Toronto: there I was for a meeting

I had to drive to Toronto for a meeting. I grew up in inner city Toronto. It is still home, despite the changes since 1981 when we moved to Ottawa!!!

 The drive was pretty easy on the way there. I took highway #7, meeting my friend in Havelock for coffee. I drove at the speed limit, which wasn't what the rest of the world wanted to do! I was passed by trucks hauling things. I pulled over several times for photos and for a stretch. My dashcam photos were amazing, as I weeded through them.



Traffic was so slow in Toronto. It was a lovely day, and I had the window open. Sadly, I still have a really awful startle reflex, and the honking, street cars, the sudden noises were hard to manage! I saw an Uber road mapping car!


This intersection is amazing.  Dundas and Yonge. Traffic and pedestrians each have a light cycle north then south. Next, all traffic stops and people can cross diagonally, every which way!


I knew I was in a big city hotel. I didn't dare order room service breakfast. It was $22.


Ryerson Student Centre - I graduated from Ryerson in 1981. It has grown and changed! They keep phoning and asking for money... I went to Ryerson, uOttawa and U of T for my Master's. They all contact me for money I don't have to spare.


The Trump burger was funny. I walked around downtown, and found a nails place that wasn't totally busy. It was so much fun. Dinner was beet linguine with shrimp! Yum. Lots of Asian restaurants around the hotel. So many choices.

(I watched a movie in my room, too!)


It was fun being a big girl, in the big city (population 6 million), at an important meeting! One of the sandwiches: cranberry bread with goat cheese!

Citizen's Panel

ODPRN - have four units, plus the  Ontario Drug Policy Research Network - Citizen's Panel

*Rapid Response Unit

• *Core Academic Unit

*Formulary Modernization Unit
*Knowledge Translation Unit

The ODPRN Core Academic Unit (CAU) meeting went well. Lots of amazing scientists, students and researchers, all working to establish bet practices in Ontario healthcare, and the best bang for our bucks.

It gives me hope for the future. There were three of us that attended the CAU retreat representing the Citizen's Panel: Lorraine and Dave, our chair elect.

Our #CitizensPanel representatives speak about the needs of patients & citizens in our research https://t.co/SpsDvCtqys #patientengagement pic.twitter.com/LGpWO2sBPO

— ODPRN (@ODPRN_Research) October 7, 2016

Then it was 40km/hour up the Don Valley Parking lot. [92% of all road deaths are preventable]
It was still faster than driving along city streets, with crazy pedestrians and squeegee kids! It's a long way to break free of my huge city. There are many commuters.


It was awful on the way home. I left at 2:45, arrived home at 8:30. It should have been a 4-hour drive.  Traffic was bumper slow.



I had to stop as I needed a break. I stopped at the Norwood LCBO, Kaladar for gas, and Perth for a subway sandwich for dinner, which I ate at home.

I showed my route to my daughter (we have EnRoute), and she spotted a quarry where she did some work as an undergrad. This was the slowest part of the journey along a side road. This post is a major note-to-self, don 't use highway #407!

Some of the group stayed... since they must live in the city.

The @ODPRN_Research team is working hard in the 9th. #Jays pic.twitter.com/acIAR8Za58

— David Juurlink (@DavidJuurlink) October 7, 2016