parole office isn't even that far away - I can walk there in ten minutes.

Huh. I guess I weighed in after all.

This has got me thinking about my neighbourhood more generally, and what makes me so attached to it. I only moved here last August, but I am far more crazy about these streets than I was in my much quieter neighbourhood of Old Ottawa South. As charming as that area was, it was also rich and tame (I am neither of those things, as several of you can attest to). I like the sights and sounds down here. I like that I may one day be able to afford a house in the area, whereas my chances of owning anything past the Glebe would be limited to a large fruit crate. I like, nay, love my neighbours and my community.

It's all good.

Finding a community like this is why I love Ottawa. It's why I'd like to stay here, why I suffer through the harsh winters and bake in the heat all summer. It's not perfect, but at the same time, it's perfect for me.

If you need a cheer-up today, I encourage you to visit this site and let yourself giggle. There is profanity, but who the fuck am I kidding, you wouldn't be coming here if you cared.