365 days Theory
I had thought before that I won’t be there at one place for a long time. I had a plan for 180 days theory just like Sachin Garg’s book. But all went in vain. I felt a strong ephemeral connection with the place I was living that whenever I plan to move out, I end up moving in again in that same place. This has happened thrice. And finally, I am leaving the place. Technically, it’s been 358 days since I have been living in this house.
Now I have moved to Brampton, the Minnie India. The relocation is the toughest segment in a person’s life. I felt the same here when I was leaving India. The zeal of emotions overpowered me. A connection theory revolves around this. Whenever I used to plan to leave that place, I had always changed the decision but this time the decision turned into an action. I lived there for one year. The memories that hover over my mind are ethereal. The time spent with roommates, trying different restaurants, shopping, showing dresses to each other, sharing emotions and giving endless advice and at times fighting too. All these became parts and parcel of our life. The separation was difficult but still, it was never a goodbye, but always a reason to talk again and again.
Brampton, the new phase sounded ecstatic but came out to be tough. The same thing, finding the routes were a roller coaster ride. I can’t believe that using Mr. Google can also make me lose my way. The reason being, Mr. Google never tells that the area I am going to have a ravine or a construction zone. Mr. Google will be Mr. Google, isn’t it?
There are different modes of transport here. Zum Bus stops at Zum stops only, whereas for reaching other places or interiors of the area, you need Brampton Transit. If you want to travel Mississauga, then Mi-way or Zum comes to your rescue. Further, if you want to go to Toronto then Go Bus or Go Train is the best. These transits actually baffle my mind as in one day sometimes you have to take all the transits. My travel revolves around two cities: Brampton and Downtown henceforth, I take Brampton Transit, Go Train, Subway and TTC Bus. If I make any passes, then they come out to be a wastage of money, so I use Presto which can be used in all the four places. Now I have connected my Presto with student ID so I get 18% discount.
Talking about the Brampton Transit, the frequencies are much lesser here. One bus comes after every 30-40 mins or even after an hour. If you miss your bus, then you are late. So, it is better to plan your journey one day ahead. Should I boost my reaching college half an hour before in spite being living almost 2 hours away! Most of my classes start at 8:30 so I get up at 5:15 and reach my bus stop at 6:10 where my bus comes at 6:19 and by 6:26 I reach the Go station. From there, I take 6:32 Go train and reach at 7:25. Then I take Southbound subway followed by another Eastbound Subway. I reach Pape station at 7:50 and then the final TTC I take. Mortimer Avenue is just 2 stops away. You can walk too but in mornings, you are sleepwalking, so I take that. I reach at 8:05 and I have my breakfast. This is my routine. The journey is tiresome, but I get some sleep in that time. I cannot believe myself that, I do all of this. I am not a morning person and here I am getting up early and managing everything. Sometimes, I like to give myself a thumbs up for being courageous to do that.
Perks of traveling in Go train can be sleeping, reading and writing your thoughts while experiencing them. I met many amazing people while traveling and got to learn so many tricks.
My uncle is my train buddy. I am almost flabbergasted by his tricks, but I feel they are perfect. He takes the third compartment while going and takes the first compartment while coming back. On being asked, he told me his theory of compartments. He says that the third last compartment opens at Bay Street from where he can take the Southbound Subway easily while coming back, the first compartment opens near the parking side. It sounded weird but when I tried it, made some sense to me. Mostly, students and working-class travel on Go train.
Then I had an encounter with an HR Professional who always takes the fourth compartment from the last. I happened to sit there so I met her. She cleared so many notions about the HR field. My previous course was Human Resource Management, so I was curious about this field and her work culture. She told me that this field involves writing too and I was unaware of this fact. Meeting with her came out to be knowledgeable.
Also, I met this Pakistani lady who told me about her experiences in this country. She told me that she had been in Canada for 45 years and I was wondering how she can live here for so many years. She told me about her family and about her languages. She speaks such an amazing Hindi and Urdu. Despite being 75 years old, she likes to travel. She had come to Brampton to meet her daughter and she was going back to her son. She talked about the people of Canada and how beautifully this country accepted her and her family. The Go train experiences had been fabulous, and I feel that my other write-ups would include Subway and train journeys as my most of the time is spent here.
Talking about the bus drivers, they are helpful. I happened to take Zum bus once where I asked about the stop from the driver. I told him that I was new. He welcomed me and told me about the Zum stops and the helpline numbers where can I call if I lost my way. There was another bus driver who helped me a lot. I was running late for my work in Mississauga. I had to catch another bus and I had missed it in front of my eyes. The driver had no passengers to drop, so he helped me catch the bus. He took me from another side and I could catch the bus.
Brampton city has been friendly, helpful and amazing for me. I never felt so positive and lively after coming here. I feel that my decision of coming here, despite the distance has been fruitful. I hope things go positive this way.
