the daily snivel
The Exodus
On Saturday, I helped my big sister move out of the spacious and lovely apartment she's been sharing with her two daughters for the past year and a half, and she's now back at her old, beloved stomping grounds in Toronto, off the Danforth. After three years of law school here at the University of Ottawa, my sister has graduated, is almost finished her Bar Admissions Course, and will be starting her articling position with the Newmarket Crown Attorney's Office in September. Although Ottawa is where we were born and raised, my sister has made Toronto her adopted home, and has many friends there (including quite a few who left for there from here earlier in the summer) she has been quite eager to see again.
Unfortunately, my sister encountered all manner of troubles in getting the move to actually happen, though, as the truck she'd reserved a month in advance blew a muffler near Smiths Falls, meaning it wasn't going to be available and the hateful trolls at U-Haul had overbooked their remaining fleet for the weekend. Worse, the new tenants were moving in bright and early Sunday morning, so if my sister wasn't out of her apartment in time, she stood to be potentially liable for any costs incurred plus lots of bad karma. Our mom came up to help her pack and clean, but needless to say nothing was going right and the stresses of moving were high. Fortunately, a truck came in to a U-Haul depot in Russell unexpectedly, and was available for 2pm on Saturday. Additionally, my sister had lots of strong backs to help out (including myself, the girls, our sister-in-law, our cool uncle, Mom, and some friends). And after the move was over (taking about six hours in rain and humidity, up and down winding stairs!), my sister took us all out for a fatty feast at the Royal Oak, where we all indulged in beer and greasy things, and much recharging merriment was had by all.
Yesterday was a civic holiday in Ottawa, so I went out for coffee with my lovely friend Celeste. Among laughs and banter, we also shared some pecan pie at the local coffee shop, and we wandered through the grocery store and bought some ant traps for another friend of mine (ants in August are like robins in Spring) before heading back to my house. Celeste then surprised me with an "intervention" regarding my excessive clutter. I think of myself as rather neat, but I don't have a lot of storage because of the roommate situation at my house, so my bedroom is increasingly overstuffed with clothes and papers and bits and pieces. Since Celeste is well versed in many design shows like "Clean Sweep," she and I set out to better organize my room, and in particular sort out what could stay and what had to go. And yes, this is on top of how much purging I'd already done with the assistance of Celeste and Mélanie earlier on. Continuing to expel my belongings really wasn't too hard, since I'm not particularly materialistic, and even some of the stuff I'd sentimentally packratted away has lost relevance over time. We put out four boxes of junk festooned with happy signs advertising the contents of boxes and promising them as free to good homes, and I was pleased that it all vanished by nightfall. I mean, the junk included my beloved old 386, a working 4MB video card, my hated NEC SuperScript 150 inkjet printer (expensive and increasingly difficult to buy ink for, and poor in print quality and ink economy -- I literally would rather have nothing to print with than continue to use it) and an HP DeskJet that had been thrown in when I bought my classic Macintosh SE for $35 two years ago (and which only worked with older Macs). Oh, and two old keyboards. The fact that I put this stuff out despite holding onto it all for so long is one thing. The fact that people spirited them away quite happily makes that gutsy move even better, since I know they'll get good use.
Then we went through my clothes and filled a garbage bag of clothes to donate, even though I don't buy clothes often and actually have been a regular donor of old clothes throughout the past two years. We also filled up a smaller bag of clothes that really had to be thrown out because: they'd become torn, or gotten too big, or too small, and anyway I hadn't worn them in at least a year. I owe that gal big time. My room looks great right now. Much less cluttered and much less hopeless. I'll have to start doing it more regularly.
One thing Celeste did clarify was that, contrary to what I'd written last week about the complexities of our friendship, she didn't think it was possible I could hurt her. While it may be true that she is a sensitive and insightful person who has been treated quite badly by men in the past and hurt quite a lot, she doubted very much I was capable of inflicting such pain. I admit I am not quite sure if she said this just to set the record straight or because she felt it wasn't a very good excuse to prevent us from dating. I suspect the former.
Meanwhile, my plans for tonight basically include the gym. It's not much, but it is helping me look increasingly fabulous.
Finally -- it's just under a week to Toronto interviews. Cue the tense music and crashing lightning bolts.
Unfortunately, my sister encountered all manner of troubles in getting the move to actually happen, though, as the truck she'd reserved a month in advance blew a muffler near Smiths Falls, meaning it wasn't going to be available and the hateful trolls at U-Haul had overbooked their remaining fleet for the weekend. Worse, the new tenants were moving in bright and early Sunday morning, so if my sister wasn't out of her apartment in time, she stood to be potentially liable for any costs incurred plus lots of bad karma. Our mom came up to help her pack and clean, but needless to say nothing was going right and the stresses of moving were high. Fortunately, a truck came in to a U-Haul depot in Russell unexpectedly, and was available for 2pm on Saturday. Additionally, my sister had lots of strong backs to help out (including myself, the girls, our sister-in-law, our cool uncle, Mom, and some friends). And after the move was over (taking about six hours in rain and humidity, up and down winding stairs!), my sister took us all out for a fatty feast at the Royal Oak, where we all indulged in beer and greasy things, and much recharging merriment was had by all.
Yesterday was a civic holiday in Ottawa, so I went out for coffee with my lovely friend Celeste. Among laughs and banter, we also shared some pecan pie at the local coffee shop, and we wandered through the grocery store and bought some ant traps for another friend of mine (ants in August are like robins in Spring) before heading back to my house. Celeste then surprised me with an "intervention" regarding my excessive clutter. I think of myself as rather neat, but I don't have a lot of storage because of the roommate situation at my house, so my bedroom is increasingly overstuffed with clothes and papers and bits and pieces. Since Celeste is well versed in many design shows like "Clean Sweep," she and I set out to better organize my room, and in particular sort out what could stay and what had to go. And yes, this is on top of how much purging I'd already done with the assistance of Celeste and Mélanie earlier on. Continuing to expel my belongings really wasn't too hard, since I'm not particularly materialistic, and even some of the stuff I'd sentimentally packratted away has lost relevance over time. We put out four boxes of junk festooned with happy signs advertising the contents of boxes and promising them as free to good homes, and I was pleased that it all vanished by nightfall. I mean, the junk included my beloved old 386, a working 4MB video card, my hated NEC SuperScript 150 inkjet printer (expensive and increasingly difficult to buy ink for, and poor in print quality and ink economy -- I literally would rather have nothing to print with than continue to use it) and an HP DeskJet that had been thrown in when I bought my classic Macintosh SE for $35 two years ago (and which only worked with older Macs). Oh, and two old keyboards. The fact that I put this stuff out despite holding onto it all for so long is one thing. The fact that people spirited them away quite happily makes that gutsy move even better, since I know they'll get good use.
Then we went through my clothes and filled a garbage bag of clothes to donate, even though I don't buy clothes often and actually have been a regular donor of old clothes throughout the past two years. We also filled up a smaller bag of clothes that really had to be thrown out because: they'd become torn, or gotten too big, or too small, and anyway I hadn't worn them in at least a year. I owe that gal big time. My room looks great right now. Much less cluttered and much less hopeless. I'll have to start doing it more regularly.
One thing Celeste did clarify was that, contrary to what I'd written last week about the complexities of our friendship, she didn't think it was possible I could hurt her. While it may be true that she is a sensitive and insightful person who has been treated quite badly by men in the past and hurt quite a lot, she doubted very much I was capable of inflicting such pain. I admit I am not quite sure if she said this just to set the record straight or because she felt it wasn't a very good excuse to prevent us from dating. I suspect the former.
Meanwhile, my plans for tonight basically include the gym. It's not much, but it is helping me look increasingly fabulous.
Finally -- it's just under a week to Toronto interviews. Cue the tense music and crashing lightning bolts.
