Lease Signed

We went last night to sign the lease. It is now officially ours starting April 28th. I have to sign for the keys on moving day but other than that, it's ours!

Now to arrange for electricity and internet. Hopefully with this much notice we won't have the usual annoying can't-fit-you-in-til-a-week-later the internet companies love to do.

We brought a tape measure and it's final.... I won't be able to keep my queen size bed. I'm going to miss it but there's just no room in my bedroom for something that big. There is however room in the kitchen for the chest freezer we want to get, so it balances out.

We Got The Place!

We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place! We Got The Place!

Moving in beginning of May. So happy! Happy Dance!

Words of Wisdom

I was listening for wisdom last night. Some would call it prayer, some would call it meditation, some would call it learning from the inner teacher... whatever you call it, I was feeling lost and listening for guidance.

I have a few thoughts (advice to myself?) I'm writing down here partially to share, partially to remember.

Expect the unexpected. You're being called to a new life. Don't be concerned over what seems to be failed communication and a sense of wasted motion. Always remember that you are where you need to be and everything happens in good time. Be content to wait. Consider that even delay might be beneficial. 

Get your ducks in a row, take care of business, be mellow, and wait on the will of the universe. Begin by being clear with yourself. Look inside.  What's needed is to consider issues with care an awareness. Modesty, patience, fairness & generosity are called for here. Examine what has happened, your needs, and the needs of others. Are you placing your wants before other's needs? 

Cultivate your own nature, all else follows. Face the future reassured and prepared to share the good fortune. There are surprises on the way, but by lifting yourself above the daily ebb and flow, you'll find a secure foundation on the bedrock of your destiny.  You may feel overwhelmed at times. Stay centred, see the humour, and keep your faith firm. The universe and your own soul are demanding that you grow.

I'm still sorting out what "cultivating my own nature" entails. Most likely meditation and random acts of compassion but... I don't know... it's like there's a piece I'm missing somewhere.

Nothing left but waiting

We've met with the building manager, filled out all the paperwork, and brought copies of all the important proof things... All that's left it to wait for them to call on Tuesday and tell us which way the wind is blowing.

I like this place and I'm anxious to get the lease signed so I can just relax and pack instead of all this running around.

Rich people just don't get it.

So Tuesday night I got an email from the awesome place saying that they didn't like the fact that mom couldn't sign up for school til summer because there was no way in their mind that I could support everyone if something went wrong. They wanted a co-signer to cover their butts in case mom not only didn't get in her program, but then proceed to sit on her butt and not work or get OW(welfare) or anything.

We flat out told them we don't have a co-signer and thanks for your time and good luck.

Wednesday night after work I found I had a new email from them saying that they really want this to work and would I please look over their numbers to see if they made a mistake somewhere.

Attached was this:

So among the laughable assumptions were:
Cable - $45/month (we don't use cable)
Credit card - $50/month (we don't have credit cards)
Phone/mobile - $150/month (try $60 for both of us on talk/text only)
Misc - $250/month (really? maybe if we had it to spare that month and it was christmas or something)

Also, instead of using the actual net from my pay-stubs they took an estimated gross and used 20% to decide what the net is (my last pay the difference was 10.4%, the one before it was 14.4%). They didn't account for the months that I get an extra pay check due to the long month and didn't include ANY income from mom including child support, tax credits or anything.  So basically, they just don't get how poor people live.

Mom and I decided we were done jumping through hoops for someone who wouldn't understand and are instead persuing the one we saw before it. The manager was much more likeable and we can deal with carpet. Paperwork is getting handed in to them this Friday. 

I know it's been a while

We saw that awesome apartment on Thursday and have been answering questions and such since and I really like this place but I don't wanna jinx it by being needy and all up in her face so... patience and hopefully I'll have a signed lease by next update.

That Farm Girl Glow

At work we were talking about our dreams. Some wanted to live extravagantly, some wanted to travel. Here's how the conversation went when I was asked to share my dreams.

Me: I want a farm
Zar: like serious or just...
Me: I'm saving for land and in two years I'm going out west to apprentice.
Maj: Go on and tell her how you don't wanna make any profit.
Me: Come on now that's not what I said. I said I don't need to make billions of dollars. What I would like to do is have a farm that's self sustaining and a nice buffer amount in the bank for when things go wrong and I'd like to donate any extra to homeless shelters and food banks because there's no reason for anyone to be hungry.
Zar: What kind of farm? like, for animals?
Me: Cows chickens, fruits, veggies, nuts, a little bit of everything really.
Zar: Well that make sense. You're a farm girl right?
Me: Everyone says that but I was born in Toronto. I didn't grow up on a farm.
Maj: Well you just exude Farm-Girl, doesn't she? Like you were born for it.

I don't know if it was a compliment but I'll take it. :)

Mom Found Something Awesome

So we weren't swept away by the one we were going to apply to but it was definitely do-able...

That may be irrelevant. Mom had posted asking on kijiji about what we were looking for and someone emailed her a link to ad for a place just blocks from where we were looking on Saturday that looks amazing. No carpet, low VOC paint, garden and compost bin in the back yard. All inclusive, even laundry! 

I called at 6pm and left a message asking for a showing this week before work so we won't be putting in paperwork at the other place, at least til we've had a chance to see this one. 

**squee!**

Another Long Day

So Mom's train arrived late, again. So we hustled into a cab and made it to the first appointment on time.

The manager was nice and personable, she had two apartments to show us. The building had 24h key access laundry room that ran off Smartcards. Both apartments were mostly carpeted with in unit storage closets and large-ish living rooms.None of us are fans of carpet because it means buying and using and maintaining a vacuum. The one on the first floor was $15 more because it was recently updated to have new cupboards and a range hood, but because it was literally beside the lobby, part of the living room eaten by that (and it's probably going to be noisy). The un-renovated one on the third floor also had one less lower cupboard which would be a good spot for a small chest freezer. After some discussion with the friendly manager we took an application with us and went for lunch.

A few blocks away is a nice Chinese restaurant. It had a Dim-sum menu and in their normal menu they have the lists of dishes of course but also "meal for #" type orders (like you'd get from any take out place) and a separate list of  "traditional meal for #" that listed some foods I didn't immediately recognise.

We ate slowly but still had tons of time til the next showing because the one between them cancelled so we went to Tim Horton's and relaxed for a bit.

The second showing was the one with the pretty pictures. It was at the top end of our be Online it looked so big and had hardwood floors and gorgeous kitchens and bathrooms.... In person, carpet. This one was definitely larger bedrooms, and a beautiful kitchen and bathroom, but there was really no storage except the single small damp looking "locker" assigned to each apartment in the laundry room. The laundry room was only accessible from 8am-10pm and the machines run on coins. She offered to show us a second unit as well but that was out of our range. That was probably the one they took the pictures from.  The final issue was that there was NO on site management at all. If anything went wrong you had to call a number and wait for someone to drive in from wherever they are. Since this past winter has been awful for so many people with pipes bursting and such, that's not a risk I'm willing to take. We thanked her for her time and left.

Before mom left last night we filled out the paperwork and this morning I called to tell her we want the one that hasn't been renovated and that I'd be bringing the paperwork by tomorrow after work.

**fingers crossed**

Phone-Tag Champion

So after two and a half days of research and phone tag we now have three places to see on Saturday.

First is a high-rise complex that has 3 different buildings. The 2br well be looking at is $750 +hydro (electric to those not in Ontario). It is about 30 min walk to downtown and has card based laundry room (no quarters needed yay!)

The second is the first floor of a house right off the main strip downtown. It's a 2br as well for $850 including all utilities and even including laundry. Ideally placed for me to get to work, and also for mom to easily get to everything downtown as well as all the buses even in the winter. It's in a student neighbourhood so it may be the noisier place but noise isn't a big deal to us.

The third one we're seeing is in a low rise about 30 min walk from downtown. This 2br is $825 +hydro and it has laundry on site but I don't know if it's coin or card. It's on the high end of our budget but the pics were so pretty we put it on the list just to see if it was as awesome as it seemed.

Mom's got the train tickets and Eric's going to join us as an extra set of eyes. Haven't had much time with him lately so that will be nice.

Wish us luck. :)

Arg

So we weren't approved.... and of course they don' t give a reason... Arg. Back to the drawing board.

Spent my whole evening researching with Eric and mom. I now have a list of 5 places I'm gonna try to get appointments with for Saturday and we'll start the whole thing over again. I'm tired.  Found this pretty place though.

So Anxious

So we haven't heard back yet. It's possible two business days means that since they got it Wed that's all of Thurs and all of Fri and we'll tell you Mon..... but man I'm itching to know. I've packed some electronics and will probably pack my DVDs and random stuff tomorrow.