Sunday, June 03, 2007

Random bullets of damn...

That is, damn, I wish I could find the time to blog properly about some substantive issues that I've been thinking about, especially coming off Congress. But I seem to be swamped with yard care/course design/apartment-hunting/shagging-my-ex-GF responsibilities.

So how about some bullets?

- Last night, went to the film Once. Goodness, what a lovely film. I just loved it. I am not usually a fan of the musical -- but this one, oof. It was just pure pleasure. I urge you to see it, if you are fan of loveliness. The woman in it, Marketa Irglova, is so compelling, I felt as if I could watch her forever. And I loved the music, and will buy the soundtrack.

- I think ex-Gf and I may as well call ourselves GFs again. We are spending an awful lot of time together. It is just lovely. There is much more to say about that, but it will have to wait. Let's just say that there's a lot to think about. A lot.

- I ate delicious cheese this weekend - Pierre Robert. Mmm...

- On Friday I made the largest, most adult purchases I have ever made...new furniture. I bought this sofa and this chair (which is bizarrely, insanely the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in, I think) both in a colour called new leaf green, microfibre, with some very bold and textured accent pillows in brown with leaf-greenish accents. I had been waiting for my tax return to come so that I could go shopping for these things I'd had my heart set on since last November. They will be delivered to my new home in Scary City at the end of July. I shall buy the rest of the things I need - including a bed - at IKEA.

- I have clearly been wanting to build a nest, since I went crazy on Ebay and bought two antique tablecloths, some antique linen napkins, and a really bizarre embroidered table runner from the 20s, with royal blue satin roosters and dragons on it. (?) I don't usually think much about table linens; I don't know what came over me.

- Oh, yes, the nesting desire. But there is still no home to roost in. I cannot believe the bad luck I am still having with this housing search. I am leaving for Scary City tomorrow, and have only managed to set up two housing viewings. Since for the most part, nobody calls me back! There was supposed to be a third, tomorrow afternoon - a place I was really interested in - but I got a call last night saying that, too, had already been rented. What the hell? I don't get it. I feel as if someone is trying to tell me something, now that I've had five places fall through, and nobody deigning to even phone me back.

So I'm worried that I'm going to have to settle for a place I don't really like. For instance, one of the two places I'm looking at is a basement. (I wouldn't have called, but the ad conveniently didn't mention that, and it didn't become apparent to me until our conversation was nearly over!) And I am already starting to call about places with carpeting - that was my one no-no. I hate carpeting. But I am feeling desperate, so off I go to call the carpet-having landlords. Very big sigh. I really wanted this housing search to work out well -- I'm so unhappy about moving to this city, I really wanted to be able to find a place I could comfortably call home. It seems like that may have been too tall an order.

So yes, off tomorrow. Please send good housing vibes my way!!

10 comments:

Pantagruelle said...

I'm sure you've tried this avenue already, but can't your future colleagues at Scary City Uni help in the housing search? Can't they provide any leads to places that might not be advertised in the same venues that everyone else is searching in--ie, friend of a friend, prof in another dept going on sabbatical, grad students moving on and freeing up apts, that kind of thing? Just a thought.

Hopefully pounding the pavement will pay off though. I wish you all the best of luck!

Hilaire said...

Yup, they're looking out for me, and there was even a friend of a friend kind of thing that looked like it might be of interest...but it didn't work out. I'm hoping that when I see them tomorrow, they will get a sense of how incredibly desperate I am...and maybe step things up accordingly!

Flavia said...

Sending good housing vibes your way!

(And what [potentially] good news about you and ex-GF! I'm really hoping for something similar in my own life, but must wait and see.)

PG said...

Arg! I really want to see that movie. I've been trying to figure out where/when it's playing locally. I blogged about it the other day. The music sounds amazing. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

gwoertendyke said...

happy vibes for you on gf front and house front!

Earnest English said...

I'm definitely sending good nesty housing vibes your way. It definitely sounds like you'll be able to make a lovely nesty home for yourself with all the wonderful things you've bought even if the place is basically a boring place. While a lovely place to live is wonderful (my apartment is the nicest I've ever had), it only has to be a backdrop for all your lovely new things. (I'm all about the 20s embroidered runner!)

Hilaire said...

Thanks, Earnest! That's a great way of thnking about it.

Psychgrad - hope you can find the film in your city! It's so well worth it...

Thanks, Flavia - and I hope for something similar for you, very much.

medieval woman said...

Oh dear - I'm so sorry about the housing craziness - I didn't know that 5 places fell through! I'll be giving you lots of good mo-jo.

And joy about the new furniture! I remember you liking that place from before - well done!

And I'm happy that things are going well with GF - who knows if this could have been the big turnaround you needed??

(hugs)

squadratomagico said...

Hi there -- I've been out of touch for a bit, but hooray for your old-new-love!

PG said...

Finally got to see Once yesterday. I'm going to blog about it. Really enjoyed it.