Let's see... Oh yeah, I got really sick in there after Buster died, a couple of weeks before I had to move into my new place. Did I tell you I was moving? Probably not. Well, we'll get to that. Anyway, I had a fever and a terrible headache for four or five days that kept me in bed wishing I was dead.
When the fever finally broke and the headache left a few days later, it was time to get down to some serious packing and throwing things away. Over the next week, I made the seemingly endless preparations to move everything I own across town. I talked about the new place in an earlier post, but you've probably forgotten. It's a duplex on a nice quiet little street just off the Commons on the Robie side. Very central. I've moved into it with a friend of mine, Dave, who's turning out to be a great roommate and all around good guy. The other side will be occupied, once the landlord has finished renovating it, by Alison and her new roommate, Claire. We'll share a backyard and each get three floors of comfort and excellence.
Anyway, the move was nightmarish enough that I'd rather not even get into a description of it. It was two weeks ago now, and I'm mostly settled in. Still some shelves to put up and art to put on the walls, but almost all of the many, many boxes have been unpacked and broken down. How do I have so much stuff? Why do I lug all these books around with me, for example, when the chances that I'll ever read any of them again are vanishingly slim? Do I need to be able to look at their spines regularly to remember how they've each affected my current identity? Something like that is probably not far from the truth.
The day after the brutal move, I drove to Moncton with Meg and Kristina to play a The Reference Desk show. Probably a crazy idea, but it was a nice break from all the stress of planning, packing, lugging, and cleaning. It ended up being a lot of fun, as a matter of fact. A couple of very nice guys planned the show for us and put us up. We didn't know the Moncton bands we shared the bill with, but the openers were a bunch of nice young kids who insisted we keep their take of the door, being from out of town. They also let us use all their gear, which was very nice gear. They were ironically called Young Savages.
Anyway, back to my new apartment. It comes with an internet connection from a different provider than the one I'd been using, which means I had to change my email address. And, since my internet and landline were in a "bundle" from the same company, I had to change phone service too. So, I finally broke down and got a cellphone.
I skipped the toe-dipping phase entirely and decided to go straight to the iPhone. It's been a pretty radical change in my life, but I'm kind of loving it. Now, wherever I go, I can listen to music, play chess, read magazines, play games with my friends, and — best of all — take pictures. I've always enjoyed taking photos, but somehow never think to bring a camera with me. Now that's all changed. Everything I see is a potential photograph. I joined Instagram right away, and am having a blast documenting my life through its dreamy filters. Here's some of my recent "work."
That last one is of Amber on the Musquodoboit Trailway bridge. I had a memorable four-day weekend with her last week on the Eastern Shore, soaking up sunshine and scenery. It was downright idyllic. There's a new shuttle service out there called the MusGo Rider that allowed us to spend most of Saturday at Clam Harbour Beach. Sunday was devoted to this trail, which used to be railroad tracks. It's very scenic, and also very wide and flat, so I was able to push Amber's wheelchair along it with no problem. We ended up doing a little over 10 km!
That brings us pretty much up to date. Played some softball today for the first time in four weeks, and now my legs are all rubbery and useless. Next weekend I drive to Maine with Alison to hang out with my parents and sisters and their families for a week by the sea. The November issue of the Shambhala Sun is close enough to ready that a week off so near the end of the cycle is not a concern. Hard work's paying off, and good times are here!
