Othy and I had been planning for him to come visit since January, and now near the end of April he was finally able to come! It was an answer to prayer as the odds were against us and we had already pushed the tickets back twice. On Monday the 23rd I went to the airport to meet him. Seeing him when he came out (he was probably the last to come out from his flight) was such a surreal experience! I was almost pinching myself that he was actually there with me in the flesh! We took the TTC Rocket to Kipling Station where I arranged for Cam to pick us up. I had planned for us to visit Cam and Andrea because they were about to leave on vacation and I knew that Cam and Othy have similar passion for music. I was totally right because they had a blast playing music together for most of the afternoon and into the evening! They moved from instrument to instrument and I enjoyed watching them, singing along, or playing a bit of accoustic guitar. Through our conversations I actually learned a bit about electronic manipulation of sound, and the components of a drum kit! Because Andrea was delayed at work we went and picked up Swiss Chalet for dinner. The visit was short and sweet. Both Cam and Andrea brought us back to Kipling and we headed to Runnymede to meet up with Jeff who was waiting for us. Because it was already late, I left Othy with Jeff who would be hosting him for the next week.
The following day I took the bus and picked Othy up at Jeff’s place and we went back to my place. We hung out for most of the day doing work in the morning and watching a movie in the afternoon. In the evening I took him to visit Adam House for my last Bible Fun Time. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to everyone. We prayed together and they surprised me with a birthday/farewell cake! I am going to miss this community!
On Wednesday I did work on my screen in the morning and I met Othy at Keele Station in the early afternoon. I took him by my work and we also walked around and saw St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District. In the evening we went on a double date with Andrew and Susan who proposed going to see the Leafs play their final game of round 1 in the playoffs. The bar they wanted to go to in the Junction was full and so I started calling random bars nearby and managed to reserve a table at the Bond Pub at Crossways. It was a pretty good spot with a clear view of the game! It was Othy’s first time watching a hockey game.
On Thursday I took Othy to meet up with a friend to talk about his experience co-founding a tech start-up. From there we went and had a fancy three course lunch at Terroni’s because PBAI/RSA had given me a $100 giftcard to share with Othy! We tried a little bit of everything including an octopus salad and squash ravioli (for old time’s sake) and it was delicious! In the afternoon I did some work on my screen and then we hosted small group in the evening. At the end the group made me all teary eyed while they prayed for me to send me off. My GG is another group I will miss profoundly!
On Friday we went to visit Philip’s office bright and early, said my farewells and showed Othy the space. From there we went to U of T to the computer science building and then afterwards walked around the campus passing some of my favourite new and old buildings. We even stopped into Robarts library which I had never visited and saw the rare books room. We went home for a short time, watched a bit of a movie, and then headed out to Burdock Brewery where I had invited several people to come and meet Othy and say a final goodbye.
Saturday was a bit of a work day for me as I was trying to finish my furniture screen project. Othy came by in the late morning and helped me a bit, and then in the afternoon Jeff came and took Othy to the ROM and to watch the baseball game at a bar.
On Sunday I went to church and met Othy there. After the service I went home and started packing. Othy soon joined me and helped me as I soon became overwhelmed with what had to be done! My friend Lucie also came by and helped me clean up my room and cooked us a Congolese dinner! Susan, Andrew and two of Othy’s acquaintances joined us. It was kind of cool how this group of people who didn’t all know eachother came together to share a meal.
On Monday I continued packing, went and picked up the rental car for the following week, loaded up the car and we were off to part 2 of Othy’s visit and the beginning of my epic move! I had to drop off a few things before we left the city including a start-up kit of kitchen stuff for Adam House. I was super happy to run into Lana and Pamala! What a full and good week!
Life Section 
Leave a Reply