I have a fan!

I recently discovered the following comment on my blog:

Now, I may be making some assumptions here, but I was under the impression that in order to get into University, one had to complete elementary, middle and high school with a satisfactory degree of success. After reading your blog, in which you have explained you are in your fifth year of an English degree, I am truely astounded as to how you could have completed all of these educational requirements, because it is quite obvious that you CANNOT spell. it logically follows that your claim of being an English Student is a fallacy, therefore your blog is not true and your whole life is a lie. Good day.

At first, Sarah and I thought, "Who is this guy? What kind of petty asshole belittles a person's entire existence based on a small and extremely common trait?". But then I read his blog and realized that he's not an asshole: he's a fan! What else would you call someone who starts a blog just to write about me?! I'm really flattered! You know, you start these things and you wonder if anyone ever reads them. Maybe you get a comment that isn't spam for someone's porn site and you feel good, like what you have to say is interesting to someone. But to have someone start an entire blog just for me! I feel like a celebrity!

Another great thing about Joe (which is apparently his name, or at least the name he's given to his URL) is that he is the perfect example of a sociological theory I learned about in SOC 100 that I've always found fascinating. The theory goes that a person will always attribute another person's actions to internal motives and their own actions to external forces. In this case he is attributing my lack of proper spelling to my own lack of education (although the fact that he also uses it to question my entire existence is beyond the scope of this theory). He is basing this on an assumption about me, personally, without taking external factors into account. However, I would answer that it is not my spelling or my education that is at fault, but the fact that I tend to quickly write posts between tasks while at work and am often too rushed to read them over before clicking "Publish". This is, of course, very unprofessional and I thank you, Joe, for reminding me of it. I will certainly try to remember to re-read before submitting my writing.

The reason I've always found this theory so fascinating is that I see its truth in countless instances every day. This theory has far reaching implications. Just think of the number of problems and misunderstandings, some of which end in tragedy, that occur everyday because people assume the cause of others' actions without really stopping to think about them. If you think about it globally, entering cultural misunderstandings under this category, it becomes obvious how important a theory this really is. If everyone took the time to realize that they can't possible make accurate assumptions about the people around them, imagine what a better world it would be.

So Joe, welcome to my blog and to the world of blogging in general. I hope you enjoy reading it and I look forward to reading yours. I appreciate all your comments and shall comment on your blog in return. It's always nice to get comments. Also, you may be interested to know that you don't need to have a blogger account to comment on peoples' blogs, provided that the author has specified that they allow anonymous comments.

(By the way, you spelt "truely" wrong)

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Just what I needed!

Nyron and I just got back from a week-long trip to Nova Scotia to visit my family. More importantly than just a visit, this trip was also to introduce Nyron to my father who hadn't met him yet. Ooooh, pressure! But all went well and my dad seems to actually like Nyron! Like any true father, he's never liked any of my boyfriends. This is especially meaningful given that Joe the real estate agent actually had the complete lack of diplomacy and understanding as to mention directly to my father that we are planning to get married! Even knowing that, my dad still seems to approve.

Our trip was the most relaxing trip home I've had since I moved (not including the strained and exhausting 22 hour drive each way, of course! We only had 3 days in Nova Scotia so we tried to make the most of it. My parents took us out to Peggy's Cove and I took Nyron shopping on Spring Garden Rd and for a walk up Citadel Hill and to the Maritime Museum. It was so wonderful not to have to worry about where I'm going to live or packing my entire house into one little room.

Tonight I'm moving into a residence hotel downtown. It's a hotel that operates at a reduced rate and caters to students. It's much cheaper than staying in a proper hotel, although it lacks some of the amenities like an en suite bathroom and a tv. It does, however, have an excersize room, so I'll get at least a few months of regular excersize in before the winter slows my metabolism.

=^_^=

Once again, things have changed

Joe the realestate guy and my dad apparently got into it again this morning and out of spite Joe has declined to let me rent his basement until my townhouse becomes available. This is getting rediculous. I don't know how these guys can still think they are in the right and treat us like this. If the tables were turned and I gave the guy who sold us the townhouse less than a two weeks' notice that I planned to move in whether he was ready to leave or not, I would most certainly not get away with it. Yet, that is exactly what the new owner of my house has done and they continue to stand by him while he ignores the stipilations of the contract that they drafted and he signed? What the hell is a contract for, anyway? The most important thing I've learned about this whole experience is to never trust a real estate agent. Anyone know of anyplace being sub-letted or anyone who wants a roomate until Dec. 1?

As for the cats Nyron almost had a home for them but it fell through. We've decided sooner would be better than later to take them to a shelter so we'll probably do it tonight or tomorrow. Everything has just suddenly piled up on me and it's making me feel burried. Things that I was supposed to have weeks to take care of suddenly have to be done before Monday and I only have a few hours a night to do it all now that I have a full time job. It's gotten so that my job is my escape from everything going on in the rest of my life (although I still spend my time at work looking for a new place to live, so it's not a complete escape). I guess I'd better get used to this since this is what my life is going to be like for the next few months.

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Wednesday is D-day

We've decided to wait until Wednesday to try and find homes for the cats. If no one takes them by then, we'll have to take them to the Toronto Humane Society. We've checked to make sure that they are a no-kill shelter. The last thing I want is for them to get put down after all I've gone through to prevent just that.

This is really hard, but it's getting easier for both of us the more we get used to the idea. We have to be adult about this and if we're given a choice between a new home and two cats there's not a lot of practicality in choosing the cats. I just wish I had a little more time to find homes for them, but we've been given the deadline of this weekend and since I have to have everything packed and gone into storage before Nyron and I leave for Nova Scotia the sooner the better. Nyron's been taking this quite hard as well and has declared that he won't want another pet for quite a while. I completely understand.

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Good news and bad news.

Good news:

I got the job I wanted. I started on Friday and seem to be settling in fine. Everyone there is really nice and the woman I'm replacing doesn't leave unti lJanuary so I'll have plenty of time to get used to things. The best part is that my boss has given me leave to go on Nyron's and my trip to Nova Scotia next week! She really didn't have to do that and could have easily insisted that I work straight through like I'm supposed to, but she also has family scattered all over Canada and knows what it's like to miss them. I'm also well on my way to getting the townhouse I wanted. They've acepted our offer and we're just waiting on the close.

This brings me to the bad news:

Because my dad is spending so much money on this townhouse for me and I certainly don't have anywhere else to go, he's demanding that I get rid of Sebastian and Hyde. At first he was going to give me until I move into the new house to find them homes, but as of today he's demanding that I get rid of them before we leave for Nova Scotia. Nyron's well pissed and will have a hard time being nice to my dad when he meets him, which could cause problems as well. If anyone knows of someone who can take one or both of the cats by the 18th, please, Please, PLEASE get in touch with me asap. I've set up websites for each of them which are linked from my knitting blog (see sidebar).

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Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Have you guys seen this? This site cracks me up. It was created this past June by a guy named Bobby Henderson in Oregon who was pissed at the Kansas School Board for deciding to allow Intelligent Design to be given teaching time equal to the theory of evolution in their schools' Science classes. It proports that Flying Speghetti Monsterism is as valid a form of science as Intelligent Design, which is, of course, not at all. And since this guy is a university graduate with a degree in Physics, he manages to make his arguments sound logical and educated (i.e., not a crack-pot). He even includes a very helpful graph that "proves" that Global Warming is caused by the decline in pirate population since the 1800s.

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Back in this old house

Wow. Staying at Nyron's really brought to life just how much this house isn't a home. In fact, I don't think it's ever really been a home, just a place I've stayed in intermittenly for the last 4 years. Especially now that the house has sold and my residency is subject to the whim of the new owner, I'm really yearning for a place I can settle in. Mom and Dad are dragging their feet, though, bound and determined not to let a single possible property go uninvestigated. I've found one that I quite like at Lakeshore and 12th St (so anyone who thought my current place was too far away to visit me, I'll definitely never see again) but it has a closing date of early December so I'll still need to find a place for the time in between. Even though I'm supposed to have residency of this house until November, the new owner is planning to move his family in here at the end of the month. Anyone know a pet-friendly place I can sub-let for a few months?

On the job front I might be getting close to having full-time employment. I aplied for a receptionist/event planner position at an international language school and I was chosen as one of the Final Three. I went into the office yesterday for a final interview and the candidate will be chosen sometime today or tomorrow. Of course, I really want this job - it seems like a really fun, relaxed environment and I'd get to plan day trips and events as well as do all the regular office stuff - but at the same time part of me hopes I don't get it, or better, that the decision is further delayed. Nyron and I have had a road-trip to Nova Scotia planned for months. If I get this job, I'll probably have to start right away. I don't get any vacation time until I've been working there for 6 months, so I'll not get to see my family until March. Also, I've been really hoping that Dad and Nyron can meet soon so that Dad can get used to him and stop resisting our relationship. It'll be much harder for my dad to see Nyron as a stereotype once he's recognized him as a human being. Mostly, I've just been really looking forward to the road trip part and to also hopefully seeing my friend Sarah in New Brunswick who I haven't seen in years.

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If you need me, I'm in Brampton

On Monday morning the new owner informed me that he wanted to sand and re-stain the floors in the house and I had to be out, with my cats, by that night and come back Friday. It took me a while to find all three cats since one of them had found a new hiding spot that I was too short to discover on my own (I thought he'd escaped through a window the owner had left open that morning and spent the whole day worried sick about him. Damn cat). After traumatizing the kittens with a half hour drive up to Mississauga (and they traumatized us by peeing on the back seat of Nyron's car) we dropped them off at a cat hotel and Nyron brought me home to stay with him for a while.

I'm actually quite enjoying myself here. Nyron's place is much nicer and cozier than mine. They have full cable where I only have basic and there's a koi pond in the backyard where I usually spend the afternoons reading - my prefered literature at the moment is chick lit, especially Madeleine Wikham (aka Sophie Kinsella). Most importantly his parents don't seem to mind having me here and I certainly do my best to clean up after myself and stay out of their way. Especially since I'll be staying here longer than expected. I got a call from the new owner last night saying he just now got the first of three coats of stain down and that I have to stay away until at least Monday.

This whole house situation is getting ridiculous. Ridonculous, even! First of all, it says nowhere in the contract that he can kick me out for a week to do renovations and had I been kept up-to-date on the particulars of the contract I would have informed him of such at the time. Secondly, he also mentioned last night that he's planning on moving his family into the house in the second week of September: a whole month before he's supposed to. I'm not even close to having a place to live yet, but they've already rented out their old house. He even told the real estate agent that I could live in the basement and babysit his kids! What a jerk!

Right now that's neither here nor there as I sit in the sun next to a bubbling koi pond and read girly novels. I'm dealing with everything as it comes the best I can and trying not to worry about where I'm going to live two weeks from now.

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