Before I go offline

I moved into my apartment yesterday. While it doesn't have the comfort and luxury of the hotel room I am actually glad I got to move sooner than I expected. For one, I needed to get things organized before I'm totally immersed at work. Another thing is that I want to get into the rhythm of things and try to see what kind of routine I can get to establish for myself. Staying in the hotel is the honeymoon. Moving into the apartment is real life. Obviously I'm not here for a honeymoon. And it's actually not bad either. I got a furnished one bedroom apartment and l am liking it so far. It is small but fairly new. It's easy to clean and maintain - and for someone like me who is the extreme opposite of neat freak, this is a huge thing! The appliances are working fine so far. Just a couple of outlets that are not working but I will let the landlord know about it. The funny (and also the lucky) thing is that the apartment is in the same building as the hotel where I stayed initially! So when I was moving my bags I would just discreetly make several trips from hotel room to apartment bringing one bag at a time. Only because if I hear another comment about my cannot travel light neurosis I just might scream. So when I actually checked out I was only tugging along two decent sized bags. And with the apartment being in the same building as the hotel, I still get to avail of the hotel's amenities: restaurant, fast food, convenient store, cinema and even fitness centre! So if the weather's particularly bad I don't even need to get out at all. Except when I am working of course! And there are always taxis waiting outside the hotel so I can just take a taxi to work during bad weather. Which is I think a two minute ride. Flat rate here is $6 to anywhere. On most days, one would rather walk going anywhere but I am talking about weather extremes.

I am not going to whine and lament about the Internet plan I chose ( which will be installed next week yet so right now I am just making use of wifi at the cafe here at the hotel lobby). I was thinking, since I don't have anything to splurge on here, I might as well avail of the best available plan for Internet. Although I heard that the best they've got is just 4x faster than dial up. That is totally fine with me. But I will be without Internet the next few days. It's ok though. I'll be working for four straight days anyway. And I have the chance to organize my new nest. And I get to catch up on my book back logs. I finished reading Paolo Coelho's the Aleph on the plane, right now I am reading The Four Agreements and I still have a line up of books that I am dying to read, Including the rest of the Games of Throne series (I am still struggling with book 2). So I think being offline for a few days won't be such a bad thing. And hey, who am I to complain? I am old enough to remember what life was like pre internet!

I got the chance to walk around town yesterday and I can't think of any apt word to describe the experience other than surreal. It's a totally different world. And I mean that in a good way. It's hard to explain but it's like I was transported back in time but also it feels like I was transported to an alternate universe. I emailed my mother and told her it's not easy getting lost here even if I tried! The roads just make a loop around and you just walk and walk and then find yourself back in the same spot you were before. And my apartment's one of the two high rise buildings here so wherever i go, whichever side of town I may be I can still see where the building is so yes I won't get lost that easily. I have the worst sense of direction so this works pretty well for me. I love looking at the beach - Frobisher Bay. I guess I should redefine what my concept of beach is. I am besieged by a tsunami or avalanche of sensation when I get to behold the magnificence of what I see before me. All so new to me. I realize that as long as I am properly geared, I don't mind the cold that much. What I am not so thrilled about though is having to walk through slippery slopes. I have the worst balance staying still so imagine what I am like in motion. Then again for someone like me with the worst sense of direction and even worse sense of balance, finding my way here up north is already some form of odds defying achievement! For that I can say, I am quite proud of myself.

So will be offline for a week. Actual work begins tomorrow. My so called life in Iqaluit now begins..