Transit and Mom Visiting

Our ION Light Rail finally has a security system. Until recently, you were supposed to pay at these... podium things. You could tap your card, or you could go to this other thing and pay cash to get a ticket, but each station was wholly unmanned, so payment was based completely on the honour system. Apparently the GO Train also runs on this system, which surprises me because it's so successful and I wouldn't guess that it would work. But it sure didn't work here.

The only defense the conductor had against misbehaving riders was to publicly shame them. They've got like, a sound system that can resonate inside and/or outside the vehicle. I got to hear a few "THE TRAIN WILL NOT STOP FOR YOU" and "PLEASE VERIFY PAYMENT BEFORE BOARDING THE TRAIN"s. But the conductor can't leave their station or mess with the train's schedule.

Obviously that wasn't enough of a deterrent, so now they've got on-site security that carries these little scan machines, and they do random sweeps where they ask to see your card or ticket to verify payment. At least the system is less broken now.

My mother came to visit me this past weekend for the first time in seven years. She got to experience our ION Light Rail system, which she thought was amazing. I guess I'm still salty because of all the construction I've endured, along with the changes to the bus schedules, the crowding during the first few weeks it was open, and the alarm it sounds every seven minutes when it moves past my home, because I am still no fan of it. So it was interesting to hear from an outsider's perspective that it seemed "cool and futuristic".

Even though Charles Street Terminal no longer functions as a transit terminal, it's still where the Greyhound buses come, and that's where I met her. It feels really strange to be there nowadays. I had visited it out of curiosity a little while ago, after their information booth had been moved to the Crowne Plaza, and the Transfers bar and cafe were not only still open, they were PACKED and pumping out fresh food. I thought it seemed absurd that they could continue to function in a building that no longer provides their main service.

When I met my mom, the bar and cafe have since shut down. I guess they had a contract until the end of last month or something. But if anything, it's even weirder now, because the building literally provides no services. Even the place where they sell Greyhound tickets is in a little one-room building outside of the terminal. But the automatic doors still work, the air conditioning still works, the bathrooms and water fountain still work, the escalators are running, and the place is still staffed with security guards and custodians. Like, what are those guys even securing?

I remember looking at the homeless people who basically lived in Charles St. and wondering where they would go once the terminal shut down. Well so far, they just never left. Got to see a lot of familiar faces when I went to meet my mom. The place has become a de facto homeless shelter.

We had pizza from the little family-owned pizzeria across the street, which she said was even better than Victoria's Pizza in Guelph. This is high praise, considering Victoria's is the highest-rated pizzeria in Guelph, and my local spot is far less-known.

She got to meet the person that I'm dating, which went well.

Summer Shutdown

Right now I'm on Summer Shut Down, which is a two week vacation that happens for WALES Staff annually. I'm in my second week and I haven't done much with my time. At the moment I'm in Guelph.

Recently, there was a reveal that a bunch of pipes in my mother and brother's neighbourhood are made of lead, and that our tap water contains some small amount of lead. This is troubling, because they have lived in the area for almost ten years, and we all drink tap water.

So the City of Guelph is replacing the pipes, and in the meanwhile is sending money to all effected residential units and advice for purchasing water filters. My family has a cool little Brita extension for their tap now, which filters as it runs. I want one for my place now.

I don't want to dramatize, but lead poisoning is what is occurring in the infamous case of Flint, Michigan. I'm sure their case is far, far more severe, however. My understanding is that around here, instead of the lead content increasing recently, there has been a change in how much lead is allowable.

From the information they've sent us, it looks like the people most at risk from lead poisoning are children under the age of six, whose development may be impacted even on a neurological level. The development of fetuses in pregnant women may also be impacted.

In individuals over the age of six, lead poisoning can lead to high blood pressure, kidney damage, and bone damage. Still not pleasant.

They've got a garden over here, too. They're growing corn, tomatoes, peppers, basil, kale and onions. Corn is a new ambition for either of our households, and they looked to be doing really well, but it sounds like a raccoon or something is stealing cobs before they fully mature.

This is my first time away from Kieren. I'm entrusting my cat and my garden to my roommate while I'm away.

I finally got to do a Pokemon Go event! I've missed two of them since I started dating. Worth it, of course.

For some reason, I used my free time during Summer Shutdown to work at the Summer Program for a day. It was their last week of Day Program, theme was Wacky Water, and it was their Reverse Paintball day. If you don't remember from the four other times I've explained it, Reverse Paintball is when program participants get to paint the staff, and then they knock the paint off by squirting them with water guns. This year I got to be the camera man, and even got to be on the other side of the painting and squirting for once.