Kinda like in the old days

So!
Today was a pretty good day. Last night was our first official night in the new place! And I can't stress enough: Having a dishwasher is awesome. It almost makes moving worth it. Okay not really, but Marie said it would change my life and I believed her, but I didn't realize how right she was. I don't have to wash dishes anymore (for the most part)! It's great. Also last night, I did a load of laundry, which was fine but will be even BETTER now since the dryer got serviced today and should be in total working order again (an upstairs roommate said that it wasn't working properly so we got the landlord to fix it). The downside is that the laundry is shared between the whole house. I'm not sure, but I don't THINK that'll be a huge deal. Our bedroom is beside the laundry room, as opposed to the rest of the house which has to go outside to the door there to get in, so it's really easy to get to the machines, plus they are "industrial" machines which I guess makes them more efficient/faster? I don't know. These will all be things I will figure out over the next little while.

So yes, we've met the 3 people upstairs, but not the mom and her small child downstairs. However we haven't heard a thing from the downstairs at all. One day we thought maybe she was cooking fish sticks, but that was just a guess. The people upstairs all seem totally chill, which is good and bad at first impression. I won't say any more about that, because I'm trying not to be judgmental. Yet. :)

When we first got this place, Colin was worried about it. He had to be convinced that we should take it at all. I didn't understand why until the first day we had possession and we went to check the place out and decide on paint. Suddenly I couldn't see what was so amazing about it...the aesthetics were really great, but there were a few gaping holes in functionality that I hadn't even noticed before. For example, there are no screens on the windows. This means we will have to be really careful about which windows we open and stuff, because of the cats. (Who are arriving SATURDAY at 1:30pm!!!!!) Colin is convinced there is a solution ready-made, because there must be a lot of crazy cat ladies who live in super old houses like ours. I haven't looked into it yet. Fortunately, it's going to be winter here soon so no windows will have to be opened more than a sliver. Wow, I just used the words "fortunately" and "winter" in the same sentence. Anyhow I was concerned, but our boxes arrived on Monday and we unpacked the kitchen that night, then set up the bed last night, and things are starting to take shape. The bedroom is a far cry from our old loft-like bedroom, but instead of light and airy it's cavernous and comfy. This is actually what I've been used to pretty much since I moved out of my parents' house, as I spent years living in basements. It's sort of cool, actually, to get back to basement dwelling. To a point! I'm glad the rest of the house is above-ground. Especially the kitchen. It's a wonderful kitchen so far. So sunny and spacious and full of storage! And did I mention the dishwasher...?

Today was a bit on the slow side, but it turned out that that wasn't in a bad way. We rolled out of bed around 11am and Colin went out to grab food to make breakfast. I had a lukewarm shower (and then emailed the landlord to turn up the water heater) and straightened out the kitchen a bit more. Colin came back singing the praises of our neighbourhood stores and how great a place we live in, and then I realized that I couldn't eat without ketchup (Ian, I hope you're reading this!) so I went out in search of some. The shops in this neighbourhood are SO nice that it was actually hard to find ketchup. There is a market with lovely mostly-local produce that is both organic and non (and the organic isn't much more money at all), and a Greek supermarket with a whole aisle of sauces and oils, and then an actual grocery store (Safeway) within a few blocks. Finally I came home with some, and we dug the dining room table out from amongst the boxes and had some food.

Then, more unpacking. Boring! At one point I got sick of being at the house so I decided I'd go down the road to Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. I picked up Venessa and we headed there. I looked around for a bit and then I realized: I would never shop in these stores back home. Why the hell am I in them now?? There was nothing in them that I actually LIKED (aside from a doormat with an owl on it!). I'm glad I realized that before I spent $50 on a toothbrush holder. So we left, and on the corner of Cypress and Main, I found a forlorn-looking boy sitting on a bench. I pulled up beside him and beckoned for him to come inside, and, lo and behold, it was JOSH SMITH! He hopped in and we headed to the liquor store and then back to my place!!

Man, was it fun seeing Josh. (The best thing is that I'm going to see him again tomorrow and Friday!) It's funny because it's almost so soon that it doesn't feel weird at all...it's like he just dropped by and we've just been too busy to hang out for the past 3 weeks. I hope that it will be like this whenever I see friends (because I know you will ALL be visiting soon, RIGHT?). I don't see why it wouldn't be...why would it be awkward anyway? But I guess you never know...just one of the many things I worry about on a day-to-day basis. Anyhow, Josh, Venessa, Colin and I went to Kitsilano Sushi on the corner of our block (it's so cheap there!) and had some food and booze, and then chilled for a bit on our front porch.

Tomorrow, Josh and I are going to head to Vancouver Island! He's actually here for a work conference in Nanaimo, and has "hired" me to drive him there and back, courtesy of his company. The conference is really early on Friday, so rather than get up at 4am for the 6:30am ferry, we're heading there tomorrow, late afternoon, driving to Victoria, and then hanging out with/staying with the Ellsworth's for the night (my parents' bestest friends and my favouritest friends), and THEN heading to Nanaimo. It will be a whirlwind trip, but it'll be fun for sure. As I said before, it's still interesting for me to drive around and see places. Though that enjoyment is waning from day to day. But that's another blog post. :)

T minus 62 hours until cat pickup.