random acts of missing

I think that in the process of moving we encountered some kind of Invisible Random-Stuff-Eating Monster, which is no doubt closely related to the Invisible Sock-Eating Monster that lives somewhere between the washing machine and the dryer. Somehow, despite our meticulous efforts to quadruple-check that nothing was left behind in any nook or cranny of our apartment, my car or the moving truck, the following items have gone missing.

- Andy's dad's bag, containing a few essentials that he brought with him when he came to Thunder Bay to help us move.
- My knitting bag, containing, uh, my knitting.
- A box of miscellaneous books.
- All of our fridge magnets (yes, I am sure they aren't still on the fridge at our old place).

The Monster is well-fed indeed.

sometimes i feel like i'm being ripped off

Venturing into the realm of the mundane today.

I was in Office Depot yesterday picking up a few odds and ends for my office. Nothing special, just basic office stuff like a stapler, scissors, that sort of thing. After standing in line to pay for these exciting purchases (does having just one cashier on a Saturday afternoon going into the holiday shopping season seem like a bad idea, or is it just me?), the kid gives me the grand total: a hundred and eighty-eight bucks. Hmm, I thought to myself. Did I grab the solid gold stapler or what?

Reviewing my receipt (and making friends with everybody behind me in line, as I didn't step away from the cash desk), I noted that one item had been rung up at $95.76. Odd, I thought, but the "description" on the receipt was too cryptic to identify what the item was. My best guess was some little sticky things you use to put stuff up on the wall without tacks.

I asked the cashier to clarify this, and he zapped the little sticky things' UPC code again. Sure enough, $95.76. "Uhh... maybe they're just really, really good," he offered. Turns out this was way beyond his authority to deal with, so the assistant manager was consulted. "Er," was her response. I guess she could have been a bit distracted by the angry looks the forty or so people in line behind me were shooting at us.

Anyway, I got my money back, though it wasn't a simple process. And they gave me the little sticky things for free.

Told you we're dealing with the mundane today.

so how did The Plan turn out?

I was just looking at my last post and finding that it was back in May. My, how things have changed since then... Let's review, shall we?

- Paperwork to work in Manitoba: check. Many trees sacrificed themselves in my quest for this but I am happy to report that it was not in vain.
- We found a realtor and have embarked on what I called "this property-owning gig."
- Andy is currently writing his thesis (it's become THE overwhelming activity in our house) and is defending in next week. After that, he's done! (Knock on wood.) At the moment he is mooing -- I think the thesis is getting annoying.
- We moved back to Winnipeg - together - at the beginning of the month. Turns out we were right about needing more than just a Golf and a Yukon. Remind me to tell you about our U-Haul experience sometime... (It was HORRIBLE.)
- Wedding plans are underway, though it's still a work in progress. The date is still 9 June 2007.
- Still no brother/sister for Griffin.

Our new house is on a little dead-end street in Wolseley, and we're pretty happy with it so far. I've started work and my office is just a hop, skip and a jump down the street, which is so sweet. We've hooked up with friends we haven't seen in a while, met some of our neighbours (and promised to become much more sociable when the thesis is finished), and figured out where the nearest grocery stores are.

So far, so good.