Sunday, January 24, 2010

Memory Lane

So yesterday I went to Vancouver for a trip down memory lane. It's true what they say, you can't go home again. Not that I ever really considered Vancouver my home but it sure has changed in the 6 years I've been gone, or at least it didn't feel the same. I went to my old neighbourhood, walked by the old house, went to my old college, and daydreamed about the things that could have been. That's when I realized how thankful I am for the way things are now.
I estimate that I walked about 15km yesterday, on very little sleep. I couldn't fall asleep on Friday night because I was so excited so I didn't fall asleep until after one and I got up at 5:30 to catch the 7:00am ferry. I proved to myself that a trip to Vancouver can be done in a day but I was so tired on the boat on the way home that I fell asleep in a chair and am pretty sure I was snoring because when I woke up people were giving me that knowing smile. I can only hope that a: I didn't talk in my sleep and that b: those people were kind enough not to record it with their cell phones.
Meeting up with Allanda was definitely the highlight of the day. I can't believe how long it had been. We were going to have lunch at Gyoza King but when we got there they had closed so we went for Korean food instead, pretty good stuff. We did a lot of catching up and reminiscing but the time went too fast and before I knew it I was back on the train. I ended up catching an express bus to the ferry, after taking a detour through the RiverRock Casino in search of a bathroom. Man, that place is swanky. Ferry food was, well, ferry food and then I was off to sleep. Happy to be home.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Adrift and overwhelmed

Oh so many things... Life for us right now is, um, disorganized? Or maybe not organized at all? We are like a ship adrift at sea with no set direction, not going anywhere fast, we'll just arrive at any port that will have us it seems. I'm sure we couldn't decide what to do right now even if we did discuss it seriously, which we don't. I am still supporting us, working full-time, Paul is waiting to hear back about some prospective jobs. This is the turning point, if we can decide which way to turn that is. There are 5 bedroom houses for sale in Port Alberni for less than a 1 bedroom condo sells for in our current neighbourhood. If only there were work up there for both of us, it'd be great to be close to family, especially if we decide to start our own family.
In other news, I found my birth certificate and our marriage certificate, after having re-ordered copies of both. This means that now I can apply for my passport. Ideally, I want to take a short trip to the UK this summer, possibly Ireland and Scotland too. It is completely dependent on whether or not Paul is working and whether or not we have paid off some important debts first. It has been a long unfulfilled dream of mine to travel to Europe but I know I wouldn't be able to enjoy it without a clear conscience so the debts must be paid first. Hopefully our tax refund will take a big chunk out of that.
Saw Avatar on Sunday afternoon with Paul. We used one of our passes so it was only $6.00 to upgrade for the 3-D. It was epic.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Update from the year 2010

Well, here I am in the year 2010. Resolutions this year are few and necessary, to get more exercise, to eat better, and to be more financially stable. We are borrowing a Wii console from our friends and I have been "working out" about 30 minutes every day or two using the Wii Fit game. It is a lot of fun and I love competing to be on the scoreboard but it is real work, I am actually breaking a sweat every time I use the darn thing. This is good.
Another new development, my husband is 25 today. I know that age is relatively meaningless but 25 seems like a big number. He has finished school and the job hunt officially begins tomorrow. I think it makes me feel older to see him turn 25 and finish school and start his career. Career is such an adult word.
I am in love with a condo. I know it is terrible, and materialistic but I can't help it. I haven't even been to look at it, we are not ready to buy a home yet but still, it is increasingly difficult not to email the realtor to at least get some details. (It has been on the market for several months, and I kinda wonder why, doesn't bode well for resale potential at any rate...) It is very bright, has 2 bedrooms, is painted in colours I like, and is about half a kilometer away from my job. How perfect can it be? It has a really cute little kitchen and is under $200,000. UG, and there is where reality kicks in. Is that not a huge sum of money? Is anything worth that? I mean, to have a place of our own with our own kitchen and laundry and everything would be great but...that is one fifth of a million dollars is it not? Oh well, I really have to stop thinking about it because even though we have co-signers lined up for a mortgage we have no down payment. I think I should just try to forget about it until after we have our finances in order and if it's still on the market then maybe we'll look.
On Friday I used my slow cooker for the first time to make pot roast. Unfortunately we bought the wrong type of roast for slow cooking so it was incredibly dry. We attempted to revive it by cutting it up to make stew but it was no good. So today, armed with fresh meat, I made a big beef stew for hubband's birthday dinner. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. Tuesday I'll make a proper pot roast with the right cut of meat this time.
What a random post. I'm going to bed to read "The Shack". Hopefully it won't keep me turning pages until 3:ooam like last night...