Anyone miss me?

It's finally over. Stacey and I are moved in. And what a relief....not a moment too soon. Every muscle, joint, and bone in my body is sore. I was actually looking forward to work this morning (shudder) because it meant I could sit down for a few hours and rest a bit.

Where to begin? The house is wonderful. We're very happy with how all of the furniture has slotted into place (meaning: it fits! Hoo-ray!). The layout is unfamiliar and has some weird little quirks, but we're slowly getting used to it. It's starting to feel like home, although we've still got a long way to go with the unpacking and decorating. I'm just happy that my home theatre is up and running in an "interim solution" kind of way and that I have a corner to curl up in and sleep.

But our worst fears have been realized. The commute is awful. All of those people who said "psssssh! You can get downtown from there in half an hour! No sweat!" were wrong, so very wrong. I left quite early this morning, and even then, it took an hour for the whole trip....two hours a day on a bus, round trip? What, are we communists, here? I demand a high-speed bullet train from my front door to my place of work, thank you very much, transporting us in comfort and style while we light cuban cigars with gold-tipped matches made from pure mahogany. Yeah, that's the sugar, baby.

Still, I'm holding on to the idea that the house is a lot nicer and more peaceful than before. No more buses and constant traffic 24 hours a day. No more screaming and swearing 6-year-olds playing (and sometimes urinating) on our front lawn. No more crashing and shrieking heard through the walls when my neighbours are arguing. No more wading through rotting vegetables and soiled diapers to get to the dumpster when it's time to do a garbage run. No more chain link fence or featureless brick wall as our only view out our bedroom window. No more 4-block loop to get into the parking lot from the other side of the median. It's all a rich tapestry.

Now, back to the real world. It's funny how you can re-surface after an absence and find that so many things have changed....CBC let Ron MacLean go? The US is going to declare war on Iraq? Stocks around the world (including mine) are getting hammered? You can buy beer in plastic bottles now? Friggin' ELVIS is at the top of the charts again?? It's a whole new world....