Yo.
So, I'm preparing to move. Which, honestly, was a phrase I was kinda hoping I wouldn't be saying for a while. Starting May 2019 I had moved every 4 months until this September. I've been here since then. Not gonna lie, I reaaaaaaaally miss my place back 2 years ago. I was living with a guy I basically consider my best friend, in a really cool modern condo, in a really good part of town, working at a great Starbucks store, and my Masters was finally done. but I needed a change. I was tired and burnt out (sounds a little familiar eh?). So we left the city, gave our 2 months notice, and went to live with his parents for the summer.
God really provided in that move.
That's what I thought. That's how I saw things. With how quickly decisions had to be made we went from living in Ottawa with no changes one day, to preparing to leave the city in two weeks. I prepared to have no job for a few weeks or more. I cancelled payments to my TFSA. I prepared to have nothing for a bit. And as I was walking home from work early one day I got a call from my future boss who had previously said I could probably be transferred over as a barista. She called to inform me that she had talked to my current boss and was really in need of a supervisor that was focused on standards and routines and store operations (yo. that's me) and that she had a store that could use me for a couple weeks as I get added to the upcoming schedules. Yo. I'm moving and keeping my job at full pay, with shifts the week I arrive. Went from bankrupt to able to pay my two rents, and ended up making a good amount of savings that summer.
Anyways, lived at my parents' one semester. Moved in to where my roommate had been for a semester after he went back to Niagara (he only had one semester left). The world shut down in March, but me and one of my now current roommates had already planned a place to live for the summer (long story short, the lease wasn't renewed on the place we had been and he needed to live somewhere for 4 months before getting married). So, in May I moved to another place for the summer (he ended up in Toronto most of the summer with the option to work from home allowing him to). And in September I moved in here with my now current roommate. We looked at like 4 or 5 other places that were more my price point, but they were all reallllllll sketch. This place is nice. It's a little high for me, but the landlady could definitely charge more. It doesn't really have real issues. The main issue for me though, is my roommate.
So, and I'll state this upfront, he isn't a bad guy. He's a little quirky, but he is a good guy. He does a lot of good stuff for church and his family. He's working a job he doesn't really care that much for. He's got nothing to do outside the house because he's a coder and a gamer. So he's always on his computer. But when he's not, he's in the kitchen washing dishes, or cooking a fairly complex dinner at midnight. Ya. The thing that really makes us incompatible is our schedules. He's a 10-3 on the dot kinda guy and depending on the day I need to be up by 6, 8, or 10. Lately, it's 1-2 times a week I'm up at 6. That's 3 hours after he goes to bed. And like, he's generally not loud in his room (although the walls are fairly thin, he does speak more quietly when he knows I'm trying to sleep), but in the kitchen cooking full pot roasts and soups and casseroles at 11 or midnight when my door really doesn't keep much light or sound out is reallllly not helpful. He also tends to be extremely passive; lots of talking "to himself" but like only when I'm in earshot; or like hovering to see what I'm doing; or asking me really unnecessary questions like "how's the weather?" when I've been inside for 4 hours; or like not using his words just a lot of "hmmm?"s. And I have nowhere to get away from it.
I kept finding myself asking if I could stay here longer? Could I live with him longer? Would I rather live with strangers? Could I just talk to him and resolve these things?
I didn't want to.
And that's saying something, because I really don't want much these days. But I had built up a lot of anger towards him, and I just need to get away. So I started browsing some listings. Looked around. Sent some messages. Didn't expect much because I was planning to move in September, and was looking around in May. I expected that July would be a good time to really take it seriously. whenever I'd scroll on facebook I'd get the facebook market ads for places nearby that were similar to my previous searches. And so I sent off some more messages. I got a message back.
This place sounded pretty good. Good price. Great location. I'd have a couple more roommates, which is probably good for me. Oh, the lease starts in June, and did I mention I have a couple mice to bring with me? Might as well see it, but it's unlikely that I'll sign. It would really come down to meshing well with the 4 guys there. If I'm just an outsider among them it would be bad for sure. If they're pretty cool it could work, maybe.
Went to see the place one day before work. I took an extra shift, just in case I need to start paying extra rent. Did my due diligence as far as looking for mold under sinks and whatever. But I mainly needed to meet the guys. The one I had been messaging was out. The guy that manages the house showed me around, he was chill. Got back to the living room and another one of the guys was there. So I talked with the two of them for a bit. The third guy passed by briefly at one point. Apparently they'd all like gone to elementary school or something together way back and just happened to end up living together. They're all really chill guys that kinda just go with the flow. All four of them had been working from home as of late with government jobs. Pretty normal here in Ottawa. My room would be in the basement and share a bathroom with guy #3, who is the tidiest of the group. A little intimidating, but he seemed cool too. Ended up finding out that that second guy went to highschool with me when I was in grade 12; he was in grade 9 then. Small talk could only go so far and they needed to get back to work. I walked away pretty excited about it, but a little torn by the prospect of paying so much rent this summer.
So I walked to work. I was like an hour early because I had expected to be at the house a bit longer. So I sat in the back and just talked to whoever was on break. They each had wondered why I was there so early, and, I had complained a fair amount about my current roommate, so I kinda just filled them all in on the house I had just seen. I was enthusiastically telling them about they guys, my connection to them through that guy in highschool, my mutual friends with the 4th guy I'd been messaging, how much rent I'd be saving monthly, how my bedroom would be bigger, how there were two living rooms, how there was like 4 times more counter space in the kitchen. I went on and on. I worked. I went home. I planned to sleep on it.
But then it hit me.
I'd been so excited about it that I literally talked about it for an hour. What would I do if it got sold before I got back to them? So I messaged him back and said I'm in if they're cool with me. I paid rent (wait a sec. I need to pay my current roommate. There.), got the key the other day, talked more with the 1st and 4th guys, made sure they were cool with my mice, and walked off into the sunset. ;P I could move any day. I looked it up, the car sharing program I'm signed up for has a small van available and it'd be way cheaper than renting a moving van.
So now it's really hit. I'm packing. I'm moving. I won't have to be mad at my roommate, or try in vain to hide from him. I can get a new start again.
I'm really excited to get to know my new four roommates and live in a bigger place. :)
Anyways, I gotta go sleep.
Ttyl.
D.Fa
PS. I've been really into the whole Offline TV gang and got into their Among Us stuff this last year. It's led down a rabbit hole into listening to a whole bunch of streamers' personal music. Here's what I've been listening to while writing this, but like, a 1 hour version. ;P LilyPichu is pretty great. :3
