In case you have been holding your breath since Thursday, I did get some gorgeous flowers on Friday afternoon, and they still look great today. I was out for most of the day on Friday and I was worried that I would miss the delivery, and then I'd have to wait till Monday. When I picked Fistula up from work, they still hadn't arrived, and I thought it was too late. But when I got back, there they were, in the foyer, INSIDE the house. They broke into my house to deliver them! Well, the door was unlocked, so they only entered, they didn't break. Weird though, huh? I guess they get away with it because who's gonna complain when they're getting flowers?
Part of the reason I couldn't stay home on Friday and wait was that I had to get my Ontario license plate before my temporary one ran out on Sunday. This was the final step, six months after actually arriving in thie province, in making the move. We'd better stay a while now, with all this hullabaloo. What hullabaloo, you ask? I'll tell you. But it's a little ranty, so I'll put it in a separate paragraph and you can skip it if you want.
When you move to another province, let's say, oh, the farty province of Ontario, for example, you're supposed to register your car in that province as soon as possible. Welllllll, I didn't exactly do that. I moved into my house on August 25th and didn't start the long process of getting Ontario plates until the beginning of November. Even so, who would have thought that process would continue into the next millenium? Here's what I did:
- Went to the license plate office and got told to sod off until I had car insurance, a safety inspection certificate and my British Columbia registration.
- Made appointment for safety inspection.
- Went to safety inspection appointment only to find out they didn't know that I wanted THAT kind of safety inspection, they thought I wanted THIS kind of safety inspection. Made another appointment for a week later. Went home.
- Went to safety inspection appointment. Walked to mall in -10 degree weather with baby during inspection.
- Went to insurance office. Got insurance. Paid 1.5 times the amount I would have paid at home. Had thirty days to get plates.
- Relaxed. I had a month!
- Stopped driving the car due to inclement weather. Started taking the bus.
- Checked bus schedule for bus that went near license plate office. Looked like too long of a walk from the bus stop to the office for someone carrying a toddler on her back. Decided Fistula had six days after we left for BC and before he left for BC with NOTHING to do. Solution obvious. Passed the baton.
- Got email saying Fistula not allowed to register car by virtue of not owning it. I own it. Shit de MERDE!!!
- Got email saying our safety inspection would be invalid by the time I got back to Ontario, so would have to get another one. Chris de BURGH!!!
- Hated Ontario passionately.
- Returned home. Drove car illegally until able to get appointment for "Resafety". Evidently I was not the first person to get a safety certificate and then let it become invalid before registering the car.
- Loved Acura for charging me very little for the Resafety.
- Drove directly to license plate office from Acura dealership to get plates. Experienced high levels of anxiety due to driving uninsured car.
- Arrived safely at license plate office only to be told that, since it was now 2001, new regulations were in place and that on top of the safety inspection, I would have to get an emissions test before I could register the car. Even for a very new car? Yes, even for a very new car.
- Felt suicidal. See 11.
- Was dissuaded from killing myself by kindly license plate office worker with what Fistula would call a hardcore Minnesota accent, but which I really think is a Newfoundland accent.
MINNESOTA/NEWFOUNDLAND:
I'm sorry. They just changed the rules as of January first.
BRITISH COLUMBIA (ME):
OH. NO.
MINNESOTA/NEWFOUNDLAND:
Is the car still valid now?
ME:
No! It's really isn't at all! It's completely invalid!
HER:
Well, I'll give you a ten-day temporary permit then, until you get your emissions test.
ME:
Oh thank you. Bless you. - Made appointment for emissions test. Didn't think "Oh, I've got ten days! I'll wait a few days before I call."
- Got emissions test. Loved the service people at emissions test place. Got excited about the complimentary car wash.
- Lost the feeling of excitement when I saw what a crappy job they did.
- Drove directly to license plate office, paid them a bunch of money that I'll have to pay again next year (yearly fee! WTF? This is NOT BC. I WANT BC!)
- Told Sophia, as we left, "My dear, I hope we never enter another Province of Ontario building for as long as we live!"
- Fistula put the geedee plates on. See 11 one more time.
This morning Lefty and another mom (Snow White) from the playgroup where I met Lefty brought their kids over for the whole morning. It was great fun! The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, except for a little hairpulling. My daughter was the hairpullee and I didn't like that too much.
Both moms were encouraging me to get pregnant again while at the same time telling me all about how hard their lives are. Wow, guys! If I have another baby will I really have no time for myself? None at all? You guys better not be pulling my leg! And a messy house, all the time? How come no one ever TOLD me how good it could be?
But...seeing Littleput making faces at Snow White's five-month old son was very heart-warming. Mush mush mush. She really interacted with him! It was terribly, terribly cute to watch. She loved him. Sigh.
I bought the Tae-bo advanced video with the money Fistula's grandma gave me for Christmas and I love it. That will be my exercise until at least April, since I find the cold air way too oppressive while running. I've decided to agressively pursue weight loss for the first time in ages. I've really ignored the whole "I'm fat" issue since Littleput was born but it's time to face the facts. I haven't lost my pregnant tummy yet and I know I can. Hey now, don't get worried though, people. When I say "agressively" I mean I'll do Tae-bo three or four times a week and try to have less desserts. I don't mean I'm going to *GAG* diet. I like food too much for that.
