Join me for a turn in the park?

Gulshan II Park, Dhaka, Bangladesh

CouchSurfing: 7 cities in 7 days

As some of you know, I have been homeless/vagrant since mid November. Basically I have been depending on the kindness of others for living and lodging. So far this has worked well: December was spent on floors and couches in Toronto with a stint at my mum's place; and January in Houston and then in hospital accommodation in Atikokan with a day here or there with friends in Halifax and Montreal.

Last week, I stretched my friend's kindness and my patience to the limit with a one-week cross-country, trans-border CouchSurfing extravaganza:

Day 1: Atikokan to Thunder Bay with a pit stop at mum's place. Then on to Toronto. Couch: Not even a couch, I've been demoted to the floor chez Hetti.

Day 2: Third rez interview gets 1.5 thumbs up. Couch: Fold out wonder chair at Hetti's mum's place in Scarlem aka Scarberia.

Day 3: Vancouver. Couch: At last, a real couch or as we say in Kanadia, a chesterfield. And this one was spacious. I think it was the fold out variety but I fit quite comfortably in it while folded up.

Day 4 and 5: Fourth and final rez interview gets two thumbs up. Couch: I'm embarassed to say it was a plush double bed.

Day 6 and 7: Thesis defended but no result until the end of May. The agony! Well, actually, not really. I did manage squeeze in a fantastic dinner with all of my Boston peeps to celebrate. Couch: Again, plush double bed and this time in my old pad in Boston

Day 8: Back to Toronto and a repeat of day 2 with the addition of fantastic dim sum.

Day 9: Lookout Dhaka, here I come! Couch: Cattle class seat for an eternity of sleeplessness.

Ricky from the choke's top 5 songs

1. The night Chicago died - Paper Lace
2. The highwaymen - The Highwaymen
3. My redemption - Gackt
4. Lost heaven - Soundtrack of Full Metal Alchemist
5. No hana - Third opening bleach