moving in, slowly
Jun. 3rd, 2011 05:47 pmThree days after finding internet access, I've finally caught up on Dreamwidth. (It doesn't help that I'm effectively using DW as an RSS reader.) Now to wade through the dozen or so tabs I've opened.
The immigration lawyer hadn't filed the paperwork in time for it to have properly entered the Canadian immigration computer system (because $work hadn't gotten some required information to them in time), so we ended up making for the busiest Wednesday night the guys at the train station had seen in awhile. There was the searching through the computer for how to code "technical writer," there was the obligatory 'bad cop' routine of drilling me on the job and the information I'd provided to make sure I'm not trying to sneak in with someone else's paperwork[1], and finally the going back and forth between the office with the old dot-matrix printer... and then after an hour and a half or so we had our work permits. And there was much rejoicing.
We spent the night in an overpriced hotel (stupid Stanley Cup eating up all the hotel rooms near city centre) and took possession of the apartment Thursday morning. It's very nice: about the same size as the place in McLean but more windows, and high-speed internet, and a real washer & dryer, and hardwood floors except in the bedrooms. I think it'll work out. I won't know for sure until Monday when our stuff gets here.
Thursday afternoon we did some errand-running, and stocked up on food for the weekend. Didn't quite make it to the Zipcar registration place, so we didn't make it to Ikea, so we slept on the floor. If I'd had a real pillow I think it would have been fine.
Yesterday the rain stopped and the sun came out, for what I'm told is the first time all spring. Aw, the city stopped crying because I finally got here. We took sandwiches out to Cardero Park, and were just getting settled on the benches by the water when something sleek and brown and wet zipped up over the seawall, across the sidewalk, and down the other side into the harbor. It took about half a minute for my brain to stop shorting out and come up with "Otter!"
After a great deal of yelling at the movers, it sounds like our stuff is showing up on Monday afternoon. I expect I'll be taking a couple hours off from work to oversee the load-in. (ugh, work.) I'll make up the time this weekend by building my work desk and prepping my work laptop. Other than that there's a little bit of paperwork yet to do (temporary health insurance, bank transfers), and enjoying the gorgeous 17 degree weather.
[1] This was more harrowing than I'm making it out to be. Brusque guys in uniform with the power to crush my hopes and dreams are kinda scary, no matter how much I tell myself "they do this to everyone, it'll be okay."
The immigration lawyer hadn't filed the paperwork in time for it to have properly entered the Canadian immigration computer system (because $work hadn't gotten some required information to them in time), so we ended up making for the busiest Wednesday night the guys at the train station had seen in awhile. There was the searching through the computer for how to code "technical writer," there was the obligatory 'bad cop' routine of drilling me on the job and the information I'd provided to make sure I'm not trying to sneak in with someone else's paperwork[1], and finally the going back and forth between the office with the old dot-matrix printer... and then after an hour and a half or so we had our work permits. And there was much rejoicing.
We spent the night in an overpriced hotel (stupid Stanley Cup eating up all the hotel rooms near city centre) and took possession of the apartment Thursday morning. It's very nice: about the same size as the place in McLean but more windows, and high-speed internet, and a real washer & dryer, and hardwood floors except in the bedrooms. I think it'll work out. I won't know for sure until Monday when our stuff gets here.
Thursday afternoon we did some errand-running, and stocked up on food for the weekend. Didn't quite make it to the Zipcar registration place, so we didn't make it to Ikea, so we slept on the floor. If I'd had a real pillow I think it would have been fine.
Yesterday the rain stopped and the sun came out, for what I'm told is the first time all spring. Aw, the city stopped crying because I finally got here. We took sandwiches out to Cardero Park, and were just getting settled on the benches by the water when something sleek and brown and wet zipped up over the seawall, across the sidewalk, and down the other side into the harbor. It took about half a minute for my brain to stop shorting out and come up with "Otter!"
After a great deal of yelling at the movers, it sounds like our stuff is showing up on Monday afternoon. I expect I'll be taking a couple hours off from work to oversee the load-in. (ugh, work.) I'll make up the time this weekend by building my work desk and prepping my work laptop. Other than that there's a little bit of paperwork yet to do (temporary health insurance, bank transfers), and enjoying the gorgeous 17 degree weather.
[1] This was more harrowing than I'm making it out to be. Brusque guys in uniform with the power to crush my hopes and dreams are kinda scary, no matter how much I tell myself "they do this to everyone, it'll be okay."