Here Comes the Sun

Guess what fans? My three year old, Lanes’, PR card finally arrived!! It feels like sunshine after the rain. I got so used to anxiously lurking around my mailbox every day, that out of habit I still run down to check on it, only to realize I finally got what I have been waiting for.

Here’s the other piece of exciting news. My article, ‘Blue Monday’ is featured as the ‘Last Word’, in a magazine called ‘Canadian Immigrant’. P had brought home the magazine from the supermarket one day saying that it had useful articles for newcomers to Canada. I saw an ad for article submissions, and tried my luck.

I’m very excited as they were interested in importing my blog onto their website. So far no official confirmation on it yet, but it feels good that people who are not duty bound by friendship and who are not biologically obliged to like my blog find it interesting.

The other good news is that the apartment is no longer on Fire Watch. However, the garage gate was broken for a couple of days and access to cars and the buildings via the garage was a free for all. Luckily, this happened on a Sunday, otherwise folks in the building would not have been able to get their cars out to go to work. So it was a good day to be unemployed.

The gate had become jammed due to snow and our handy dandy ever faithful fire department had to come and saw it off or something like that. I got this according to the grapevine, aka a neighbor I never met before, who claimed one of the maintenance folks—luckily not my friend—passed out trying to get the gate open to appease irate tenants.

Meanwhile, I continue to have adventures in the laundry room. I dashed down there bright and early Sunday, while everyone appeared to be sleeping. It was smooth sailing when I went to put the clothes in the wash, but when I went to the dryer, there was a lady there looking at a washer quizzically. She had a very young face, and probably was not a day over 30 at best, but she had salt and pepper hair that was styled much like a dandelion.

She was delighted when I walked in and waved me over to her. She insisted on speaking to me in Mandarin, undaunted by the fact that I was a brown person responding in English.  Luckily, I had taken beginner’s Mandarin last year, but at that time all the words failed me except for saying “I don’t know”, “my name is”, “I cannot speak Mandarin”, and that I have a daughter who is ‘three’ years old.

As I tried to explain how many minutes it takes for a wash cycle to end, an entire lesson on telling time flashed blankly before my eyes. All I remember from that lesson was thinking should I eat a lemon flavored Mentos, or an orange flavored one? In the end, not only did I eat both, I had a strawberry one for good measure, and I convinced P to go out to lunch after class because my head hurt after so much thinking.

Any old how back to the story, after a rather comical conversation where she spoke rapid fire Mandarin and gestured amicably at the machines, we finally got her clothes in the wash. I thought my work was done, but when I started putting my clothes in the dryer, I found her standing smack dab right next to me, peering into my machine.

A certified prude, I was mortified at the thought of a stranger being so close to my undergarments. She was standing one inch away from me, craning her neck and looking at all my laundry. Fortunately 80% of it belonged to Lanes and P and she even reached out to inspect one of Lanes’ sweaters. Talk about being too close for comfort. I feared that with my luck a piece of underwear would fall out just at that moment, but luckily it didn’t.

I knew she was concerned about using the dryers, and I showed her how to do it, but when I finished loading my unit, she took my card and swiped it for practice and nearly pressed the wrong button. Who is this character? I wanted to put my laundry basket on my head and run out the door screaming.

Luckily for me, she realized she didn’t put any detergent into her wash and then made a mad dash to her washer. I was soon summoned, arriving when she was aimlessly pouring laundry liquid into the washing machine. I stopped her in the nick of time and measured the right amount for her.

I don’t know what happened after that because I excused myself and ran upstairs before I got involved in any ironing of said clothes, which might or might not result in the Fire Department having to make another pit stop to this joint.

And that’s about it for our adventures this week. P continues steadfastly to look for jobs. Anyone who hires him will be so lucky, he’s reliable, and a hard worker. Hopefully something will work out soon—new waves of optimism are washing over me—hope I don’t get wiped out.

Lanes watched an episode of ‘American Idol’ and is now crazy about it, even trying to sing along with contestants. From time to time she decides she is scared because 'snails' have invaded her room--those 'frightening' times coincide with clean up time. As for me, I have yet to finish, or rather start, studying for my Learner’s test so that I can get motorized. 

I must sign off as I have spotted a huge spider in the living room,  because my spouse won’t leave the bedroom till the spider is out of the apartment. Disposing of all reptiles, amphibians, rodents and insects are part of my wifely duties. He kicks out marsupials, crustaceans, roaches and ghouls. Bug catching duties are calling me…I better get on it…catch you next week…