flemmings | (no subject)

The census meme

March 1951- ga-ga goo-goo at 98 Bedford in Toronto. (You remember about me and places, especially houses? 98 Bedford was the second most significant presence in my life for almost 40 years) One older brother, Mom and Dad.

March 1961-- Bedford. Now with younger brother, younger sister, and I *think* Mrs McDermott the housekeeper. My childhood memory being the fragmentary thing it is, I really can't remember what housekeepers lived with us when. No pets. My mother didn't approve of pets.

March 1971-- University College residence on campus. Out of place, lonely, very unhappy.

March 1981-- Robert St renting a room from Donna and Dork. Nice house, but the dynamics of D&D's relationship curled my hair.

March 1991-- It would have to be March, wouldn't it? Because I was in Japan most of that year, but in March I was in my new house on Clinton St getting up the nerve to go back to Japan and live in Tokyo. The house is that downtown TO specialty, a semi-detached-- structurally one building but divided into two side by side units. US friends tell me this is uncommon in the US, and may be uncommon everywhere. My older bro lives in the other half of the semi, a convenient arrangement when I'm away. He pressed me to buy it after he bought his house, citing said convenience. The real reason, I think, is because at that time my house was rented out to various undesirables, one of whom was a drummer.

Equally, I did own a cat then, Jenny, my one and only pet-- got her in '82-- but at that point she was living with my friend L because I, of course, was going to Japan.

March 2001-- Clinton St, just back from the Dream Trip to Tokyo, deep in Saiyuki fandom and considering myself happier than at most times in my life. Older bro got married in '96 so I acquired my superior sister-in-law. They had a cat, Mollie, whom I looked after when they went on vacation.

March 2011-- Clinton St, with nothing having changed in ten years except the cat next door, who is now a thin neurotic called Jake.

So yes, except for several months in '75 and several years in the 90s I've always lived in Toronto. But from 1980 to 1989 I lived in nine different places, so I *have* been peripatetic in my fashion.

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LOL! What is the census meme?

Where were you living ten years ago, 20 years, 30 years, in March of that year. Seems to be a question on the UK census form, from what I can gather.

Since it pinpoints it to one month a decade, no, it's not likely to, unless you moved countries every decade at the same time.

Derek, actually. Hotshot up and coming young lawyer cum petulant two year old. Whined at Donna a lot. She said, 'I feel very confident about this marriage,' which struck me as taking affirmations just a tad far.

I may have to agree with you about Derek, though the only in-flesh one I've ever met was a hyper little guy who had nightmares. Dave to me is a nothing name, tapwater; I knew too many Davids in university to have an overarching image of same. Hell, I think I knew three David Reynolds at one point, which is weird.

This looks interesting to do. Although I suppose it'll only be street names that changed. A couple of island changes I guess from LRD to the slightly bigger British Isles ^_~ then back again.

That 'David' thing too was me at Uni ... too many, so mostly they were known by surname, quirk or face type.

Hey, island changes are good. Continents are so big and islands so small (even if numerous) that I never thought how it might be always to live on an island. Weather-wise I don't think I could take it, even if the section of the Big Chunk Of Land I live on can get just as muggy as Tokyo.

And at what point does an island stop being an island ie Australia?