Catch Up - 11.06.14 in Your Face

While I am sitting in front of a computer, and not my stupid phone, here is an update.

I forget where we were up to, so pardon me if I repeat myself.

We are moved into our apartment, at last. I managed to not murder M while he dragged his heels and fussed around like a distracted old lady. It’s all done now, save for collecting some cheap shelves off the old housemate (whenever said housemate gets around to packing his shit - which needs to be soon, as he’s meant to be GONE by Saturday, he already extended his time there by a week because he didn’t pack a single thing). Needless to say, I have found the whole thing quite aggravating.

Work is going really well with Tracy. I really like to come here each day. I drink my chai lattes from the Keurig, it’s a balmy 73 degrees in the office, despite freezing temperatures outside. I work at my own pace, I have permission to browse news online (Tracy thinks it’s very important to keep on top of the news - so do I, but I think that’s something to do on your own time, not work time). I pretty much work whatever hours I like, which is a challenge for me, because we need money, but I can’t be dishonest. If there’s no work for me to do in here, I finish up and come back the next day, when Tracy will have left stuff in my in tray. I get paid by Tracy every Friday, and she gave me a $1/hr raise last week.

I am also working for another solicitor, Candice. I did a day and a half for her this week, but I won’t bill her for another week or two. Candice would prefer to pay me monthly, but also said that fortnightly would be okay. I guess I should do monthly, but we will see how much work I get from her. If it’s only one day a week, a monthly bill will work, if I do more than 10 or 15 hours a week for her, I will want to get paid every two weeks. I am nearly ready to work from home for her, which is ideal.

Today I picked up a third solicitor (John), also referred to me by Tracy. He runs a title firm (aka conveyancing) and I am going to work for him on Saturday, and then see how we go. Hours are hours, guys.

Hopefully I can work out regular hours with everyone. Tracy is very flexible. Candice is to an extent, but her office is in the middle of nowhere, so it’s a pain in the ass to get out there and back at suitable hours. Worst case, I can get a bus and walk a mile next to a busy highway (not at all ideal). John’s office is within walking distance from Tracy’s (which is literalky 3 doors away from where M works presently). John owns the complex that Tracy’s office is in, and he is looking to move into the complex with his business.

I just want to take all the hours that I can, because we are fretting about money. We have a small buffer in the bank account, and no rent to pay until 1 December, but there’s just so many little costs to move house. We needed curtains (we only bought enough for one window so far, three windows left to cover), trash cans, mop and bucket, shower curtain, coat hangers, light globes and about a million other things. It all adds up. Plus a $235 deposit to get an electricity account, which is bullshit. This town is full of freaking deadbeats who don’t pay their bills, so they wanted the deposit paid BEFORE they would even OPEN an account. WTF. Normally a company is busting to open an account for you, because they’re tying your name to a debt. Anyway. Just more expense. We waited and waited on getting the internet, but that has been activated this week, which is a relief, particularly as I need it for my work and soon for my study.

It’s just baby steps, eating our way through the stock pile of food that M has, and packing lunches and snacks for every day. As I mentioned, the comic books are our own guilty treat, and it’s even super, extra guilty when I tell you this: we go to the food bank every week. Thursday mornings, we drive through (it’s open 6am to 9am) and they hand us each a bag containing 2 potatoes, 1 bag of rice or dried beans (usually rice), a dozen eggs, two cans of vegetables (usually peas and corn) and bread (donated by a bakery, so it’s quite nice bread, just stale). You can make a donation, so we throw $5 in the tin each week, which would barely cover the cost of one of the bags. The other week we got a huge bag of tomatoes each and M made pasta sauce with them. This week we got a pumpkin, I guess they were display ones for Halloween or something. We’re thinking about making pumpkin soup and scones, and roasting the seeds. We toast slices of the bread for breakfast, and we put chunks of it in bowls and ladle soup over the top. Sometimes we make omelette sandwiches. M is very creative with cooking, and manages to make things interesting and flavorsome.

But yeah. Things are okay. We’re both working hard to make things work, to earn and save money and get ourselves in a decent position. We just don’t want disaster to strike, and with a beaten up, unreliable car, it’s always precarious. Or the dog might get sick or injured. Or I might get sick. Nothing is quite secure as yet, but it will be. And I am happy to work at it. I feel good about every check that I bring in, and M is starting to back out of panic mode and into regular stressed mode.

My health is okay, by the way. Last week I had a pulse reading under 100! Amazing! The last time I had seen that was in my visa medical, where the doctor checked it a half dozen times and ended up making me sit quietly and breathe deeply until we got a reading of 85, and she put THAT on my medical form. I guess the medication is starting to work. I still can’t breathe, and that really bothers me. I hate being a mouth breather. I am not sweating much, but the weather is cold. My weight loss has slowed significantly, but still happening, I think. I eat sensibly, thanks to M’s help, so I hope to slim down a little more.

My green card arrived last week, it’s pretty fancy. I still have to pinch myself that I am here, that we made it. I’m leading such a normal life right now, that the last 14 months seems like a nightmare. Like it lasted only minutes, which we all know is INCORRECT.

Well, that might be it for now. I will try to update regularly from now on, although my laptop has a virus and I have to use the netbook, which is majorly crappy. Still, at least I HAVE a back up, right? Silver lining and all that.