Late Night Musings

It's Sunday night at the cottage. It's hard to believe just how quiet it is, save the occasional swelling wind that wraps around the cottage, gently rattling the blinds on the one window I left open to let the cigar smoke escape. The weather seems to be holding for the time being - it was darker today, but still warm enough to do yard work without a jacket. If this is what we can expect the rest of November to bring, I'm happy to have it.

Andrea and I spent the bulk of the afternoon doing yard work. I had toyed with the idea of putting together a "leaf raking party" whereby I would ply my city-bound friends to spend an afternoon raking in exchange for steak and beer. I never did get around to organizing it, so we were left to ourselves to pick up a season's worth of detritus from the lawn. I suppose after making use of free rent for over a year, spending an afternoon of unemployment raking is really the least that I can do. I'm not sure how Andrea rationalized it, but I was glad to have her help.

I should be in bed by now. My eyes are heavy, and have been since dinnertime. I just feel like puttering away at things. I've paid down the credit card, tinkered with my budget, browsed the Christmas flights to Calgary, and strolled through the various sections of BBC World Online. There isn't much new in the world. At least, not much has changed since the last time I looked. This is, however, an excellent time to book an all-inclusive vacation to Cuba. They're going for about $600 per (flight/hotel/food/booze) at the moment. Not too shabby.

My mother will be coming out to the cottage in a week, so that means that I'll need to get the place in order. I've been taking reasonable care of it, so I can't think of much more that needs to be done. I'll have to find a hiding place for the bar, but I think I can probably cram it into one of the large tupperware containers that I've been living out of for the past year or so. I also need to clean out the freezer. Why on earth my mother thinks it's a good idea to freeze multiple packages of hot dog buns, I'll never know.

This week or next, I should get the word regarding my preferred job posting. Things could change pretty quickly once that happens. The change is exciting for the most part, if perhaps a little unnerving. I'm looking at buying a place once I get word, and I'm not sure what to expect with that whole process. I wonder if I'm rushing into getting a full time job, or if I'd be better off to take some time off to travel. I hope that my vocation meets with my expectations, and that I don't end up with some ogre of a boss. I've dealt with that sort of thing before, and it's never pretty.

I realized the other day that I've perfected the art of living out of a suitcase. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I think it implies that I'm fond of variety in my life. I have this mental image of what life in Ottawa is going to be like, and I hope that I'm not in for any rude awakenings. The only thing worse than that, I think, would be for everything to fall into place the way that I wanted it, only to find that I end up getting bored of what I'm doing and where I'm living.

I think that things are going to work out well. Bottom line, I know there are a lot of people - family, friends, and loved ones - that'll have my back through all of this. I know I tend to vacillate between enjoying the down time that I have, and wanting things to move forward. I suppose I don't want to seem less than grateful for the way things are unfolding. Trust me, I realize how good I have it.

It's time for bed. See you all again in the morning.