Just the Right Amount of Change
Well, now seems as good a time as any to let you all in on a secret… I’m moving back to Victoria next month! Yesterday I got my place and the story of how it all came to be is really quite riveting. So grab a coffee or a tea, put on glasses and get ready for what some will surely call the next epic.
Two days ago I called my old landlord to make sure she’d be okay with being a reference for me while I started my hunt for a place to live. While I was on the phone I thought to myself, “Hey, why not see if there are any suites available in the apartment? The place was nice enough, comfortable enough, and a perfectly fine home for the 4 years that I lived there before and the area can’t be beat so why not put it out there.”
Well! Not only was she be happy to be a reference for me, she actually had an apartment become available that day! THAT DAY! So, being the self-employed human that I currently am, I cancelled my plans for the next day (which were really just plans I’d made with myself that included sitting at my desk for a gazillion hours working…), arranged a contingency viewing at another apartment just in case, and set my alarm so I’d be able to get over to the island nice and early.
Now if you aren’t already pulled deep into this tale, just you wait. The drama is coming.
So I woke up, leisurely, got ready - it was a Wednesday morning after all, how busy could it be? - and checked the current conditions for the ferries.
There was a one sailing wait. *swear*
And the ferry I was hoping to catch was 80% full. *swear*
So I got in my car and raced (safely) to the ferries. I got to the front of the line and they stopped me. *swear*
Then Mr. Ferry Man in a Fancy Safety Vest beckoned me forward and I was THE LAST FREAKING CAR ON THE BOAT. *celebration swear*
Once on the other side I needed to get a cheque to be able to put down a deposit should either of the apartments be satisfactory. So I made my way into town and hit up the bank. After waiting for a billion minutes in line I find out that they don’t make one-time cheques anymore. *swear*
The slightly overly friendly teller tells me that my options are 1) ask nicely if they’ll save it for me once they tell me exactly how much the deposit will be so I can go to the bank and take out the exact amount of money later or 2) make a money transfer which requires the name of the person/business receiving the payment and the exact amount of money being sent (question: is that why they’re called tellers? Because they tell you things? If that’s the case that’s a lazy name because literally every job ever requires telling people things so we should all just be called tellers).
So I wung it. I decided to make a money transfer using the same information I’d used on all my previous cheques when I lived there and made the assumption that the deposit would be exactly half of what rent was going to be. A little bit risky considering I didn’t even know what the apartment was going to be like (I’d been told there had been changes made to it) and that I hadn’t seen the other one but meh, I was feeling optimistic.
When I got to the apartment it was great. Top floor, corner suite, new kitchen, new bathroom, new carpet, new paint - all the newness. I filled out an application and was then told that there was going to be another showing in an hour but that I would find out either that night or the next morning.
After stopping quickly for another coffee I made my way to the next building. It was gorgeous and bright and also featured all new things but I was quickly told that “this is a very quiet building and that if [I] have a boyfriend he likely won’t fit in here.” Pretty sure she can’t say stuff like that but whatever. It was not meant to be.
After I was finished with the viewings I met my buddy/new boss for coffee. We chatted and she showed me around the building where we’ll be working once I move. Guys. It’s the building behind the one I worked in last time I lived in Victoria. *whattheheck*
A little while later, phone glued to my hand awaiting a phone call from my old landlord, I started making my way back to the ferry. Half way there I got some information texted to me that the landlord had said would be good to have, not necessary, just good. So I pulled over and called her to let her know that I had gotten ahold of it. While she had me on the phone she said if I could come sign the lease ASAP it was mine. *squeals + screams*
I turned around, sped into the city and within an hour I had signed the lease, dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. *cue phone calls to everyone I know*
Now for those of you that know me, you know how I feel about change. For those of you that don’t know me, all you need to know is that I typically don’t like it. I like familiarity, comfort, stability, staying warm and dry etc. I don’t like unknowns, what-ifs, and uncertainty. So to say that this move is feeling like a good one would be an understatement. Not only am I moving into the same freaking building I was in before I’m also working in the same area I was before. It really couldn’t be better.
Now some of you may be thinking, “where’s the excitement? the novelty?” Well friends, it’s there. And honestly I feel like I can be more excited than I would be if I was moving into a completely new place. I don’t have the same what-ifs that would arise if I lived in an unfamiliar building. I know how the building is managed, who to get ahold of should something need tending to, and, perhaps most importantly, I can do all the online shopping I want without having to look up my address and postal code every time (kidding… kind of)!
While I’m sitting here writing this I’m starting to feel the feels. I just feel like this move is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing and that the universe wants it to happen. I’m not one to place my fate in the hands of the universe or a God or anything but after all the things that happened over the last couple of days it does feel hard to say that it was all just chance and luck. Maybe it was and that’s fine. But the way that everything just clicked into place makes it feel extra right.
So this has turned into the longest most rambly post ever (thank you two cups of coffee and a donut). If you made it all the way to the end, you rock! Gold star for you! I am so so so so so excited to be moving back to Victoria and bringing some life back into this dusty old blog of mine. There’s something special about Victoria that inspires me in a way no other place does and there are so many great things that happen in the city and I just can’t wait to share it all! So get ready, get set, and wait just a little bit longer ;)