Mail Call

I think I mentioned before that all of my mail was being held at the distribution center due to the fire. Trust me, that is anything but convenient. It's down by FutureShop so basically not near anything really useful. It's not exactly walking distance either. Well I suppose it might be if I was healthy. And, on top of that, they are only open 8 to 5:30 Monday to Friday. Doesn't work with my schedule. No word yet on when we will have mailboxes here again. So I have to rely on someone to drive me down there to pick it up. Not ideal at all.

So after two weeks I finally got someone to drive me down there. I knew I had a package waiting for me. But I still seem to be missing quite a bit of mail. I had 2 bills and that was it. Normally I would get mail quite frequently. Ever since I moved here I get almost none. I was supposed to get something about identity theft from Capital One and ironically never got it. never got their bill either. And I called about my student loan and they were sending out the interest relief forms. I never did get them. So that's another aggravation. Now I have to call the student loan center again and have them resent. I'll have to go down and pick them up somehow. And I'll likely have to call the bank and try and get a hold put on my student loan. Can't anything be simple and straightforward?

Nightmare

The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn
There is no future, there is no past
I live this moment as my last
There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss
No other road, no other way
No day but today
(Rent - Another Day)

The first thing I want to say is that not everything in my life is a nightmare. At the moment work is still going remarkably well. Sure there is stress but there will always be stress in the job. If there isn't then you're probably unemployed. Christie is a great team manager. She is really laid back and gives me space to just do my job. But she is also there if I need something. And Pat and I work well together. We both have strong work ethics and keep in mind that it is a common goal. If one person fails we both do. And we've managed to succeed for 2 straight months. Now I am not so crazy about being volun-told to help another team for 10 days next month. That has nothing to do with me not wanting to help... I am just concerned about how it may affect our own mandate. Both Pat and I already have to do 16 aces a week. That's a lot of work. Plus other jobs to do... and still help them out. I'll do my best.

Home life is sort of iffy. Oh I love the apartment and really feel like it's my own space. It's nice to just have me and Azrael and not have to deal with a roommate. So that part is good. But of course I am paying more for rent. Then there was the fire in the building. For the most part I am over that. I can rest a little easier at home. But as a result of the fire my mail is being held at the postal distribution center. I was going to stop by today before work but Steve didn't get here in time. I also need to mail back my defective hard drive... Any ways... the post office where it is being held is only open Monday to Friday from 8 to 5:30. I work 9 to 5:30 all next week. And one of the things I am waiting for is my interest relief form that I REALLY need to get back to them so I don't end up paying my student loan. Now the bills I am not that excited to see but I do need to pay them. So that is an annoyance *Sigh*

Then there is the rheumatologist. Apparently his office has been calling for the last month. Now I went to see him in February and they said to makea follow-up appointment but I was back at work and didn't really think much of it since he had already said that he doesn't treat fibromyalgia cases. why did it take so long to really try and get ahold of me? But they want to do some follow-up on my lab tests. Now I am wondering if my family doctor sent him a copy of the third set of blood tests or if he is discussing the tests that were done 3 months ago. I guess I'll find out on the 19th when I have to go in.

Quitting smoking is definitely not easy. Sure the Zyban helps but there are still some withdrawal symptoms. Right now I am definitely not sleeping through the night. Having some pretty vivid dreams courtesy of the Zyban. I keep waking up and when I do I have trouble falling asleep again. Now the blinds in my bedroom are not helping. Steve is supposed to be hanging the new ones but he is definitely not reliable. so the blinds only go down to the air conditioner and the light wakes me up in the morning. Azrael is also contributing to this as well. As soon as I go to bed he comes in with his stuffed animal and cries... It's not the "I want attention" cry or "I want food." In fact if you touch him he will bite you. I have no idea why he is doing this. He used to do this once in a while but now it's every night. He has really been crying a lot more lately. I'm nt sure why he has suddenly become so vocal. You'd think I was torturing the cat or something. As soon as I get off the elevator I can usually hear him... and my apartment is almost at the end of the hallway. Hoping going to get a good night's rest tonight. I could really use it.

"Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare?" (Rent - Will I?)

Odd Question

So today I got to thinking... always a scary thing... *lol* since the fire was in the back of the building and the back entrance is currently sealed off how am I going to get my mail? Not only was the recycling in the back but so were the mailboxes. Now the bills I am not so concerned about... although I do seem to be missing a few bills already with all the address changes. But I am expecting a package soon from Amazon. I'm not sure why I have an obsession with mail. I think it's just the ritualistic nature. When I was younger I would get the mail on my way home from school. And now I check the mail on my way home from work. It's a habit. Almost always it's just another bill but every once in a while it's something worthwhile, like my monthly copy of Maxim. Which reminds me I really need to ask Joe for this month's copy. I forgot to change my address with them. Yes I know that was a really bad habit. But it does look like it might be a while before I am actually receiving mail.

Can't Anything Go Smoothly?

I am almost starting to think that I am cursed... even the small things that shouldn't be a hassle somehow manage to become a nightmare.

Take for instance my apartment. My roommate decides to move back home (don't even get me started on that one) so I have to find an apartment. I talk to the building manager and she agrees to let me just move into a one bedroom here and my last month's rent deposit would go towards that. So far so good... until the day before the move. I have already signed up for hydro and arranged for my cable to be switched over. Since the cable guy was supposed to be there I decided to make sure the apartment was open so I wouldn't be calling the super needlessly. The apartment was a write-off and they had done nothing to get it ready for me moving in. Not to mention the fact it was a tiny apartment and would cost me quite a bit since it was not all inclusive. So suddenly it's the beginning of April and I am scrambling to find a place to live. Fortunately, that part did turn out to be easy. I still haven't called Cogeco to let them know I didn't move in to that apartment and that I am moving to a new address.

There was also my mail forwarding. I had paid the money to redirect my mail to the new apartment... the one I ended up not taking. So I went down to Canada Post to stop that. According to them it had not even been entered into the system so they just cancelled that and sent me to another Canada Post office to get my money back. Aside from driving all over Peterborough twice to get that done I thought it was easy. Turns out I was wrong. For whatever reason they actually started forwarding my mail and then it didn't seem to be delivered anywhere. I had no access to the mail at the new address and they weren't delivering anything to the old/current address. Took about a week before I started receiving mail again. Pretty good considering according to Canada Post the redirect had not even taken effect since it had not gone into the systems.

Then there is the computer. As frustrating as it was that the computer was not working I figured I'd call tech support and they would set up a replacement computer. I never thought it would end up being this much of a hassle. I also didn't think I would be as long without the computer as I will be. They were just supposed to email me the FedEx labels. I could've driven (well that is assuming I drive... but any ways) to the CR office in Markham in less time then it's taken to get those labels. They told me 24-48 hours to receive the emails. Now tell me... why does it take 24 hours to receive an email? Better question... why has it been 4 days and still no shipping label? So now I have to waste time calling back... and I'll end up speaking to at least 3 different departments in the process. And I just want a working system. Is that really too much to ask?

Living in Boxes

Okay so I am no longer in limbo. I went and saw the Talwood apartment today. It almost reminded me of my apartment back in London. There was actually a dining area and a balcony. The bedroom was bigger then the one I was looking at in my current building, not that it would take much. It felt like home. So I filled out the application and they got back to me pretty quickly. Said it would be 24 hours but I had my answer before my lunch break at work. So I can now breathe a sigh of relief. It's still going to be tough to pay but they give you a 2% discount if you pay your rent on time. And it will be cheaper then what I'd be paying here. But for now I'll be living out of boxes. There's no point in unpacking when I'll be moving in a few weeks. As soon as I pay my first month's rent (and last) I can move in. They aren't even pro-rating the rent which is a bonus. It will still be the end of the month before I have both first and last but at least I know that it is available and I don't have to worry about the back to back move.

I had to run a bunch of errands before work today to stop my mail from being forwarded and cancel the hydro. I still have to change my address and contact Cogeco since I am not taking the apartment here. I'll likely have to pay the moving fee twice but that's life. Not much I can do about that. Still have to cancel my Telus account as well but I am a little hesitant about that since the buzzer code is going to that phone. Not that I want to be paying for 2 cell phones... so I'll likely get rid of that this weekend. It's on my list of things to do.

Things at work are still going good. I'm back in the groove and feeling good about it. Been a long time since I felt that way. I don't feel stressed going into work. I notice the difference, especially when on calls. I used to dread phone time and tried to get out of it. It was like I did a 180 when I had to take calls. I was great with the agents but the thought of actually taking calls just filled me with dread. Now I am okay with it. Not focusing on my stats nearly as much and just relaxing.

Today I was reminded of friendships and supportive people. I already had a few people offer to give me a ride if I am on the same schedule. It made my day. I was concerned about how I was going to get to work, especially when on day shifts. I had mentioned having a housewarming when I move in and a few people are excited about the idea. I'm not used to being social. I used to go out all the time but really haven't done that as of late. I was so used to my own little world. I go to work and then go home and don't do much else. So it's nice that people want to get together when I move. I'm looking forward to moving, getting away from here, and changes. I'm going to invite the team over once I am settled in. I'm still pretty new on the team so I think it's a great way to get to know them... outside of work... Plus it's a chance to be social again.

And now it's about time I head off to bed. More errands to run before work tomorrow... and a chiropractor appointment. 8 hours of sleep would be nice.