hurc's life in O-town

I guess it's time for an update. It's been 5 weeks since I moved to Ottawa, and 4 weeks since I started at my new company. Let's start this bad ass post...

Work has been alright. Things are picking up considerably, but so far, I don't have to bring any work home with me. So that's a good thing. Unfortunately, I don't think the good times will last. I've already done a little overtime last week. It's not a huge deal, but that's how it all starts. All in all though, the new company is good. People are good, work is a little challenging, definitely different from the old job.

I've been renting out a room in a house for the last 3 weeks, but I'm looking forward to moving into my old place soon. My 1-bedroom appartment will be free this Friday, and I don't have a single piece of furniture to move in yet. This week, I'm probably going to head over to a Sleep Country or something and buy a nice mattress. They say you spend a third of your life sleeping, so you better get yourself a good comfortable mattress. Other than that, we'll play it by ear I guess. The next thing I really need is a TV, with cable and internet access. And a couch. And a desk for my computer. And a dinning table/coffee table. And chairs. Dammit. Not to mention a bunch of other things I need to take care once I have my new permanent address: driver's license, car license plates andinsurance, appartment insurance, ontario health insurance plan (ohip)...

I've been driving back to Montreal almost every weekend since I moved, bringing more clothes with me each time. It's only a 2 hour drive each way, so it's not a big deal for me. The minute I walk into the house, I suddenly feel exhausted. I guess when I'm in Ottawa, I'm always on my guard, always thinking about the things I need to get done. But when I'm home, I guess I feel more relaxed, and only then do I realize how tired I really am.

Did mention I hate going to the movies alone? Before Ottawa, I'd only ever gone to the movies alone once, and that was for Batman Begins, when I had to see it for a second time. But in the past 5 weeks, I've already done it FOUR times! I can see why some people are able to do it. You can take your time getting there, you don't have to wait for anyone, you don't have people whispering comments DURING the movie (although I sometimes will do it), etc. But if I had a choice, I would much rather go with someone. After a movie, I like to talk (re: complain) about the movie, what was good or bad about it, share the experience.

I went to see Pirates, Clerks 2, Talladega Nights and Little Miss Sunshine. Pirates was good, but too long, especially since the story doesn't end there. Clerks 2 was pretty good, what you'd expect from Kevin Smith. Talladega Nights is not that great at all, the more I think about, the more I think that Will Ferrell is MUCH funier is smaller doses (see Old School). Little Miss Sunshine had a lot of hype in the independant circuit. It was good, but I think the hype hurt it. Maybe because I was expecting Steve Carrell to have a much bigger role. I'd still recommend people to see it though. It's not a rental, but it may be a cheapy Tuesday flick. Now that I think about it, I don't think I saw a single movie this year where I thought deserved a full price admission. Last year, I paid full price to see Batman Begins twice, once on IMAX, and then bought the DVD. So far this year, nothing has been that good.

So I'm writing this blog from home in Montreal. I wanted to spend a nice quiet weekend at home for my birthday. That's right. For those who don't know, yesterday was my birthday. I turn 29 this year and I don't feel any older. If you would have asked me last year, I would have told you that I was starting to feel old. But this year, despite some drama (mainly due to my self-consciousness), I feel good about myself and the way things are going. I may not be beating off the ladies with a stick yet, but I'm not worried about that... for now...

It turns out that a couple of my friends, C&Y, were leaving town for Waterloo/Kitchener, and that it was C's birthday the day after mine! So they organized a dinner to celebrate both our birthdays as well as make it a going away dinner party. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Lombardi located on Duluth. It's "Bring your own wine", and I had some pretty wine that P had brought. And wouldn't you know it, I got pretty drunk and become the main spokesperson for Red Lobster. After dinner, we had this yummy carrot cake that Y baked for both C and I.

So that's that. Going to have dinner with the family tonight before heading back to O-town.