The North

Pluggin'

Here I am, pluggin’ away on my laptop in a brightly colored red and brown basement in the middle of the continent in a city in Canada. It’s all become rather strange and unworldly today and if it wasn’t for the very bright sunlight, the cloudless sky, the footsteps upstairs, the bag of pretzels and cats at my feet, and the whir of my BlackBerry, I would think that the flourescent lightbulbs above my head (which shall be soon replaced by something else) would drive me nuts.
The reality is that things in Winnipeg, Canada are oddly fine, relaxing, even wondrous at times. I won’t try to put a positive spin on events like most irregular bloggers but I will make a list of things I’ve found that are potentiallly of import:

  • While NYC blogs like Gothamist are only one click away, I miss their relevance very much. In fact, I miss the daily horror of gossip and NYC transit news and the mindless shuffle of papers on anchors’ desks on NYC channels 2, 5, and 7. Yes, 5!
  • I’m working very happily from a 15″ laptop, dragging the heavy thing from one place to another in the frantic hope of gathering enough time and connectivity to continue my work and make clients generally happy.
  • I found that the Globe and Mail is the paper of record for people of my ilk. I’m looking forward to subscribing to it.
  • The moving company is doing its utmost to be a pain in the arse. The goods have not arrived yet but to be fair, they did say “August 15.” I’ll name names when and if it’s necessary.
  • Painting, working, cleaning, cooking, commuting in August without your personal effects is a bit like living in on the Starship Enterprise. It’s all-out limbo right now but it’s limbo with the full knowledge that it won’t last forever, at least according to our moving company.
  • The Web has become boring of late and I think it’s just because the real world is actually pretty this time of year.
  • Going to the DMV a few days ago was a walk in the park. Almost literally. I walked across a freshly mowed lawn, presented my old New York State drivers license and my US passport and told them I wanted to register for a new license. It took all of 20 minutes for them to fill out the forms for me, take my photo, charge me CND$50.00, hand me the new (2-part) license, and send me packing. In Brooklyn, this project would have involved a morning wait, questioning by the authorities, re-waiting in line, surly service and I’d probably make a friend in the process.

I do miss Brooklyn.