Darkness, Degrees and Difficulties

The word of the week is steadfast.

May 14 - Connections

I've been offline, save for my phone's connectivity, for most of last few days. Today I took the time to hook up my network gear, which surprised me by working fairly well spot-on right out of the box. At my new place I have a 25mBps connection, which is MUCH faster than what I had before; I'm more excited about the upload speed which should be 10x's my old limit, great for using online storage and other services. What I'm most pleased about is the deal I swung for cable TV and internet: for a total of $30 / month, I get basic cable AND the blazing-fast internet bundle guaranteed at that GREAT price for the next two years! Considering I was preparing to pay twice that for JUST internet alone, I am thrilled to bits... if you'll pardon the pun.

Moving: yesterday saw a TON of things removed from the storage unit, with less than half remaining today. So it was my dad and I taking two loads to Victoria, as my sister in still in Seattle until tomorrow. We managed fairly well, with me doing minimal lifting, though I can push things just fine, like a balanced loaded dolly. By day's end all that was left was the artwork, which is both heavy and large - so large that it won't fit into our van. I spent the rest of the evening unpacking as best I could.

May 15 - Doubly So: Just Moving thoughts

Today's the middle of the month, when we would have normally taken possession of our new place. Thanks to a very generous building super, we were in as of the 11th and have had 4 'extra' days to move in - I'm always astounded by the generosity of people I encounter and never take it for granted. The extra few days, along with moving from my parent's place, have meant that we didn't have to scramble to get everything done within 24 hours before the doors were locked behind us. It's still been a LONG week so far…

I rented a U-haul van today for a single trip to Langford and back to the storage unit. What I hadn't counted on was just how HEAVY the art was; between the large 72"x58" frame and the almost-as-large mirror was probably 200 lbs. My dad and I struggled to get those to the loading platform on the dolly, but were stymied as to being able to get them into the van itself. I had thought to roll the dolly right into the van, but the size of the art meant they had to be slid in sideways. Luckily another storage unit customer was there and helped us easily move them all into the van; kindness of strangers! Once we were in Victoria, we were again surprised with help, as my as-yet-unmet upstairs neighbour chatted us up as we arrived and offered to help us in with the art - again, amazing! Once that was squared away, we went up to my parent's place after dropping off the rental van( total cost: $40.57! )and loaded up a lot of odds and ends. That took us into the late afternoon and we finished up to go pick up my sister from the ferry after dinner.

May 16 - Degrees

Sometimes everything happens at once. Having left my job of nearly 12 years, I was eager to put the bad experience behind me and move on. One thing that came up recently was my returning to school for my degree, something I have put on the back burner for a long while as a pipe dream for when I had both the time AND money to do so. For the past few weeks I've made inquiries at UVic and Brock to see about finishing off my mostly-complete degree. It made sense to look into it, as I'm not working and have the time… sort of. Thinking about it, I'm not certain it would be a good idea, as I'd be taking a lot of time away from writing my novel to complete a degree that would have little impact on my life personally or professionally. So for now, it's still shelved… but not as far back as before, when I thought it would be almost impossible to budget for it. Maybe in 2013? We'll see.

Moving: today was my 'Techie Day' when I assembled and connected all my tech gear: TV, computer, xbox, DVD player and all the rest. While there's fewer cables now than there were in my setups even 5 years ago, there's still a LOT to be sorted. One thing about technology: it moves fast, so there's always new types of connectors, power-warts to plug in, etc. By late afternoon I had it all tested and working again, with everything in it's place. Just having my computer again was great, making it seem more like my home.

May 17 - The Boob Tube Lives?

I'm of two minds when it comes to having TV at my new place here. On the one hand, it's cheap entertainment at the push of a button without having to leave your home. On the other, it's SO easy to flick on the TV and lose hours of your day to non-creative activity, if you can call it that. I have hundreds of hours of shows on DVD( only partially converted to digital on my PC )plus dozens of movies, so I can't say I'd be bereft of entertainment if I didn't have cable. I was prepared to do without, and now I have TV with dozens of channels… tempting me away from productivity. Maybe I'll just lock the remote into a box with a timer set for 8 hours and see how that works out…?

Moving: still lots of running around today, helping my parents with shifting things around at their place( minimal lifting involved )as well as assembling a bed frame they had in storage. Still collecting bits and boxes of things like kitchen foodstuffs and other things tucked into corners and mixed in with stuff that's not mine. However it's been a GLORIOUS week for moving in terms of weather: sunny and warm EVERY day with no rain. At all. Perfect… if I wasn't busy moving, that is. But it's worlds better than slogging away in the wet!

May 18 - Writing and working for myself!

I've given some more thought to my novel this week, in between going box-blind and sorting-crazy. Self-publishing looks to be my route, firmly so; it makes no sense to sit and hope that my work makes it out of a slush pile somewhere onto the desk of an editor, when I can strike my own path on places like Kindle and Kobo. This article on i09.com does an EXCELLENT job of outlining the case for self-publishers making a living at their craft without needing to beg at the tables of the Big Six publishers for a handout. I'm very tickled at the idea of working from home, running the business of Me day to day and not being beholden to a corporation or even just someone else. I'm the one accountable; if I fail, then I'm only failing myself. If I succeed, then I'm sharing the spoils with nobody but myself and my audience. I like that.

Moving: today was just a whole lot of sorting, as most everything is unpacked. Going through all the things and getting rid of anything that didn't make sense to keep helped to pare down things to find permanent homes for here. I wish I'd had time to do it before the move, but when my family accelerated the schedule there was no time to do ANYTHING save pack it all into boxes. So today saw a lot of things tossed, recycled or donated as I worked my way through everything in my room, setting a fair bit aside to fill our closet-sized storage unit down the hall until I am able to see to it- a lot will be sold off on eBay or just donated as well.

May 19 - Dark?

You know your life is becoming more domestic when you get excited about... curtains. For me, they mean a DARK room I can sleep in on my own schedule, instead of waking with the dawn. Or the kids in the room above me, whichever gets me first. All this week it's been wakeup calls around 7am, which is not my usual bed debarkation hour, so I'm a bit knackered. I think for the summer I WILL make it my regular wake-time, as the short-legs above have no concept of walking softly. At all. So if you can't beat 'em( with a stick? )then join them, which I think will be better for my creative streak anyway; typing new words at the end of a long day well into the night hasn't really worked for me in the past. Maybe taking a hot tea up to the deserted sun room on the 5th floor might be a good habit to get into...?

Today my sister and I took a mid-afternoon break to go down to Cook St. Village to unwind in the glorious sunshine, the last bit of good weather for the week. We sat at Mocha House on the patio, taking in the activity; there was a group of schoolchildren all playing violins right out front with a sign that say 'Playing for ice cream' and they were rather decent for all that. I treated myself to a specialty of Mocha House called a Hedgehog, which was a ball of chocolate cake rolled in various nuts; it was heavenly. Being able to do things like that a mere five minute walk from my new place makes me so very VERY happy!

Moving: today most everything was completed; the living room, kitchen, bathroom and my room were all completed by late evening as both my sister and I by unspoken agreement just wanted to Get It Finished. I was very happy to soak my aching arms in a bath and collapse into bed with a satisfied sigh.

May 20 - New Home

The new place is great. Lots of room for my sister and I, as well as our things. As I've said previously, I'll be reducing my Stuff over the next few months, working my way through things to sell or donate. My goal is to eliminate the need for a storage unit, with the additional goal to open up more storage within the apartment once that's done. We're close to MANY great places: Beacon Hill Park, Cook St Village, Fort Street's shops, the ocean and downtown is only fifteen minute's walk. The area is lovely: lots of trees, incredible gardens, simply lush greenery that smells so fresh every morning. I'll post some pics on FBook this week, now that it's mainly put together and looks like a home with art on the walls and a distinct lack of boxes. 

Yes, the tendons in my arms still ache. No, I won't bore you with the details. Yes, it makes it HARD to type without pain. No, I won't give up writing my book because of it. That is all... for this week.