Monday 7 March 2011

Pack rat?

Ever notice how much stuff one seems to accumulate when living in one place for a little while?

Living by myself in a 3 bedroom house with a basement has meant I've never felt crowded by my stuff. Since I will shortly be moving (meaning by mid-April at the latest) into an apartment (which means no basement!), I have to get rid of quite a bit of said stuff. I went from being farm girl/horseperson to city girl/non-horseperson. I did rid myself of a lot of the horse/farm stuff then, but not all. Time to do a complete clean!

I've already gone through the clothes. Gave lots of stuff to charity. If I haven't worn it in two years, it left the building. Like the quilted coveralls and insulated rubber boots that followed me here from the farm. Don't really have a use for those at all anymore! Especially since I don't even have a horse any more. They came in very handy when working outside in the winter flinging bales of hay and fixing fences, though.

I still have some barn stuff, like 5 gal. pails and rubber feed pans, plus odds and ends. I am donating those to my friend's barn, along with the ancient (but still in really good shape) LaZboy recliner from the basement. They have a viewing room that looks out onto the riding arena, and more comfy furniture is a always good thing!

I sold quite a bit of extraneous furniture already through a website called kijiji where you can advertise stuff you want to get rid of. That's how I found a home for the dog too.

My buyer and I have settled on a fair price for the house and are finalizing the paperwork for the sale. I will be completely moved out by April 15th, if not sooner. That's a weight off my shoulders, to be sure! I'm going to sign the lease on the apartment for April 1st so that I can start moving little stuff on my own. I am going to hire movers to come in and move all the furniture and big stuff in one fell swoop. Will have to find a little wheeled dolly for moving the boxes... I am not going to be hauling them about one-armed!

Now my main focus will be on the dastardly WCB and getting an appeal started. I'm getting a disk with the 2nd MRI on it (already have the first) and will push to have one radiologist review both MRIs. (They were done at different facilities and hence were interpreted by two different radiologists.) Even if there isn't a huge difference between the two, it's obvious that the amount of damage done to my shoulder on Jan. 26th was enough to push it over the edge and into Uselessdom. I'm no slacker and am none too pleased to have been off work for almost 6 weeks. I actually like my job, despite it being very busy and quite stressful at times.

One armed or not, things are moving forward rapidly and I need to keep up. I want my shoulder seen to and fixed if that is what it needs. If not, then I need a different job. But I sure as hell do not want to spent the rest of my life with an arm I cannot raise to any great degree.

16 comments:

  1. Maybe point out to the WCB that not only would you like it fixed so you can work, you would also sort of like to have it for non-work as well!

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  2. "...the quilted coveralls and insulated rubber boots that followed me here from the farm. Don't really have a use for those at all anymore!"

    So many one-liners, so little time.

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  3. XL: My thoughts exactly!

    Jimmy: Oh, go on... you know you want to!!! ;-)

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  4. Listen hen, you have bigger 'Cobblers Awls' than most men, all credit to you doll. I wouldn't dream of insulting you with a cheap pun. Besides, tis only a very brave man who would take on a Viking woman one-armed and dangerous.

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  5. Jimmy: Or a very foolish one... ;-)

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  6. I swear if you're older than 12 and have a room of your own, THINGS just cling to YOU. :)

    Ah Jimmy...nice to have him about again, winking an eye as he types. :)

    You think you could take him at arm wrestling?

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  7. Hope: I swear some of the things I have, have been clinging to me since I was 12!

    Yes, it's lovely to have Jimmy back, isn't it! I bet I could give him a bit of a run at arm wrestling, although I'd be forced to use my left arm... ;-)

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  8. You inspired me! Cleared out half my wardrobe today for the local Cancer Charity Shop. (God knows who's gonna wear my crap!) But my heid always feels clearer after a good clearout. Stuff eh? Who needs it? :¬)

    (I am also often forced to use my left arm!) :¬)

    xxx

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  9. i can clear a closet in no time, sugar, but i swear paper work just seems to PILE UP on any flat surface. *sigh* xoxoxoxo

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  10. Purging all this stuff is an exercise in Zen philosophy. Wait until you see how liberating it is!

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  11. 'Ever notice how much stuff one seems to accumulate when living in one place for a little while?'

    Precisely why we can never leave this house.
    I hope things continue to go in the right direction.
    Oooh I can't resist telling you! WV is arsepante.

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  12. Map: I'm still sorting through stuff. Cripes, you'd think six people lived here! ;-)

    Glad I spurred you into activity! xoxoxo

    Savannah: Oh hell... my desk is always like that! My mum said I was a piler, not a filer. ;-) xoxoxo

    UB: The only problem with this kind of a purge is that at some later date, I will think "Oh, I have that!" only to realize I got rid of it... :-\

    But it will certainly make the move easier!

    Pat: "arsepante"! HA!! Love it!! Thanks for telling me. When you and your MTL are gone, your kids will have the 'pleasure' of sorting through everything. :-D

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  13. Oh, honey. Just catching up here and SO MUCH change for you.

    You have my warmest wishes, Ponita. Some day this will be in your rear view mirror and you will marvel at how gracious you've been...

    Pearl

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  14. The thing is, people who scam WCB will continue to scam WCB no matter what changes they make, and people like you will be stuck with no benefits.

    Just pay Ponita you WCB people!!!! As an aside, when my sister was a GP she could always tell the scammers. When she asked how long someone's back had been hurting, the average person would say "about three or four days" whereas the scammers would answer something like "3:15 on Friday when my boss forced me to move the heavy box..."

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  15. Yes, basements are the great "enablers"! I didn't fathom just how much I had accumulated until I tried to move it all into a small condo with NO basement. Like you, I've been stripping away and paring down. In the end, life becomes simpler and more focused...and that's a good thing.

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  16. Pearl: Thanks... it's been an eye opener and I'm trying to go with the flow.

    Snooze: Well, I knew when this happened - right to the exact time, cuz I had just looked at my watch. They are treating me like a scammer, but I'm not. I just want to get fixed so I can get back to work, but I don't want to starve to death in the meantime!

    Jonas: It definitely IS a good thing. I have come to realize I've been packing all kinds of useless crap around that I just don't need, and this is the perfect excuse to get rid of all of it!

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So you have something to say about all this, do you?
Well, let's hear it, then!