Eastern Progress

Well, I’ve been working for nearly 2 weeks now, have moved into my own apartment and begun the process of settling in. I’ve come to a few conclusions as well:

- folks in the HRM know how to take care of the snow…we can get a snowfall and within a few hours, the plows are out cleaning it up, the sidewalks are cleared, my steps are shoveled, etc. We had a fair amount of snow last night, and freezing rain on top of that, and yet this morning, the city is mostly cleaned up. What a refreshing change from living in the north, where cleanup happens WEEKS after any snowfall.
- I gave away my old microwave when I left the north (it was bought in 1991…) and now I don’t think I will be buying a new one. I don’t have the room to park a microwave in my new kitchen, and I think I would prefer just to go back to doing things the “old fashioned” way, such as warming cream cheese in a double boiler, and reheating things in the toaster oven. I did give away my old toaster oven (also bought in 1991) and bought a new one. I don’t much like the print on it, but it is another Black & Decker like my first one that never let me down.
- I have all my curtains up in the apartment except for the spare room aka the unpacking room. They look lovely, but I can still see into my bathroom, so need additional coverage there. The window is right next to the toilet, so anyone on the porcelain beauty will be in full silhouette at night. I cannot reach any of the curtain rods on my own, and have nothing I would like to stand on to get to them, so have been borrowing my mother’s step stool to get things done.
- I am SUPER glad I do not have to use my car to commute to work. I can walk to the ferry terminal in about 8-10 minutes from my house OR if I am super lazy or the weather is rotten, there is a bus stop across the street that takes me right to the ferry terminal. I took the bus last night as it was freezing rain and a complete mess out. My car is safe and sound in the parking lot.
- I have finally mounted my teepee lamp that was a gift when I left Ft Res. It sat around in my last apartment, not knowing its place. Now I found the perfect spot, right above my new pub table, where it looks quite smart.
- Air mattresses are noisy to sleep on…all that rubber/plastic. So I am sleeping on the sofa a neighbor of my parent’s gave me. Surprisingly it is quite comfortable to sleep on. In a few weeks, I hope to purchase a real bed, and pick up my bed frame from the furniture store, along with my other belongings.
- I didn’t pack my glass as well as I had hoped and came across a box with at least 5-6 things busted up in it. No huge losses, but some things I wish had made it, just blue glass glasses, an ugly pottery mug I attempted, a mug Amber made as a child, etc.
- my sand from the Carcross Desert in the Yukon leaked out of its bottle into a box making quite a MESS. There is still a bunch left in the bottle, but what a friggin mess the little bit that leaked out made.
- my neighbors are fairly quiet. Some loud talking and slamming of outside doors, but for the most part, quiet at night, which is the important thing. Stormy still jumps up when he hears the front door close, but no longer goes running. I think he has figured out it is our neighbors who are using the front door (we have a shared front door, with our own individual doors from the porch into our apartments).
- I need a mailbox outside my house. Currently the mail for my house comes into the porch downstairs through a slot, for both tenants. The downstairs tenants leave the door open all the time, and walk over the mail that isn’t theirs, so I would rather have it contained in a mailbox. I shall speak to the property manager today to find out if the owner will allow me to put one up. Or perhaps I shall just do it…sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission….

Photos of the new pad will be forthcoming…things are still bare bones yet, but I reckon by the weekend I will have things mostly ship shape, as much as they can be with the few bits of furniture I do have. Stay tuned!