Dad-dy

I wasn't sure how she'd react. It's been a month, after all, more even. And in kid-time... that's a long ass time.
But she was all smiles and spontaneous little bursts of giggles, all day and night yesterday. She'd point at him, over and over, and just go Daddy! Dad-DY!!
Like, are you seeing him too? He's right here, here! See? How wild is that?
It is pretty wild.

Breakfast of champions

My weekend consisted of watching Shaun the Sheep and Daniel Tiger while trying to get a feverish and cranky child to drink juice and eat (at least) a few crackers.
So, here’s what’s more interesting: breakfast habits of people who ride the bus. One in particular. Are you ready? Here we go. 

The old (and by old I mean 30+, there are no truly old people riding the bus at 7am, why would they? I imagine they’re eating breakfast in bed laughing at the poor SOB’s running to the bus stop): No eating on the bus, except for the occasional protein bar or banana.

The young (and by young I mean 15+ there are no kids riding the bus in the early a.m. either, they’re either attending school locally or being driven to their fancy private schools by their fancy parents. I imagine, who knows?): toast, or limpmacka, clearly snatched on their way out the door. Usually consumed in three bites before they actually get on the bus. 

The exception: this guy who takes the same bus I do, almost every morning. If we’re not on the same bus it’s because I caught a later one. We usually get to the bus stop right around the same time, with approximately two minutes to spare, way before the toast-carrying kids come running. He totes his breakfast in a brown paper bag (not your regular “brown bag” though, it is bigger and has handles) and when he gets to the bus stop, he sits down on the tiny bench, puts the bag next to him, and meticulously unpacks the most important meal of the day. (If you’ve ever seen the bit Mr. Bean does with his lunch sandwich on a park bench…. read no further, it’s just like that) We’re talking orange juice, in a real glass with a rubber lid. Some form of yoghurt-like substance, in what looks like an eco-friendly, definitely reusable, container. Real spoon.  Belvita style whole-grain crackers. And some form of fruit.

How does he eat all this in two minutes? you ask. He doesn’t. He is usually just done unpacking and two bites into a cracker when the bus comes. Then he scrambles to re-pack and boards with the rest of us. While riding, he doesn’t touch the food.

I’ve witnessed this for several mornings now. And I’m just so intrigued.

Who's stupid now?

The first few weeks of commuting to work by bus I'd read a book and glance at all the kids with their smart phones and headphones and feel slightly superior but mostly car sick.
Now I listen to podcasts and can't hear fellow passengers ask if they can sit by me or if this is my stop.
It's great.

my human band-aid

It’s almost like the separation has just now hit her.
With full force.  I’m sure just getting over her whateverthatwas illness she battled last week isn’t helping either. But right now I’ve got the clingiest child ever. She asks for her daddy non-stop. But doesn’t really want to talk to him, or see him over video chat. Same with aunt Kayla and the grandparents. She talks about them, but when she can hear them and see them, it’s almost like it’s too much.
She gets frustrated.
Doesn’t want to interact.
It has to be super confusing to her.
When we first got here, I would leave for work in the morning like no biggie, just walk out the door while she waved me off with a smile. Now it’s tears and Mooooooommmyyyy! every time.
She sleeps in my bed a lot.
Hopefully Dylan’s getting here will help some.  

Looks like we've found a place!

I looked at it yesterday, it's a two bedroom, two balconies (cause one's not enough..) 4th floor (but there's an elevator) deal. Furnished.
It's pretty small and a 15-20 min walk from downtown. But it's nice. And affordable. Not cheap, but affordable. And considering how insane the housing market in this town has gotten, it is for sure our best bet.
Now we just have to wait for the owner to get permission from his association to sublet and insurance paperwork and a rental contract.

Loubob is better. She slept herself to health yesterday, was out most of the day. She is still tired. But fever free and with way more of an appetite.

zzzo tired

I'm running on a grand total of maybe five hours of sleep, these last two nights combined. Running is actually not the right word. There's no running.

Lou is feverish and cranky and we spent last night at urgent care.

I need infant's Tylenol in my life.

And more coffee.

Where my dogs at?

4 am in my bed. Lou's sleeping there cause I don't know, nightmares or something, she wouldn't settle down in her own bed.
- Come on! puppy! Come, come!
Needless to say, no dogs came.
-Come puppy! Come!
Still no dogs. I put her back in her own bed and she kept calling.

Kayka!!!

I’m bummed I don’t get to celebrate Dylan’s birthday with him. It’s not a huge deal, we rarely make birthdays a big deal. Especially his, for some reason. Always being around Labor Day and all.  But still. It’s a bummer.

The hunt for a place to live continues. I called a private landlord yesterday who was exceptionally rude. I answer every decent ad I come across, which is not very many. But I got a semi-promising reply this morning, so there’s that. 

And last night Louisa finally got to video chat with her beloved aunt Kayla. She was beyond herself. She pulled out her whole repertoire, jumped, did summersaults, crawled through her tunnel, pulled out all the dolls… Lou that is, not Kayla It was really cute and a little heart-breaking. She misses her. They miss their Lulu. 

Ah… the guilt. It never stops.

Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine

A facebook post describing a beatiful sunset (in words, no picure) along with what I interpret as slight disappointment over the lack of aw the recent eclipse managed to inspire, finally helped me nail down some of what I've been feeling about the eclipse.

A total solar eclipse is something that doesn't happen very often and if one happens to catch one, I'm sure it's a great experience. Magical, breathtaking, unlike anything else you've ever experiened, beyond words....blah, blah, etc. Great.

What bugs me, is watching people get into arguments over whether or not somebody's eclipse experience was truly as great as they think. Like, unless you were in the totality zone or whatever, don't bother posting shit on facebook. If you had stellar eclipse glasses and climbed a mountain for the occasion, somebody surely upped you by hanging upside down from the same mountain. Or a better mountan.

I saw a beautiful sunset last night, but a) sunsets occur quite frequently and b) I didn't even take a picture to capture it so .... so what?

Nature does magic all the time. If we catch it once or twice or everyday, if other people witness it too, why does it seem to take away from the experience?

You know the seagulls from Finding Nemo?
Whose eclipse is it anyway?

That's a wrap

I’m almost done with my first work week. 

Impressions thus far:

Bicyclists are fast and furious. You have to be on the lookout, all the time. They’re not. And they will run you over. Was it always like this? Possibly. Probably. 

Pants are smaller than they used to be. That’s a fact. Not only are they tighter, they’re also shorter and oftentimes simply the wrong size. This is true for all genders, but more noticeable on men. It looks uncomfortable. Like grandma Melba said when the hired man’s ballsack was peeping out his open flyer, “It’s not like I’m looking but some things you just can’t help seeing, you know?”

The bus is not so bad. It runs more frequently now and getting off on campus, it hardly takes more than 15 minutes. 

I can’t keep up with the coffee consumption. Trying would be trying for an ulcer. I cut myself off after lunch, or before. Depends on the jitterz. I also really miss flavoured coffee creamer.

Happy Friday!