Rental increase

I received a letter today from my landlord saying that they will increase my rent this year. I wouldn’t normally think twice about this letter because it comes every year, but this time it had something of note written on it.

The increase was a whopping 5.4% from last year’s rate. So what, you ask? Considering the maximum a landlord can increase their rent by this year is 2.1% by the Landlord and Tenant Board, a 5.4% increase is absurd.

Of course this agreement has exceptions, of which I’m sure is why the landlord has increased it by this much.

Mid last year, the former superintendents retired their posts and two fresh new faces came in. Since then, I have to admit that there have been a number of improvements made to the building, with the main one being the elevators—they actually work now!

But still, does this warrant an increase of over 100% the maximum level? I find it to be a little unfair.

Reading the agreement over carefully, it gave me some important information: The tenant is not required to sign the lease renewal form, in which case my lease agreement will be fixed on a month-by-month basis.

However, after scanning the entire document, I find that in the last section where I must sign under one of the options, the option to not renew the lease and go by month-by-month is not given.

If you ask me, the contract is a little misleading in that it makes people think that you are required to renew for at least the upcoming year, otherwise you are forced to vacate the premises.

As the contract indicates, I am not obligated to sign a renewal and still stay in the building, so that’s what I will do. It’s just too bad there’s really not much I can do with the excessive increase in rent, which the board will I’m sure approve of.

Do you have any landlord-tenant horror stories? Do tell!

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Published:
January 26, 2010 – 10:39 pm
Author:
By Taku Kumabe
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Review: Dough Bakeshop

Dough Bakeshop
173 Danforth Avenue
416.465.2253

It was a pleasant surprise when I first found out that a new bakery had opened up on the Danforth. I took this as a warm welcome and a chance to see what new good eats they can offer this part of the neighbourhood.

When I first visited the bakeshop, it was a saturday afternoon. To my dismay, I noticed that the shelves were practically all empty except for the few loaves that had not been sold out for the day.

My original intention was to buy a dozen bagels. But with the bare shelves, I was a little disappointed in my selection, and almost left the store empty-handed. While stepping out of line, I perused the shelves behind the counter as I overheard what the next person in line had ordered. It was a walnut loaf. As soon as I heard that, I got back in line and ordered one for myself as well.

A few weeks later, I visited the bakery again, hoping to grab another good eat. This time, however, I went early on a Saturday, shortly after they opened for the day. According to their webiste, Saturdays is a sourdough day. Great! I love them sourdoughs.

However after entering and seeing that they had no sourdough loaves that day (starter didn’t work well that day apparantly), I was left a little disappointed yet again. Someone behind the counter, however, overheard my inquiry and kindly noted that they were in the midst of baking a herbed cornbread.

Herbed cornbread? Now that sounds like an interesting mix. It wasn’t going to be ready for another couple of hours, which actually worked well for me since I was on my way to dimsum that morning anyway.

Fast forward a couple hours later, and I find myself back at Dough. A moderate amount of people milling about, and the shelves were freshly stocked. I inquired about the cornbread, and sure enough, they were just coming out of the oven.

When inquired about the ingredients, she mentioned that it was a cornbread with a mixture of oregano and feta. A rather interesting combination, I thought. I’m all for trying new things out, so I got myself a freshly baked loaf, still piping hot in the bag. Added to that, I treated myself to two croissants, just to try them out.

I noticed that as soon as the croissants went in to the paper bag, the buttery goodness showed immediately. Good? Bad? Well, to each their own.

—

The walnut loaf I absolutely loved. The subtle flavour of the walnut and the sweetness of the innards was exactly how I hoped it would have been. It was a loaf that didn’t last very long on my countertop.

I had mixed feelings for the herbed cornbread. While I naturally like cornbread, I felt its presence in the loaf was too subtle. The dense texture was apparent, although a slight sourness in the dough (from what, I don’t know), and an even lighter flare of oregano and feta, left me wanting more of a solid cornbread aftertaste.

I tried lightly toasting the slices and as it turns out, I liked it much more this way with the light and crispy exterior, and the soft and moist innard.

And finally the croissants. Who doesn’t love freshly baked croissants from the oven? While I mentioned the buttery goodness of it, I’ve had croissants that were made with even more butter, aiding my justification on having this heavenly treat. Despite all the butter, it wasn’t too overbearing when you ate it. That bode well for me and my stomache. I found the exterior to lack the crunch that other croissants sometimes have. I actually liked it this way; the slight pull of the exterior and the soft and smooth innards were a combination I can have any day.

I’m happy to say that this is a very nice welcome to the neighbourhood. With its location right near the subway station, it’s convenient to go to. The people are friendly, and when you walk by, that aroma of freshly baked bread is enough to pull anybody away from the cold wintery chill.

Next up: bagels. At about $7 per dozen, I can’t wait to see how they’ll fare.

…now, if only they’d do something with their website. It just doesn’t serve their products any justice.

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Published:
January 19, 2010 – 1:14 am
Author:
By Taku Kumabe
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Houston, we have a problem.

I have a problem. And I’m not afraid to admit it.

With so many opportunities in life, it’s hard to want to focus on just one aspect of it. For example, although I’m a magazine designer by day, I enjoy other aspects of design, such as print, and photography. Furthermore, I find myself taking a liking to baking. Cooking isn’t a bad thing either, although I tend to go with the former. And what about writing? Reading…ok, not so much.

Well, you get the jist.

With a multitude of things to be able to do in a lifetime, you are pretty much forced to choose a favourite and focus on that for the present time. I can’t seem to find the time to want to do everything I’d like to do…all the while trying to make a living, of course.

Did I mention I’m also a very good procrastinator?

Take today for example. It was a gorgious sunny day outside. I woke up early from a phone call from my sister-in-law inviting me to go to dim sum. Sleepy yes, but hungry as well. Sometimes hunger just overrides my sleepiness. Besides, I’ve been meaning to hit the local bakeshop (Dough) and grab a freshly baked loaf of bread to munch on.

I go to dimsum, head over to Dough (for the second time that morning, since the first time, they didn’t have the loaf of my choice), and head back home.

I was now presented with a dilemma. I had so much time left during the day, and with so many things to do, I couldn’t figure out what I should start with.

Fortunately for me, my freelancing projects were currently at a standstill as I was in the midst of waiting for action on my clients’ part.

Given this rare situation, I figured it would be a great opportunitiy to work on much needed personal projects, such as update my gallery, revamp my portfolio site, and/or look for frame-worthy photos.

What did I do? Well, I can’t really say that I did all of the above…or none of the above, for that matter. With a scattered mind, I found myself passing time doing mindless jobs. Surfing the net was one of them.

A little of this and a little of that, and by the time I knew it, it was nighttime. The entire day went by and when I asked myself, “what did I do today?” I can’t say that I can answer in a positive voice.

Writing this post, I realize that I digressed…but that’s no surprise as I often do that.

My problem seems to be that rather than concentrating on one specific task at hand, I often like to spend time doing a multitude of things. Even if I know I cannot finish one task, I still find myself doing more than what I can handle.

But there is good news at the end of all of this. Somehow or another, I still manage to finish all that I started.

And that’s why I keep doing what I do.

So I bet you’re asking yourself, what’s the point of this post?
It’s the same as every other post on this blog: nothing but meaningless blabbering.

I have the urge to bake some cookies tomorrow. Perhaps I will do that so that I can satisfy my craving and actually get some needed work done before the weekend ends.

So much to do, so little time. heh!

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Published:
January 17, 2010 – 1:11 am
Author:
By Taku Kumabe
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