settling in

Okay, so I finally have internet access. Yay! I also have a TV, although I don't have rabbit ears for it yet, so I haven't bothered to plug it in. Not quite sure where to put it in my tiny place. I've kind of enjoyed spending my time in more meaningful ways over the past seven weeks, but it is nice to have some form of mindless entertainment, especially with winter coming.

I really feel that I need a vacation. I realized today that I've had all of seven vacation days in the last two years. No wonder I'm getting a bit cranky. I can't wait for Christmas. I'm taking the three days after Christmas and Boxing Day off, so I'll get the whole week. B.C. here I come! I just hope I get to relax a bit and don't have to spend the whole time running around to the homes of various relatives. I love them and all, but I really need to just chill out for a few days.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is well.

kisses,

Laura

moving

September is finally here and now it seems like there's not enough time to do everything that must be done before the move. I still haven't arranged for any of the utilities to be transfered over. I have no boxes at all. The only progress I've made came after watching several Clean Sweep–type shows today. I went through my clothes, books and toiletries deciding what to toss, keep, and give away. So now I have big piles of books and clothes to sell/give away, but I have no clear idea where to take them. I have stacks of beautiful brand new books that have barely been glanced through. One of the perks of working in publishing is more free books than you know what to do with. And when most of your friends work in publishing too its that much worse. I wish it didn't cost so much to mail things. I'd send all of these lovely books across the country. I guess the next best thing will be to find a decent used book store.

I also need to decide what colours I want my new apartment painted. I've pretty much settled on a soft green for the bedroom, but I can't decide whether the living room should be a very light buttery yellow or a creamy beige. Not too different from each other, I guess, but any opinions are welcome. I also have to decide what to do about the incredibly tiny kitchen and the bathroom. Do I just leave them white or paint them in slightly darker or lighter shades of the colours in the living room and bedroom?

Too many things to think about. Is it any wonder it's taking me hours to fall asleep each night? Well, that may also be a result of the emotional fallout of moving backwards in my romantic relationship. Things have been going fairly well there for the last couple of weeks, which is good but bad because it makes me realize how much I'm going to miss him and then I get all sad and weepy. I am looking forward to a more stable emotional life once this is over and I've got my own space again and can get back on track. Fingers crossed that I won't just get all depressed and lonely.

Okay, bedtime now.

endings

This week has been all about endings. Today was my last day as a proofreader. It seemed like there should have been more fanfare or something. My boss made cupcakes at least, and everyone signed a card. I guess if I'd been leaving the company there would have been more ado. It was a reasonably pleasant day, though, and certainly my work life is better than my home life right now.

There are endings there, too, it seems. I can only say "it seems" because there's not much communciation happening to help define things. I guess it was too much to expect that we could carry on as a couple once we'd decided not to live together anymore. It sucks that we have to continue like this for another month and a half. It looks like he may be planning to go camping next week, though, which would be a nice break for me.

I'm ready to start fresh with my new job and new apartment, but I'm stuck here in this relationship limbo. I'm hoping that starting my new job on Monday will distract me from my home situation for a while. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to learn things.

Thanks to those who responded to my last post. I felt inspired to post again in a more timely fashion. Thanks for taking an interest in my crazy little life.

New Beginnings… Are there any old ones?

In response to Jenn's suggestion that I'm overdue to post something here, I'll get on it. Seems a bit silly, though, since I think she's my only reader. Let me know if you're not Jenn and you're reading this post. Maybe then I'll update more often. Of course, maybe if I updated more often more people would visit my blog. Hmm… Food for thought.

So a lot has happened this month. Some good, some bad, some undecided. The good news is that I got the job I wanted. I had applied for an Editorial Assistant position with the same company I'm at now. I'd previously applied for an almost identical position but hadn't gotten it despite being short listed etc. There were a lot of editorial tests and interviews involved and I almost gave up on the second job part way through the test, but I decided to stick with it and I'm obviously glad I did. Woo hoo for new jobs!! It's a bit of a promotion, as it will mean a bit more pay and a higher target bonus. The pay's still not great, but it's publishing so the pay's rarely great. Most importantly, this is the job that sets me on the right path to becoming an editor some day down the road.

In not-so-good news, my boyfriend and I have decided that we'd prefer to live separately. Our living together just isn't working out and it's time to give up the ghost. So now I have to look for a new apartment—I can't afford the rent here on my own and I'm tired of the whole roommate thing. I'm looking forward to having my own space again, but I'm worried about trying to find something new. I have a very specific idea of what I'm looking for and what area I want to live in, so I hope I can find something that fits the bill. I'm obsessively checking all the places where rentals are advertised. I need to try to relax a bit and not panic. We had to give two months notice, so I've got plenty of time to find something. Imagine having to live with someone for two months after you've decided you no longer want to live together. Fun times. It's actually been all right so far.

Well that's a rather long post, I think. If you're still with me, thanks for reading and remember to let me know you were here.

Happy Friday!

wah

Well, I didn't get the job I was trying for. I really, really wanted an editorial assistant job that came up recently. I tried so hard and worked so hard on the tests I had to do for it and I made it to the short list and was apparently really close to getting it. But I didn't get it :( And it kinda sucks because I spent about five hours of my vacation working on the last test. It was supposed to take 20 minutes, but of course I couldn't stop until it was as perfect as I could make it. Maybe I overdid it?

I'm trying to be optimistic because there's another openning for the same kind of job that I've applied for, as well. But I really wanted the one I didn't get. Oh well. At least I already have a job I like. So can't really complain, right? Still, boo hoo!

laundry soap

is a useful item to add when washing one's clothes. We had so much laundry this weekend that we decided to hit the Laundromat (can you believe that's a trademarked word that you're supposed to capitalize?) rather than do one load at a time in the apartment laundry room. So I did four loads of laundry (and still had a closetful of clothes). I realized later that day that I hadn't added a drop of detergent to any of the machines. I have a lot of slightly cleaner clothes. I may be somewhat smelly this week. I hope my boyfriend and coworkers will be understanding.

all good

Well I found out today that I'm going to be made a full-time employee at my job. Don't get me wrong, I was working full-time before, but now I'll have benefits and holidays and stuff. No more contract! My first stop will be the dentist. One of my crowns fell off over a month ago and I've been living with half a tooth missing since then because I was being cheap. I think my next stop will be the chiropractor— It's been a while. After that I'll stock up on meds and maybe find a massage therapist. Ooo…I almost forgot the optometrist. There's a fuzzy brown spot I'd like to look into. Well, actually, I'd like to stop looking into it. And maybe I can get some glasses that are better for reading from the screne. I already know where I'm going to go for my vacation, too. Croatia and Turkey! Can you tell I've had a long time to think about these things?

long overdue post

OK, so I'm becoming more and more slack about posting. I think it's partly because I have no homework to procrastinate over anymore. When there's a due date looming it's always important to spend as much time as possible blogging etc. Also, I found that I was writing a lot about my love life and not everyone really felt comfortable reading about that stuff, so I tried to cut it out a bit. Well, I'm gonna fill anyone out there in on what's been going on in my life lately, and there will be lovelife progress mentioned, so stop reading now if you don't want to know.

I'm still working as a proofreader and I'm pretty happy with it. I wish my job were closer to home (1 hr. commute each way), but I really like my boss and coworkers and I work for a great company. They just extended my contract another three months and if all's well after that they'll make me a regular employee, which means I'll get benefits and vacation time and such. I'm already planning my vacation.

My roommate told me at the beginning of January that she's moving out. I wasn't too thrilled about that because I really like our place and I didn't want to move, but couldn't keep it alone. After much pondering, I decided to ask my boyfriend if he wanted to move in. Yes, that's right, I said boyfriend. He's someone who was a friend for sometime. We used to play basketball together. He's really sweet and thoughtful and funny and supertall (6'9"). He said yes, so that's kind of scary but exciting. We went to Ikea to check out some furniture yesterday. All of the furnishings outside of my bedroom belong to my roommate, and my boyfriend's sofa and dining set are not in the best condition, so we'll be needing some new stuff. Hopefully everything will work out there and I won't be writing a sob story here in a couple months' time.

Winter in Toronto has been surprisingly mild this year. I'm loving it. Still feels like winter to me. The Torontonians seem a little dazed, though. We have had some cold weather and a few snowy days. I experienced the kind of snowflakes that look like those ones we used to make as kids. They were so intricate and beautiful. I didn't think snowflakes ever actually looked like that. I felt like I was a child again I was so in awe of the beautiful snowflakes.

Well, that's a rather large post and now I have to get going. We're going to see Brokeback Mountain tonight. Bye for now :)

Laura