Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, is out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Chiara DiAngelo is making her Static Zine debut in Issue 2. A local food junkie and nutrition grad, she moved to Toronto to do a Masters of Public Health (Community Nutrition) at the University of Toronto. What she found herself falling most in love with, however, was the city’s local music scene. As a music-obsessed, newly Registered Dietitian, she can offer advice on both which bands to listen to AND what foods to eat. Currently in transition between school and “the real world,” she can typically be found at a local farmers’ market, devouring sandwiches at Sky Blue Sky, sifting through used vinyl or taking in as many free shows as she possibly can.

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when my parents visited and I showed them around to all of my favourite places. I think I had a moment like in that Tim Horton’s commercial with the father and daughter except it probably happened at Grapefruit Moon…

First job was an unpaid practicum position with the Outpatient Dietitian at Toronto East General Hospital, teaching nutrition for gestational diabetes classes and generally trying to look like I wasn’t petrified every time I had to diet-counsel a patient.

First house is my itty-bitty hole-in-the-ground basement apartment just north of Bloor W. I live beneath my amazing Portuguese landlords who give me lettuce, tomatoes and beans from their garden.

First favourite neighborhood was The Annex (my own!) It immediately felt like “home.”

First concert was Dinosaur Bones and Still Life Still at the Horseshoe for the release of Girls Come Too the weekend after I moved in.

But okay, okay, if we’re being technical….Backstreet Boys at the Skydome back when it was still called the Skydome…

First bar/club I went to I’m going to guess was The Horseshoe.

First outdoor concert was Rogers Picnic for Born Ruffians, Vampire Weekend, City & Colour and Cat Power. It poured. All I really remember is being soaking wet and freezing and eating ice cream in a tiny little cabin trying unsuccessfully to dry off.

First record store was Sonic Boom, around the corner from my apartment.

First in-store was accidental. I wandered into Sonic Boom to loiter around before heading to a show at Lee’s and unknowingly stumbled upon Spiral Beach doing an in-store downstairs before their show with The Danks and Two Hours Traffic across the street – the very show I was headed to!

First favorite book was Locavore by Sarah Elton, a food columnist for CBC Radio’s Here&Now and fellow Torontonian. As a Public Health Nutrition student and local food junkie, this book was inspiring, relevant and a great complement to what I was learning in school. Many of the speakers who had come to our class actually made appearances in her discussion on local and sustainable food systems – it not only made my learning more real but also really affected the way I eat!

First library I visited was the Wychwood branch (St Clair & Bathurst) I think two days after I moved in, nerd that I am. You might remember it from the scene in Scott Pilgrim where he first sees Ramona.

First kiss was on the grounds of Central Technical School, walking around before going to see a show at Lee’s Palace.

First heartbreak was gut-wrenchingly painful. Let’s just say it’s a bad idea to break off a long-term relationship the day before Valentine’s Day. Post-breakup vinyl shopping did however greatly benefit my record collection.

First New Year’s was supposed to be this past New Year’s at the Tranzac for Rural Alberta Advantage or the Ballroom with Dwayne Gretzky but I ended up staying a few days longer at home in St Catharines. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the city for New Year’s!

First Valentine’s Day was spent at the Horseshoe with my then-boyfriend to see one of our all-time favourite bands, Attack in Black. We ate chicken nuggets at McDonald’s afterwards. It was very romantic.

First time I went to the islands I’d been as a little kid but the first I remember was just last summer! We hung out on the beach, took a walk through Centreville and tried to hear Arcade Fire, too poor were we to purchase actual tickets for their Island show.

First trip out of Toronto was – Besides the obvious trips home, a day trip out to a farm in Markham (although is that still technically a part of Toronto?) to escape city life and do all sorts of lame but fun fall things like pick out pumpkins, walk through corn and eat pie!

First time I got lost was the first time I had someone come visit. I met him at Union Station and we took the subway up to Dupont Station. Trying to act like I knew my way around already, we left through the wrong exit and ended up walking in the complete opposite direction from my place (east rather than west). It took me a solid 10 minutes before I realized the streets we were passing were moving away from where we were supposed to be going. Like an idiot I then had to admit my mistake and double back going the right way. Sadly, this is not the only time this has happened to directionally-challenged me.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would spend it doing all of my favourite things: Eat lunch at Sky Blue Sky and chat to Chad, flip through records at Sonic Boom, walk through Kensington and drink coconut water from Essence of Life, get gelato in Little Italy, and then head to the Horseshoe to see a great local band, hopefully capping the night off with nachos at Sneak’s surrounded by all my favourite people.