Char and I are entering into the second most significant collective choice we’ll ever make; it comes a reasonably distant second to having a child, but it’s still a link between us that we are never likely to sever. It commits us to the financial side of the relationship in a way that — in the all-too-human myopia that comes with large changes — seems to overshadow the real basis for the relationship for a time.

A short time, mind you.

I’m really looking forward to this. It’s been stressful, it’s been draining, but we get our keys today (I just talked to the lawyer, the money’s on it’s way to Bob now) and tonight, we move the first of the bits of our lives into the house.

All I can say is, “poor cats!” They’re terrified.

Okay, that is definitely not my tone, there.

Seriously, though, what are all of you up to? I know Matt is done for the summer, but of course is swamped with lesson planning for the heavy workload of next year. Another sometime reader has just gotten engaged, which is cool news, and Mom is settling in at home. The usual suspects, etc…

But (what with moving) the only one of you I’ve really seen a lot of this summer is Simon, who — while cool, and all — is only a small part of my circle of valued friends.

We’re almost set here to host some sort of get-together, and I intend to invite everyone that reads this (and a few that don’t, those technologically-backward people who for some reason think I’m a decent sort). Dates will be forthcoming. Apparently Char is drooling over the idea of hosting a cocktail party

This post’s extraneous (but topical!) links brought to you by WikiPedia.

I’ve found an open wireless relay that, at least, works from the balcony of the suite, which means that, while netless, I’m not boned.

I’m hot, and tired.

Air-conditioned movie theatre, here I come!

The usual e-mail will get to me, but not necessarily as fast, and in the evenings… Nothing. I’ll be internet-less until the 11th, which sucks the big one, but at least I can get my mail at work.

It turns out we have a short window to have both the moving truck and the elevator at the new location. As a consequence, we’re going to be doing a crash-packing of the truck starting at about 1 PM, when I get it to the house, and trying to get everything into the new place by 4 PM, when we have to give up the elevator. Needless to say, it’ll be a challenge. So, if anyone reading this can make it, and knows where we live, and wants to lend a hand, do. Please. However, I won’t read it on here — right after this, I’m taking down the desk, and the computer…

So … Thanks, in advance, to the helpers. The usual Pizza + Beer payout applies, of course.

(This posting brought to you by complaints that I don’t post enough)

This time, though, it’s to somewhere where we’ll have our own kitchen

I’m a little freaked by the suddenness of the move — we’ll (possibly — it could be as late as a month from now) be moving literally the day after tomorrow, which is… abrupt. Especially with the dearth of trucks available to us to do the moving. Fortunately, we don’t have a lot of large furniture, but there’s enough to render it … awkward.

However, I’m happy to be about it. It’ll be nice to get some space, and the location is pretty nice, too. It’s expensive, but it is downtown, which is… convenient. Don’t be fooled by the picture — there’s no stairs in our suite, we’re strictly flat Kickass balcony, though.

So, we’ll be moving. It means no phone for a few days, if the move happens this weekend, so we’ll be hard to reach. Email, as usual, though.

Update

Well, it looks like moving will be delayed… one day. Monday, it is. Or next week, sometime. However, we’re approved! Yay! We have a house!

It seems our benefactors wish to have the basement free to house wedding guests — the wisdom of which, vis a vis hotel accomodations, we shall not discuss here — and as such we’ve been asked to move by Sept 1. Which is, in fact really inconvenient. The more I’ve learned about how homebuying works, the more I’ve gotten the hang of just how long it can take, and unfortunately, our expectations have had to be downgraded significantly by the fact that we cannot hope to both come up with a reasonable down payment and find a house whose possession date is ‘immediately’ in the time we have.

So, I’m considering prostitution. I figure, with my hot ass…

Meh. Anyway, there’ll be other house hunting updates over the course of the summer, I’m sure. If anyone knows of any ~$110,000 condos near bus routes in non-shitty parts of Edmonton, let us know.

Apparently the previous owners of the house (or the last Telus repairman in here) decided that since there was only one line anyway, why not just disconnect the other one completely? Seemed logical at the time, I guess.

Wankers.

Anyway, our number hasn’t changed. And now, it works!

Although the timeframe is a bit extended, I think that I can really identlfy with the theme of the post, if not the specific details of it. I can remember spending much of my earlier life striving with all I had to be whatever it took to get people to like me. I would do anything asked of me, if I thought it had any hope whatsoever of making people appreciate me.

As years went by, though, as opposed to specifically “finding myself,” rather I ended up becoming more and more cynical about human nature and the world around me. I didn’t so much find myself as determine in more detail and breadth what i didn’t want to be. This, of course, is not the same thing at all.

It seems to me that I had two watershed events in my life occur at more or less the same time, though, that combined to really give me … not direction, because I was still rudderless for some time after that, but I guess you could call it hope. Not for life, because life itself was still pretty harsh on me, but more that I would come to be somebody that was independent and able to build a self without reference to the expectations of others. So for that, I have Amanda and (ironically) moving to Edmonton to thank.

Over the years since then, I’ve gone through a lot. A failed engagement, and another failed relationship that bears no further mention here. I’ve tried (and failed repeatedly) to get back into school. I’ve worked jobs that sucked, and jobs that sucked more. I’ve diversified my tastes in art and focused my passion for computers. I have met and become friends with the best people I have hever had in my life, save for the few who predate my move to Edmonton.

And more importanly, I have become (mostly) comfortable with who I am. I realize that the way I think does not make many people happy, or comfortable. Nor does the way I confront issues that are dear to me. And I just don’t care anymore. I will deal with the world on my own terms, and I feel confident that for the most part I’ll do so because that’s who I am, not who I think others want me to be.

It’s a good feeling.

(It’s also worth repeating (over and over and over and over again) that Char is at fault for much of the good in my life too, in case anyone thought that I was ignoring her)

So, here’s the scoop: The downtime resulted from Char and I moving, and shaw not moving as fast as we did, due to some wiring issues. I spent tuesday to today with no net access, which meant no mailserver, no webserver, etc. Very crappy. And, as i’m sure you can all imagine, also very jitter-inducing.

So, an update. Leaving aside private events that have kept me off-radar a bit of late, here’s what’s new:

We’re moved! Yay! The new house is coming together nicely, and i’d like to make a very public nod to Char, who has worked tirelessly to make the new place look like the home it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. The house looks nicer every time she puts something in place. Another nod that is not only necessary but huge is to Simon; without his help, there is no way the place would have been done on time. Bro, i owe you more than i can repay for your help, thank you again and again - i don’t know what we would have done without the time, effort, and general awesomeness you displayed getting this together for us.

Also new and notable, i’ve now skydived. I wasn’t really aware of the distinction, but … i sure as hell am now. There’s something very different about stepping out of a plane 3.5 km above the earth, even with two very professional and very kind instructors on my two sides, taking a breath at my own pace, looking out at the horizon, and with total awareness of what i’m doing and how, letting go and starting a free fall for 40 seconds, reaching terminal velocity as i fall. After 3000 feet falling, i had time to just look. And feel. And fly. The little hop we did in the training/first jump just doesn’t count, after that. Why even bother? A memorable t-shirt quote dad forwarded to me: “The meek shall inherit the earth. We own the sky.” This is how i feel. I will do this again, no doubt in my mind at all.

Last but not least, in 3 days, i go back to school. Year 2. Damn, i so look forward to this…

In between a month and six weeks, Char and i are moving. We’re going to be packing up the life we have in this house and hauling it all (including a hissing and spitting Chitty) a short distance away to a newly-renovated home just off of 61st Avenue.

So… How many years has it been?

I’ve got a lot of memories of this house - it has borne witness to most, though not all, of the major transitions in my adult life. It was here that i lived when Amanda and I ceased being Amanda and i, it was here that i lived when i met… and when i, uh, fled that horrorous (yes, i know, not a word…) creature to whom i owe soooo much. I joined a band (in a manner of speaking), hosted parties, and all around had a good time. There are lots of memories that i have that are irrevocably tied to these walls.

Most important of those memories are the ones that are ongoing, though. First, the reason for this blog in the first place: I’m back in school. If it weren’t for that, i don’t really want to know where i’d be right now. Probably Texas, from what i can tell. It was a close shave, and one i would really rather not contemplate too closely

The second memory, of course, is Char. Anyone who knows me, of course, knows what i mean when i say that she’s turned my life into a better place to be. Detailing this would be irrelevant. It’s such a change that it’s completely self-evident. Sometimes, apparently, good things happen to good people. Even more rarely, good things happen to me

So, there it is. Moving day is coming. It’s gonna be pretty nice. Our new landlord is not the dead weight that the current one is. It’s going to be different, living in a house with an actual caretaker, someone that actually gives a damn about the quality of life of his tenants. Woo!

Wish us good fortune… all two of you

Think of it this way. Three computers, approximately 5-7 cables each, all tangled. Buried under/over desk legs, table legs, wrapped around each other, lying in slithering pools on the floor.. Well, not actually slithering, but you get the idea, i’m sure. It wasn’t a lot of fun.

On the plus side, the new room arrangement allows me (relatively) easy access to the back side of the server and firewall, and to the main system, all the while keeping that damned 17” far enough away from the new 19” that i can use the cursed things at the same time. This is a good thing, i think… More digital stuff makes me a happy boy

And, i have the soothing sound of fans again - it’s been 12 hours - i was going into withdrawal.