Well, I just finished my first week here in Estevan and I must say, I enjoyed it.
The people have been nice, polite, and the ones I’ve met so far all seem to have a great sense of humour, which goes a long way in making a newcomer feel welcome.
I’m still a bit groggy from the trip here, and the time I spent unemployed (the less obligations I have during the day, the more vampiric I become in terms of the hours I keep it seems), but I’m catching up, my circadian rhythm is getting back on track and my energy levels are normalizing.
Having a job to come to has given me a semblance of purpose again and it feels good to get back into the pattern of reporting, keeping busy with things outside the realm of late night beers and videogames with my friends.
Don’t get me wrong; I like that realm from time to time, but everything should be kept in moderation or it starts to lose its charm.
As I edge out of the transitional phase between switching towns I find myself appreciating life’s little luxuries, like having groceries in the fridge and not relying on cheap McDoubles and $5 six-inch ham subs for sustenance.
Again, I’m not knocking these things, but variety is the spice of life, right?
I’m also one of the people who looks into the fridge when bored and not the least bit hungry and let me say this, you kill less time when you open the door and there’s nary a morsel to be seen.
For that first week I had absolutely no furniture, and when our publisher Rick found out I was sitting on a pillow, eating meals from a plate on a cardboard box, he thought that was no good and insisted I borrow a table and chair from the Mercury office.
Before the light bulb lit up and I started utilizing the box as a dining table, I had the plate right on the floor. The box/table idea had me feeling content at the time and satisfied with my own ingenuity, however basic and ghetto it was.
Now, after Rick’s considerate generosity, I’m elevated and can even lean back comfortably while watching movies on my laptop.
By the time this write-up comes out, however, I’ll be connected to the Internet, and by the end of the weekend I’ll have all the amenities people in a civilized society are used to.
This means no more sit down showers because I’ll have a shower curtain and won’t have to worry about drenching my bathroom floor – I’ll let you take a moment and visualize the indignity of that first part…
Done?
Good, onward.
I think of my apartment back in Lloydminster, complete with a couch, dresser and other things I couldn’t fit in my car to bring with me, and I muse how I used these things and never gave it a thought.
I’d also binge watch Netflix, spend more time than I probably should have scrolling through Facebook, researched any thought that came to my head, and otherwise surfed the net with carefree abandon, like it was some birth rite owed to me by the universe.
Guess what, it wasn’t.
I’m not bothered living like I’m camping indoors, though, especially since it’s short term; plus I’m very aware of those who don’t even have the means for cheap fast food, access to clean water, or any sort of shelter.
Regardless, it’s been a less than ideal living situation yet I’ve still been grateful for what I do have, but I also feel appreciation as common luxuries become available day-by-day.
Before long I’ll have a real bed and won’t have to sleep on the carefully crafted makeshift mattress made from clothes I laid out on the floor and topped with memory foam.
It’s actually pretty comfortable by the way, so don’t judge me, but a real bed is a real bed and I’m sure when I lay down that first night I’ll be happy as a pig in manure.
So when you find yourself in a rough patch, remember, it’s often temporary, take it with a dose humour, appreciate what you got, and laugh at yourself until it’s over.
Because being ungrateful and stressing rarely, if ever, helps with anything.
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