Settling In

I returned to Toronto on Friday where I immediately poured far too many gins and tonic down my throat. I had forgotten the Toronto breakfast problem only to have it return with a vengeance on Saturday morning (read: afternoon).

With a severe case of the stupids, I ventured out to Home Depot to begin what will no doubt be a lengthy apartment organizing process.

Even though I do not yet have a job, I have decided that I can no longer live in this uprooted, out-of-a-suitcase life anymore. I need to have a place to call home even if it is temporary, even if it doesn't yet feel like home. And with that the settling in begins.

I do not have a phone and therefore made reconnecting through the Internet a priority in my apartment organization. It was therefore essential to paint "the office" first. I am living in a two bedroom apartment which will give me a bedroom and office/storage space (very luxurious). The main problem with the office space is that it had a most hideous mural painted on it's walls which required priming. That's easy enough. It also hadn't had neither the ceiling nor the brick wall painted in years, and so I had to also paint them. So I had a few more steps, no big deal. The most annoying feature is the carpet which makes painting much more difficult. I like being able to spill onto a washable surface. Dealing with dropcloths (read: giant thin sheets of plastic along the lines of the plastic that covers drycleaning articles for the long trip home) did very little to ease frustration.

So there's my complaining done. The job actually wasn't all that bad. I've got lots of time so I really oughtn't complain at all. The room is done and I've set my computer up again. I missed the old girl. After using so many public computers, it feels much the same as being on vacation and sleeping in a lot of strange beds and then finally getting to sleep in your own bed again.

With regards to the Internet, I believe that I made a rather clever move. My sister (who lives with her husband on the main floor above me) has a wireless Internet connection. Rather than spending $25 a month (or whatever it costs) I bought a wireless adapter for $40 and will contribute to their bill. I'm hoping that it will save a few hundred dollars a year.

I'm heading to get a parking permit today, and you never know how easy that will be and then it'll be me a paintbrush and lots of plastic dropcloths that never seem to stay where you want them for the rest of the afternoon. I'm going to paint the bedroom so that I can finally put my clothes in a drawer and start to feel like a regular person again. Yes, I believe that having a dresser with a specific spot for my t-shirts, sweaters, socks and underwear will be a good starting point for my gaining a sense of home and becoming a regular person again.