Day: October 3, 2011

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Connectivity, Comfort, and Cats

My high speed internet was supposed to be activated today, but, of course, the plug and play modem didn’t work. I chatted with a Telus rep and he concluded that it’d be best to send someone to check the wiring. I don’t think a single one of my tenants has had any luck with getting the internet to work right off the bat.

What made me laugh is that the tech rep had a hard time understanding that I wasn’t home. I mean, the first thing I asked is “Do I need home phone service to have internet?” (nope). So he knew I had no phone at home and if I was chatting with him, then the fact that I don’t have internet at home should have been pretty obvious. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had this conversation with tech reps from different telecom companies over the years! The tech rep was very good, my joking aside. He acknowledged that I’d done everything at my end and didn’t make me feel like an idiot.

At any rate, no high speed internet till tomorrow afternoon. I’m just grateful that I got an appointment so quickly, that I don’t need to pay for a phone line I have no use for, and that I have my cellular internet access!

I’m also happy to report that my furniture arrived! Wheeeeeeee. I can set up my home office tonight. I don’t think the chair they gave me is going to work, though (no arm rests or wheels) so I may be bringing my chair in from Miranda after all, but I’ll try this one first and see how I like it. Soon as I am set up I will share pictures. 🙂 I have to say that I somehow managed to get stuff that looks good together rather than like a hodgepodge. Geeze, even the curtains that Jody lent me complement the loft curtains! It’ll be nice to be in a lovely place for six months. The only thing left to get now that I have furniture are some more floor mats so I don’t have to walk on the drop cloths all winter.

I have a couple of ‘my cats are amusing’ stories. Before going to work this morning, I put Jody’s curtains in the tub to soak since they smelled strongly of cigarettes. When I came in at lunch, the apartment was very humid and reeked of cigarette smoke. So, I rinsed the curtains and took them outside to dry over the balcony railing, then I left the patio door cracked. Neelix promptly pushed his cushion so it was by the open door and plopped down! As for Ms. Bitha, I came in this afternoon to supervise the furniture delivery and noticed that the undersink cabinet door was cracked open. Tabitha was curled up in there, pressed tightly against the wall. If I catch her there again, I’ll let her know that that can be her safe spot by putting a blanket down for her. I hadn’t planned on using the cabinet anyway.

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A Gentle Reminder

I have received a number of emails in the last couple of days about my temporary move into an apartment. I sense a lot of disappointment and concern from these folks about my current circumstances. While I appreciate that people care about me and are worried, there’s no reason to be!

I would like to reiterate a quote in my about me page:

“I don’t want to come to the end of my life and realize I have lived someone else’s version of it.”

Once again, I’d like to remind everyone that full-time RVing is no different from housebound life. It’s real life with its ups and downs and unexpected moments. Right now, my health is dictating that I spend a winter in Alberta. Last summer in Yukon, my heart had me considering the ramifications of full-timing as a couple, which would have required a new rig suitable for two people. I could end up wanting a baby or find that mythical place most nomads are sure doesn’t exist, the place where I want to put down roots. Anything can happen.

Yes, I have a long-term plan for my life in Miranda, but that plan is not set in stone. It is open to those vagaries of fate I have just mentioned. It is this flexibility that I so desperately craved when I hit the road in 2008 and so regardless of how and where I spend this winter, I am still living my dream life.

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This Is Going to Take Some Getting Used To

Tabitha didn’t let me sleep a wink last night, so around 6:30 I gave up and got up. First order of business was coffee. Oh, waitaminute. I brought up all the coffee supplies except the kettle and French press. *shakes head* So I threw a skirt and sweater on over my jammies and schlepped out to the rig. It was cold out!

Next, I had to put water in the kettle. Ooh, I can drink what comes out of the tap. What a novel idea! Now, to put the kettle on the stove. There’s a knob, but where’s the starter… oh, right, no starter. It’s now time to boil water, which takes forever on an electric stove. Water is boiling at last, put some in the French press and some in the mug, put kettle back on stove. Why is it whistling again? Oh, right, electric stoves give off heat even after being turned off.

Another thing I need to get used to is the sound of the fridge cycling off and on. I haven’t had to sleep in the same room as my fridge since ’98-’00.