The Move Back To Edmonton

The move back could be summed up as "the worst move ever". And I don't think I'm exaggerating on this one either. This is basically what happened:

We couldn't fit all of our stuff into the u-haul we had rented. Had to leave my scooter behind (which I never even had the opportunity to ride while we were in Toronto). It's still sitting in Emma's parent's garage. For the record, 3 people's stuff in one small u-haul trailer is too much stuff, which we learned the hard way in Kenora, Ontario when the hitch tore from the underside of my Honda CR-V, effectively rendering my vehicle worthless - it can't tow anything ever again. Which meant we had to rent a massive and expensive u-haul truck and tow my car the rest of the way. We stopped just outside Winnipeg at a campsite and had to sleep in the back of the u-haul. We would have slept in the car but the battery was dead from towing it and it smelt like gasoline. We were afraid that with the u-haul door completely shut we might run out of air or not be able to get out in the morning, but with the door slightly ajar we were nervous for our safety AND it was FREEZING! Like 2 degrees (Celsius) outside. However, we still slept better than the previous night in our motel in Thunder Bay, where a bunch of cretins stayed up all night partying right next door to us. By 4am, I had had enough and we hit the road...which lead to Kenora and all the excitement (sarcasm) that followed. At this point we were about half way there, at least, distance-wise. The rest of the trip was significantly slower, as one thing about massive u-haul trucks is that you tend to have to drive them slowly and fuel them up often. And, as we had "splurged" in Kenora on the truck, we were tight on monies and opted to park and sleep in a Safeway parking lot in Saskatchewan.

All in all the move back was: expensive, stressful, vehicle-destroying, tear-inducing, freezing, uncomfortable, exhausting and something I never want to do again. So I guess this means we're staying put - and since we both have jobs we actually enjoy and potentially a condo downtown (still waiting on the deal to go through), I suppose this means we're setting down "roots" here now.

And that doesn't seem as bad as it did nearly 2 years ago. In fact, it doesn't seem bad at all.

Nearly 2 years...

It's been nearly 2 years since my last post...I feel bad for neglecting this blog. But a lot has happened in that time. We moved to Toronto. Enjoyed it, but missed all of our amazing friends here in Edmonton. So we moved back. And we're loving it back here - in fact, we're in the process of buying a condo...just waiting for that to go through now. More on that later. But here are some highlights of our 9 months in Toronto.

Driving through Saskatchewan (not a highlight per say, but certainly made for some nice photos).

Welcome to Sheho. Heheheh!

We cruised through Manitoba and the first bit of Ontario because it was raining the whole way and there were tornado watches everywhere. Figured it was best to not stay anywhere too long. We did stop at The Forks in Winnipeg for some amazing samosas.

Mr. Buns still didn't seem to mind that he had been cooped up in a car for nearly 2 days. What a trooper!

I don't know if it was all of the rain or exhaustion from driving (we drove straight from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Marathon, Ontario - 16 hours. And quite the Marathon, it was. Hah!) but we started to play car games. Car fever, perhaps? Our favourite game: Spot Night Danger!

Half way through Ontario, and we're exhausted at this point, even Mr. Buns:

Also, my ankles swell up from constantly driving. I have car cankles! We finally make it to Toronto! Hooray! But first, we must stop in to see Emma's parents. To Hamilton, we go!

After a major job search, I find a job with Front Door Organics, an awesome organic home delivery service full of wonderful people! We'll miss that place. Hopefully, when visiting Toronto we'll have the opportunity to stop in and visit everyone again.

As we still haven't found a place to live in Toronto yet. I'm commuting from Hamilton to Etobicoke. 1-1.5 hours in the morning and 1-2 hours in the evening. Not fun.

Our friends, Kerry and Glenn, graciously let us stay in the spare bedroom of their amazing place in the Beaches (now referred to as the the Beach, for some silly reason). While staying with them we attend the Fan Expo.

Storm Troopers!

Anya from Buffy! Spock! Linda Hamilton! And Mr. Bruce Campbell!

Emma was determined to get Bruce's signature and have it permanently tattooed on her. Here's a before shot of Emma's shoulder:

And here's a shot of Bruce Campbell signing Emma's shoulder. I love that he added "Ash" below his name!

We quickly ran off to the nearest tattoo shop. We stopped in at Adrenaline Tattoo on Queen West, because they were the first shop we could find. They looked, however, more like an overpriced hipster clothing store, and the only tattoo artist available was some preening, puffed-up prick who blew literal smoke in our faces and figurative smoke up our asses by claiming that the autograph was "too small to tattoo properly". Ugh. So we called around and found an awesome place on Church Street called Passage Tattoo. When asked if the signature was too small to tattoo, Handsome Mike practically laughed at us for asking such a silly question, and proceeded to tattoo Emma's shoulder. Phew!

By October 1st we found a place on Markham Street. Which is one block from College and Bathurst and where you'll find Sneaky Dee's (and their excellent vegan nachos).

Also, our place is just south of Mirvish Village. We end up frequenting Suspect Video and Honest Ed's a lot!

While living in Toronto we got to see The Hidden Cameras, Gentleman Reg, Gossip, The Wild Beasts, and several amazing burlesque shows by Skin Tight Outta' Sight.

(More on our time in Toronto to be posted soon).

Reason #27

I'm not actually keeping tabs (well, not on paper), but THIS just one more reason to move.

Moving news

Wooo! We have a hitch to haul our trailer now! Thanks, U-Haul. No thanks for the 3 1/2 hour wait, though. "It'll only take 2 hours." Riiiiiiight!

Now, all we have to do is rent a trailer in advance (next week), pack all of our stuff (next 3 weeks), ship the stuff that won't fit into a 5'4" x 8' trailer, clean the crap out of Grandpa's basement, have a "We're-moving-so-come-and-party PARTY", then load up and move. Oh, and somewhere in there I also have to take my final class at the University. A French class, no less. Ugh, I better not fail or I'll have to take another stab at it again next summer, and I won't be able to graduate for another year. Although, if I do that, I can potentially apply to be an intern (paid - yes!) for the Government of Ontario 3 times (if I don't make it the first time). There's only a 4% chance of getting hired. So 3 x 4% = a 12% chance!

Tentative moving date

As the title suggests, we have nailed down the week in which we U-Haul our asses down to Toronto. We predict that sometime in the 3rd week of August (16th-22nd) is when we'll leave. I finish the final class for my degree on the 13th, and I'd like for my Grandpa to be back from a family reunion before we take off (can't just up and leave without saying goodbye to your Grandpa who's just let you live with him for months, and who's totally awesome in general). So mark it on your calendar, folks! Unless you hate us. If that's the case, maybe a smiley face or a big X can mark the day of celebration for you.

I think before we head off, we'll have a going away shindig. I'm sure I'll cry like the big wuss I am (a bit teary eyed just typing this). I think we'll plan a party for the weekend just before the 16th - Saturday the 15th, sounds like a good date.

Blogger Time!

I figure it's about time for a "real" blog (can't do Livejournal from this damn phone, not to mention the useless posts from LJ communities) Also, there's not much to do out in the middle of nowhere, and when Emma and I move to Toronto we have to keep the Edmonton folk updated on our big city adventures. So here we go.