Getting around.

The temperature has dipped.  It’s dipped far, far below zero.  It’s been hovering around -25 and -30 right now and that’s not including windchill. No, that drags it further down to somewhere around -40 degrees celsius. 

I put my fall parka away and I’ve officially brought out the big guns. I cut the sales tags off of my brand spanking new Canada Goose parka.  It’s a red bundle of feathers that cost a small fortune, but it was worth every penny.  It has a snout hood, trimmed in coyote fur -- I couldn’t be happier.

I’m trying to walk as much as I can, it is a very walkable city.  However a good majority of people drive.  They’ll drive the 3 blocks to the liquor store even when it means starting their giant trucks up to idle for 15 minutes before.  I think I could easily become one of these people if it wasn’t for my little hatchback car constantly protesting.  Since it was strapped down onboard the moving truck there’s been a horrible clunking rattle that happens when I drive it.  It’s awful.  It makes me want to cry.  And the colder it gets, the worse the noise gets.  I’ve had it into the shop twice and the mechanics say there’s nothing they can do about it -- it’s a mystery. 

Well for those of you who know me well, that’s not good enough.  I’ve recorded the noise and sent the soundbyte to two Nissan dealerships and will be getting in touch with the hosts of NPR’s Car Talk.  A friend introduced me to the program a little while ago and if you haven’t listened in, you should.  These two men are geniuses. They get callers, in a comical way, describe their car troubles and then they’ll diagnose the problem over the phone.  Here’s hoping they’ll have an answer for me.  Who knows, until I try. 

But for those above -10 days when the car doesn’t loudly act up I generally take a road trip to Walmart or Canadian Tire, which sit inconveniently at the edge of town.  And with the town speed limit being 45km/hr and everyone driving below that -- it takes awhile to get there. No one is ever in a hurry here and I’m beginning to really appreciate the mentality.

Now, Yellowknife is a very well serviced place and it is connected by a highway (unlike most places in the NWT), but I’m still left feeling very isolated.  The snow and cold have really closed in on me.

But this weekend I battled the blues that seem to be hanging around a little more often than I’d like and I didn’t have to get out of town to do it.  I hosted my first girl’s games night at my new pad.  I guess it was kind of a housewarming party too.  It was a blast.  That’s one thing this place is great for -- making friends.  My coat tree was covered in a multitude of colourful Canada Goose parkas: red, green, pink, purple, white and black.  No blue, it wasn’t welcome. 

Shop 'til I drop.

The moving truck arrived this week, but I won’t be into my new place for another few days.  Now I’m trying to remember what I packed. Life seems so much simpler and weightless, while living out of two suitcases.

When I was packing I tried to strike a good balance between too much stuff and not enough.  I’ve heard it’s easy to move TO Yellowknife.  It’s a whole other story when you’re trying to leave.  By the sounds of it moving companies charge triple to move people out of here.  This is the reason for the culture of what I’m calling, dumping and running.

Locals here don’t use online classifieds like Craigslist or Kijiji to sell and buy stuff, oh no, the town has it’s own version of that -- of course.  Yk Trader.com  as well as placing ads in the classifieds in the local paper.  These are the two main forums for everything!  

But I’ve also heard about another location in town that is most popular for dumping and running --- the DUMP.  I had to see it for myself.  Driving up on to the local dumps weigh scales I started laughing, “Nothing to dump, just here for a look”.  I said to the attendant.

The guy in the booth chuckled.  I was clearly making a bigger deal out of this excursion than I needed to. His reaction to my reaction told me this was a completely common thing to do on a Saturday morning. 

Driving up to the area  labeled for junk drop off it was clear I wasn’t the only one with this idea for an outing.  Some people looked like haggered regulars others looked like newbies that were just as sheepish as I was about climbing around on the mountain of other people’s rejected household belongings. 

But I went for it.  There were cribs, chairs, sofas, boom boxes and wheels of steel cable.       Some items were in great shape, most others not so much.  I picked up a deflated basketball that was coated in frost, but quickly decided against it.

The bunch of us, all strangers to each other looked like ravens. Hopping around scavenging and then dropping what we found when we lost interest in taking it home. 

The trip ended with no real finds, maybe next time after I move into my new apartment.  And when I do hop around on that mountain of junk again, I’ll take a picture to document this truly Northern Canadian style of shopping.

Landing on icy snow.

I'm here, I made it!

On Saturday, in the early morning I left my home in the quiet downtown neighbourhood behind. I was leaving Ottawa with two heavy suitcases and an even heavier heart.  Although I knew I was moving somewhere I’d always wanted to call home, saying goodbye to my fellow was still hard.

So, I bid adieu to a town painted red and gold, fall was on it’s way out but winter was still nowhere in sight.  

As I boarded my flight bound for Calgary the flight attendant cried, "KITTY!" Yes, I am that crazy person who decides to travel with the 10-year-old, obese tabby cat. Despite my reluctant companion the flight to Calgary was seamless.  I just tucked my sweet little cat snuggly into her crate, below the seat in front of me.  I only heard a few displeased squawks over the hum of the airplane. 

But it was the flight from Calgary to Yellowknife that really threw me.  My new home slowly came into view as we descended through the thick white cloud, hanging low over Great Slave Lake.  There on the craggy rock and caked onto the spindly evergreen trees was snow!  I felt like I’d flown through time.  

I had to tiptoe over the icy patches on the tarmac in my not so winterized footwear.  

Inside the Yellowknife airport every arrival has to meet the gaze of a polar bear before they can take their luggage. A giant, once-was-real, but now is stuffed ol’ boy and his friend, the seal are the centrepiece on the baggage carousel here. 

One of my new colleagues stepped out of the crowd smiling.  She’d come to pick me up and knew exactly who I was when I stepped through the doors.  I think it’s because of the shellshocked look on my face. She opened her arms wide and hugged me, “Welcome to Yellowknife”

Once the cat and I had unpacked in the hotel suite that we’ll live in for the next two weeks I decided to go foraging for some food. I didn’t have much of a trek to make because for a town of 18 thousand people it’s VERY well serviced. 

I found a cafe on the ground floor of a medium-rise office tower (a lot of government buildings here).  Inside was a diverse collection of people enjoying a warm drink and some lunch. I sat down at a table next to a man dressed in a white collared shirt with a red tie, fervently working away on some paperwork.  And on the chair next to him sat a raccoon, deceased of course.  So, this busy, businessman chooses to keep his head warm with a tres fashionable ‘Davy Crockett’ hat. I love this town!

Everyday here will offer a new experience, some good, others bad (I’ll focus on the good).  And I know each one of them will teach me something.  I couldn’t be more ready --- so bring it on you Canadian Arctic, I’m ready for your windchill. 

*****pictures will be added when I unpack my camera charger (packed it on the moving truck).  

Here's to good friends.

My head is a bit groggy this morning.  Last night I got together with a great group of friends at my favourite, coziest English pub.  It was a dreary Autumn evening, it just made me want to stay put and take in the warmth of the environment.  In turn, by staying put I had my fair share of Crown Floats (a pint mix of Guinness and Strongbow cider).

This wonderful group of people gathered to wish me well and raise their glass to this adventure. It's times like these that make me realize just how much friendships have added to my life.

Cheers!

Packing... packing... packing

I've always wanted to head due North; it's been on my life's to-do list for years.

I grew up in the wilds of Canada's North West Coast where you have to drive for more than 8 hours to get anywhere. So naturally I've always wanted to take it to the next level and move to a place where it takes 20 hours by road to get anywhere.

This desire is taking me to Yellowknife, NWT. I'll be calling this Northern hub home in little more than 48 hours. I got a job in my field there and I couldn't turn it down. And I'm sure crossing this experience off my life's list will offer me a large dose of satisfaction.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about it, talk to me in the middle of January, but I really think it'll be alright. I'm trying to stay as positive as possible because this time the move is different. I'm moving away from the love of my life. My fellow must stay behind because of his career commitments. So this change will challenge me in new ways.

Now I've moved a whole heck of a lot in my life and the hardest part of it, no matter the challenges, is the packing. And this time around it actually brought me to tears.  But this time the move included two gruff, chain smoking, mover elves.  My company is paying for everything! And the relocation package included these two freakishly strong men that packed my belongings and are now trucking it up to the great white North. They breezed into my sweet little walk-up apartment yesterday and before I knew it they were driving away with everything I own.  They made my life so much easier, so, thank you.

Today two suitcases are sprawled open on my bedroom floor and now our apartment echoes.  So, here I go -- off to Canada's true North, strong and free, just as the snow begins to fall.  I must be a little bit crazy.