I'm a survivor.

So, the move happened. I owe some big ups to the sweet baby Buddha, or someone. The packing was pretty well finished by Friday night, and final touches were in place Saturday morning, before our loyal band of moving buddies showed up. There were a few glitches (Like that time when Lucky insisted on wearing sandals on moving day, and he wouldn't listen to me about that being a bad idea, and someone rolled a dresser over his foot and bent his toenail back all the way, and I vomited a little? That was awesome.) but over all, it was a good day, as much as that kind of labour and orchestration can be good. I was reminded that our friends are fantastic, and that it's always exciting to watch a group of engineering buddies get way too jazzed about lowering a massive hide-a-bed couch over a second floor balcony. It wasn't quite as suspenseful as when they moved it in, which involved stepping up on chairs while they bench pressed the behemoth up to more guys who leaned precariously over the railing, the strength of which was untested, but we'll always have the memories. This time, they used ropes and a ladder, and blah blah blah safety precautions, and it took some of the spice away. Anyhoodle, the couch was moved, and I am sitting on it right now. Shout out!

So now, the major job is unpacking, and figuring out where the hell my Mom put things in the kitchen when she was "helping" by bopping around in there while the rest of us were moaning a little and eating pizza. I love her, but why would you stack all of the heavy pots together on the bottom shelf so that my already damaged back dies a little more when I haul them out?

Nevertheless, this is the (relatively) fun part. I can find some enjoyment in setting up our new home, and exploring our new neighbourhood. As for Lucky, he is content to cuddle with the dishwasher and whisper sweet nothings in its detergent space. Thankfully, I'm not the jealous type.

Moving Sucks, part 2

When a girl desperately needs a mug of tea to calm her nerves and help her immune system find the strength to repair her bruised shins, battered against strategically placed boxes full of crap (WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH CRAP?) in her flight from dust bunnies, nay dust MAMMOTHS, emerging from under her bed like a well-organized army of anger against two and a half years of less-than-diligent vacuuming habits, it is just TOO MUCH for her to discover that the lid of her pretty kitty kettle has been packed, in God knows which box. You're thinking, "The water will still boil eventually." And I'm thinking, "Yes, but that is not the POINT."

Things that will make me miss this place

1. South facing sunlight
2. The quietness of a corner apartment
3. Sage green walls that perfectly match our stuff
4. Hearing my coffee perk in the morning
5. The Meat Shoppe around the corner
6. Coming home in my wedding dress and finding the rose petals
7. Fitting far more friends in than should have been possible, far more times than was wise
8. Bocce on the beach
9. Quick stumbles uphill from the Kingshead
10. Perfect tomato-growing space on the deck
11. Making our first home together in the city we love

There are also things I won't miss. The friggin crows outside the window that have been cawing since 7 am come to mind. (Lucky: "Do they think that sounds good? Seriously? I don't understand.") And I know I'm likely to have an even longer list at the new place in no time at all, but right now I'm in the mood for nostalgia. Humour me.

Moving Sucks

Did you know? It is true. Although I'm sure I could easily expound upon this subject on any given day, I have plenty of material at the moment, because Lucky and I are in the middle of a relocation, and all the crapulence that tags along with these otherwise exciting times.

See, we've got a good reason to go. As much as I love our current place and our current neighbourhood, I knew this day had to come, sooner rather than later. We've been in this cozy little one bedroom for two and a half years, since we came back home from the East Coast. Lots of good memories, but not much storage space. About a month ago, after our spontaneous trip to Tokyo, closely followed by Lucky's trip to the GDC in San Francisco, he came home, obviously ready to deal with all the things that had been put off for about a month, or even since before the busy holidays. He paid some bills, wrote some emails, then fell into bed with me, exhausted, ready to deal with one more bit of business before sleep. "What do we have to do to have a baby?" At first it was awkward, because I really would have expected his parents to have that talk with him a good 20 years ago, but thankfully that thought was fleeting, and I considered the practical concerns to which he was actually referring. I also considered how cool it is that I have a husband who is so decisive, and so invested in the same things as me, but that's a whole other blog entry, and I'm already straying pretty close to the border of my favourite vacation destination: Off Topic Land. I pretty much have citizenship there.

Focus! Ok.

So, getting back to his question, I thought about it for a minute, then told him that I would need some really good sushi, some really good wine, and some really good caffeine before being asked to live like a healthy baby vessel for a year. To those requests he went "Check," "Check," and "Well, if you must." The very last requirement was the biggie: "We need another bedroom." He argued weakly for a minute, something about hanging a crib from the ceiling, then he gave in.

Being Lucky, he was on Craigslist the next morning, considering likely locations and doable price ranges. The day after that, we had a new place, and a busy month in front of us. This time next week, we will have left this happy little home behind, and will be starting to settle into another home, a little less little, and hopefully just as happy, if not more. We've been pretty happy, so that's a lot.

So, we've had sushi at Tojos, we've opened some of our wedding wine, and I've weaned off coffee, onto swiss water decaf. The second bedroom is not too big, not too small, just right. I guess it's my turn to deliver. (geddit? GEDDIT?) Crap. I have to go pack.