here's a shocker...

...our loft is delayed again! Whoo! Yeah! Alright!

Our new date is March 11, 2008. And I'm sure this will be the actual date...forget about it...you'll know we've actually moved once I've posted pictures of us living there.

Stupid loft. That I can't help but still love. Even though it drives me crazy.

FOUND! in my mailbox...

Chaz and I found this little gem in our mailbox the other day. It took us some time to figure out what the note meant, but, after some discussion and decoding (thanks to living in Japan I think we have some semi-developed skills in this area) I think we got it. The problem, it seems, is that there's no apartment indicated in the mailing address and, since there are three mailboxes chez moi, the poor Sears Catalog Delivery Person has no idea which mailbox it belongs to. Isn't that cute? I mean, I would imagine that if I were delivering a Sears catalog I really wouldn't care that much. This individual clearly deserves a raise seeing as how they are going above and beyond the call of duty in order to ensure the catalog gets to the person who requested it. The problem is, I'm not sure who the catalog belongs to (nor do I feel like asking the people upstairs if they should be getting the catalog...who has the time to walk upstairs and then talk to the people who live there?! I would clearly never cut it as a Sears catalog delivery person.). I actually think it might belong to Chaz and I (I think I remember Chaz getting tricked into giving our address to someone at Sears when we were walking through one day, but I may have made that up in order to explain why we suddenly started getting a Sears catalog on a semi-regular basis despite the fact that neither one of us shops there). So I'm not sure what to do seeing as how I don't actually want anything to do with the catalog... If I don't leave a note it will clearly break the heart of and/or frustrate this individual, who is so clearly dedicated to excellence in the workplace, and I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for that! But, leaving a note facilitates the process of this catalog making it's way into my mailbox, and I certainly don't want to be responsible for that! So maybe I can leave an note asking to be removed from the mailing list? But what if the delivery person takes it personally? That would surely be devastating for him/her, and I wouldn't want to devastate anyone over a catalog. I also must admit that part of me wants to keep this person in my life...people who are so committed to excellence are a rare breed, and, I'm not going to lie, those are the people I want to be associated with, you know? I mean, I might be able to hire this person for Youth Drop-in someday or something...you never know! So maybe I could just keep getting the catalog in order to save our relationship with the delivery person? I was also thinking I could leave a note indicating that the catalog belongs in one of the other mailboxes at my house, even though I'm pretty sure it doesn't. That seems like the most "me" way of dealing with this obviously difficult and sensitive issue, especially since I would have to be stealth-like in order to make this happen in such a way that the other people who live in my house don't notice that I'm signing them up for a Sears catalog, which ups the fun factor significantly. Yay for a new mini-project!

I am hours away from having a shower in comfort of my own apartment...

...and I know that doesn't seem like breaking news, but it really is! The last time I had a shower in my apartment was on November 5 and, even then, I shouldn't have been using the shower. But I'm defiant like that. Allow me to explain...

You see, back when my parents were visiting for Thanksgiving* I started to notice a strange smell every time I stepped in and out of the shower. I didn't think too much of it at first, but it kept getting worse and worse, so I finally decided to take two seconds to actually assess the situation. I noticed that the paint on the wall was bubbling and that the shower liner was actually detaching itself from the wall. Not good. I also noticed my neck was starting to get rashy again, and my neck is my mould detector, so I knew something big was going down. Extra not good.

Needless to say we had a serious mould problem in one of our bathroom walls (due to crappy pipes that misted the wall every time we showered) that needed serious work. People were finally able to come in on Nov. 2 to knock down the wall. We were assured that the levels of mould weren't dangerous** but, I'm not going to lie, I found it a little annoying that they tore down the wall a full 4 days before anyone else could come do anything to the bathroom. This is where my defiance reared its ugly head and we put up some plastic over what was left of the wall so we could shower anyway. If they are going to be dumb, so am I. Take that, wall people.

My neck exploded with rash.

They put a stop to my showering when they came in on the Tuesday and did this:


We had this dehumidifier and an air purifier (which you can't see) running 24/7 for 4 days. They were loud. So loud that you could hear them outside the apartment. They also created insane amounts of heat. This was nice for midnight bathroom trips, but otherwise it was like being in a sauna.

The next two weeks were a blur of people coming in and out of the house making a big mess pretty much everywhere...it was awesome coming home to a new mess almost every single day, let me tell you! At first I tried to stay on top of the cleaning, but after a week it broke my spirits and I gave up.

Now, in case you're wondering how I managed to not offend people by being stinky, you should know that I mostly showered at the gym (me and the gym showers got to know each other pretty well, actually), which was an entertaining experience as it gave me insight into the showering habits of other women. I can't believe how many people shower in their underwear. Seriously! I mean, I'm not one to run around naked all over the place, but it would never occur to me to shower in my underwear so that no one would be able to see me naked at the gym. Wowza! We were also able to use the landlords' shower and, when necessary, I resorted to washing my hair in the kitchen sink (our landlords don't really get up before 8:30 or 9 in the morning, so it was a little hard to shower at their place before work).

Anyway, I'm happy to report that I have to wash my hair in the sink NO MORE! Oh man, I can't wait to have a shower...I'm going to be in there FOREVER (I'm like Cramer in that, if I could figure out a way to live in the shower, I totally would) and it's going to be SO GOOD!





*Check out the meal I made for my family!*** Yummy!


**To be fair my landlords offered to put us up in a hotel, so don't hate on them please. They are good peeps.

***And by made for my family I really mean that my mom helped me make.****




****And by that my mom helped me make I really mean that my mom made for us. Thanks mom!!!

you MUST watch these video clips...

because I think they are so darn fun...

I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with X-tina in Toronto a couple weeks ago. Good times were had by all, except maybe X-tina, as she was coming down with a cold. I had fun though, and, really, isn't that what it's all about?

I'm very pleased with how well this one turned out...nice work with the photo-taking, X-tina!

X-tina wanted to go to the top of the CN Tower because, well, she's touristy like that. Here we are on our way to the TOP OF THE WORLD!!!!!

Sadly, going to the TOP OF THE WORLD!!!!! is pretty darn expensive, so we opted out of the madness.

Could I look more ridiculous? I promise that I don't think I'm actually hot enough to pose like that! I must have been playing things up for the random stranger who was taking our picture...yeah, that's what I was doing.

I enjoy that X-tina made the random stranger take TWO pictures of us in front of Lake Ontario. Silly girl!

lock update...

I just spoke with the peeps upstairs and they have called a locksmith. In doing so they learned that apparently deadbolts like to wear out. What does that mean? Well, I think it's pretty safe to say it means the deadbolt lock in your apartment or house is pretty much a ticking time bomb, just waiting to wear out and thwart your attempts to go to the gym, work, or wherever it is you would like to go that's not in your apartment or house. Are you ready? Do you have a Plan B?

Think about it.

This could be you.

I have a sexy friend!*

You know when you have a friend who is so hot you're like, "Damn, Friend! You should be recognized by the CBC for your hotness?" Yeah, me too.

Well, believe it or not, it actually happened! For real. My friend Maygen is up for a CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award in the Sexiest Canadian Musician category.

So go to http://radio3.cbc.ca/ and vote for Maygen from the Bloodlines. I mean, why wouldn't you? She's my friend. And she's hot! You can vote once a day, so, what are you waiting for? Go! And don't forget to tell you friends. She could beat Rufus, people. Rufus!

Also, while you're at it, you might as well check out her band, the Bloodlines (http://www.myspace.com/thebloodlines). Rocking out to their music from time to time will make your life better, I guarantee it!**




*I have more than one sexy friend, just so you know.

** I cannot actually make that kind of guarantee.



As an aside, I can hear the peeps from upstairs trying to open the door. Suckers! Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks body slamming a door is an important deadbolt unlocking strategy.

Oh no! I failed to consider that they have access to a BACK DOOR from their apartment!

Crap!

I hear a serious lack for door fixing and a disturbing amount of their car driving away.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

locked in?

Let it be known that I tried to go to the gym this morning. I really, honestly did. My bag was packed, my jacket and shoes were on--I even had my iPod going (James Morrison, how did I ever live without you?). I was SO READY.

The problem? I couldn't get past the front door. Yes, that's right, I have no idea how to unlock the front door right now--the deadbolt is stuck in the "lock" position. And don't think I didn't try to fix it. I did everything I could. Not only did I try turning the knobby-thing back and forth about a million times, but I also tried to pry the bolt part with a butter knife. A butter knife, people! That's serious stuff!

Really, I blame Chaz for this. I mean, he was able to make it to work somehow. Does that seem a little suspicious to you? Yeah, me too.

The good news is that, since I don't have to be into work until 11, I took this as my apartment's way of saying that I should blog again. So here I am. Thanks deadbolt!