Move In Update

The past few days have been very productive, but pretty crazy.

First off, I LOVE the apartment. Considering M picked it without me and Friday was the first time I’d seen it, I got pretty lucky.

There are obviously a few hiccups and drawbacks. Bell got there to install the satellite and internet as we were moving in, and told us that we couldn’t get our satellite on our side of the building- they pretty much shrugged and said “too bad”. If we hadn’t addressed this issue before we moved in, then it would’ve been an unfortunate problem that was no one’s fault. However, when we first decided to move into this building a month and a half ago, Bell swore up, down, and sideways that we could get satellite where we were located, right down to the direction of our balcony. Needless to say, we’re pretty pissed off. Our internet, however, works.

We have a bathroom door that won’t close because the latch was painted over, and M’s closet bar is bent to the point where it’s no use. It’s also seriously hot in the apartment. At first I wanted to try and suffer through July and August without having to get an air conditioner, thinking that we could use fans and keep the windows open. When I had to take two cold showers Saturday and started sweating through my clothes right after getting out, I was at the end of my rope with the heat. After a long, sleepless night I went to Future Shop and forked out $200 for an air conditioner. Because of my heart condition, being in extreme heat for too long is dangerous for my health. It’s not just me we have to worry about as well- we also have a dog who stays at home all day, and knowing how unbearable this heat has been for M and I, I can’t imagine how hot poor Rexx was the first couple of days. To save on electricity, we’ve decided to keep it on low during the day and turn it off at night. We also got an efficient model, which should help.

Speaking of electricity, when I called the power company yesterday to take responsibility for the apartment they decided they either needed a deposit of $95 which would be given back with interest at the end of 2 years of good payment habits, or a credit check which added a $20 fee to our first bill. Although the PF blogger in me was screaming “TAKE THE INTEREST, DON’T SPEND THE MONEY, MORE INQUIRIES ARE BAD”, I just had them run a credit check. I didn’t have the cash on hand to comfortably take half the deposit out of my budget (the air conditioner was bought with money given to me by my grandfather for emergencies), I knew M didn’t have it either, and frankly I didn’t feel like giving the power company a loan. I know they’re worried about me not paying, but I knew I’d pass the check and I’d rather be out an extra $10 than have to wait two years for $47.50 plus interest at a low rate. I also got an extra $165 from the Ontario government for my Trillium Benefit, and I’m not yet sure what I want to do with it. Who am I kidding, it’ll probably go down on debt. Last week I literally deposited a $5 bill found while packing, just to transfer it to my credit card. That’s how badly I want to be debt-free.

I’m also trying a new diet (doctor approved, of course) on which all I can eat are low-carb vegetables and lean meats, but I can have as much meat and leafy greens as I want. The point is to rev up the metabolism by eating a select but balanced list of foods for the first couple of weeks, before introducing other foods back into the diet slowly. In the past day, I’ve dropped two pounds (weighing in both times first thing in the morning, as weight fluctuates throughout the day). I used to eat fast food constantly, and even when I stopped spending I stress-ate a LOT. I’ve struggled with my weight since I was about 11, and the skinniest I’ve been since my freshman year of high school was 170 pounds in senior year, during an unhealthy alcohol binge where I rarely ate. It’ll be interesting to see how we handle the food budget now with just the basics. The meats will definitely be the most expensive chunk of what we spend.

Anyways, that’s my update! How was everyone else’s weekend?