Slow and steady.

There have been many phases of our move to America. It's such an undertaking that we've done it all in steps; to take on the whole thing at once would just have been too overwhelming and I'm not sure we'd ever have made it here.

Here we are, and it's lovely. What we need to do now though is job hunt like crazy for Rick to find a job. We searched together for my job, and there was a ridiculous combination of luck and good fortune in it all coming together, but it didn't hurt that I toiled forever over my cover letters and sent off fifty applications to employers I had found in the yellow pages online and then gotten up at six in the morning to call before work to determine who the letters should be addressed to, prior to emailing. Once I had found employment we were in such a state of "whew," that we gave ourselves a break from the job hunting for Rick until we got settled here.

Now that we're here we've started the second job hunt. Many of our dreams have already come true, and we are incredibly fortunate that this time of single income earnings is a lot less stressful than the first go round in 2006. But we still have life goals and financial goals, and Rick has his own career goals so a job we must find. I've got a good feeling about the remainder of 2009 and 2010. Everything we want is out there. But we must take action to get it.

Don't tell me how rocky the sea is. Just bring in the ship.

The job hunt calls.

60 degree weather in November.

Wow. Decided it would be a crime to go to the gym with weather like today. Instead I ran outside through a park that we live across the street from and I somehow didn't notice until today.

You'd think I'd be just full of energy after all running four and half miles but somehow I just felt famished and lazy, so grazed on food, finished watching the Proposal, read a bit of my Run Right Now book and napped on the couch.

Later we attended a final cookout of the season, then came home and I surfed Itunes forever looking for something to buy. I came up with nothing except way too much time invested in clicking around the store.

Now I'm hitting the hay early, to read a bit more of my running book. Hope all had a great weekend, and as rest filled as my Sunday.

It's official: I have bigger legs than any rockstar who ever lived.

We went to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame today and wow, did it exceed my expectations. The only other hall of fame I've been to is the Hockey Hall of Fame in T dot, and while it's lovely there is only so much old hockey gear you can look at before it's time to carry on (although the net filled with Gretz' 802 pucks is pretty cool). Do you know where you were when 802 was scored? Side note: the youtube vid I linked to just happens to be one uploaded by a dude at the HHOF on one of their interactive stations. Neato.

The rock hall plays music throughout and I totally busted myself and others movin' and groovin' on more than one occasion. I would recommend the hall to anyone who comes to Cleveland; it is that good. We spent four hours there. Over and over I kept saying how any one of my siblings plus my parents would like it. Hint, hint.

From a design perspective here are three ways the RHOF gets it right:

• appropriate mix of theatre style movie presentations and wandering around artifact viewing time. Do bring a bottled water for yourself. I got quite parched.
• the layout is neat with lots of nooks and crannies and ramps and circular rooms and yet you still manage to get lead into every area, never feeling like you've missed an entire exhibit
• there is a plaque on the wall thanking the construction staff for building it: according to plan, on time, and under budget. Impressive.

In terms of content, the Rock hall is blessed because it's not just displaying music artifacts, it's essentially full of artifacts from the last fifty years, so it's really a trip down nostalgia lane (of varying lengths) for everyone who visits.

We watched two videos in movie rooms back to back. The first one was neat and about music pre rock and roll, the second one was down right cool and about rock n roll like say from the latish sixties forward I think. Had to stand in line to wait for Mystery Train (the first video) to start but the design of this place is so smart - there is a movie about Mo Town (and showing performances to get you swaying) that a person can watch while standing in line. Everything has captions so over the din you can still enjoy the video.

There were two really cool cars there - a Lincoln Continental of Elvis', and a 1960 Chevy Corvette convertible belonging to Springsteen. Again, it was just neat to see the old cars - who they belonged to was almost a meh, sort of thing.

What wasn't meh though? Ok, I'll admit it... it was awesome to be see MJ's Thriller jacket. I could reach out and touch it. I wanted to. And I really wanted to touch the Billie Jean pants too. I am a tactile person and I couldn't tell if they were more polyester or more cotton and it was driving me nuts. But I didn't need a repeat of that time in 2003 when I subconsciously reached out and touched a Warhol installation at the National Gallery of Canada and instantly was chastised by security.

Musicians are truly artists in all senses of the word. The costumes were unbelievable. No one can really see the intricacies of one's outfit in a sold out arena, and yet the amount skulls and pot leaves and weird baubles on Mick Jagger's Voodoo Lounge outfit were staggering. I wouldn't think they'd care what they wore, and yet they do. He wore all black Nike kicks for that tour, which I just thought was kind of funny, like a subtle nod to the fact that he was by then almost fifty and running around the stage performing required a little support by that point.

I would be interested to see the Janet Jackson outfit that malfunctioned. It could be an interactive station whereby men can pretend they are JT and rip her shirt open or some such nonsense.

There were lots of letters written by musicians to other musicians. One of my favorite walls in the whole place was a Rolling Stone Magazine wall that showed correspondence between the publisher of the mag and various magazine employees and musicians, and bizarrely Charles Manson too. The best letter exchange though was one that Annie Liebowicz had written to the publisher of the magazine, Jann (forget his last name). He had obviously asked her for a fee proposal for her covers, and she went a little diva in her proposal, concluding with "I AM the head photographer." He responded appropriately, putting her in her place, and concluding "I AM the boss."

At this point my expectations had long since been met and exceeded. So it blew my mind when we rounded a corner at 4:05 and saw a 3D U2 concert was showing on that floor starting at 4pm. My only experience with 3D to this point had those cardboard glasses with one red lens, one blue lens for some Simpsons comic back in the day. The U2 concert was awesome in itself, but the 3D effects really are cool. That technology has gone and gotten legit in the 21st century. At one point Bono was so up in my face I could have ripped his green lensed glasses right off his face. He was reaching out his hand at another point, right when some people walked in front of us to leave, and it looked for a second like these people were walking through Bono. I let out an audible "whoa," because it was a little trippy, and almost served like some sort of "experience LSD like a rock star" exhibit at the same time.

After this, all that remained was two floors of the Bruce exhibit. It was just ok for me, but really it rocked, and it's just that I don't know much Bruce, and for God's sake I had just left a live U2 concert with an unintended weird hallucination affect. How could Bruce compete?

While going through I kept thinking I needed to download this or that or this song, but alas I had no paper to write the songs down. I think the peeps at Itunes need to get onboard here somehow. I'm not sure how but there is, if not money to made, at least a chance to market there, and set up some sort of interactive station. In my mind I am imagining a scheme that involves pencil and paper while walking around to write down the songs one wants to download but that obvs is just wrong. Like, you should get a device when you go in that you plug your info into somehow and then as you go around and get inspired you should be able to add songs to your wishlist (and preview songs that are talked about in the Hll) and then email the list to yourself at the end, prior to handing in the device and then somehow turn it into a discounted itunes purchase. Itunes changed the way music is bought, so should have some sort of presence there I think. The very last thing you see leaving the building is a music store selling cds and it was just a bit off, because I had the urge to buy music but not in that format, so I passed.

But it still gets an A+.

Gonna have to add a couple line items to the budget. Heh. One of them should be "restraint"

I was brushing my teeth this morning and staring in the mirror and suddenly was overwhelmed with this long list of things I wanted to buy right this weekend. It turns out I actually am materialistic I just never had the chance to be so in the past what with the lack of retail in Dodge.

In no particular order, I want! I want! :

• Sarah McLachlan Christmas cd
• work blouses
• dress jacket (leather)
• washer and dryer
• Lush facial soap. My forehead has gone rogue.
• the book I talked about yesterday

That's all for now. My Friday night is waiting. And yes I sort of want to be minimalist but I think these are reasonable things. They just seem to have come in a cluster.

Weekend task.

Possibly buying the book: The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence.

I'm not entirely sure if it applies to my plight because maybe I am too far gone or need a different book or something. Here is my deal. I've recently started a new job that is quite different culturally from my old job. One thing new is that I am working with lots of young men. I am blown away at all of their confidence. The way the women of equal rank (including moi) as these young men carry themselves simply does not compare to the way the men conduct themselves. When I am acting like my true self (authentically if you will), I act confidently. I think this is true of most people. Certain situations derail me though, and I default to acting in a way that shows deference where it's not owed. The web definition of deference is slam dunk what I do: "submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes or judgment of another." Damn it! I hate this. Maybe it's not a girl thing and it's actually a me thing that I am misplacing.

Regardless, I want to act like the boys. Not because they are so much better and successful at their jobs as a result of being authentic (though I suspect it helps achieve those things) but because I believe I am happiest when I am being my authentic self.

The boys aren't cocky or arrogant or pushy seeming. They just are authentic. They seem to be acting like their real selves. Whereas I act like the girls. Some things that I do that I just don't know why:

• Backing down when I know I am right
• Acting all, teehee, **blush**, teehee about stuff that I don't really feel that way about. Basically I am acting how I think us girls are programmed to act. Grrr!
• Am too shy to ask people about themselves, which is nuts because people LOVE talking about themselves. So when I am out with people I feel like I am doing all the talking because I am afraid to ask questions of the tell me about YOU type.

When I am acting authentically I don't act like the above. So what is the glitch? I have GOT to figure it out. Hrm, I just had an instant brain wave. It occurs to me that men talk differently to women. Not in an offensive way, just perhaps a subtle change of tone, that says 'sweetie' instead of 'fellow colleague'. And while I personally don't mind being all teehee, **blush**, teehee with the guy who fixes my car, I don't need to be taking that dumb bimbo persona to work.

Maggie was talking about gifts that people have yesterday and of course we all have gifts and I have gifts and I think that when I am not acting authentically at work I am ignoring MY gifts. Dang it. Must change.

Some perceptions about America that I will admit really baffle me.

Updated to add: Geez, I just received a rant for this post from my husband. His concluding statement was "You know Ohio would never pass gay marriage right? Us rednecks can barely pass casinos. That shit would fail 95 to 5 with a 5% margin of error." I refer him to the last paragraph of this very long post.

Note that I said perceptions, not realities. **nervously chews fingernails awaiting excommunication, and deportation**

America seems socially conservative compared to Canada and Europe. Why is this? Does anyone know? I realize that the original Canadians were loyalists who left the American colonies during the revolutionary war, but still, that was over two hundred years ago now so you'd think things would have homogenized a bit again. By socially conservative I mean degree of tolerance of people who are living alternative lifestyles like being gypsies, gays, hippies etcetera. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the conservative, traditional way of life. That's the life I live myself.

Anyway, even if the majority are socially conservative, since this is a country that really seems to be about little interference from government (relative to Canada and Western Europe) then why does the gay issue and casinos seem to be forever showing up on the ballots? It seems logical that people oppose these issues if they are socially conservative, yes, but shouldn't they also defer to the overriding American sentiment that says government shouldn't be deciding things for people?

Why is keeping government out of people's lives only a valid argument when discussing banking and lending regulations, and gun ownership, and healthcare? Why, when the left says, hey government doesn't get to say who I get to marry, does that argument no longer hold water?

I consider myself socially liberal even though in my own life I am very traditional and conservative. I am all for gay marriage and adoption. When I think about how I feel my own relationship progressed after marriage, I feel sad that my friends can't experience the same. I can't remember my views in high school, but I remember a classmate wrote an essay on why gay people shouldn't be allowed to adopt and presented it to the class and it didn't strike anyone as controversial. This would have been 1999. Today I vehemently disagree and hope I would verbally oppose the view. Surprise, surprise my view changed when I went to college and actually met some gay people. Two in particular, to think that they should ever be denied the gift (I'm told) of parenthood and marriage is just heartbreaking. Because I became familiar with gay people as opposed to just knowing about homosexuality abstractly I was able to see how we were pretty much the same and acknowledge they too deserve what I have. Still my view was not fully developed because I was all, oh they are just like me! Therefore they deserve the same rights as me! It's not because we're the same that everyone deserves the same rights, but realizing we're the same is a step in getting there.

For the longest time, I thought that woman who became a man, except for her womb and then had a baby was just a freakshow and that people like that didn't deserve (or something) kids because that is just weird. While I still think it's bizarre, unusual and totally not something I can relate to, I had a convo with a sibling this summer who put things in perspective for me. He boiled it down to, "does it really affect your life?" And the answer is no. And since it doesn't affect my life I shouldn't really be getting riled up about it. And since I accepted that even though I perceive that individual to be highly unusual, since their life is their business and doesn't affect me then I really shouldn't care. Of course they deserve the same rights as me too.

It's hard for me to understand at this point why gay marriage is still struggling to pass, even though I perceive it to be unamerican that it's even up for vote in the first place. I understand people opposing it for religious beliefs. On a religious level you can oppose it (I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, just that religious teaching tend to be fairly clear on the subject), but I don't see how on a civics level you can oppose it. Either a person should be able to recognize that the American thing is little government interference in people's lives and vote to pass it, or recognize that other people's home lives don't affect their own and be able to pass it out of compassion for other people, or recognize that we're all the same and pass it out of compassion or default to that bit about unalienable rights and all men being created equal and whatnot in the D.O.I. and pass it that way. I'm not joking when I say that I'm not sure on what grounds people oppose gay marriage at this point.

I think one of the arguments against gay marriage is that it's bad for marriage (disagree) but again, my perception is that the American way is a bit more "we are all responsible for ourselves" than the rest of the world, ergo how does someone else's marriage affect the state of anyone elses in this country? If paying for the service of healthcare is each individual family's job and not the job of the country, then how is maintenance of a couple's marriage the responsibility of the whole country (demonstrated by gay people not marrying) rather than just the responsibility of the couple at hand?

The last point I'll make about my perception is this. Some people vote based on their religious beliefs which is fine, but I can't help but think gays are being held to a higher standard. For example what if the issue was "should people who have had premarital sex (or use birth control in the case of Catholics) be allowed to marry?" I suspect all of a sudden religious people would be all, aww shucks, everybody breaks that rule! Of course they can marry! and the bill would pass. If the only religious people who were allowed to oppose a bill were the ones who didn't break the rules for their own heterosexual relationships, the number of people opposing passing gay marriage on a ballot on account of religious beliefs would drastically decrease. Why are straight people allowed to break the rules of religion and still get civil marriages (whatever they are called - the ones done by the government I mean) but gay people don't get to break rules? In the eyes of God is one sin greater than the other?

Cheers to the day when gay marriage is legal everywhere. It's gonna happen, it's only a question of when. To quote my smart ass sibling again "blah blah blah something about demographics, fighting a losing battle blah blah blah morph into hockey story blah."

School districts.

When dreaming about houses, the quality of the school districts in the various communities always comes up.

I am of the mind that paying a premium for a house or for Catholic school (or what have you) just to get a supposed top notch education is a bit senseless. Paying a premium for a house because you like the house or for Catholic school because you are all about Catholicism makes sense.

I am not saying I want to send my kids to the worst district in the world (because God knows the difference between worst and best is a lot), just that to me an average, non standoutish school is just fine. If anything I care more about the sports programs and opportunities the school can provide, because those are not things I can provide myself.

I just know too many people who supposedly went to crap schools and turned out to be functioning adult citizens. Two of the most senseless people I knew from university? Went to hoity toity rich schools. One of them, upon finding out where Rick grew up, yelled out across a classroom "have fun in the ghetto!" one weekend when I was going home to Rick's place for the weekend. I mean really, that is just complete stupidity. Of course hoity toity #1 ranked districts can produce a fine product too, it's just that primarily I think a lot a child's scholastic success comes down to parenting and dumb luck, not the school district.

Baja gasolina.

Memo to self: everything is not two minutes away anymore. Back home a ten minute drive meant you must live in the country, therefore most errands for the day were accumulated and done in one trip to town, minimizing overall kms. Because we lived in town, we didn't accumulate our errands and just went out driving willy nilly whenever we felt like it.

Here, everything is at our fingertips, sort of, if our fingertips were five miles long and extending in ninetyseven different directions. In a weird way it's like living in the country again because it is a drive to get to all the places we want to get to. This is fine, although we should consider bundling our errands a bit more efficiently I suppose.

More concerning is the fact that we time ourselves everywhere we drive now. And we can't stop doing so, despite noticing how weird it is.

Two things.

A while back I got all excited to do a 5 mile race, scheduled for er, um, today. The first couple weeks of training went swimmingly, then a vacation, a move, and an unpacking/getting settled session (ok a lack of prioritizing) sort of got in the way of training and I didn't partake in the race. Boo me. However, I did do a five mile run today at the gym we joined yesterday so I feel as though I only partially failed to hold myself accountable. I ran in fifty eight minutes, which, ehh, I am a ok with for having had exercised three times in the past three weeks (including today). Yay me!

I hear there is some sort of national blog posting month that starts today wherein one tries to blog daily for thirty days. I'm going to attempt it and will write about my first month living in a new place, as I experience it. Granted, I've been here a week and one day already but those don't really count since there was no normalcy and we were just getting set up. Yesterday was the first day that felt remotely normal. Topic posts start tomorrow. How fun.

Unpacking.

Huge error in allocation of mental angst. I put too much into the border crossing shenanigans (which went swimmingly, even though Rick got put in one of the rooms where people can see in the window but he couldn't see out, interrogation style, then was asked all the hard questions like, how do you spell "Lindsay?" What is her last name?) and totally forgot to bemoan/mentally prepare for the unpacking of our new apartment.

It seems to be a monster of a job. I kept saying that I don't remember unpacking being such a gonger before but then again none of those moves included 2700 mile cross country, new job extravaganzas. Also, back then all our worldly possessions fit in a couple pickup truck loads.

The process is nearing completion. Our apartment needs all the pictures hung and electronics sorted out, and needs some sort of office storage system set up and then it's done, which is just lovely. In all the setting up I've come up with some new personal home administration policies:

• Buy cheap bedding (and bathroom and kitchen linens). We've had really nice sheet sets in the past and they just haven't lasted. They've shrunk or been stained by various flesh wounds (I don't understand it either), or been torn in transit as they were used to wrap furniture (s-m-r-t, I know, I know). We don't find expensive stuff any more comfy than cheap stuff either.
• Don't buy a full set. We don't use flat sheets, and have finally realized we never will. Yesterday we bought a new fitted sheet for $10.50 and two pillow cases for $6, whereas the whole sheet set was about $29. I like the cash savings, but I love the less crap in my closet savings.
• Only buy what we'll use now. Our dining room table has six chairs but we really only need four. We asked for six from the people who bought it for us because of the future anticipated need. We have stored the two extra chairs in a closet for years and still managed to put some serious wear and tear on them, as we jammed more crap in storage. Now we finally use all six, as we now have a place that accommodates it, but I don't think I'll buy anything with the intent to just store it for an extended period, again.
• Buy fairly cheap living room furniture too. We did this out of necessity (but a lot of cheap stuff looks just as nice IMO), but now I'm thinking even if we could afford expensive stuff I wouldn't really go for it because we don't even have kids and yet we have put some serious wear and tear on our furniture. Even if we were perfect and never ate in the living room and spilled and whatnot, moving is extremely hard on furniture so it gets hammered up pretty good that way, which points to buying cheap. When our couch came out of the moving truck with a rip in it (in a place you can't see) and grease stains (gah?) in places you can see, I was all, "ehhh, what we don't do, the futuristic kids will finish off." I don't think I could be so blase if it was expensive stuff. Also, thank you woolite for removing the grease stains, but leaving weird rings in their place.

Those are all my policies I came up with. Now I'm trying to figure out a good storage system for electronics and all their wires because I hate looking at it all. Things like the white cords that come with apple products, my garmin, camera, chargers and all that junk. I also need somewhere to store office supplies, and somewhere to store all our paperwork for the varying things in life that require paperwork. I don't have a spare room to store any of this stuff so I want it enclosed, but tidy, not taking up a ton of space, and yet accessible. I have no room for a desk. Tomorrow maybe we'll find some time to go find a contraption that can deal with these things in an organized manner. My other goal is to get our junk in storage down to Christmas decorations plus sporting gear plus whatever my husband would like to store of his.

There you have it. This is what I've been up to. Thinking long and hard about home stuff policies. The ever powerful cable and internet guy comes and hooks up our place tomorrow so I bet that means I'm back.

Eh 101

Incorrect usage*, though receives A+ regardless, on account of sentiment. Somewhere on this sign or around it, it stated
"We love Canadians!" I think you're swell too, Grand Forks.

* "Hug a Canadian today, eh." with a touch of upspeak is how this should have went down.

Temporary hiatus due to: TOO MUCH TO DO!

All is well, we're in America and I am learning what it is like to have no credit history in a country! No big deal as I have a husband who does, but oy, signing affadavits just to get electrical service? No thanks. Just switched "setting up utilities" to husband to do list, and netted myself five minutes on the internet.

Then later, la banque to beg for a credit card. :)

Be back soon.

Bullet points.

Sakes alive, I've been gone so long. One of my family members seems to have recently gone off the grid so I best be updating this thing for her benefit (off the grid people still have sporadic internet access in my mind).

What we've been up to:

• trip to Vancouver with the parents and the nerds of Seattle. Enjoyed the 300 foot high Capilano Suspension Bridge. Sadly, my dad dropped his lens cover for his camera over the bridge. Happily, shortly after telling us this and getting the desired chorus of "oh no's" he informed us it happened in 1978 so he's recovered from the loss. This sort of tomfoolery never ceases to make me snicker.
• attended the Vancouver and Dallas hockey game. It was a three three afair with a shootout, and I voted it a 9 out of 10 (no fights). The guy behind us sounded like Jonah Hill and cracked jokes the whole time which was great. Can't believe the number of people who go to sporting events and concerts and just scroll through the internet on the phone for the duration of the entertainment.
• went on a honeymoon to Las Vegas for a few days sans anybody but Rick and I. We went out for a fancy schmancy dinner at The Steakhouse at Circus Circus and saw two comedy shows. We also saw a fiftyish year old man with a wedding ring totally grinding with these slutty girls at the piano bar and I was totally disgusted on everyone's behalf. Rick was too, but he says he used to see that a lot at the country club he worked at. Then a couple who were actually married to each other and were celebrating an anniversary went and danced dirtily in front of everyone to some lewd song in front of a bar full of drunk strangers, so the appropriate wholesome fun factor was heartily restored. Only in Vegas does dirty dancing make you go "awww," and smile like you are witnessing the wedding itself.
• two of the three Vegas days were not good for the pool. The third day was great though and we went and burnt ourselves, but had a great time.
• our next vacation is not happening for the longest time ever (I'm hoping Fall 2010) but we really want to go to New York City. Siblings, this is your invite.
• finally, I think I have swine flu. Ok, so it's just a bad cold. Luckily, my preferred drink of the moment is vodka, cranberry and orange juice so I'm killing two birds with one stone.

That is all.

Always late to the party.

Somehow or another I only discovered zenhabits.net and mnmlist.com two days ago. As someone who is less zen like than desired, and a moderate minimalist (minimalist compared to most people, not minimalist compared to actual minimalists) I have to say, I like and am now drinking the water (have subscribed in my google reader).

I hadn't mentioned the site to my husband as it's not really his thing. This is why I just about fell off my chair a minute ago when he phoned home and announced he wants to pack less for this trip we are going on. He just wanted to see if he could do it, this getting by on less thing.

He asked if I was standing (weird, weird question). I said no. He asked if I would mind standing(I have no history of being so slothful that I refuse to do something if I'm not standing at point of request, so again, weird.) and go over to the large suitcase. He then proceeded to identify one shirt, and asked me to remove it. Then we were done. In his defense, he had now, "packed less."

I am now inspired to also pack less. If only I weren't already sitting down.

Nitty Gritty

I just checked a calendar and by my count I have fewer than 10 sleeps left here in BC (and yet we don't move for a couple weeks - figure that out!). It's bittersweet. We've made the right the decision and I am anticipating what comes next, but I really hate goodbye.

We're saying goodbye to glaring opportunity and security here but with a bit of time and continually picking ourselves up when necessary, we can create opportunities for ourselves and build security anywhere we go. I'm not too put out about it, as annoying as it is to start over.

We're saying goodbye to seeing my parents on a couple times a week basis. That goodbye will be so much more difficult. It's part of the reason I caved four years ago and decided to stay here. I'm under no allusion my parents are perfect, or that their sun rises and sets on me being here, or that I am the only person who will ever move away from home. Despite the ordinary circumstances, I still find it very difficult.

What I try to tell myself is that we're very lucky, my husband and I, that we have two healthy sets of parents who are not monsters-in-law, and who are actually enjoyable, rewarding people to live near. You know, the "it's a good problem to have" cliche, often used by a coach with two good goalies. Results of applying said approach are dubious.

So where does it leave me?

I guess I have to celebrate the good of it all. I ended up here, quickly realized I was unhappy and that sucked. I'm sure I'll forget that soon enough, and the rose colored glasses will do their thing. What I won't forget is what I already know has been great about living here: what it has meant to me to see my parents really get to know my husband (and vice versa).

Rick calls my parents our best friends in town, and is forever harassing me to phone "L and M," as he refers to them, to see what's going on. He sides with them when I'm acting unreasonable and in a team effort they chide me back into my place. He chats with them about their woodpile, helps my dad with the trailer, and gives my mom tips on how to get the best service at the bank.

I was helping my mom with something today and it was getting late and she hurried me out of the house to get home to my husband as she wanted him to have some time with his wife before another work day was upon him. The other day she referred to him as "such a great guy" in a tone that had the pride she usually reserves for talking about two of her other favorite guys - my brothers. I pretended to be modest and said, "I know," and rolled my eyes, but it made my day, my four years - that my mom is able to see a glimpse of what I see in him.

I don't know why it means so much to me for the three of them to recognize how awesome the other is. Maybe so I'll feel less guilty about abandoning the old plan in the first place, proving to Rick I had good reason for wanting to stay here? Maybe so that my parents will understand that I'm moving far away for a guy who is deserving of such a gesture? None of this was important to me when Rick moved here. Whatever the reason, it's been an unexpected source of happiness, and I'm grateful for it.

We're going on a little holiday to Vancouver this weekend, the four of us, Marley Davidson (dog), and the Seattle contingent of our family. It should be a good time. No more time (at present) for moping about goodbyes.

Same town. Different proximity to large centre.

One way in which civic pride is built in my little town is to talk about how horrible it would be to live in any of the other small towns in nearby driving distance (your basic Springfield and Shelbyville type rivalry). Key talking points include critiquing the taste or smell of the tap water, mocking the quality of the hockey arena and zamboni (or lack thereof in cases where a tractor with an attachment is used in lieu of a zamboni), and lamenting the extent to which the influx of transient workers for the oil industry had created a drug and crime problem for our neighboring cities.

This past weekend I visited a friend from college who now lives in one of the towns we always describe with disgust. In addition to perceiving the town to be a dirty little hole with all the negatives described above, I've regarded it with additional scorn for the dirty mill that greets visitors on the way in, and the access road running parallel to the highway filled with gas stations with unkempt restrooms that bid visitors goodbye as they pass through.

I was looking forward to confirming just how terrible the town in question was almost as much as I was anticipating seeing my friend.

It is with not a little bit of embarassment that I report that after twenty hours I confirmed the town my friend now lives in is identical to the town I live in now. Except that instead of being six hours from civilization, it's just two. Shit. I always knew D C wasn't the coolest, but I figured it was at least one of the best in its class.

Turns out a night out in my friend's town plays out like this:

• Dinner at the casino
• Post dinner coffees at Tim Hortons
• Admission that there is nothing else to do in town so might as well go home for the night

A night out in my town? Same, same and same.

In the morning my friend took me for a drive and pointed out where people she knew lived, where the drug houses were, showed me the two hockey rinks, pool and curling rink all contained in one block, and told me about the rash of quad thefts that plagued the area.

I had the feeling I had seen it all before.

The tour complete, she asked if there was anything I needed to do:

"Do you have a bookstore?"

"No."

"Yeah...us neither."

At least we don't have a dirty mill that greets visitors to our city. Upon further thought, I remembered we actually have two.

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, September 30, 2005

It just occurred to me it was exactly four years ago today that I attended the best baseball game of my life.

I was in Cleveland for just one night, picking up my boxes of stuff that had been living in Rick's parents' basement. Since we were on the outs, supposedly forever it seemed appropriate I make a trip down and get the stuff. The plan was to stay at his place on Friday, then head over to Erie to attend a ceremony for the graduating seniors of '05, then fly home Sunday and out of each others' lives.

We needed something to do Friday night and the Indians were making a playoff run so we went to the game. After buying tickets from scalpers - paid $20 for $4 face value seats waaaaaaay up there, we wandered around the bars by the stadium. Rick was wearing his blue college football pullover with a white M on it. Some guy got all up in his face and was all "Michigan sucks!" Confused for second, Rick said nothing, then snarked back, "This isn't a Michigan jacket!" It was the other side's turn for confused thinking. At once, both of them realized they were friends, not foes, exchanged a pair of "Go Bucks!" and then carried on their merry way.

We found our seats waaaaaay up there once we got to the stadium. I have been spoiled in my seats at MLB games in the past, so this was a new experience for me. People. Were. Hammered. They were also smoking, the language was out of control and everyone was loving it, including me (though I wasn't hammered, smoking or excessively cussing). The game would go into extra innings so people started sobering up and looking pitiful. Someone puked all over a railing when they tried to make a quick exit. Our entire section, whenever someone was running down the aisle with their hand on the rail, would start cheering in anticipation of someone sliding a hand through vomit. People always noticed at the last second, yanked their hand away and registered a look of disgust. Our section of schadenfreudists would say, "oooooooohhhhhhhhh," and then wait for the next potential victim.

Innings prior to this it started sprinkling and getting cold. I put on Rick's Browns' hoody even though I was swimming in it to keep warm. This was a playoff race game, one with meaning and a roaring crowd. There wasn't much chance for talking, just for observing and thinking, and enjoying being together. As the game wore on I tried not to think about the impending goodbye. I wasn't eagerly waiting to get out of the awkward situation; I was savouring every minute, realizing that in the cheap seats, with a bunch of drunks, cold and wet watching a game devoid of any offense whatsoever, but with Rick is somewhere I always want to be.

The Indians lost in typical fashion - heartbreakingly, and dejected we left the stadium. If I recall correctly, their chances at making the playoffs were pretty well dashed and they no longer controlled their own destiny. Maybe this is why instead of the usual AM radio sportstalk, Rick tuned to a country station as we drove home in the gloomy rain.

Or maybe baseball was just the furthest thing from his mind. Either way, Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me by Keith Urban came on the radio. I listened to the words I knew so well, one line in particular, "and I got the one I love beside me," and started hoping, if not knowing, that the next day wouldn't really be the end. And of course, it wasn't.

Now, I'm not sure I believe in fate. I do know that one seemingly innocuous choice can derail a person's life plans in ways that seem devastating to the individual. I've been known to fixate on this sometimes.

Finally I realize the opposite is true too. The meaningless decisions can be catalysts for the best things in life too. How lucky I am that I opted to store a couple tupperware containers of clothes I probably never wore anyway in a basement in Ohio one summer.

Pictures of completely unrelated baseball outing.

Why movies are bad.

We were discussing our potential route to Cleveland earlier tonight and I think we just need to declare a moratorium on that discussion. The route we drive will depend on what the lawyer recommends, and wouldn't you know, we're not his only clients so we don't yet know some of the logistics. He'll break it down to us this week. In the meantime, the lack of knowing every little detail is freaking killing us. Patience? What is this you speak of?

What we do instead is come up with our own scenarios and routes. Inevitably one of us comes up with some reason why a particular route won't work. We were talking about driving through Montana and then heading east. The problem with Montana? Well, I didn't know this but Rick is afraid of it. At the very least he wants a baseball bat in the cab of the truck. He thinks that's where all the psychotic killers of America live and put forth the Unabomber as an example. I was all dude, Montana is harmless! Besides, where was Dahmer from? After some prodding Rick admitted Dahmer spent his formative years in a suburb about ten minutes from where we're moving. I rest my case.

Not to mention the first time I drove through Cleveland along the I90 heading to Detroit with some teammates for Thanksgiving, a fellow car on the freeway unrolled their window, flipped us off and then threw a beer bottle at my friend's Ford Festiva for no reason that we know of. And the fact that in the '08 election whenever CNN interviewed someone who was clearly nuts, they were frequently from some backwoods Ohio town. Just sayin', Ohio seems to have issues too.

I know what he means though about driving and ending up in spooky situations. I had to google where No Country fro Old men was set and filmed, since we don't need any of that either on our trip. Breakdown was also not set in Montana. I'm sorry but when you are out of your element it can get scary out there and the best thing ever is a freeway with wall to wall traffic everywhere and endless sun and giant "CHEESE" signs sticking out of the treetops to make you smile and forget your worries.

I remember one time when I was a teen we were driving home in a snow storm in the Rocky Mountains right near a little town that houses a minimum security Federal penitentiary. We were coming up a hill in a white out and there was a truck pulled over with a horse trailer. For some reason the driver was standing in the middle of the road waving at us to stop. And for an even crazier reason, MY DAD STOPPED AND ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOW! I was freaking the hell out, this was like straight out of the Shining the way a person couldn't see anything except snow coming down in the blackness that made it look sort of like you were in outer space...or in the Shining, like I said.

Lucky for us we didn't get murdered nor did the stranger ask for a ride. If my parents let him in, I think I would have got out, stolen a horse and rode to "safety." No all we had to do was stop at a hotel in the scary little town a ways away and make a phone call or something for the dude as it was about 5 BC (Before Cellphones).

This other time we were driving to town for hockey in the dead of winter. I had conveniently watched Urban Legend a couple weeks before with my friends. I had my learner's license so I was driving and my mom was in the truck too. It was of course minus a million out or something. So, we're following this truck on a country road and all of a sudden his tail lights go out. Right away my mom is like, flash your lights. Me: HELL MF'ing NO. My mom: flash your lights. Me: Yes mother, but I think we are going to die as a result. *Flash, flash*. Then, of course, because this is exactly how these things go down, all of a sudden the guy pulls his vehicle over and stops to wait for us. So. Scary. Then my mom commands me to stop. I quickly informed her we were about to meet our maker as a result, and the whole premise of Urban Legend comes tumbling out of my mouth. She ignored me, and opens the door for the murderer. Well! Buddy says his electrical system failed (likely story) and can he get a ride to Tim Hortons to use a pay phone? I'm hissing, "Moooooom!" while she's all, "hop in!" scoots over and lets him in. She then proceeded to tell him I thought he was going to murder us and he...gave a nervous laugh, and probably wanted to get out and freeze to death instead of being in the truck with us. Anyway, we narrowly escaped again.

So. I guess Rick being afraid of Montana is justified. Either way no more talking about our route, ever. Also, maybe we won't drive at night afterall. Also, I need to run and make sure our apartment door is locked, no one is hiding in the storage closet or in the bathroom behind the shower curtain. I have sufficiently scared myself. Gahhhhhh!

Good news, sportsfans.

It's been decided that yours truly is signing up for a 5 mile run November 1st! I found a run in CTown that looks scenic, is cheap and is pretty non threatening seeming. Although there was snow in the pictures from last year's run. I do not recall snow prior to Thanksgiving when I lived in Erie. Have I misremembered life living on the coast of Lake Erie?

Anyway, for the first five months of the year my fitness motivation was looking good for summer weddings. I made my goal for the first wedding in May and maintained throughout the summer to this point I'm at now. So how are things now?

Well, on the up side I have figured out how to eat crap and exercise lightly and maintain a weight wherein I have been able to buy jeans I love. Yay! This was not the case back in January. If I had to sum up the dietary key to this "success," for me it's eating breakky daily, eating McDonalds never, and stopping with the nighttime snacking. The exercise key to my success was hardcore to April and then much more laid back starting in May to now: I definitely get out a few times a week and sweat but not push myself to the brink ever.

That we have both maintained our losses makes me happy. We aren't trying hard right now and we're maintaining, which makes me think somewhere along the line we must have just changed our habits. We're no longer fighting old habits, and instead are grooving along with the new ones that are better but not spectacular.

The downside of our current situation is that we are very complacent in our newfound ease of maintaining, and we're not to our goals yet. Well, actually I am at my original goal but it wasn't that lofty - it was to just get down to my start of freshman year of college weight, and I'm a couple pounds below that, so I have a new goal. Anyway, I was reading Linda's summer sum up, and decided to riff off her whole idea of actually working toward something rather than just working out because it just needs to be done.

Hence the five mile run signup. In the awesomeness that is the internet I've found and printed a five day a week workout that will get me prepped for the race. My goal is 45 minutes. Might be a little lofty as it's not strictly a road race so some of the terrain may require a slower pace sometimes, but we'll see. In the past when I trained for something with a goal in mind, weight loss just happened - like every summer when I trained for hockey, and the time I trained for a half marathon before senior year. For me, accountability and distraction work.

Also upping the ante in my motivation is of course the new Biggest Loser season that just started. Love, love, love this show. Now that I think about it, I think our complacency started around the time the last season ended.

It seems people are writing about the health kicking again in the blogosphere and that's a motivator too. I haven't participated in an organized race since '05 and the other day Liz was talking about one she did in the spring, and I was all yes, I too would like to do those shenanigans again.

That's where things stand today. I am jumping off the maintaining bandwagon and on to the shed some lbs bandwagon. Oh the excitement! Foodwise, I am trying this very crazy thing I've heard of called counting calories. Mainly because there is a cool Ipod Touch app that makes it a little fun. We'll see how long it lasts.

7 Quick Takes

1.  One of my big pet peeves is people raining on other people's parades.  Why, oh why do people insist on bringing people down about the things they are pumped about?  Today, my dentist who just moved here said some negative things about Cleveland when he heard I was moving there.  The general gist of it is - why would you want to move there, and "it doesn't have a lot going on" was a direct quote.  Grrr.  Normally I would say nothing.  Today? I ripped on our current town right back to him.  Have fun this winter, Doctor.  I heard he's spent a bunch of time (as in YEARS) in South America.  The man is not going to make it through January.  

2.  In my previous post I said I was all about the mental preparation.  Rick pitched an idea for a little getaway to me the other day and at first I was all, absolutely not!  Then I said I would think about it, then I had to spreadsheet it and crunch numbers and think some more.  After 48 hrs I had come to agree with the points he was making and now am on board.  However, this was a financial decision that wasn't huge and yet there was major drama for your mama in the 'discussing' phase.  It reminded of me of our marriage prep couple who were like, "money and kids.  These are the things you will fight about."

3.  Anyway, because of all the drama in number 2, I said to Rick, "hey you remember how during marriage prep Father T told us we should have a business meeting like every six months regarding the state of our marriage?" and Rick was all, "yeah, when do you want to do that?" Ahem.  Yeah, we've never done this.  Which isn't to say we've got terrible communication and no plan, just that things are constantly evolving and soon the decision making won't be over such immaterial amounts of money/time/commitments so maybe we better try one of these here partnership meetings the man was telling us about.  So now we are in the figuring out what such a meeting would consist of.  Segue to thing the 4th. Dun dun dunnnnnh ---->

4.  What would such a meeting consist of?  I'm thinking budget stuff, perhaps talking about an emergency fund (the security we have up north here is something I perceive to be conceding with the move, so whether it's true or not it's an issue for me) and defining what it would be for.  At present our savings is just a lump and I think we have slightly differing ideas about what it's allocated to and that is recipe for Strife, if I've ever known one.  I'm also thinking maybe each saying like one, maybe two things the other does that drive each other batsh*t crazy?  Like little things that grate that we would never bother to be like dude, you are driving me nuts! about, but at the same time they are so little that the other person could easily stop doing it.  And I was kind of thinking about writing out some sort of a plan and actually attaching years (ballpark) to certain goals/things we want to do.  Forever we've had a defined goal of the big move, and then after that it gets very, very hazy.  I picture us getting to Cleveland, high fiving and then looking at each other, and saying, "now what?"  Need to counteract this.  Am I missing anything important for the agenda?  What do people do for marriage maintenance.  Google has nothing.  As far as I can tell Blogland people solve all their issues and make life plans while driving together on vacays and moves and stuff.   Is there anything else?

5.  We roll with a non password protected network and no virus protection for our two computers.  Lesson learned.  Our internet is shoddy and slow.  Opening new tabs never works.  I can only listen to like half a song in youtube before it just stops and usually I have to have it open and have my mouse over the image to make it play.  Today after work we were sans internet for like half an hour doing the only thing we know how to do: curse and unplug the router over  and over again.  The worst is when one computer has internet and the other doesn't and then it becomes this moral issue of whether or not to sacrifice the existing connection for the hope of internet for all.  It's terrible!  This is number one on the list of things we are going to figure out in CTown.  We currently live in an old folks home and figured no one here uses internet so what could wrong? Answer: Everything.  We are putting you on notice, old folks.  The free internet stops next month!  Download your porn and knitting patterns now!

6.  My favorite bands from college were/are most definitely Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney.  Speaking of, I was messing about on Youtube the other day and found a song recorded  by both of them together.  Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?  It's like, all the rage on Itunes country section and everything.

7.  I have to go put together the dessert for Rick's peeps now.  It's called Death By Chocolate, but I like to call it, Nobody's Pants Will Fit Tomorrow.

Conversion Diary is the place for more 7 quick takes, ummkay?

Oh. My. God.

Rick was getting ready for bed and all a sudden I heard him say, "Hey honey..." in a tone I knew I would regret.

"Yes?"

"I have goody day tomorrow."

I'm off to the store to get the fixin's for the Death By Chocolate that he promised his coworkers. Like I always tell him, he's lucky I love him. There are few people I tolerate this nonsense from.

I am all about the mental preparation you know.
***

In other news, is it just me or was that the season opener of House the best season opener ever in the history of season openers? Meanwhile, I hear Grey's is just doing more "dead people who are still actually alive, or something" scenes. Boring!

This is what I get for telling Monday to bring it.

Um, apparently I'm not going back to work today. They paid me to go away instead. Not a firing, just a "you gave us your notice and we no longer need you-ing." Hrm. Weird, but ok. I'm choosing to believe I'm not a horrible employee, and that this just falls under the realm of that stupid saying, "It's not personal, it's business." Cue Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, eyes brimming with tears, saying, "Well it's personal to me,".... oh no wait we're not going down that path. It's not personal, it's business. Right. Onward!

So now I need to get some structure into my life so that I don't go crazy for four weeks. Here is what I've come up with thus far:

• Drop in hockey Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:45 to 1
• Run or go for walks on Tuesday and Thursday
• Cook dinner daily Learn to cook
• Cook dinner frequently
• Make myself "CEO of this household" badge
• Find out if CEO gets month end bonus

Ahem. In all seriousness, I do hope to get some hockey in and start cooking. I guess I'll spearhead the move, but it's pretty well organized. I've been doing some of the necessary deep cleaning ahead of time. Yesterday I washed walls, washed out the fridge and freezer and cleaned my ceiling corners for example. I still have to kick ass and take names in the bathroom, but other than that there's not much to be done. I guess I will just have to go to the Blathering afterall. Hahahah. Jay slash kay, I looked at the plane ticket prices and it was $2,442 return (Really Air Canada? Really?) soooo not so much. Even if it was like negative five dollars, I don't think I could, in good faith, attend this potentially life changing blogging conference given the summer I've had.

So I will make to do lists everyday (last week I put 'blog post' on my to do list so don't get too impressed) and take it from there. I may or may not volunteer to move wood at my parents house (that may be the shock of current predicament talking). Losing weight seems to be my main focus as far as I can tell from the ideas springing forth so far. Oh and I have to go update my 30 before 30 life list. Crossing off "staycation" because seriously, CEO of a one bedroom apartment of DINKS is not a real job.

Hrm.

You know what sucks? Sitting down at the computer to blog and then just typing, deleting, typing, deleting. I could have got so. much. done. but alas, here I am typing, deleting.

It wouldn't be such a downer except that in the past I really think blogging was a learning experience for me, and it helped me sort out what I wanted and didn't want, and gave me courage to do things I wouldn't otherwise do. When I look back at last year and consider that I coached a hockey team, helped promote a successful event and chopped off my hair (oddly, it was a very big deal) I really do think a lot of it was attributable to regular writing. As long as I'm typing, deleting, typing, deleting, I am getting nowhere with the self revelation, yo. And that is just unacceptable.

I remain committed to telling the stories of "this is what we did, this is what we're doing," as Dutchblitz calls them. The purpose of these is to keep in touch with the fam, perhaps give myself something to giggle about if I'm ever bored and reading my archives.

I am recommitting to writing self reflective posts, for the benefit of me. It's a difficult thing to do because I've learned I don't like to write about the sad things in life that have happened, or the risks I've taken that expose me to more potential pain. As a result, I can feel muted here, which means I don't sort things out at all which is not the desired state of being for me. I end up staring at blank "compose" screens for periods that cumulatively add up to more hours than I'd like to admit. And while I stare at the screen, I go nuts in my head. It is AWESOME, I tell you. Nonetheless, at some point I'm pretty sure I was writing stuff that was both benefitting me, and meeting my bloggery criteria. Somewhere along the line I stopped.

I could write a private journal that isn't public but for me that leads to ranting with no filter, and zero resolution. I've done it a couple times in a google document, but it's not in anyway productive for me, so they just get deleted. Thank heavens for that.

This leads back to the option of writing here, and raises the question of whether meaningful self reflection can occur for me in a place where I am limited in what I'll discuss. Answer: yes. It just requires perhaps a bit more thought to frame issues in a way acceptable to me, and it requires a bit of confidence, a bit of...putting oneself out there, so to speak. It's doable though. Dually noted.

Somewhat related, Blogger should totally have a function where after typing a blog post, an option exists to add the post to a pool of unpublished, private posts. I'm just saying, not everyone is content to let stuff accumulate in drafts, Google. A lil less google 'knol', a lil more Google 'public post that ended up not being fit for the internet but still worthy of more than draft status', ummkay?

Now where was I? Ahh, yes, through with self reflection for one evening and about to share an anecdote that shows it's probably not much of a tragedy that Rick and I are years away from having kids:

Today the remote was on one couch. Rick was sitting on the couch near the desktop computer. I was sitting at the desktop computer, really well wrapped up in a blanket. I had had just about enough of the fantasy sports stuff for one lifetime weekend so when he asked me to get him the remote (he knew he was being ridiculous), I told him where to go (in a nice way). He looked around for a way to make me do it. I was expecting him to turn off the monitor of the computer and was ready to swat his hand away. Damned if he didn't just rip the USB cord out of the back of the monitor so my screen went blank. I couldn't reach him or the cord, and of course started laughing, because it was pretty clever. I got him the stupid remote, messing up my perfect blanket wrapping up in job. After he plugged the monitor back in I told him Cleveland would never win, ever, so he should just stop cheering for them. Then I mocked the catcher that he picked up for one of his fantasy teams for the duration of a baseball game.

All in all, a successful, marriage strengthening day. Bring it, Monday.

To be the wife of a fantasy sports player

R: "I don't know if my pitching can hold up for one more day."

L: "What? This nonsense goes in to tomorrow?"

R: "Yeah. And fantasy football tomorrow. Oh my God! Sorry babe. This weekend is shot for you."

Well. Isn't THAT lovely.

If you can't beat em join 'em. Fingers crossed for: Joey D's Threepeat, Vick's Puppy Love, and Do What You Want. Yes, it's three teams, of course a guy needs at least two fantasy baseball teams dontchaknow???

Last day off.

I haven't worked since July 3rd what with all the vacation and studying for my test. Now that that's all behind me today is a relax and do nothing day and then Monday is back to work for a final four weeks.

I guess I'll tell my coworkers I'm moving. Rick is all over me to do this, I think because he just thinks it's weird that I haven't really told anyone (other than my family and boss and some non D C people and of course the internet). He's told his work people and when they see me they are apologetic and, oh poor you for being a good wife and moving away from here. And I don't know how to respond because other than the fact that I will be far, far away from my parents (saaaaaaaaaad) I am totally stoked to get out of Dodge. I just find it very isolating, and very fish bowlish. I realize not everyone who lives here feels that way and so for them this place is lovely, and I think that's great. But for me, the only way to overcome these two things is to leave all the time and that is just financially debilitating and tiresome, not to mention impossible when we have kids.

So how I respond to people is I say that I'm excited to finally move somewhere where I'll be settled and we can start our lives, for reals, you know?

I think it's tactful (I know I hate it when people diss something I love right in front of me - yes I am overly sensitive), but Rick says it makes him feel like he's tearing me away from here against my will. Gahhh. He would like a more rah, rah! attitude when I discuss our departure. Ehh, too bad for him.

Oh and I just don't how to say these things to people. Totally caught my mom and my boss off guard when I told them, and the shock on their faces was evident. And when I say, "I have some news..." everyone expecting a pregnancy announcement so I feel like I'm letting people down when I say I'm out of here.

Other than the above, I'm pretty pumped to go back to work. My job makes me a bit crazy but it also makes time fricking fly, and distracts me from the various other things I'm stressing about. Not to mention it will be nice to collect a paycheque again, if only for four weeks before another lapse in pay for a bit.

Must be Fall.

Because I've watched a truckload of football, eaten an excessive amount of pizza and was drinking beer at about 11:30 this morning.

The start of the football season has been status quo thus far: heartbreaking loss for Ohio State last night, followed by expected loss by Cleveland this morning. The problem with Cleveland is that they will keep you interested, keep the game close and then fall apart and lose in the end anyway. Now me, I'm just a fair weather fan so the losses don't irk me too much. Rick on the other hand...

Anyway it's a nice way to spend a lazy weekend, albeit a bit of a hindrance on the ol' diet.

The other thing with Fall is that it's the start of the new tv season.

Every year I think I'm going to stay with the storyline of a show for the whole year but then two weeks in I miss an episode and the storylines are so complex that I don't ever get back into it. Case in point - miss an episode of Grey's Anatomy and all of a sudden Callie is no longer married to George and instead is a lesbian. With House, I fell asleep for an episode during our marathon - next thing I know, Cuddy has a baby. What????

Anyway, here goes nothing. This year I am going to try to watch: House, The Good Wife (we'll see if it's good) and maybe the Big Bang Theory. I've never seen Big Bang Theory but it was described to me as a show with no continuity and only 30 min episodes. That's something I can get behind.

7 quick takes on an actual Friday.

What I did today:

1- finished studying for the UFE
2- bought hotdogs for lunch at a charity bbq at Rick's work
3- officially got off my spinach and strawberry salad kick. Too. Much. Goat Cheese.
4- got chocolate dipped kid sized ice cream cones at DQ
5- listened to just about all the singing cards at Wal Mart with Rick
6- continued the House marathon with Rick. Casually considered that surely these dvd's are overdue by now
7- Thanked God for this amazing life I lead, and remembered that freedom isn't free.

Keepin' on.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
- Henry David Thoreau

Last year when I was promoting a local hockey game between two elite Canadian and American hockey teams I ended up with some National team players as Facebook friends (yes the kind you never talk to but don't really cause problems so mehh). One of the girls was a candidate to make the US Olympian team.

Every now and again her status updates pop up in my feed on Facebook and I am totally inspired. A few weeks ago she had the quote above, knowing team USA would be announced in a week or so. She ended up making the team and has actually started a blog about it, which I hope turns out cool; I've always wanted to find such a blog.

I'm rooting for her. She's one of the best in the world but still, that she puts herself out there like that on Facebook instead of some "I'm just happy to be here" self preservation line is truly inspiring.

We're slowly but surely moving confidently in the direction of our dreams over here, too. No Olympics or anything, but still.

We've got it whittled down to one last hurdle. It's officially out of our hands.

Fingers crossed. Prayers to any power that hears them.

I got nothing. Housecleaning is as exciting as this gets.

Well I don't know what it is but my energy levels are up people. Of course I'm wondering why because I am loving it but there are a million variables at hand here so I'm just taking advantage while the going is good.

I have zero to say so am instead just making lists, revelling in what I've accomplished and looking to the next thing to do.

Done since last Thursday:

1. Updated the excel docs to the end of July. Cried over what we spend on travel.
2. Did in depth cleaning of hall, storage and coat closets (Swistle inspired)
3. Rented but did not watch 2 discs of Mad Men Season 2 (due Saturday, alas I leave tomorrow)
4. Got a dress hemmed
5. Obtained record of employment for 2005 summer job to prove I did leave USA as required post school.
6. Successfully washed two other dresses that were supposedly hand wash only (and therefore had never been washed) in the washing machine.
7. I think that is it. I'm sure there is more but whateva.

To do:

1. Inquire about pd courses thing that came in the mail - done.
2. Buy book tabs for my studying - done.
3. Pack for this weekend's wedding - done.
4. Bridesmaid my tail off this weekend - done
5. Have a phone conference with our lawyer re Operation Americana
6. Clean out under the kitchen sink
7. Clean out the junk drawer in the kitchen
8. Purge the kitchenware we don't use
9. Clean out the filing cabinet
10. Deal with pile of Rick's shirts that have been on my dresser for about three months
11. Print off pictures from: Seattle trip, C and J's wedding, Vegas, Scotland and slap into a photo album (totally doable - I just need to prioritize spending whatever it is that that costs and do it)

Ok I think I can about 5 of these by Sunday evening. And...go.

Oh but first one thing. You know how bloggers looooove the EMPHASIZING WITH CAPS? The other day I put two words in a practice exam that I submitted for grading in caps without thinking. The marker put a note in red typing (NOT NECESSARY)....I laughed. In bloggerland we strengthen our arguments with caps. Who knew in the real world you need like, case facts and critical thinking to make a point? Ok caps, we can loosen our stronghold on each other....but ellipses....you are here to stay....

Hurray it's Friday 7 Quick Takes Day! Yeah! (Jazz hands)

1. Survey says neither 3 days (my estimate) nor 3 weeks (Rick's estimate) is appropriate "get prepped for new life" time. Thanks for the input internet. 1 to 2 weeks sounds reasonable.

2. Rick sassed me for saying we need coathangers via an anon comment with a happy face. Of course he doesn't think we need coathangers; he just steals them from me as he sees fit and more and more of my clothes get relegated to non hanging status. I could get a bunch of coathangers very cheaply of course but it just seems like the sort of annoying thing a person lives with FOREVER before doing something about it and I am just tacking it on to the "when we move" checklist.

3. We're starting a bit of a purge around here. One of my concerns is that I'm agressive with purging my stuff while my partner in crime not only won't purge anything of substance but he snatches up the new space with more of his stuff. I got all excited because he was proposing a closet purge and I asked what he was willing to get rid of of his. Old shoes that don't have shoelaces. Oh that is BS. I finally vetoed the purge because I have greater expectations than that. I mean, he knows that LAST MONTH we went through his stupid shoes and purged them. Will try negotiating terms again on the weekend.

4. Last weekend I took an Ikea shelf, a fan that Rick bought and broke the legs off of in the same day, some books and something else I can't remember to a 2nd hand store to see if they wanted it (in the end I got a bad vibe there and took it to a thrift shop). I had never been there before but was shocked to see they were selling old 70's and 80's ish furniture for extremely high prices. Like the owner had no concept of this mass production, low cost of everything IKEA world that we now live in. As I left I was a) wondering how they sell anything to make rent and b) swearing to never buy a book or dvd again (they had WALLS of VHS)).

5. I think I have an unusual hatred of STUFF. Rick always wants to inspect my bags and sighs and says "what are you throwing out NOW?" in a panicked voice. I probably do need to chill out.

6. My current favorite food: spinach and strawberry salad with slivered almonds and goat cheese and some sort of berry vinaigrette on top. MMMMM.

7. "DVR's have uh, really uh, put VCR's out of business eh?" Random comment Rick just made. Yeah, we are REAL deep over here. Just don't tell the 2nd hand store lady Rick, She has no idea.

More quick takes at conversiondiary.com yo!

Poll of polls!

Let's say you were moving* a 1 bedroom apartment from point A to B. By the time you get to point B you will have a four day drive under your belt. How much time would you allot for the following once you get to point B before starting new job*:

-finding and leasing apartment
-unpacking
-getting cable, internet, new coathangers, groceries etcetera
-getting a 2nd car
-resolving marital strife sure to be endured over choosing 2nd car
-updating work wardrobe
-visiting relatives
-decompressing before new phase of life starts

*indicates respective verb and noun are hypothetical

This is exactly the sort of thing I would allocate 3 days to, thus triggering a state of frazzled that culminates in renting in a meth factory, not bundling my int/cable/phone, buying a yooj SUV, dry clean only work clothes, crappy hangers and overpriced organic food. Soooo to prevent all that how much time do you think we need to allot?

It's a mystery. With added conundrum!

Great conundrum of my life at the moment: Where are my immi docs from back when I was a foreign student? I was told to guard them with my life and I did until I was, you know, not a student anymore and stopped paying attention in 2006. Now? No idea. They are in a dump, at my parents house or somewhere in the apartment. I just looked at the 'rents place and no luck. Am itching to look in apartment but something tells me such a project should NOT be started at 10:39 pm.

Fear not, it can be solved by making an application and handing over some C.H.C (cold hard cash, yo!) but I am remaining optimistic I shall find them.

LESSON: If you think you may or may not have left some potentially important docs in your childhood room that will be undergoing a renovation go and get your crap! Go now!

I really hope I can write about a new lesson tomorrow along the lines of looking in your apartment before your parents' place. Yes, I am optimistic and hoping the docs are in my closet, tucked away with crafts and old souvenirs that were once part of some cockamamie "scrapbooking" plan that has yet to come to fruition.

In other news: Feck, who cares about immigration, that nonsense will sort out. Here's real trouble: I have a bridesmaid dress to fit into next week and it's made from unforgiving material and I am hot off a four week bender of wine and baked goods. AND at the end of one of my wine benders I messed up my foot and it turns out it still hurts and exercise is not really an option. So my dress fits but as someone who likes to worry as a pastime, I am nervous and stressed out just *in case* (chugs water to minimize ANY possible bloating) the unthinkable happens. I tell you this bridesmaiding is HARD. Giving bridesmaid speech? I totally handled that. Trying to fit into and look decent in dresses that are not the one and only cut, fabric and usual brand that are known successes for me? More terrorizing than anything. And please God, do not make me still have a limp as I walk down the aisle. Am off to do some home medical treatments and swearing off unhealthy foods and exercise for the next week point five in hopes of meeting all objectives described above: that is dress fitting and ability to walk like a lady.

Wish me luck!