Various and Sundry
I haven't updated in three and a half months, guess it's about time.
Let's see....In September I began dating a girl from Kitchener, named Heather. We've been dating three months now, and things are going quite well. She may move in with me in May, when her semester ends (more on that later). By that point we'll have been dating about 8 months, and some people are telling her that it's "too soon." Insert eyeroll emoticon here. The average time from dating onset to living together (in a "typical" relationship) tends to be about six months.
In other news...I had been living in Cambridge with my friend Gail and her family. I lived with them for free in exchange for services provided, mainly taking care of household chores, watching the children, etc, while Gail worked. Gail recently retired for medical reasons (Fibromyalgia) and they couldn't afford for me to stay there any more. In addition, Gail got a new boyfriend who moved in with them, and he had to move in by December 19th, so I was told mid-November that I had to move in a month. The adventures followed from that.
Several weeks of strenuous job-searching and three really promising interviews got me nowhere. In desperation I obtained social assistance, so that I could at least have rent covered - looking for a place to live with NO income is kind of difficult. I got assistance and started housing-hunting. Within two days I had a place selected, got a "letter of intent to rent" and was all set. Unfortunately, it wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped it would be. I submitted the letter to my worker on December 3rd, and hadn't heard anything by the 9th, so I called her. Turns out that my "landlord" hadn't gotten back to her as he was supposed to, so some really annoying phone and email tag ensued, with the end result being that I got my assistance check at literally the last possible moment. 2pm on December 19th, the day I had to move out.
I got my check and drove the first van full of my stuff to the new place, then returned for the second load, brought it over, then took the van back. Now here's the fun part.....The place I'm living is a sublet. The room is a single bedroom in a rooming-house arrangement, and the guy I'm subletting from isn't even the rooms occupant, it's his friend. When we had arranged for me to move in, he neglected to tell me a few things - like I was supposed to meet the homeowners first to get their approval, and they have a "no overnight guests" policy (which I completely ignore - it wasn't presented at time of agreement, and I wouldn't have taken the room if it had been). In addition, he said I could move in on the 19th, but he forgot that his friend has a different schedule than him, and wouldn't be moving out until the 22nd.
So, yeah...On the 19th all my stuff was in "my" room...But I couldn't stay here until the 22nd. Nice conundrum. I had nowhere to go, so I spent the night walking the main street of Cambridge, going from one coffee shop, staying an hour or so, to the next...then I napped for a couple hours in a massage-recliner when the mall opened. My buddy was supposed to take me for a shopping trip the 20th, and he called right after I woke, so that was good. Then we hung out together for the day, and I spent the evening with him at his job (I couldn't call him the night before as he normally has his phone off when not using it, and he doesn't work wednesdays). We arranged for me to sleep at his place for the next two nights, then he drove me to my new place on the saturday.
The room is only a sublet until the next semester ends, and the original occupant will be back in May, when I'll need to move again. My options at that time will depend on my job (if I have one). My friend may or may not be looking for a new roommate by then, and if he is we may get a place together. Heather will almost certainly move in with me then, whether he lives with us or not.
In other news, I'll be seeing Logan this weekend, for the first time since my last post. I'm still not dealing with my ex. Actually, my younger sister talked to her and arranged to take Logan for the weekend for my nephews birthday (son of my older sister). My older sister will be in my town on friday to visit our cousin (who apparently lives not too far from me) and will pick me up, and let me stay at her place for the weekend. The only downside is that Heather has to work, so won't be able to come with me and meet my son.
Oh well, another time.
As for employment...The job-hunt has been set aside as I dealt with the move, but it's time to start looking again. There's a far broader base in Waterloo and Kitchener than there was in Cambridge, so my odds are better for finding something. Honestly though, I'm at the point where I'm ready to take a job in food service, which is the second-last resort, and the "lowest" I will ever sink. The only job worse than food service is telemarketing, and I'll starve before I do *that* again. -_-
The fact that the coffee shops and at least two major fast-food places within walking distance of me are hiring is a major plus. I'm thinking that I might just have a (crappy) job by monday night.
Of course, a crappy job is still better than no job at all.
Let's see....In September I began dating a girl from Kitchener, named Heather. We've been dating three months now, and things are going quite well. She may move in with me in May, when her semester ends (more on that later). By that point we'll have been dating about 8 months, and some people are telling her that it's "too soon." Insert eyeroll emoticon here. The average time from dating onset to living together (in a "typical" relationship) tends to be about six months.
In other news...I had been living in Cambridge with my friend Gail and her family. I lived with them for free in exchange for services provided, mainly taking care of household chores, watching the children, etc, while Gail worked. Gail recently retired for medical reasons (Fibromyalgia) and they couldn't afford for me to stay there any more. In addition, Gail got a new boyfriend who moved in with them, and he had to move in by December 19th, so I was told mid-November that I had to move in a month. The adventures followed from that.
Several weeks of strenuous job-searching and three really promising interviews got me nowhere. In desperation I obtained social assistance, so that I could at least have rent covered - looking for a place to live with NO income is kind of difficult. I got assistance and started housing-hunting. Within two days I had a place selected, got a "letter of intent to rent" and was all set. Unfortunately, it wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped it would be. I submitted the letter to my worker on December 3rd, and hadn't heard anything by the 9th, so I called her. Turns out that my "landlord" hadn't gotten back to her as he was supposed to, so some really annoying phone and email tag ensued, with the end result being that I got my assistance check at literally the last possible moment. 2pm on December 19th, the day I had to move out.
I got my check and drove the first van full of my stuff to the new place, then returned for the second load, brought it over, then took the van back. Now here's the fun part.....The place I'm living is a sublet. The room is a single bedroom in a rooming-house arrangement, and the guy I'm subletting from isn't even the rooms occupant, it's his friend. When we had arranged for me to move in, he neglected to tell me a few things - like I was supposed to meet the homeowners first to get their approval, and they have a "no overnight guests" policy (which I completely ignore - it wasn't presented at time of agreement, and I wouldn't have taken the room if it had been). In addition, he said I could move in on the 19th, but he forgot that his friend has a different schedule than him, and wouldn't be moving out until the 22nd.
So, yeah...On the 19th all my stuff was in "my" room...But I couldn't stay here until the 22nd. Nice conundrum. I had nowhere to go, so I spent the night walking the main street of Cambridge, going from one coffee shop, staying an hour or so, to the next...then I napped for a couple hours in a massage-recliner when the mall opened. My buddy was supposed to take me for a shopping trip the 20th, and he called right after I woke, so that was good. Then we hung out together for the day, and I spent the evening with him at his job (I couldn't call him the night before as he normally has his phone off when not using it, and he doesn't work wednesdays). We arranged for me to sleep at his place for the next two nights, then he drove me to my new place on the saturday.
The room is only a sublet until the next semester ends, and the original occupant will be back in May, when I'll need to move again. My options at that time will depend on my job (if I have one). My friend may or may not be looking for a new roommate by then, and if he is we may get a place together. Heather will almost certainly move in with me then, whether he lives with us or not.
In other news, I'll be seeing Logan this weekend, for the first time since my last post. I'm still not dealing with my ex. Actually, my younger sister talked to her and arranged to take Logan for the weekend for my nephews birthday (son of my older sister). My older sister will be in my town on friday to visit our cousin (who apparently lives not too far from me) and will pick me up, and let me stay at her place for the weekend. The only downside is that Heather has to work, so won't be able to come with me and meet my son.
Oh well, another time.
As for employment...The job-hunt has been set aside as I dealt with the move, but it's time to start looking again. There's a far broader base in Waterloo and Kitchener than there was in Cambridge, so my odds are better for finding something. Honestly though, I'm at the point where I'm ready to take a job in food service, which is the second-last resort, and the "lowest" I will ever sink. The only job worse than food service is telemarketing, and I'll starve before I do *that* again. -_-
The fact that the coffee shops and at least two major fast-food places within walking distance of me are hiring is a major plus. I'm thinking that I might just have a (crappy) job by monday night.
Of course, a crappy job is still better than no job at all.