Living in Neil-Wycik was definitely a bitter-sweet experience. On one hand, it provided subsidized housing for students in downtown Toronto (I think rent for my room was $420). On the other hand, the rooms were so small you couldn't rotate a twin mattress, and you co-habitated with vermin. Either way, during the formualative years of 2002-2005, I called Neil-Wycik my home.
The very first day I lined up in the foyer with all the other newbies waiting to move in, my dad grew bored of waiting, as he is apt to do. After doing a little bit of sleuthing (read: he walked over to the admin desk like he owned the place and rooted through paperwork until he found my name) my dad hiked up four stories worth of stairs and explored my new accommodations on his own. After a measly 5 minutes he returned full of glee, and that's when I knew I was in for trouble. His proud look of self-satisfaction was the embodiment of years of preaching "how good I had it" finally coming to fruition. He didn't even hide his taunts from the other newbies waiting in line: "Your room is smaller than your bathroom at home" he told me, and my stomach knotted.
As true as his statement was, I check-mated him later when I noted that Stella and I were going to be living with three dudes. This revelation was not as amusing to him. Growing up under his roof, boys were literally not allowed to step foot on our staircase, and now my room was sandwiched between two of them. At the very least, perhaps he found comfort in that they were both aerospace engineers; Worse case scenario if I were to fall for one of them, his grandchildren wouldn't grow up in a house on wheels.
The very first day I lined up in the foyer with all the other newbies waiting to move in, my dad grew bored of waiting, as he is apt to do. After doing a little bit of sleuthing (read: he walked over to the admin desk like he owned the place and rooted through paperwork until he found my name) my dad hiked up four stories worth of stairs and explored my new accommodations on his own. After a measly 5 minutes he returned full of glee, and that's when I knew I was in for trouble. His proud look of self-satisfaction was the embodiment of years of preaching "how good I had it" finally coming to fruition. He didn't even hide his taunts from the other newbies waiting in line: "Your room is smaller than your bathroom at home" he told me, and my stomach knotted.
As true as his statement was, I check-mated him later when I noted that Stella and I were going to be living with three dudes. This revelation was not as amusing to him. Growing up under his roof, boys were literally not allowed to step foot on our staircase, and now my room was sandwiched between two of them. At the very least, perhaps he found comfort in that they were both aerospace engineers; Worse case scenario if I were to fall for one of them, his grandchildren wouldn't grow up in a house on wheels.
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