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January 30 Apt PicsI have just a few pics of the new apt - sans curtains and with very bare walls. Other than the discovery of cockroaches (experminators coming Thurs), I am slowly settling in. I got MEGA speakers for my CD player and radio tuner and am thoroughly enjoying them in the living room/dining room. Philly has a great public radio station (WRTI) that plays classical during the day and jazz in the evenings with a special Latin jazz program on Sat nights (AWESOME!). It is definitely groovy to have music while making dinner, etc. - and yes, I have actually been making some dinners - miracle of miracles. I went to Alfies for the first time after the move and it is literally 5 minutes away! That is so nice for Sunday night Salsa dancing and a good thing that I have shifted my work hours later to start at 10am :). It was a magical drive home in a little snow flurry with big huge white flakes coming down and no one else on the roads... even warehouses look prettier when it is snowing. There is another new place which I will check out this Wed - Mexican Post in Franklin Mills. It should be only 10 min away. I'm hoping to explore the area a bit more this weekend if I'm not so tired. And in other news... Poor Sheila's court date was cancelled AGAIN and the new date is too late for her to get a passport for Olivia in time for her plane ticket. So she either takes a quick two-day trip to Canada without Olivia and just book another one after or just loses the ticket completely, since she's already maxed out on the allowed changes. I can't imagine the frustration she must be going through. Such is the nature of the Kenyan system - ugh! Martin is in Fort Smith this week - He's staying in the only currently operational hotel and eating at the one restaurant in town, so it could be an interesting week. Andrea is also settling into her new business and into Al's house. They are somehow managing to merge two sets of belongings (with a bunch being stored at my parent's house) into a pretty small two bedroom house. I don't think their house is much bigger than my apartment - he he. They are thinking of getting a Scottish Border Collie puppy too! Poor Hobo is getting on in years and with Andrea at home now, it might be a good time to raise a puppy. I am kind of envious, but the allergies just trump any thought of a pet and I can't even keep a plant alive, so it is probably a good thing anyway. January 22 I can breathe!Yay! I can finally breathe without feeling like I'm drowning or coughing with every inhalation - woohoo! I'm sure my co-workers appreciate the quiet today compared to last week and the week before. AND I can talk to folks on the phone now! This weekend, I was able to (barely) lift my TV onto it's shelf and get the surround sound set up... very nice for movies :). I got all my sofa cushions washed - quite the feat since the inside seams all frayed and made a huge tangled mess of thread in the washer. It took me a few hours to clean up all the seams, but at least now they are done shedding and are all clean. The washer and dryer are pretty good... we'll see how high the electric bill is this month - he he. I got a small steam vac thinking it would do both vacuum AND steam clean - turns out it is a bugger to clean out the lint, so I need to get a real vacuum too... OOPS! I did have a medium sized bug in my kitchen last night, but it kind of looked like a cricket... at least I am telling myself it was a cricket - otherwise it was a pretty LARGE cockroach. If I see another one then the exterminators are definitely being called in. Oh and it seems that the dryer vent never does get hooked up to an outside vent at all - weird - it just vents into the bathroom, so I turned on the bathroon fan and kept the door open. Sure don't need a humidifier, but a little concerned about that in the summer. I may not sell my portable AC... it also is a dehumidifier. I may need it AND I just discovered that the central AC for the apartment is electric and that the bills go pretty high in summer. Ugh! So the super-efficient portable one may come in handy. Good thing I procrastinated on selling that stuff! I'll have to remember to ask them about cleaning the central AC filters too... that could be nasty. It is sure going to take me a while to get set up, but who really cares! I'll post pics in a few weeks when at least I have my kitchen done, and hopefully pictures and curtains hung. Blah blah - enough boring apartment details (obviously it is consuming all of my time)... hopefully I can actually DANCE this week. Looking forward to getting back into things. January 16 MOVEDI have actually moved now and am in my own apartment in Belsalem, PA. It will take a while to set up since I got one of my infamous bouts of bronchitis, so I will unpack bit by bit. Let's just say that the move was not exactly fun after being kept up coughing the whole night before. Unlike Martin, I can't function on no sleep - he he. No Salsa until my lungs get better unfortunately... I was slightly tempted Sunday night since there is a great place only ten minutes away now (and it is FREE), but I figured it would be nasty to infect everyone with my phlegm. I am missing my lessons too for another week (boo hoo). I am hoping to go to NYC for my b-day weekend and go nuts with the On2 crowd (that's New York style Salsa - Mambo - with a break forward on the second beat instead of the first like in Cuban Salsa), so looking forward to that and possibly a Tragically Hip concert in April here in Philly (go figure!). I have joined a listserve for Canadians in Philly, so that should be fun to meet some Canucks in this area. Other than work (which is good) and Salsa, I will be running the membership committee for the American College of Clinical Engineering and writing a chapter for a book (on career development in Clinical Engineering). I don't think an overseas trip is in the cards for this year - I'm TRYING to save up some vacation time so I have at least a week in reserve - heh - fat chance! Sheila (and Olivia) will be arriving back in Canada from Kenya in a little under six weeks and I am promised a visit (especially since I have one of her suitcases - he he). I am tempted to go up to Yellowknife though - Martin and I may not get to see each other until August otherwise. Long distance SUCKS - especially when it is North of 60! Maria and Yose are back from their LONG honeymoon trip in the Galapagos and South America (see their blog link at the left), so that makes it even more tempting. "Practical Voice" in my head says: No, save your vacation and money. "Free Spirit Voice" in my head says: If you have the means - then do it. You only live once. Hmmm... we shall see which voice wins especially around late May - my favourite time of year as the ice melts and the sun is up almost all night and the bugs haven't started to swarm yet. ANYWAY - that's my news for now. Ciao! |
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