Two Months In

Okay so I haven't exactly been writing in here that often. The truth is, I've had another online writing outlet for the last 6 years so it takes precedence over this blog.

So right now I am two months into Iqaluit and two months away from living in Nunavut for two years. Two years! It has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. I can barely comprehend how fast 2008 is going. It's going to be over before I know it, and I still feel like it just began! This has been a crazy year for me. I've lived in 4 different places just this year alone, and between moving, starting a new job, going on vacation, and all the personal things going on with me (or that were), it's made for a busy year. I haven't really felt I can just relax yet.

For the most part, I've settled in Iqaluit. It looks like I'm going to be in the same staff house for the next few months and then I will eventually get my own place (through work). I'm eager to get my own place but I'm not complaining by any means! I really like this staff house.

My expenses have gone up a little bit, though. I adopted two kittens in May and they eat everything like it's their last meal. I now have 3 cats and it's great. I had always been adament about not getting another cat while I had Leah (my first cat), but fortunately she has taken to the kittens like I figured she would. It took her less than a week to get used to them, I was quite proud of that.

Here's a photo of my new kittens:



The black and white one is Dweezil and the tortishell is Moon Unit. I've been waiting to use those names for years.

In other news, I have joined the gym and I quite like it there. There are fitness classes almost every night so I've been going to the ones that interest me. It is so awesome that we have something like that here. Iqaluit has so much more to offer than Rankin Inlet. I've also been going swimming and I enjoy that quite a bit, too. I ordered myself an iPod shuffle to clip to my clothes when I run at the gym. I tried it out yesterday and it was perfect. I was jogging (on a treadmill) regularly in Rankin but I got out of it because of vacation and moving here. It was great to be back on the treadmill yesterday, it made me very happy. I was impressed to find I didn't need to start at square one again.

The best news I have lately is that I am looking at buying a vehicle this year, even as early as a few weeks from now. I was going to leave it to next year but I'm too impatient to wait. I've got my tax refund coming so that will help soften the blow to my savings account. I think I'll probably end up staying here in Iqaluit for awhile so I'll have plenty of time to build up the savings again.

Having a vehicle here will be a nice luxury. I'll be able to go on food mail since I'll have a ride to cargo. And I'll be able to go for drives and visit my friends without having to walk for a half hour up hill. It also means that when I get my own place, I won't have to worry that it's far from work. That was kind of stressing me out; the impending inconvenience.

I've been bugging my sister to come up and visit me this summer and I hope she does. I just have to keep showing her pictures of the kittens to keep her interest, haha. It'd be nice to have some company for a few weeks, though I am making friends quickly here. I miss my close friends from Rankin but it's a nice thing to start fresh, too. It's an adjustment getting used to making friends by myself as opposed to as a couple. When you meet people (other couples mostly) with your S.O., you have protection. But by yourself it's all you.

Speaking of Jeff, I hear (well, read) that he's doing well. If you read the other blogs hard enough, you can read about his new life, too. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!

And now the obligatory weather/sunlight update. It's light out 24 hours a day here. Surprisingly, it's not bothering my sleep at all. The blinds in my bedroom work well and I haven't needed to resort to tinfoil. I have a sleep mask and that helps things a lot. I typically don't sleep very much during the work-week anyway and I can sleep through a nuclear holocaust after work and on weekends. So overall, my sleep hasn't changed from the sunlight. The weather has been pretty nice, though it does dip to 0 occasionally.

I say this everytime but I'll try to write in here more.