Escapism

In Canadian history class back in high school we all learned about the rise of the motion picture's popularity as a method of escaping the realities of the Great Depression.  Now I'm wondering if there's currently a rise in movie going (or at least renting) with the recession... but I digress.

At the end of April Derek and I found ourselves seeing going to the cinema with friends twice to see the movies I Love You, Man and Wolverine.  I don't think we'd been to a movie since the summer, so these were our first movie outings since moving to Edinburgh.  I quickly noticed a couple things.  First of all, I/Derek and I laughed at some jokes in the previews that no one else did.  For example, the movie The Proposal has a great premise of Sandra Bullock's character being threatened with deportation from the US because she's Canadian, and therefore decides to marry Ryan Reynolds' character to be allowed to stay in the country.  I was laughing about the fact that Ryan Reynolds actually is Canadian, and the constant confusion we confront from the people we meet who ask if we're American or Canadian before launching into a discussion of how similar our accents are.

The opening scene of Wolverine is set in the Northwest Territories.  Two children run from their home into the woods at bedtime, and it's dark outside but there's no snow, so Derek and I couldn't figure out what time of year it could possibly be.  I know that Derek felt a great sense of pride when Logan shrugged off the American military's request for his help to defend their country with the simple line, 'I'm Canadian.'  I was also very happy to see the beautiful scenes set in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, that is until I watched an interview with one of the stars and found out that it was filmed in New Zealand!  I would have thought it'd be cheaper and more beautiful to film in the actual Rockies...

We've since been to another film, The Hangover, which was excellent (just like the first two, but much funnier than I Love You, Man).  This time we went with some American friends, and so the laughs at some of the more obscure pop culture references were doubled, like the line about Joy Behar from The View, which as one friend pointed out fell on deaf ears on the couple hundred other movie-goers in the room.

While obviously we feel a stronger attachment to certain scenes or characters with a Canadian or even North American connection than the Scots and other international movie-goers in the theatre, I think the most striking element for me is the fact that once the movie starts I completely forget where I am.  Suddenly everything is familiar -- the pop culture references, the phrases and sayings (and how people say them) -- and I don't have to struggle or concentrate to understand what people are saying.  The language thing is probably the biggest deal.  It's all so easy, like we're back home.  We get a break from having to ask people to repeat themselves or explain what they mean.  

But then we step outside and we're back in downtown Edinburgh, with barely-dressed girls and loud drunken guys heading to the clubs because its Saturday night, buildings older than Canada on every corner, and picturesque views as we walk home with the crags and Arthur's Seat on the horizon.  Crazy.  Can't wait to go to another one.

The New Flat

Well, I'll start with the most important element of our new place: it feels like home :)  It took a bit of work to put it all together and get comfortable, but it's a nice little home now.

What all did we do?  Well, there was all the cleaning that had to happen, and arranging for the electricity and cable and internet and phone etc.  It took a couple days to discover that there were shelves under the bed, so we lived out of our suitcases until I made it to Ikea with a friend and picked up some hanging shelves, along with some throws to cover the couch and chairs with.  And we've had a number of friends over to check the place out, and from their feedback it sounds like we found ourselves a good one.

There's still some stuff to sort out, of course.  We need to get our name on the apt. listing by the front door, which just takes an email.  There appears to be a mouse problem, which isn't too big of a surprise as we live in a city with a mouse and rat problem, but pest control is on their way.  It's not like at the last place where I actually saw the mouse; this time I've just heard scratching in the night, and for two mornings in a row we've found dust and various things pushed out from under the wall which separates our flat from the neighbours.  The phone line didn't work for almost a week, but we've had the Virgin Media technician in and since then it's been fine (ie. we now have a dial tone, rather than static and loud screeching noises).

It's been amazing having an open-concept living room-kitchen.  Derek doesn't disappear anymore for the half hour before dinner!  And I won't even get started on how great it is to have a dishwasher... for those of you who, like me, have gone for years (roughly 14 out of the past 15 years actually) without one, you know what a big deal it is to have the dishes get done without you or a loved one having to tackle them every day.  Plus, with the single sinks here, dirty dishes used to take up so much space!

Anyway, I suppose my thesis is that we're happy in our new home.  Oh, and it turns out that the couch with its view of the castle is actually a sofa-bed, so you should really think about coming to visit! 

The Big Move

I can happily report that Derek and I have completely moved into our new place and our pretty settled in.  The move itself occurred in many stages and over many days.  We took possession of the new place on June 3rd, and had to move out of the old flat on the 8th, giving us 5 days to complete the move and thoroughly clean the old place before the "final flat inspection" on the morning of the 8th.  

The university was rediculously specific about the cleaning they expected from us.  Six weeks ahead of moving out we were sent a five page document detailing every item to be cleaned and how to clean it.  They wanted normal stuff, like cleaning in and around the fridge and oven, washing the shelves and drawers, vacuuming the floors and thoroughly cleaning the washroom.  Then there were some finicky things that didn't seem practical for a 19th century flat, like washing the walls and doors.  They also wanted us to prove that we had washed the curtains, and suggested sending them to a laundrette and leaving the receipt for them to see as proof.  Now, this might make sense if the curtains were of a high quality and had gotten dirty during our tenancy.  In actuality the curtains were ancient, faded, dingy and uneven.  But it the end it didn't matter that we didn't send to out to be washed.  We passed our inspection, and upon receiving proof that we've paid our electric bill we'll get our deposit back.

We had planned ahead for the move, even before heading home for May, by packing up suitcases with clothes we weren't going to take home with us, and cleaning the entire place so that there'd be a lot less to do during the week we got back.  It turns out that we've accumulated quite a bit of stuff in our 9 months here, even though we were living in a furnished place, and moving to another furnished place.  We must have had at least 7 suitcases full of clothes.  There was also 2 floor lamps and 2 table lamps from Ikea, the tv and dvd player, plus the cable box, modem, and wireless, our laptops and a computer monitor we bought when Derek's laptop screen died again in the winter.

I think the coolest thing about this move is that we did the entire move without using any vehicles.  With the help of our neighbours, we walked (or rolled using our wheeled suitcases) everything down the hill into Grassmarket and beyond into our new neighbourhood.  It's a good thing it was a downhill move!  We made two to three trips per day, and by Sunday it was all done.

The least cool thing about the move was that at the same time as we were cleaning up the old place I was also cleaning the new place.  This is because the new cleaning company our rental agency has employed don't seem to take the time to clean anything that isn't readily obvious.  For example, the cupboard doors were obviously washed down, but they hadn't picked up the microwave to clean underneath.  At first glance when we went in on the 3rd the wood floors looked fine, but on closer inspection they were covered in hair, there was dust in the corners and the rug hadn't been vacuumed.  The walls needed to be washed, the drawers wiped, the bathtub cleaned and the bathroom bin emptied.  It was so bad that I didn't want to move in here, even after I spent an hour vacuuming because I was so disgusted.

The next morning after we came back and made thorough notes on the inventory detailing all of these problems with the cleanliness, as well as some changes in the quality of the items.  For example, the airing stand they had deemed 'good' had two broken wires and was being held together by an elastic band.  The washing machine was also missing its handle, which no one had told us about although it turns out they knew about it and a new one was on its way.  

LittleJohns, the 'letting' agency, were so stunned by our revelations when we went in person to the office that they sent someone over within 4 hours to meet with us and go through everything.  We got a phone call within the hour asking us if we could be at the flat at 5:30pm that evening to let in the cleaning agency and show them everything that still needed to be done, which we happily did.  They sent the owner of the cleaning business, and he did a good job, but it was all stuff that should have been done before we moved in.  I felt so much better once I knew it was clean, but it still took another few days (and me cleaning the bathtub myself) to be completely comfortable in here.

As we rolled each suitcase into the flat and needed to empty it to take it back for a refill, we realized we basically had no drawers anywhere to put clothes in.  The desk had 3 small drawers which we had quickly filled with school stuff.  It was then I knew that I had to make a trip to Ikea.  A set of hanging shelves in the one closet and Derek's discovery of drawers under the bed (also in need of a wipe down) helped us find a place for just about everything by now, and it already feels like home.  

I feel like I've been writing for ages, and yet I haven't even gotten onto the topic of what our new place is actually like.  I guess that'll have to wait until next time.  I'll end with another thanks to our friends here, both to those who helped us move, and the many more who offered a hand.  We made sure to relax with a beer (or alcopop, in my case) after each day of heavy lifting, and had some friends over for dinner on Monday to celebrate being in the new place and what we had all accomplished.  I'm so glad we moved -- this place feels a lot more like home.

The Month of May

The past four weeks seemed to have flown by!  Derek and I both had a great time at home, saw lots of family and friends, celebrated lots and got some relaxation in, too.  Here's my attempt at a concise yet informative summary of the fun we had at home.  Sorry if I left anything out!

Week One

After a rough 18 hours of traveling (including 45 minutes waiting around the luggage carousel in Toronto), Derek and I made it home.  There had been doubts, what with swine flu and my never-ending ear infection, but we made it!  However my ear was giving me a fair bit of trouble, so by Thursday I was at the doctor's and put on a third round of antibiotics.  Derek spent the days in the lab, gearing up for his thesis defense.  A friend's belated birthday party was on Friday night, so this was a great opportunity to meet up with good friends whom we hadn't seen since the end of August.  And I got in some time on the swings with my best friend, and lots of cinnamon sugar doughnuts from Tim Hortons.  Finally, mum and I went over to Derek's parents' for an excellent barbeque and a chance to play with the cute little dog and his sister's cat whom I adore.

Week Two

Derek continued to prepare his talk for his MSc thesis defense, and I spent a good amount of time relaxing at home with my mum.  Wednesday was our third wedding anniversary so we attempted to go for a picnic, but the cold and rain had us picnicking in the car.  We also went to see Star Trek, which we both enjoyed even though I had never watched the series.  Our moms took us out for lunch to celebrate, so we got a chance to visit the Mandarin and Boston Pizza :) The long weekend offered us a great opportunity to see all of our grandparents, so Saturday morning we were off on a whirlwind trip of Southern Ontario which continued until Monday afternoon.  It was wonderful to see them all, especially after the trouble we had at Christmas with the winter weather and illnesses popping up.

Week Three

The moment Derek had been waiting for for so long finally arrived.  Wednesday afternoon he stood in front of his supervisor and two other professors and gave a 20 minute powerpoint presentation on his work and findings (with myself running the slides).  After about 50 minutes of questions, we were sent out in the hallway as they talked amongst themselves (with a lot of laughter!), and then out they came, shaking Derek's hand, congratulating him on his achievement and letting him know he had been nominated for an award.  But this wasn't the end.  Derek still had to make minor revisions to his thesis, get them approved from the professor, submit it electronically and receive confirmation it went through, get various papers filled out and signed by various professors, and return his keys.  This needed to be done by the end of the day on Friday in order to get his summer tuition back.  It was quite the end to the week!

Week Four

Derek went up to his family's cottage with his dad and brother for the weekend.  Not much swimming, as it was 'painfully cold,' and they had to fight off the black flies throughout the weekend, but it sounds like they had a great time.  I also got the chance to meet up with a good friend who is about to move to Ottawa, which was great.  Afterwards, I started off our fourth week home at my grandma's house, where we travelled around a bit and enjoyed the company of her indoor cat and outdoor visiting cat.  My dad and little brother and sister arrived in town on Tuesday morning with their trailer, and stayed for the next few nights.  It was great seeing them all -- the kids are growing like crazy!  The Lego store was a big hit on a rainy Thursday.  

I spent Wednesday shopping in Toronto at the Eatons Centre (tied for my favourite Canadian mall with West Edmonton Mall), and got several awesome pieces of makeup.  Friday was the wedding reception of two friends who got married back in April.  It was lot of fun, and a chance to get dressed up, have a couple drinks and dance the night away, and as were weren't seated with anyone we knew, why not get up and dance?  

Saturday morning we were feeling a bit rough, but we had a busy day ahead of us down at Queenston Heights.  There we met up with some of dad's family for a picnic and photo opp.  My little sister noticed people going in and out of the Brock monument, and after a couple questions we found out that it was open to climb again, for the first time in 4 years.  As dad realized right away, that meant we had to do it!  While he opted out, having climbed it 'hundreds of times,' Derek and I took the kids of the very narrow (and constantly narrowing) 235-stair spiral staircase, where we had to press ourselves against the wall as others passed by on their way down.  It was great -- windy, but great -- and I took a bunch of photos from the small platform at the top.

I think we made pretty good use of our time (and our parent's cars) while we were home.  Derek can now embark on a whole new chapter of his life, and how better to do that than in a new place!  More details on our new flat to come!