Nexus

Testing .... again

The first test post failed - I guess the connection from upstairs is too slow. This is a second try.

Update ...... The upstairs connection does not seem to be as reliable. Don't think I would want to chance too many long posts without having a back-up copy first. But it is very cool ot be upstairs in my big, comfy chair in the bedroom writing a post.

Wireless

I finally broke down and got myself a proper computer recently - I ordered it a couple of weeks ago and it arrived this week. I was quite excited when I went to the courier pick-up depot and loaded it into the car. I got it home and out of the box and had a mild panic attack. For someone who has worked in IT for as long as I have I am shockingly computer illiterate. I can use do the usual basic stuff - email, surfing the net etc. But anything beyond that, I need lots of help. I've become even worse over the last couple of years as a manager whose duties are mainly non-system related.

In any case, I got the thing out of the box and was on-line in an hour or so - with only one call to the help desk of my internet providor. But what I really wanted was a full wireless connection. My good friend R came over today with a wireless router and got me fully set up. As he says - wireless does not really mean wireless, it means the wires are somewhere else. He laughed at me when I said 'I want all the wires gone - I am tired of looking at them'. But we came pretty close. I bought a spiffy little willow basket that holds the various routers I need and fits between the wall and something else - you hardly notice it there. The wires are buried in there with only one cord peeping out and going to the outlet. So I am pretty happy.

Now, about the computer itself - do I ever love it. It is so speedy quick. It does makes me realize how archaic the old one was. Of course, now that I have oodles of space, I will be joining all the people with the great digital cameras and iPods. I've already spent a small fortune at the iTunes store. I've been picking up old favourite songs that I had on record but have never replaced on CD. I went through my old record collection in the basement to help me remember what songs I want to buy. At .99 cdn it is so cheap. I love that you can buy individual songs. I've also discovered that not all artists are on iTunes - I suppose there is some politics at play. Some on iTunes, some MSN and some napster. This is a whole new world for me. I burned my first mixed CD for the car this afternoon. I feel like I've just entered this century.

Renovation Continues

I feel like I've been on the brink of a renovation for the last few weeks. The first part was realizing I needed to make some changes and then toying with the idea. Then came the reality of 'hey, it is time to do this and I can really make this happen'. Then a protracted decision making process while I gathered up information and looked at photos. This week things and people have been lined up and decisions made. Today I put deposits on shutters, hardwood flooring and custom bedroom linens.

Last week when I realized I was having a lot of trouble deciding on paint colours, I talked to a consultant at the Benjamin Moore store. She suggested I use a colour consultant. They are self employed designers who work with the paint store. I decided to call and get the details. It seemed reasonable so I made an appointment. She spent two hours at my place earlier in the week. We chose all the paint colours and discussed other design items as well. It has really been an eye opener and completely changed how I would have done things. I love the colours we selected. The selection was done using the types of colours I like but done cohesively and in compatible tones. Of course I am using her for much more than just colours now - she is also helping with furniture and artwork placement in the rooms.

A few nights ago I arrived home with a sample of the hardwood floor that I loved. The designer took one look at it and told me it was all wrong. I had selected a tone of wood that is cool (taupe) and everything else in my is warm. So back it went. Last night I brought home more samples - some so large and heavy I could hardly carry them. The designer just happened to pop by tonight and helped me choose one. There is so much choice - this really helps me sort through the choices - and to avoid spending a lot of money on something I will might end up hating.

It has been fun. All told all this advise has cost a couple hundred dollars - well worth it considering the advise will stretch throughout my entire house. And it is still all my choices. She has found out all the things I like and helped me figure out how to make them look good together in my place. I can't wait to see the end result.

The One Thing I Did Keep ...

I wanted to add something about my father's stuff ..... The one thing I did keep is an old green work shirt. When my father passed away, my mother asked all of us if there was anything of his we wanted. I asked for a green work shirt. My father was a mechanic and wore them to work everyday. He is wearing that type of shirt in some of my favourite photos taken of him - I suppose they are such great photos because he would be relaxed and comfortable dressed like that. I've always had the shirt hanging in my closet. That is all I need of his. I think that is why I haven't felt any need to keep the things my mother gave me back that I talked about in my last post.

July Update

I'm not sure where the time has gone ..... I have been having a busy, eventful and fun summer. Lots of my activity centres around working on my house and working on me. Another form of house in a sense. I have come to the conclusion that I am having a mid-life crisis. It is a good thing in any case. Anything that gets you thinking about how you live, what you believe in and what you want for the future has to be good.

I am in the process of planning a house renovation. I gradually realized I no longer felt happy in parts of my house. When I sat in the living room and dining roon, I tried not to look too hard. That coupled with 3 floods in the basement since May, I decided I had to do something. It took quite a while for the full impact to hit me ..... bit by bit, I realized that I could correct all the things I didn't like about my space. Some mortgage refinancing is making it all possible. My intention is to get rid of all the 'junk' and anything fussy. I want simple, clean lines and soothing colours. Yellow has always been my preference of wall colour but my current yellow will get toned down. I am getting rid of carpet and putting in hardwood floors. Removing fussy vertical blinds in favour of wood shutters. And weeding out furniture. I also have a list of smaller items and will work through that as well. The planning is done and the work should start next week. Oh, and all the cords must go - there is a new computer on order and I will go wireless at long last. I've got a spiffy state of the art notebook arriving in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I have been going through each room and every nook and cranny and eliminating clutter and anything I don't use and love. Some is going in the trash and anything useful is going to the goodwill. Everyday I promise myself not to accumulate any more knick-knacks ever again.

This exercise has been very liberating. I've come to realize the type of lessons I learned from my mother/family about stuff. Never throw anything out - you never know when you might need that. I think my mother also felt that if you threw a gift out or something given to you by a loved one, it was dishonouring that relationship. Earlier this year my mother gave me a bag of stuff I had given to my father over the years. My father passed away 25 years ago. I think she felt that to throw these things out would dishonour my love for my father. I've had this bag sitting in the basement for ages not sure what to do with it - it is not stuff I really want to keep around and I've long since come to terms with my father's death. When I finally made this connection, I gave myself permission to throw the stuff out. We humans to have a funny relationship to our stuff. And considering our financial resources, we accumulate far too much of it. Our stuff controls us now. We spend a lot of money keeping our stuff housed - getting bigger places to hold it all.

I am finding this a really good experience. I think I am being more ruthless than I have ever been during any of my moves.