Fredericton

I'm remiss in my posting, but the week just blew by!

We arrived in F'ton on Monday evening, 17 March, and were met by our realtor and host, K. On Tuesday we had the most beautiful blue sky day. Perfect for our first stroll to the back of the lot. P and I wore snowshoes as w/out it was easy to sink to at least knee high. We met the builder and talked about the siting, etc. We also realized that if we position things right, and the property behind us remains empty, we have a bit of a view to the river. After picking up lunch, we went back to K's house and spent several hours with the builder getting questions answered, etc. Later that afternoon - at least I think it was that afternoon - K and her husband, H, occupied 7YO for a couple of hours so that P and I could look at flooring, etc.

On Wednesday we visited more stores, including the place from which we'll get the woodstove, and had lunch with the fellow from whom we may be subletting this summer. Then we visited the school that 7YO will attend. They call it "Little House on the Prairie with electricity." It has about 100 students, one class per grade, and is just down the hill from the property. 7YO has been attending a French Immersion school here and we debated his continuing, but that decision was made easier by the province's (unpopular) decision to cut early immersion. Perhaps I can post on that another time. What really upset me is that they are also cutting early core French so we'll have to find a tutor, lest he lose what he's gained these past two years.

We did a bunch of running around on Thursday; had to make a trek to Chapters, of course, but also found some building materials (e.g., tile) that we love. On Thursday evening our hosts invited a law prof and his wife, recently retired from the library where P would like to work, as well as a couple of others to dinner. When these guys do dinner it's a four hour event. No kidding. They are both professional and avocational foodies. As in January, it was awesome.

Friday was a holiday so we just hung out, packed, worked on housing info, etc. 7YO got to see more deer hanging out in the back yard and play with our hosts' dogs. I think he was just in heaven.

On Friday night we opted for a hotel so that we would be closer to the airport as we had to get up at 3:15 to make a 5:45 flight. We did so and while waiting at the gate the flight was cancelled for mechanical reasons. I about had a meltdown. But, they got us on a flight to Ottawa with a connection to Toronto, reasoning that we were less likely to get stuck on Toronto than F'ton. There wasn't another flight available from F'ton that day and with the weather there was a chance that the next morning would be problematic, too. So, by 10:30 am we were in Toronto. But, there were no more flights to Minnesota on Saturday so we stayed at the airport Hilton courtesy of Air Canada.

We went to a place called the Playdium so that 7YO could have some fun and then hung out at the hotel. But, the highlight of the delay was, as you likely have already seen, is that we got to meet Tom and Emilio of Canadian Hope! They drove out to the hotel and picked us up and off we went for brunch. Not that you have any doubts, but they are just as fabulous as I imagined they'd be. We're looking forward to being able to see them in the Maritimes this summer!

Our flight left around quarter to 5 Sunday afternoon and we were back at our house by about 7 Sunday evening. Not quite the 10:30 Saturday morning that it was supposed to be, but well worth it having been able to meet the guys.

This morning I had a meeting with my dean to talk about options for some distance teaching following my sabbatical and while I don't want to post details here, I am comfortable saying that things look promising for my being able to work for the university while remaining in F'ton. Fingers crossed. He's going to walk it through the VP's office, but doesn't imagine a problem.

That's about it for today. I'm exhausted! More as it happens!

Crash and Burn

Oh, where shall I begin?

Without posting details that are better left confidential, the first thing on my list would be to note that there was a job possibility in F'ton that evaporated. Not filled by someone else, but cancelled for bureaucratic reasons.

The second thing would be that I found out yesterday that I will not be getting any funding from one of the sources to which I applied. And, I'm more disturbed by process than outcome. I found the list of 2008 recipients on the web! But, I've heard nothing directly - not from the funding source and not from my nominator.

I'm actually okay with both of the above as I really want to take a real sabbatical and focus on the research project and have some time for my own health, etc., but the latter would have been nice.

I'm also still waiting for the bureaucracy to take care of the fact that my contract letter for an overload was never processed and, therefore, I was missing about $600 extra dollars from my paycheck. C'mon people.

Then, this morning, as P and I stopped for bagels, there were the headlines of both local papers. One, referring to the housing market, said, "Sinking Fast." The other said, "Credit mess means Twin Cities homes selling for less." Nice. So, here we are.

I have done incredibly well with the uncertainty of everything up to this point, but I'm now kind of hanging on by a thread. For some bizarre reason I keep thinking way more optimistically than is typical for me. But, yeah, I'm pretty much freaking out.

The good news, as I've said before, is that we can easily rent the house, though we'd have to refinance to do so. So, we'll see what the next month brings, but, man-o-man, I can't wait for it to be July so whatever happens has happened!

In her dreams...

Well, I have a few minutes before dashing out again so I thought I'd post a brief update.

We listed the house on Monday, 25 Feb. We had the realtors' open on Tuesday, the 26th. Between Wednesday and Saturday we had six showings. On Sunday, the 2nd of March, we had an open house. Seventeen groups showed up; good for this market and time of year. There was a repeat showing on Monday. On Friday, we got an offer - don't start clapping. She offered 13% below asking. Yeah, right. Not even in this market. Our realtor said that normally she would just say something like, "Thank you for taking the time to present the offer, but we're not interested." But, the market being what it is, she suggested we counter with what we would actually accept, telling her that was the best we could do. So, we did. And, we've heard nothing so I'm sure she walked/balked. Otherwise it was an almost perfect offer - cash, no inspection, etc. But, she did want a slightly earlier closing than we'd like. That we can live with - for the right price. But, since we're already losing money on the deal, we can only go so low. And, only 10 days into it, not a chance we'd take something like that. I'll refinance and rent before we get that screwed.

Just got a call for another showing tomorrow. So, we keep our fingers crossed and I watch my blood pressure go off the charts. Keeping the house "show-ready" with a black lab mix and 7YO is no easy task. It was -1 F this morning, "feels like -14," so not exactly the weather in which someone wants to go house hunting either. But, spring will be here someday.

Other than that, we're just waiting for a week from Monday when we leave for F'ton. Hope all is well in your world - and that it's warmer!!

Invasion

Rather than post a long comment over on their blog, I thought I'd post something here in response to the Leap Day post by Canada Calling.

On Monday, 2 October 2000, P called me at work to tell me that someone had broken into our home. We'd hired a friend, A, to let our dog out mid-day. She had walked into the kitchen via the side door and, knowing how neat we are, knew something was wrong. There was food on the counter and there were bags on the floor. She called P- from our phone - and P told her to get out of the house. We raced home and met A, as well as the police.

We didn't have a security system and - don't you know it - for the first time ever I had left a first floor, back of the house, bedroom window open. There were half-full duffel bags - ours - open on the floor. Clearly A had interrupted them and they fled the same way they had entered. I say "they" because I am sure that someone was playing lookout while other(s) packed.

Our insurance claim was for about $10,000. A lot for us. We both lost diamonds that had belonged to grandparents. I lost one grandmother's wedding ring, another grandmother's charm bracelet, my own charm bracelet from high school, class rings, and a baby necklace that I'm wearing in a photo taken when I was about a year old. We lost all kinds of other jewelry. Fortunately we were wearing our custom made bands at the time. And, my baby bracelet got stuck in the seam of the box and was still there, alone.

They didn't get to the family silver or my 35 mm. They didn't get the brand new TV/VCR. But, they got lots. And, they went threw our closets. Stuff was strewn all over our bed.

In addition to the jewelry, we lost the obvious - CD player, CDs, stereo receiver. We also lost clothing, a leather jacket, shampoo out of the shower, a hairbrush, a 500 count bottle of ibuprofen, food out of the fridge, a bag of Halloween candy... And, our luggage. They had to pack in something. They even lifted the tray of flatware right out of the kitchen drawer.

But, here's the weird thing. We had hundred of dollars of unopened baby clothing, toys, blankets, etc. that could easily have been returned to Target, etc. They didn't take one single thing that was baby-related. Some might say they were guys who didn't realize how much that stuff costs. I've always thought that a woman was involved - they did take women's clothing, hairbrush, etc. - and that that was where she drew the line. No baby stuff.

We had to chuckle - we had to - because we don't keep alcohol on hand, no cigarettes, no drugs, no weapons. They took a pizza out of the freezer and left it on the counter. It was vegan. We were glad that, once they realized we were GLBT - hard not to figure that out with a huge "March on Washington" poster hanging - they hadn't vandalized us just for fun.

Our dog was crated and they gave him a few Frosty Paws and dumped a small bag of biscuits in his crate. The cat was probably hiding. We were grateful they didn't harm our pets or let the dog out to run.

Between being obsessively detail oriented and really organized I had every little detail for the police report, claim, etc. We had been grocery shopping the day before and I even knew that they took a block of cheddar! But, even with all the jewelry detail and serial numbers, we never recovered a thing.

This was actually one of the events that put me on the road to being pretty anti-consumption or "it's just stuff." I had to be glad that our pets weren't harmed, that A wasn't harmed, that the house hadn't been trashed. Although I still wish I hadn't lost the family stuff, I can't take it with me. Right? Going to Mississippi after Katrina and clearing someone's house of everything she owned, and leaving almost all of it for the trash collector, was another pivotal event. It's just stuff.

Now, we have a security system, but we joke that there's nothing left to take. Of course that's not entirely true. But, it is true that we have no more grandparents' jewelry. Anything we have of value - that is capable of being replaced - can be replaced with a trip to Best Buy.

Let me note - I'm not writing this to say that such an event is a non-event. It's huge. Trust me - going to bed knowing that they had been rifling through the closet that afternoon was just, well, yuk. I thought I'd post this to let CC know that at least one other in our blog community knows what it's like. And it sucks.

In meeting with our builder I mentioned that I wanted double hung windows; the kinds with the little "locks" so that you can open the windows from the top. Small community or not, I don't think I'll ever sleep alone with a window open from the bottom. I haven't since I lived in Boston and experienced a break-in. Everything leaves its mark. Time marches on, but not with the windows open.

It's March!

I can't quite believe that it's March. We've had six showings of the house since Wednesday and there's an open house tomorrow. Fingers constantly crossed. Ankles, elbows...

It's been a couple of weeks of, "I can't complain." A good friend of mine from grad school had his childhood home, where his father still lived, burn to the ground. His father was gone at the time so he wasn't hurt, but lost everything. A friend from law school went into labor at 20 weeks and lost one of her twin boys. Then it stopped and she hasn't yet delivered the other. If he can hold on another four weeks things will look better. Little Samuel weighed only 10 ounces when he came. That afternoon another friend from law school emailed that her mother had had a massive stroke and wasn't expected to make it. They had her on life support while A and her husband made the 8 hour drive to be with her. So, all in all, even when yesterday I was having such a bad day, I just kept thinking about how it wasn't really that bad at all.

In other news, well, there isn't any. It's all about living in the "perfect" house - as in perfectly clean, perfectly organized, etc. Kind of how I lived when I was single. Ha, ha. But, no more.

Two weeks from Monday we head to F'ton. Looking forward to it, but I'm sure I said that already. Hope all is well with you!

Hate

I just don't know what to say.
Boy’s Killing, Labeled a Hate Crime, Stuns a Town

The memorial site for Lawrence King, 15.

Ahhhh...

I have about an hour more of touch-up painting and I have to get something for where the vinyl meets the carpet, but, except for a weekend of cleaning, we're done. We had the "Truth-in-Housing" inspection yesterday and there may be a few things we get asked to do, but nothing earthshattering. A lot of stuff is "grandparented" for a 90 year old house. E.g., we can't do much about the headroom on the stairs to the basement. But, ask me how annoying it is to have things identified that we paid someone to do! Oh, like the wrong kind of cap on a $3200 chimney. Grrr... But, painful wrist and exhaustion aside, the place looks great. After Sunday it's all about maintaining a level of cleanliness and order - and holding our collective breath.

In other news, we leave for F'ton three weeks from Monday. I sure hope the weather doesn't prevent us from reaching our destination. If we get stranded in Toronto I'm calling one of you! But, seriously, I don't care if we get stranded once we're there, but I do hope it's clear skies all around.

I can't believe how much has to happen in the next what I've taken to calling "hopefully-less-than-four-months." But, I just have to keep reminding myself to breathe. One day at a time, right?

Just watch for the posting that has me screaming, "Sold!!!" Fingers, toes, ankles, arms crossed.

Woo-hoo!

Greetings from the world of home repairs. The list is getting shorter. Porch light fixed. Check. Kitchen cupboards painted and installed. Check. Kitchen blind hung. Check. And so on. I have to admit - I can't believe how good the kitchen looks. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get the basement finished - though 7YO will be home most of the day, so it's a toss up. The only thing that it might be tough to finish by next weekend is some painting/scraping on the back porch. If only it weren't fast approaching zero - degrees that is! A month from tomorrow - weather permitting - we all head up to F'ton. Can't wait. It would sure be nice to go up there having sold the house, but that's not likely to happen in this market.

Well, just thought I'd post a quick update. More as it happens!

Update, or not...

No news. I'm still exhausted - caulking, painting, sanding... But, we are getting somewhere. Our bedroom now looks great. I really have to crack up at how great things will be, but how we never managed to do them for us to enjoy. I just called an electrician - to fix the porch light that has been out for-ever.

Both the builder and realtor in F'ton have been sick and dealing with snow/ice storms. So, no movement there either. I do have everything lined up with the lender, attorney, funds, etc. so that whenever we can move forward on things we'll be ready.

Things at work are hopping, too. I'm teaching an extra course and a half. P is working three part-time jobs; offers too good to turn down. And, it's still cold. But, if all were to go well we'd be driving from Chicago to Cleveland four months from today. We'll see...

So, just wanted to say, "hi" even though I've not much to add. Hope everyone is well!

Exhaustion

I am beat. Thursday I met with the guy who is going to do some repairs for us. Saturday we spent two hours with our realtor. This morning I woke up at 5:00, wide awake, thinking about how much I have to get done around here. At 5:30 I thought, "I can either lie here thinking about it and have a stroke or I can get up and get to work." So, I got up. I had to spend and hour and a half at the Home Depot-like store. Yuk. Then it was over to Target, home, lunch, drop P at school, take 6YO shopping, drop him at a birthday party, pick up P, back to the Home Depot-like store, pick up 6YO, stop at the grocery store, have supper, collapse. P did the bath/bed routine while I cleaned up and now I'm ready to fall over. Oh, yeah, tomorrow is back to work. A friend is coming to town Friday and on Saturday 6YO will become 7YO and there's a party. My head is spinning.

We hope to be able to get the house listed by the third week of February, but that all depends on how fast we can get the work done. The stuff we've been procrastinating about for years. P decided in August 2005 that she wanted to redo the kitchen cabinets. Not done yet. The porch light hasn't worked for years. Gotta fix that. I swear, this morning I thought, "The hell with it all, I'll just stay here." For about a second. And, we're still waiting to get the bid on the new place. Nervous as - fill in your expression of choice.

I can't believe that - if all goes well - we'll be sitting in Fredericton less than five months from today, Canada Day having come and gone. Keep your fingers crossed for us. So much has to happen between now and then, much of it beyond our control. Oy!

Okay, off to have some chocolate pudding. Comfort food.

Back from Fredericton

I couldn't post while I was in F'ton, but I wrote notes to post later. Here you go! More soon!

Saturday Night, 19 January
Greetings from Fredericton! I got up at 4:50 Saturday morning and started my trek to Canada. I caught a 7:15 am flight to Boston, rented a car, and arrived in Fredericton at 8:40 pm, Atlantic Time. Subtract the 45 minute stop at L.L. Bean and it took me a hair under seven hours to drive up from Boston. Just before and after the border, in Houlton, ME, I slowed down to about 40 mph and lost some time. The roads were a bit slick so, better safe than sorry. Otherwise it was clear, dry, and fast all the way up.

As I approached the border I was listening to a station of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network – Prairie Home Companion, in particular. That was a hoot. “Live from the Fitzgerald Theatre in Saint Paul…” – minutes from my house – and it was accompanying me into New Brunswick – Minnesota winter jokes and all. When I started to lose the station I switched to the Fredericton CBC station and one of my all time favorite songs was playing, Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” – you may know it from the film, Midnight Cowboy. Soon I heard Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” and Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade.” Can’t think of better music for the last few miles into town. A quick stop for a Coffee Crisp and here I am!

Some might wonder why fly to Boston and drive. Well, mostly because of a really cheap ticket. Since I needed to rent a car once here anyway… If I flew into Halifax it would be a four hour drive and a plane change. If I flew into Bangor, ME it would be three hour drive and a plane change. At this time of year I prefer to avoid changing planes. Too risky in terms of cancellations, delays, etc. Flying via Toronto – also a change - was just too expensive. And, there’s currently – or at least when I booked the ticket - no air service from Boston to F’ton. The other reason was that I have an old friend in Boston so I figured if I made it to Boston and got stuck we’d just have a longer visit than lunch next Thursday! I like to drive; at least when the weather cooperates. A good car, good music, good weather – that beats a massage in my book. The footnote, of course, is that I hate driving in the dark and this time of year it can’t really be avoided. Add in those damn “Attention – Moose” signs and the anxiety meter goes way up. Nonetheless, here I am!

Tomorrow I’m scheduled to meet the realtor and the builder at 11 and discuss the house plan. Then, it’s something like meet the well driller, the re-design guy, see the actual house that was built according to the plan, etc. Can we pull this off? Stay tuned!

Monday, 21 January
Whew! Yesterday I met my realtor, K, around 11, and we had coffee and a delicious sweet bread courtesy of her husband, H, a German baker/pastry chef. We then met a well driller at the lot just to cover that base. Then we went back to her house and met up with J, the builder, and, after a chat, went to meet with the re-design guy. Then – insert drum roll – we went to see the house that had been built with the plan we had been considering. Long story short we rejected it. But, get this. The woman who lives there is a Ph.D. student in the department with which I’ll be visiting next year. Too funny! We then headed back to K’s where, with another friend of hers, we began a five hour feast. It was one series of tapas-like treats after another. Then, at the table, asparagus with prosciutto and a nice sauce. That was followed by a pea and ham soup that was out of this world. Then we had salad, followed by small pastries with a chocolate mousse-like filling dusted with confectioner’s sugar and accompanied by slices of blood orange. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten food like that prepared by a host. But, then, that’s what he does for a living. I made it back to the house just before midnight and collapsed.

This morning I spent some time looking at house plans and then went to meet with R, a guy who answered my ad on gayspaces.com. We had a delightful conversation – including his homemade cinnamon rolls – and, another long story short, it looks like we’ve got a place to stay this summer. He’s going to his cottage and will rent us his place. Coincidentally it is in the same block as the place we looked at last summer, one street over! Thus, it’s two blocks from the farmer’s market. It wouldn’t work for us long term, but it’s a perfect way to spend the summer! Dog friendly, large yard, downtown… Cool.

I also think we’ve got a house plan. More on that later. Today I also met with the guys at the university, two different mortgage lenders, a construction materials rep, opened a bank account, and picked up the papers on the land from our attorney. All in all a productive day. And, I was so glad I rented a RAV4 as it was snowing most of the day.

Wednesday, 23 January
This morning I had breakfast with one of the guys from UNB. I don’t want to write anything publicly, but I’m hopeful on a number of fronts. I then had a three hour appointment with the re-design guy and the builder. We have a house – well, a plan for a house! Whenever I can figure out how to do so, I’ll post it.

I’ll be posting details to Our Canadian Home when I can, but, in brief it’s 1428 square feet, one story with a full height basement for later finishing. We’re going as green as we can afford – it’s ICF construction – foundation and first floor – and will have a high-efficiency woodstove. Because of the ICF construction, we’ll be able to use that for heat much of the time, but we’ll also have baseboard heat - the norm in new construction, it appears. We’re going to get an estimate on putting in the things (e.g., pipes) that would allow us to add solar later without having to do anything but put the panels on and make the appropriate connections, etc. And, we’ll be adding a rain barrel. If you want to know more, check Our Canadian Home in a few days/weeks!

I didn’t get out of town until around 3:00 and drove as far as Freeport, ME where I spent the night.

Thursday, 24 January
This morning I left Maine and went to visit an old friend outside of Boston. I arrived just before 11 and left just before 3. It was great to catch up and so cool that we’ll be within driving distance. Her twin boys are about eight months older than 6YO. I’m now at Logan airport waiting to board my flight.

Last night I received an email from our realtor in MN telling me that the average listing in our neighborhood is now 100 days and suggesting we list in February rather than March. Lovely. So, I head home, the semester starting next week, with tons to get done at home. Fortunately, I’ve been weeding for a year so it’s really about repairs and some light painting, not days of weeding, sorting, removing.

As I often say, stay tuned!

Duty/Tariff

I'm sure this is out there somewhere, but I've not been able to find it. Does anyone know where the tariff schedule - I think that's what they call it - is located such that one can determine the duty on items that do not appear on the Goods to Follow list?

I know, I know - they won't search, etc. But, we may decide to bring a few new furniture items. Even with duty they would be cheaper to buy and haul and since it looks like we'll have lots of room in the truck... Anyway, I'm really risk averse, so just humor me. Or should that be "humour" me?

Thanks!

Political Sixth Sense

So, I noticed that there's a tear down the middle of the latest issue of Newsweek. It runs from the top edge down to between Clinton's eyebrows. I assumed it was an accident as it had been on the floor. But, when I picked it up 6YO exclaimed something like, "Get that picture away from me." I asked why and he said something about her smile freaking him out. So, I picked up Maclean's, featuring Obama, and asked what he thought of him. He gave some unintelligible response, followed by, "He's scary." I said, "Well, there's a good chance that one of them will be the next president." He asked, "Are they good?" to which I responded, "They're not my favorites, but they'll do." His next question was, "Will they start wars?" I said that I hoped not. He started chanting, "No war, no war, no war." I said that I was glad to hear him say that and he said something about Bush and Bush's father and war, followed by the fact that his bus driver last year left in the middle of the school year to "go to war." Yeah, I'm biased, but what a cool kid.

From Arizona

Greetings. I arrived in Arizona on Thursday. My father's memorial service was yesterday and all went well. My sister and her family left this morning, as did my nieces. Their folks, my brother and sister-in-law, are here until tomorrow. I'm here until Wednesday. I figured it was better for my mother to stay a while rather than, after having been crazy-busy with the holidays, planning, and guests, have everyone leave at once. We'll probably take in a movie and there are a few things around her new place that she needs me to do.

I've been keeping up with my blog reading, but haven't had much to post. It looks like the media have decided to anoint Obama as president. Whatever. We're counting the days and keeping our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly - well, as smoothly as can be expected - with our departure. We've got tons to do before 1 February to get the house ready to show. And, every day brings another report of falling prices. Just get me out of here...

Anyway, I thought I'd take a moment to at least say "hello" and that I hope everyone's 2008 is off to a good start. More as it happens!

Happy New Year

It's 9:38 Central Standard Time. That means that it's almost midnight in Fredericton. Having been born in New York, I often think of 11 pm as my "real" midnight. Makes it easier to go to bed before the clock at home strikes twelve. Yeah, big party-gals are we. So, maybe tonight we'll use 10 pm as midnight - in anticipation of our new home. But, before then... it's the rest of our fifth episode of Corner Gas. We absolutely love this show. Just when we decide to try to become a television-free household... Bummer.

Nonetheless, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year for 2008! May the coming year bring you everything you desire.

Taking the Plunge

Well, after a lot of web research, discussion, etc. we've decided, at least for now, to drive a truck when we move. While the additional $2000+ for a PODS move might have been worth it for not having to drive, we decided against it, primarily because we would have had an extra load/unload step. We considered a full-service move, which wasn't as cost prohibitive as we thought and would have been home door-to-storage door, but when even the movers advise that you move your own tv, stereo, sentimental belongings, etc. what's the point? Almost all we're taking is either electronics or sentimental! We're taking very little in the way of furniture, no major appliances, etc.

For those considering a DIY move and who might happen upon this post sometime, let me address the potential "why Penske?" question. I have been reading various postings, etc. for months. Virtually everyone says to avoid U-Haul. U-Haul was the one company that would have enabled us to leave the truck in Canada, but the different between Calais, Maine - on the border - and Fredericton, NB - about 140 km into Canada - was $800. And, get this, they allowed slightly less mileage. Nah, I don't think so. Budget wasn't bad, but we get a AAA discount with Penske and almost all the postings I found had glowing reports on Penske. I had also called them a few months ago and a very nice representative had said there was no problem taking the truck into Canada, that we would just have to bring it back to Maine.

So, I've been watching the website, waiting for the 6 month reservation window. I checked this morning and discovered that I could reserve a 22' diesel truck and get both a AAA discount and web discount. But, I had a question about changing dates as we get closer so I called. I was told that we could change dates any time up to the day of the reservation and we can cancel altogether up to 48 hours in advance. Plus, it's unlimited mileage - which is a HUGE benefit - and we got an additional discount by reserving right then on the phone. So, we've reserved a truck for June for a reasonable $1047.96.

I can check periodically to see if there's a better deal, though, in my experience, the above is pretty good for a move of this distance. With a truck that's 22' we should have tons of room; so much that we won't have to pack stuff in the car like we had thought. The only down side - besides driving at all - is that we'll drive past the Maine drop-off, unload in F'ton, and have to return the truck to Maine. But, the up-side is that they give us 7 days, more than we had planned to take.

So, if all goes as planned - we'll do something like this:
Day 1: Pick up and load truck
Day 2: Saint Paul to Chicago - ~400 miles - evening with friends
Day 3: Chicago to Cleveland - ~345 miles - evening with friends
Day 4: Cleveland to Boston - ~640 miles - evening with friends
Day 5: Boston to Fredericton - ~430 miles
Day 6: Unload truck
Day 7: Return truck to Maine

There ya' have it. One of the most fun things about this blog is that I'll get to look back at this after knowing how things really played out!

I am continually amazed...

Seriously. I am continuously amazed at the incredibly useful information I find on various websites of the Canadian government. I've been trying to determine with which bank I should open an account. I accidentally ended up here, but then went here. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it sure gave me some nice information as a place to start.

BTW, I've heard so much about how different - and expensive - banking is in Canada. Anyone out there who wants to offer their advice is most welcome to do so! Thanks!

SIN

That's social insurance number, of course! This morning I was able to get ours by phone. I'm feeling so, well, so, permanent resident-like.

First, I called one of the numbers on the website and was told, politely, that I could only do so in person. I asked, politely, why the website said, "blah, blah, blah." She put me on hold and came back and told me that I would have to call the other number. Then, she looked and realized that that was an 888 number that I could only call from within Canada. So, she transferred me!

The next clerk started to take the information for 6YO and then said, no, she couldn't do it because I didn't have my SIN yet, that I would have to come in person. Again, I read from the website and said, politely, that I didn't understand why the website said one thing and I was being told another. She then suggested that we do mine first and, since the numbers are issued immediately, then try to do his. So, we did that. I then passed the phone to P who was able to get hers. Success.

What was really great was that they were so pleasant even as I questioned them and they were so helpful when I was fairly insistent. Gotta love it!

So, silly as it sounds, it's one step closer to feeling like we're actually there! Merry Christmas to me, Merry Christmas to me!

Now if I could just figure out how we're going to get our stuff there!

Immigration Exam

Now, perhaps you're thinking about some exam that one has to take in order to immigrate to someplace, say Canada. Nope. Maybe you had flashbacks to your medical exam. Nah.

P came home today, having taken her second final examination - in Immigration Law. And, while I don't have it verbatim, one of the questions was about a same-sex couple! It went something like this - A, a US citizen, and B, a Spanish citizen, met... married in Spain and were settled there, living happily. A's mother, in the US, was taken ill and A returned to the US to be with her. After a while, with A remaining in the US to care for her mother, A and B decided to try to get B to the US for an extended period of time...

Being a law exam there were all kind of little issues thrown in; e.g., B was an internationally recognized author. It probably ended with the "call of the question" going something like, "Discuss all of the options available to A and B."

Pretty cool. Not just because P thinks she must have smoked the question, but for the fact that the prof even had such a question on the exam. Rock on.

Okay, back to work!

Incremental Movement

My, how time flies when you're doing too much. It's that time of year when most of us are just too darn busy. In our house one of us is giving finals, another is taking them. 6YO is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus and watching every holiday special that has ever been made. Add to that the recent - and stressful - closing on our lot in Canada and, whew, that's pretty much why each time I think I'll sit down and write something I haven't.

So, what's happening? I'm dreading all of the work that we have to do in the next two months to get the house ready to go on the market and I'm dreading what the market will hold. I decided to teach an overload in Spring term to make some extra cash so that will mean more work. But, it's on-line so that's great both in terms of energy and experience. I've been communicating with a couple of folks at UNB and, at a minimum, I will have dual-sponsorship as a Visiting Scholar, with office space, etc. I won't know until May or June whether I'll get any money. There's also a position to which I will be applying, though that's a long shot. Then, there's the house we hope to build...

I've decided - after much insanity with emails to and from the realtor, builder, etc. - to go back to F'ton in January. Email is great, but some things just need to be hammered out face to face. Plus, I can meet with the guys at UNB and take care of some things like opening a bank account, etc. This, of course, is all dependent on the weather.

So, here's what coming down the pike -
January - Travel to Tucson for RDW's celebration of life
January - Travel to Fredericton, as above
February - Stay put, get the semester up and running
March - Travel to Toronto! Put house on the market.
April - Travel to Portland, OR for a conference and possibly Vancouver*
May - Travel to Fredericton for a conference and final move arrangements
June - Move to Fredericton?
July - Hopefully spend Canada Day in Fredericton, New Brunswick!

* I won't know about Vancouver until after the semester begins. With all the goings-on I may not be able to be gone that long.

So much for reducing my carbon footprint on the earth. That's five round trip flights. Ugh.

BTW, check out Consumer Consequences for a game about your impact on the earth. Or, this one which is shorter and less graphic intensive.

And, to continue veering off "topic" - was there a topic? - if you are fighting consumerism you might enjoy a new documentary/docucomedy, "What Would Jesus Buy?" I'm teaching a class on affluenza/consumption so a group of us went to see it last weekend. It's by Morgan Spurlock, the guy who did "Super Size Me!"

Speaking of consumption... As 6YO has been watching the holiday programs we've recorded he's had pretty much his first "heavy" exposure to commercials. Until now he's really seen only DVDs, PBS Kids, and the infrequent Disney program. We put a block on the Disney Channel when he discovered it and got into Zack and Cody, etc. Anyway, we've decided to put the televisions away on 1 January. Yup. We're going to try to go cold turkey and see how things go. I figure this is the best time. This morning's New York Times has a piece that is highlighted with, "Because of the writers’ strike, networks’ schedules will be filled with repeats or reality programs come January." Perfect timing!

Well, P is busy in the kitchen making corncakes with cotija cheese. Yum. I'm off! More as it happens.