Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Well it seems my attempt to be rational with the people upstairs is not going to work.  I might need to find a new tactic.  The noise level is not getting any better, and I'm ready to take some drastic measures.  If something doesn't change, little hyper Helen might find herself a victim of a tragic fall down the stairs.... "What?  Your little darling Helen broke her leg and now can't run around and jump up and down above my head?  That's terrible!!!"

Anyway, to escape the noise, I went for a little walk around the neighborhood, and this is the park behind my house.  I'm thinking my cat will love it.

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Rain today.  It probably rained for a few hours.  It was good, since everything was starting to look pretty brown and dried out.  I went out to Okotoks for work today, and it was a nice and productive afternoon.  After work, I just made dinner and chilled out.  I downloaded the first season of "Game of Thrones" and so I watched episode one.  So far I like it.  

I have a date to call my bestie and chat on the phone.  We haven't had a chance to catch up and I feel like I need some Lisa time!  

I also found out that this moving company might be able to move my stuff from Vancouver to Calgary for $1050!  The first company quoted $2000, the second one quoted $14-1500, and now just over $1000!  Amazing!  That's definitely do-able!

The family that lives upstairs is already driving me crazy.  I couldn't stand the constant banging and jumping, so I finally went up to "discuss" the situation.  The father, who barely speaks English (he's Turkish), apologized for the noise, but told me that "Helen" is hyper and there's nothing they can do about it.  They don't want to use violence, but she doesn't listen to them.  The entire time we're talking about the noise, Helen and her younger brother are jumping and stomping on the ground ... and smiling at me.  The father says that they go to bed around 10:30 or 11 at the latest.  He kept saying that there's nothing he can do about the noise.  It didn't look like he was going to try, either.  Who puts their 2 and 4 year old to bed at 10:30pm or 11pm??!  What ever happened to kids in bed by 8pm??  SOMEBODY GONNA GET A HURT!  To be continued...

These are my front steps leading up to the building.  Good thing there's a back entrance!  It's quite a climb.

Friday, August 12th, 2011

I think I got a speeding ticket this morning.  I've only ever had one in my entire life and that was just after I got my new car and I was driving between Calgary and Vancouver back in 2008.  I don't know for sure if I got one, but they have these SUVs parked on the side of the road around the city and as I drove by, there was a flash behind me - looks like it took my picture.  What happened to the good ol' days when cops would actually pull you over and do the work?  I don't think it's fair that they can just take a picture and mail it to you.  I really don't even think I was speeding, but maybe that's because I wasn't paying attention (my bad).  

Anyway, I got off work a little early because I start earlier on Fridays, and when I arrive at the Raposos - my temporary home - I'm locked out of the house.  That's right, I was never given a key.  I called Dave, and he told me to call Tristan.  I guess Tristan left to get his hair cut, and was on his way home.  However, I sat on the front step for an hour - and it was HOT outside.  I also hadn't eaten all day, so I was starving, so I was a little cranky.

I met the guy from the property management company to do a walk through of my new place.  There are definitely things you should always ask before signing a lease.  You'd think I'd know that by now.  While we're going through everything, the noise in the apartment upstairs is SO loud.  I find out that it's a family of four - two small kids.  They like to run around, and when I told the dad that they were very loud, he replied with "it's an old building".  Great!  I'm going to have to buy some ear plugs.

Anyway, I got my keys and then Tristan and I went to grab an ice-cream from My Favorite Ice-Cream Shoppe, near where I used to live.  It's very close by my new place.  It's fantastic to be back in the same neighborhood, and also so close to my job.  I guess it's a small moving day tomorrow.