WHO: Dave Meslin, 33, political activist (Toronto Public Space Committee, City Idol), musician (Hidden Cameras, The Phonemes) and professional guest.
WHAT: As a “professional guest,” Meslin moves to a new home every two weeks, where he does odd jobs and chores in exchange for a place to sleep.
WHERE: Though Meslin is based in Toronto, he has also guested professionally in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.
HOW MUCH: No money changes hands — Meslin uses the barter system, negotiating with each client in advance of his stay.
HOW LONG: Since Dec. 24, 2006.
FAVOURITE THING: “I moved out of my parents’ house when I was 18 and this is the first time I haven’t paid rent since,” says Meslin. Keeping his expenses at a minimum means he doesn’t have to worry too much about punching a clock (though he does work a couple days a week for actual currency). “I probably made less than $10,000 last year, and I never felt like I didn’t have enough money.”
This isn’t to suggest that Meslin has spent the past 12 months lounging on couches, eating cheesies and watching Maury Povich — not holding down a 9-to-5 job freed him up to spend his time on what interests him most. “I take on a lot of projects that don’t pay any money. It’s a bad habit of mine.”
LEAST FAVOURITE THING: For the first day or two after each move, Meslin has to get accustomed to a whole new set of quotidian details, like learning where the light switches are and which way to turn a new key in the lock. And he’s learned there are some odd jobs he isn’t willing to do.
“Washing the dog in Chicago was a bit of a challenge,” he says. Meslin ultimately came to the conclusion that, though he likes them just fine, taking care of canines doesn’t give him enough flexibility since they need to be let in and out at specific times. “I don’t do dogs anymore.”
THE STORY: Living out of a suitcase for over a year has taken its toll — not so much on Meslin as on his suitcase. “I’ve completely worn out three of the four wheels,” he says. Luckily, he carries little more than a handful of clothes and a few books. He was also lugging around boxes of papers until he was able to secure some much-needed office space, also through the barter system: he does odd jobs at the Toronto Environmental Alliance in exchange for a desk there.
Meslin has just moved into his 28th home in 12 months. When asked if all this bouncing around ever makes him feel anxious, he is quick to say no. “I think having to pay rent makes people anxious. Bills make people anxious. For an hour twice a month I guess I don’t have a home. But once I put my suitcase down, I have somewhere to live.”
One thing that has made a huge difference in this project’s success is the fact that Meslin knows a lot of people — when he sent out an email to his friends and contacts announcing his availability as a professional guest, he received about 100 requests for his services right away. Another crucial factor is how serious Meslin is about maintaining a sense of professionalism, right down to documenting himself performing his various guest duties in a suit (see above, clockwise from left: installing dimmer switch, attending to two-year-old, processing tax receipts, digitizing video and filling spice jars, attending to cat). And it doesn’t hurt that he is unusually handy: Meslin’s skills range from carpentry to graphic design. “People have so many things they need done around the house and no one has any time,” he says. “I’m good at fixing stuff.”
Meslin also gets a lot of people who just need someone to watch their houses when they go away. In fact, he got so many requests over the holidays for housesitting gigs that he subcontracted out a couple of jobs. Is this the start of a professional guest network? “We’ll see how it goes,” he says.
Meslin considers his last year a sabbatical — he’s now back to the grind to create the Toronto Cyclists Union (www.bikeunion.to), which will strive to offer the same kind of support to Toronto cyclists that CAA offers to drivers. “If your bike breaks down, you can call us and we’ll come and fix it,” he says, by way of example. “Whatever drivers have, cyclists should have, too.” So Meslin is on a daily work schedule, though he doesn’t expect to get paid for his efforts until around May of this year.
He says he might be open to looking for a relatively more permanent living situation at that point. “I would have to ease my way back into having a home,” he says, explaining he would ideally want to rent a little space that was going unused in someone’s home for $100 a month or so. “An attic, a walk-in closet, a crawlspace. An attic would be really great.” What about a screened-in porch? “Sure, it’ll be warm by then.”
But Meslin still has a long waiting list of people who need grape arbours built and book collections alphabetized, so he’s not so sure he’ll ever settle down. “I can’t think of a reason to stop. I could do this forever.”
IF YOU HAVE A SMALL SPACE YOU MAY WANT TO RENT FOR UNDER $200 next summer, TEXT DAVE MESLIN AT 416-88-WATER. EMAIL LETTERS@EYEWEEKLY.COM.