It's not black

Those of you who have been to my place in TO know that one of the most unique features in my unique home is my all black bathroom.

And when I say all black, I mean head to toe, floor to ceiling, black sink, black tub, black shower, black toilet black.

I've hated that bathroom since I bought the place, but figured my money could be spent better elsewhere. Oh, I and forgot to mention the other unique feature - the glass that runs all the way around the top of the bathroom, and allows guests to look down into the bathroom from the stairs. It's always been a great party trick.

Feast your eyes on my new bathroom in Krakow:

And no the bathtub is not in the living room . . .

I miss my sunroof

Spring finally reappeared yesterday in Toronto, after an all too brief showing in mid-March.

As a result, today was the first day I really missed my Subaru. I rolled down the windows on my rental, but it's just not the same as opening up the sunroof and feeling the spring breeze.

I also had my first top-down convertible sighting today, which made me realize what I really miss is my dad's Karmann Ghia convertible.

I can't remember what year the Ghia was, but it was from the early 1970s, and just like in the ad, ours was bright orange. My brothers and I got to drive it to school when we were each in our last years of high school. Boy, did I love driving that car into the high school parking lot . . .

I can't believe I said I didn't like orange a few days ago.

It just happened again!

I just called to cancel my subscription to the Globe and Mail, and when the guy asked me why, and I told him it was because I was moving out of the country, he cheerfully said " best of luck!"

Somedays it's good to be reminded of the essential good-naturedness of people.

The kindness of strangers

Today's been another rollercoaster day (see today's earlier post), but a random call just made me smile.

I am not often home when telemarketers call, and if I am, I can usually avoid them by not picking up calls from numbers I don't recognize.

However, sometimes I see numbers that I think are from my friends' cell phones (even though if I think about it, those usually display their names), and I pick up a call and get a telemarketer.

The telemarketer for the Globe and Mail just called offering me a special edition of the Sunday New York Times, which I would be interested in if I was staying in the country, and I told her so. She asked me where I was going, and when I told her, she seemed genuinely excited for me, and starting asking me more questions (which city was I going to, was I going for school, do I speak the language), and then she wished me a great trip, and good luck repeatedly.

It made me smile.

And it reminded me I have to cancel my subscription . . .

One step forward . . .

Today started on a high note when I found out that the Polish government had issued my paperwork.

My coordinators were hopeful that I would receive this last week, and as result my move was originally (re)scheduled for tomorrow. However, when it didn't come in last week, the movers were pushed back to next Thursday.

I still need to get the promise of employment in my hands and then take it to the consulate here to get the correct visa.

My euphoria quickly died when I called the consulate and asked how long it would take to get a visa (I was told no more than a few days earlier).

Voice mail: Visas take two to four weeks to process.
Me: tears

When I talked to an actual person, they said it would only take a week, and when I asked if it could be any faster, she said it's possible it could be done in 1 or 2 days.

I am keeping my fingers crossed, but at the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up again.

A quick recap:
- I found out about the possibility of the job at the end of August 2006
- I got the job in the 2nd week of Oct 2006
- I visited Krakow for the first time in the first week of Nov 2006
- I was told in Nov 2006 it would take 7-8 weeks to get the work permit
- The first official date was Feb 1st 2007
- The first official delay was Jan 25 2007
- I visited Krakow for the second time Feb 2007
- The next official date was April 1st 2007
- The next official delay was announced March 21st 2007
- The move was rescheduled last week (April 12th 2007)
- Paperwork released April 18th 2007

Who knows what's next

Orange

It's odd that I picked a blog colour scheme that includes orange.

I got pictures of my new place in Krakow, now that it's finished. There's a very orange wall in the dining room.



I am not a fan of orange.

However, I do like the orange with the green in the blog. I also have a green couch in the new apartment with orange pillows.



Coincidence?

Do cats get jet lag?

My two favourite cats, Flannery and Small, are accompanying me to Krakow. They even have their own travel agent to plan their trip!

I wonder (every morning at 6:30 a.m. when Small wakes me up) if cats get jet lag. Will Small wake up at 6:30 a.m. Toronto time when she's in Poland? (Which would be awesome, since that would be early afternoon in Krakow.)

Will they want to eat in the middle of the night?

Or will they just adjust to the time difference immediately, and start waking me up even earlier?