Sunday, May 27, 2007

How Safe is Safe?

So my blogging stopped as suddenly as it restarted..lol; had something to do, i imagine, with the fact that i had cable tv and internet installed that very week. The phone people (cable and wutless??) originally told me 20 days to installation, when i checked back two weeks later they told me another 5 weeks...i however got a voip phone (for international calls) installed the very same day i applied....not from c&w.


Anyway, if you don't know by now, i have moved house. This should be my final move for a loooong time, as i am in the process of purchasing the apartment into which i moved. This apartment is very centrally located yet quiet and homey. There are automatic gates that need either a code or a little device to open, and although there are no security guards, i think we all felt pretty safe. Well i sure did, though the few apartments that had signs indicating that they were further protected by a private security firm did give me cause to wonder in the early days. Well that feeling of security was certainly shattered in the wee hours of Saturday morning, when the quiet of the night was interrupted by repeated screams.


I had awoken about 30 minutes before the commotion started and had made my way into my bedroom, getting up from in front of the tv...i fall asleep in my settee almost every night!  I was actually not feeling very sleepy and had gotten up to use the bathroom when I heard what I thought was a child crying. It turned out that it was a young lady who had awoken to find an intruder in her apartment, whose purpose it seemed was to rape her. Thank god her fighting and screaming drove him to run away even before neighbours could react. I am hoping here, that eventually they would have reacted. Of course I also could not get back to sleep; by time the police and security firm left it was about 4:30 am. I tried to go to sleep, but every time i would doze, something would wake me and i would jump up, adrenaline pumping...i think i finally got to sleep at about 7 am (it was bright and sunny then) and i still had to lock my bedroom door before i could feel comfortable enough to sleep!!

This incident drives home the fact that you always have to be smart about your personal security, even if you are in the 'safe haven' of your home. In places i have lived previously, i would for instance try to get home a dawn when i think it would be safer than in the early morning when it is still dark out. At this complex however, that fear was no longer with me and i happily head home at 4 am after a night of uhhhhhmmmmmm relaxation...but now I must ask myself 'how safe am I really?' and know that no matter what time it is, I have to keep an eye out for any danger that may be lurking.


I give thanks still that i have never been robbed or attacked (does this count?) *knocking on wood*


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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Getting Old Part Deux

When it rains, it certainly pours. Here i am again, just one day after writing my last blog entry. As unbelievable as it may seem, the reason is very simple. Having just moved house, i have yet to receive cable, internet, or phone services. I am like a ship without a captain, an aimless wanderer in the sea of life. I went and paid for both cable and internet services today...cost me a tidy sum too, but life is just not the same without these things which have become necessary to everyday life.

I also went to see the doctor today about my trick knee...i have been having problems since my university days (waaaaaaaaaay back in the day), but finally decided to go get it checked out..his verdict....I am old and fat and need to take care of my body....dammit...thank god for a healthy sense of self..otherwise i may be forced to kill somebody...Now if there was any doubt in my mind about the aging process, it has certainly been removed.

One thing that i will take away from my visit to the doctor today is the need for young athletes to care of their bodies. I will admit that i was bitter for a few minutes. The thought that my being athletic and playing a sport that i loved, a sport that kept me fit and strong, has now resulted in my having irreversible knee issues was a little much to bear. Should I then discourage my offspring (still hoping) from playing sports? I decided that the answer could not be as simple as this. There must be a way for youngsters to get all the positives that sports bring, without damning themselves to a pain filled life.

Or maybe I should just accept that i am an old bird now...lol

Getting Old!!

Now anybody who has ever moved house before knows that this is not merely a one or two day affair, but more of a gradual process that can take up to three months. Well I began this process on friday and given how the apartment looks, i am estimating a six week journey (it could be worse huh?).

Now if you are young and spry moving is a breeze, otherwise, not so cool. All that tugging and hauling and constant trips up and down a flight of steps will take a toll on aging bodies. My cousin, who helped with the heavy lifting, is complaining that he can't move. He rushes to reassure me that its good pain, and he likes the pain (this said as he tries to stifle a groan, probably after shifting the phone from hand to hand...lol). For me the pain is not so good. I cannot bend one leg at the knee as the pain is just unbearable. In distress i describe the pain to my boyfriend; distress caused mainly by the fact that i had scheduled a tennis session this week, plus paid for three months at the gym; distress caused by the realization that my weight will move in the wrong direction (sorta like my age) if I don't get moving (not house...lol) soon; to which he nonchalantly replied "you're getting old!!"

Is this what passes for honesty in a relationship, may i have less honesty please. Can you not reiterate stuff that i am very aware of...lol. But no, i have had knee issues for a long time due mainly to a long period of competitive volleyball. I have always tried to avoid the doctor and the pain has always abated. This time i fear this is not going to be the case (we do find it harder to heal as we get older you know), and i feel its time to cancel that appointment with the orthodontist (afterall my teeth don't hurt) and get in line to see an orthopedic specialist...the very name conjures images of old people dont?

Still, I am enojoying moving house, it gives me a chance to update stuff (just the little things) and get new stuff (just little things) to make the space livable. And guess what....it has been three days and i have not encountered a single lizard.

Life is good!