The Sole Lease Holder

Last night I went to go and renew the lease for Rrunuv Bayit. Kristen & Noah are going to be moving out and living together a little further west (in a super sweet loft-style place that I hope they let me help paint!) I haven't fully decided whether I am going to get another roommate or try living on my own for a while. Either way, I decided I would be the only name on the lease. This is the first time ever that I have held a lease on my own! There was always at least one other co-signer. I can remember my first apartment, Glen in Ottawa; there were so many people signed on the lease: Steph, Em, & I were living together so we signed and then I believe our parents did too! A lot has changed in 8 years.

Thank You Cartouche!

I thought I had mentioned this on Always Standing before but I looked back and it seems I haven't - I have a Cartouche deck! Erin AH got them for me a couple of years back; like Tarot Cards, Cartouche should not be purchased but must 'come to their owner' so I never went to go get my own deck. I was so happy when Erin gave me a deck as a present. However, I lost them in my move to Toronto and it was only a couple of months ago that I came across them again. I use them now and then, to ask questions using the Star. Last night I did my World for the next six months, and it looks like they are going to go well!

However, not everything appears to be perfect. I did get Set (Opposition, Delays and problems at all levels - otherwise known as the Death card) in the 2nd House (Money, Possessions, Financial prospects). After Set shows up, following Em's technique, I always select a card to place on top so as to get more information; the one that showed up this time was Earth (Industry, Thrift, Money and possessions, Conservation, Practicality, All things that grow). I think I need to be much more careful financially. Thank you Cartouche! I had already figured this out though - but a little more reinforcement never hurts.

And So It Is Named

I like to name my houses. It tends to happen naturally, when you listen to people talk about places they live they tend to have a name for the house, though it is often related to the address. I find that a tad boring and in Ottawa, stepped it up a notch. Especially moving into my second house, which was an epic mansion (may it rest in peace) that was falling apart but totally worthy of a great name. So far in my life, these have been my houses...

1984 - 1985 - Cambridge - I was born in Cambridge, Ontario. I lived with my parents in a small house until I was one and a half. I obviously don't remember it, though they have shown it to me a few times since.
1985 - 2003 - Paris - So, the first two are named for the towns. I only lived in one house in Paris so instead of calling it by the street, I always just say Paris. The house was sold this past summer.
2003 - 2004 - Rez - While I was living in residence, Glengarry House, at Carleton Steph, Em, and I called it Glen, to distinguish it from the other residences on campus. However, after moving out it just gets referred to as Rez.
2004 - 2006 - Glen - This house is named after the street and even though it could get confused with my residence house, especially as I was living with the same people, it never was.
2006 - 2008 - Le Manoir - It was this mansion that inspired the need for awesome house names. I wanted to make it sound ostentatious, so picked to name it in French. It means The Mansion, however we have always pronounced it so horribly that it would make anyone who speaks French cringe in pain. It seemed like an ever revolving door of roommates there (including Ami, Em, Anna, Wes, Jake, Jer, and a few others) but they all called it Le Manoir.
2008 - 2010 - Die Höhle - Following in the foreign languages vein, Jer, Em, and I decided to name the next apartment in German. This was because the outside of it was very ugly, a big grey 1960's box of a house in a beautiful Victorian neighbourhood. It look like a German war bunker. Translated it means The Cave and again we mispronounced it terribly, much to the dismay of the one friend I have who speaks German. During the second year Linds lived with us and later on JennB, they both called it Die Höhle.
2010 - 2010 - The Cottage - We got the cottage when I was 16, so sometime around 2000. About 4 or 5 years back my parents tore down the original building and set about building a house on the beach that they could eventually live in full time. Well, the time has come. They sold the other house and live at The Cottage, though the name remains. I have never really lived there, but I would consider it an important residence in my life.

"So what about the new Toronto apartment?" you ask. After about a week, Kristen and I set about coming up with a name. Our landlord is Jewish and we live in a fairly Jewish neighbourhood. (Though there is a Catholic Church right down the street from us that plays its bells all the time and I have seen actual nuns there. However, I don't know where our closest Synagogue is.) We are basing this assumption about our neighbourhood on the number of people we see in yarmulkes walking on the streets, that the local grocery store has a huge kosher section, and the ice cream parlor sells kosher brownies. It seemed fitting that the language we pick for naming this one be Hebrew. This was easier said than done!

Hebrew uses different letters, not just some fancy two dots above the 'o' like in Die Höhle but a totally different thing all together. Hebrew does not have an Alphabet it is instead considered an Abjad. (This means it is a segmental script containing symbols for consonants only, and the vowels are optionally written with diacritics or 'pointing'). We decided that we wanted to called it Grown-Up Apartment. We are working hard on this place to make it nice and to avoid that student feel. But, even with all the online translating sites out there, we couldn't find out how to say that in Hebrew. We had to settle for Adult House (which has some funny connotations on its own). I'm sure, like the other houses I have named in languages other than English, I am screwing this up horribly, but we have called our place...Which seems to be spelt in the Latin (or Roman) Alphabet, which English uses, as something close to Rrunuv Bayit. Obviously pronouncing it is also challenging. The 'Rr' is rolled but then the rest of Rrunuv sounds like it is spelt and Bayit is more like 'buy-it'. Though I'm sure this is wrong. When in a rush, we will sometimes refer to it as just Bayit, and that is currently our wifi name. Now, I need to go and finish painting, unpacking, cleaning, and in general settling in, so that Rrunuv Bayit can live up to its name and truly be a Grown-up Apartment.

Guest Writer - Super Freeze - Steph

From Stephanie Beach, writer of The Great Abyss
Photos by Stephanie Beach Photography:

Super Freeze

In March 2004 Chris and I were living with Emily in university residence. As it was Emily’s birthday, we bought her an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. We had gotten it a little early so Chris crammed it into the freezer of her bar fridge. A couple hours later it was time to celebrate and the cake was brought out. Unfortunately the cake was a huge mess as despite being in the freezer, it had somehow started to melt.Chris didn’t understand this as she had put it in there herself and ensured the door closed properly. She had even pressed the big red super freeze button. Wait a minute ... freezers don’t have super freeze buttons. Turns out she had actually pressed the defrost button, which explained the melting cake.

Games

I played alot of games this weekend. Kristen, Jerrica, and I played Life four times, and we were joined by Emily for the last. We played in all states of awareness and I won the first three times. I tend to make a lot of money in the boardgame Life if only that also happened in real life. I also usually Became President, which is an impossibility as I'm Canadian. On top of the ridiculous amount of Life playing, Jerrica and I took on Kristen and Heather in a battle of the roommates in Cranium. We lost, but it was really close. This afternoon I played a game of Settlers of Catan which is my favorite boardgame of all time. (I rarely admit this and usually just say that my favorite is Monopoly which is a close second anyway.) Lastly, I played a round of Kings before heading out to the bar last night. It has been a busy weekend, playing.

NeoPets

I have finished my exams. Besides work and short essay due Monday I am looking at a nice long month of free time. I'm going to go to New York City, study for the LSATs, do some Christmas shopping, visit with family and friends, relax and party, but mainly play alot of guilt free NeoPets. I have had a NeoPet account since first year, when I notice Steph and Em playing and wanted to join. It is free, and designed for 12 year old girls. (I figure at least I have the gender right.) Basically you have these little virtual pets and you play games to get points which you can use to feed them and get them presents. You can even get a pet for your pet, known as a petpet. I always 'rediscover' the site right around exams, this time thanks to Erin, and it tends to provide a lot of distraction from studying. I didn't have the luxury of any wiggle room for procrastination this time so tried to avoid playing as much as possible. But now, I'm going to NeoAway to my hearts content. Feel free to join me (my user name is Chrisbinx) we can be NeoFriends.

6 Laptops

Die Höhle currently has six laptops. It is ridiculous they are everywhere and the powercords crisscross around the living room. What happened is My School Pet died (seen in the middle of the coffee table) and I got My Little Pet (the one where you can see what is on the screen). Jerrica was shocked at how cheap a decent laptop could be and was jealous of the webcam that came on mine. I don't know why because I have yet to use it. She had a super old computer last year but the powercord broke on it so she ended up getting a better one from a friend. That one is now with Emily who wasn't happy with her old one and Jerrica ended up buy a band new one. It is madness.

Sims 2

I'm addicted again to Sims 2 University. I don't think I have played it in years, since residence maybe. I made Die Höhle Household with Jer, Em, and I. If you know us, you know that the above is a fairly accurate depiction.

Beginning and End

My two roommates are at totally opposite stages of their university careers, as I sit in the middle looking both ways. Emily just received official notification that she has graduated with her B.A. in Geography and is having her degree mailed to her. She says she isn't going to attend her convocation but I hope she changes her mind since it truly is a monumental event that should be celebrated. She is done her undergrad and should be proud. On the same day, Jerrica got into Carleton. I'm so proud of her and she is so very excited, pouring over the admissions and registrations info that was sent. Such a fresh faced start to it all as she heads off to university for the first time in September. My best wishes and love to both of them.

The House Is Warm

We had a housewarming party for Die Höhle over the weekend and so many of my friends showed up. The place is too small for a big party with mingling, so you can pretty much stand or sit in the kitchen or gather around the coffee table. Not much was split on the carpet, and what was came from Jerrica anyway. A few people couldn't make it because they were away for the weekend. Though Taylor and Kristen, who aren't even living in Ottawa for the summer, were around and came over. Heather stopped by and Anne stayed until just before the buses stopped. Anna even dropped in for a bit, despite being in the middle of a fencing tournament. Dave and Steph were at the apartment for dinner first and stayed for the party. Dan and Justain stopped by later. Amanda, a co-worker from my Subway days and who still works there with Jerrica, came with her boyfriend. Em was around trying to choke down some wine and my cousin Carla was staying with me for a visit so she got to meet everyone. It was nice to see so many of my friends, and have them gathered in the new place. I hope we are visited by everyone often.

The Cave

I had originally decided to name the new apartment The Cave. Then I thought about the fact I named the current house, Le Manoir, which is French for The Mansion. This is because the current house is a beautiful, huge, three story, three bathroom, Victorian home on the canal. The new place is a three bedroom basement apartment with small windows, exposed I-beams, and low ceilings. I didn't want to switch from using French back to a simple English name for my new home. Since the outside of the new place looks like a bunker for the second world war, I decided to translate The Cave into German. I asked the current boy roommate, who did an exchange to Germany in high school, what it would be and he told me Die Höhle. Since he told me over MSN, I didn't get to hear it pronounced and figured it was said 'Die Hole' but I have since found out it is more like 'D Hool.' Either way I think it is an awesome name. I think Em, Jerrica, and I will be very happy in Die Höhle.

The Mysterious A.

Someone commented on the previous post and signed it only with an initial. I had pretty much figured it out to be Anna, as she gave me the scarf she was commenting on but I still felt the need to double check with Anne to see if it was her. Anne confirmed that she wasn't the one but confessed to have used only an initial on an earlier post a couple of weeks back. Similar to the Kristin/Kristen issue, I am now friends with an Anna and an Anne. They are both really awesome easy going people. Anne is the new co-op student at my work from University of Calgary. (Anne-See Left.) She has only been in Ottawa for a few months, but plans to stay until the end of August. I have known Anna for about 3 years, as she lived above Steph, Em, and I at Glen. We weren't friends at that point but soon after she moved into Le Manoir for a while and we became quite close. (Anna-See Right.) I visited her when she spent 6 months in Paris last year. Anne also spent a chunk of time living in Paris, the year before she went to university. She was also born in France. They are both bilingual but are from separate sides of the country. Anna grew up in Nova Scotia and is my maritime girl while Anne is totally west coast and from Alberta. The moral of the story is that I have a diverse group of friends and whether they have the same or similar name as another or not, everyone should sign blog comments so I know who they are. I can get so easily confused!!

Alluring

Moving! Before I move I need to pack up everything at Le Manoir. I also have to paint the new place, which we will be calling The Cave. Em, Jerrica, and I were able to nail down our colour choices the other night after I brought home a big index of paint chips. Some where chosen because we liked them, others so as to match to certain furniture or accent piece. Each paint colour has a number, a name, and amusingly a single descriptive word. Our main room is going to be this pale beige colour called 'Snuggle In' which is described as 'Relaxing'. Our bathroom is also 'Relaxing' in a grey blue colour called 'Quayside.' Both Em and Jerrica picked colours that are 'Energizing', Em's back bedroom will be a lavender called 'Sophisticated' and Jerrica's bedroom colour is a spring green named 'Transformed'. We picked all the colours just by their shade and only their number was referenced. After writing down all the numbers I flipped the cards over to find that there was name and description information on the back. We couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the 'Heavenly Sky' dusty blue colour I picked with Kristin's help for the guest room is considered 'Inviting'. Hopefully that means lots of people will come and stay over. Even more fitting is the name of the paint for my pale purple brown bedroom, 'Le Vie En Rose.' I could not be happier with my 'Alluring' colour.

Mouse Crisis, Part Six

They're back! I don't know if they they just had a bunch of babies or were sleeping over the winter and have just woken up, but we had a mouse in our house the other night. We always hear them in the walls but haven't seen them running around in a while. I was sleeping and Jerrica was on my computer when she saw one out in the hall. It came into my room and at this point Jerrica ran across the room, jumped up on my bed and started screaming. I'm not used to my roommates freaking out about mice, usually I'm the only one. Wes, Em, and Ami have all had to save me from them in the past. Well, Jerrica and I stood on the bed in hysterics until we woke up Em who came and tried to catch it. It got away from her but I hope it learned it lesson and stays away.

Another Great Combo

Every now and then TV delivers an amazing combination. Tonight it was Family Guy and Star Wars. I can't even figure out which I love more. I just finished watching an hour long Family Guy show that 'retells' the 4th episode of Star Wars (A New Hope). When I was younger I used to watch the 'original three' Star Wars movies all the time. They are so exciting and fun. They remind me of good times with my family. When they got re-released into theatre I saw each one, including A New Hope in the US with my family when we were on our way back from somewhere. Family Guy reminds me of hours spent in the common room of Steph, Em, and my rez room with tons of people. It is so funny and shocking. We watched the first three seasons, over and over again. So to me, Family Guy means University, friends, and independence. To put the two together is just amazing. TV has such gems sometimes.

MIA

-My digital camera
which has some hot pics of Em, Ami, Tiff and myself still on it
-My beautiful new blue pashmina
which Anna just gave me for my birthday
I think it may be time to do a huge overhaul clean on my room!

Intense Weekend

I don't know how to write about this weekend. I have not even fully recovered from the experience. Little Brother Mike was in town. He is on tour with his band and two others, along with a driver and their promoter. They had a gig downtown on Friday night, and then a couple of days off before they headed further out east. The guys (17 of them between the ages of 16-23) stayed at my place for the weekend. Since I have no idea how to describe the events of the past three days I'm going to let the quotes speak for themselves. Note "Band Member" is used when I wish to preserve anonymity, have forgotten the guys name, or have forgotten which one said it.
--"We are going to be late, we just got Bear Maced. Everyone is just a little enraged right now." -Mike to Me on the phone
--"Your sister's cute Mike" -Carl
---"Rob? Ben? Jason? There are 17 of you, I'm just not going to learn them all. Nick? Steve? Fred?" -Me to Josh when trying to remember his name
------"Fred is good. I can be Fred." -Josh
--(Silence) -Charlie while staring at sleeping Band Members
--"Last time we were here we saw only one roommate. That Librarian one. Now they are like everywhere." -Wally
--"Is there any factories in town?" -Nick
------"Not really. It is kinda a government town." -Me
------"Oh, like The Beer Store." -Nick
------"No, not governmental retail. Like Health Canada, Natural Resources, like the government government." -Me
------"Oh well, no factories, I can't live here." -Nick
--"Oh, Wally." -Emily
--"Bear Mace, where do you even get that?" -Me
------"Hunting shops." -A Band Member
--"I just got my first hate mail." -Carl
--"Is black lipstick Metal or more Goth?" -Ami
--"I am so so so sorry." -Ami, Tiffany, and Me to the bartender
--"Chris, Chris, stop. Your going to get me drunk." -Jerrica
--"Woah. You don't do that." -Nick to Me after I hit Glenn
--"No. Don't tell anyone where the pop is hidden. It will be our little secret." -A Band Member to Me
--"I think that is going to bruise" -Me to Glenn after he punched Me
------"Woah. You don't do that." -Nick to Glenn
--"YOU. GET IN THE FUCKING HOUSE!!" -Me to Many Band Members while trying to control what looked like an impending fight
--"I'm just trying to help get everyone inside." -Many Band Members to Me
------"OK THEN. GET IN THE FUCKING HOUSE!!" -Me
--"Guys, chill. He is my dealer." -Me
--"I hate being dragged and then put places" -Tiffany
--"I want to kick that guys ass" -Nick to Me
------"No! Huh? Wait? What? No! Lie to me, tell me your your trying to help and get everyone inside. Lie to me." -Me
--"Chris stay here, I'm sober." -Mike to Me about who would talk to The Cop
--"HOLY SHIT!" -Me to The Cop after seeing two more cop cars pull into the street
--"Alright then, we are going to hug this out. Get up here. Other arm. That's it." -Mark to Me
--"Next time wake me up earlier." -Mike to Me
--"The Librarian is hot." -Wally and Carl about Emily
--"Ok, my vote is in. Mark is definitely the nicest one." -Anna
--"Wow. I have not done that in a long time. My neck is killing me." -Ami about her head banging injury
--"YOU. RIDE A BICYCLE! YOU. GO PEEL OFF THE WALLPAPER! YOU. WALK IN CIRCLES IN A NORTH EAST DIRECTION! If I keep yelling in an authoritative tone, things will some how fix themselves, even if what I'm saying makes no sense." -Mike doing an impression of Me
--"Oh, I so knew that is what it was all about." -Ami to Me
--"Any one who cooks with chickpeas is amazing." -Josh about Emily
--"It is when you shit along the top of the toilet so when the next person flushes it, it just flushes shit, not clear water. You know, I have always wanted to do a Top Shelf at Top Shelf." -A Band Member to Me
--"So do you really really like Like like like him?" -Emily to Me about A Band Member
--"You didn't really enjoy your time in high school if you weren't having lots of anal sex" -Wally to Me
--"Your brown? Well I guess you look a little Mexican." -Me to Andreas after finding out he is Pakistani
--"UHH, I'm just going to pee off the roof" -Nick after waiting for the bathroom
------"No you cannot pee off the roof" -Me
------"Look she is saying you cannot, as in you don't have the ability. Now you have to do it to prove her wrong." -Mike
--"This town is so healthy, look at everyone biking. With helmets!" -A Band Member
--"Which one was it? Did they have long hair? Where they wearing black? Did they have facial hair? Did they have any tattoos?" -Me to Anna trying to figure out which guy she was talking about
--"I'm going for the triple threat. Three showers in three days." - John to Mike
--"Oh, so like the only one wearing a white shirt?" -Anna about Josh
--"Wayne's World is the best movie in the world." -Andreas
--"Did you guys sleep here? Was it loud? Did you get a shower in the morning" -Me to Wes
------"Yea it was fine. I don't shower on the weekends." -Wes
------"What? I don't even know how to respond to that." -Me
--"Are you kidding? I love Faulkner. I love stream-of-consciousness." -Josh
--"It's totally hit and miss with those guys." -Anna
--"I don't get it. I'm perfectly nice to chicks and get nowhere. Wally walks up to them and says 'Get on your knees bitch' and they all love him." -Carl
--"Mike. You know we could have had this talk anytime this weekend. Now is probably not a great time." -Me to Mike after everyone is packed and ready to go in the vans and he decides to have a nice heart to heart with his big sister
--"Alright Chris, goal for next weekend: No emergency vehicles at 900 Colonel By." -Emily to Me

Cartouche World

Since first year, I have had my cards read by either Em or her mother. I tend to get my World done every 6 months, though a couple times I got it done in January for the full year. Cartouche cards are similar to Tarot Cards, though are Egyptian based, more positive, and a smaller deck.

When reading them, there are two types of set ups, a smaller one called a Star or the World. The World is done for a specific amount of time and should not be done again until that time period is over. A Star is the cards response to a question asked, and can be done as often as you like.

Em did my World yesterday, for the first time since I usually get her mom to do it for me. She just bought her own deck, I would love to get one too but I'm still hesitant to spend money. She did my World for 6 months, basically the rest of 2007, and it looks pretty positive. The only iffy area was Love/Relationships, in which I got the worst possible card, but I'm hoping that just means it will take a little longer until I'm in love or a relationship, apposed to meaning I'm going to get my heart broken. As usual, I get this card all the time, in the centre of the World (the overview position) was the Crook and Flail, which basically means self-discipline.

Em's Alive

Em is tree planting in Northern Ontario for the start of the summer. I was a little worried about her, especially since I hadn't heard anything from her after she left at the start of May. I just got a quick (and none descriptive) msn message from her that said she was saying "Hi". So she is alive, and I hope doing well.

Mouse Crisis, Part Five

I was warned a couple days ago that mice might be around. Tonight I took a nice long bath only to return to my room to find a tiny dead mouse lying just inside my doorway. Binx must have killed it during my bath, or sometime earlier and I just hadn't noticed. This left me alone in the house, wearing only a towel, and fairly upset. My roommates were all gone. Em is tree planting for the start of the summer, The Boy Roommate is still in Madrid, Ami and The New Roommate were out at the movies. I frantically called around trying to find someone to come and dispose of the bleeding carcase. I stayed downstairs watching TV until just after midnight when Ami and The New Roommate returned home. We played the "Your A Boy" card and The New Roommate kindly cleaned it up for me.