August

August.....it was a hell of a month but I survived. Here's the Reader's Digest version:

Aug. 1-10
This week or so at the beginning of the month was pretty much entirely dedicated to the move and all the details of buying our house. Every day was filled with an endless to-do list of paperwork and phone calls, but I worked my butt to make sure everything was in order before leaving for my course.

Aug. 11-25
My two-week indoctrination course in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It was, at the same time, the shortest and longest two weeks of my life. The days were long (5am-11pm) and exhausting but not terribly difficult. We were on the 12th floor and we went up and down those stairs about 3-5 times a day, usually carrying a bunch of stuff. We did our PT tests at the beginning of the course and I got my exemption level. We spent a lot of time in class, with endless boring powerpoints. I got to be the fire picket, platoon 2IC as well as section senior (twice). The people in my platoon were fantastic, and the girls in my pod were especially awesome. One thing I can take away from this course is a true appreciation for the army motto of "hurry up and wait."
The day we left, guess what time we got up at! 1:30am! Yes, that's right. We woke up at 1:30am. March out inspection was at 2, we moved all our stuff downstairs at 3, waited for bus which came at 4, and arrived at the Montreal airport at 5am. The first flights (for those going to Toronto) left at 7am, but for those of us whose flight didn't leave until 2pm, it was a long boring day at the airport.
Half my platoon ended up sick at some point over the course and I was pretty lucky that I made it to the last day before catching something. I'm glad I wasn't sick on course but I've been hacking my lungs out ever since.

Aug. 25-present
Dealing with the house. All our stuff was waiting for me in boxes at the new house when I got home from my course. Chris had already left for his operation and is currently recovering at his parents' in Barrie, so unpacking and organizing the house was all on me. The movers did an absolutely atrocious job packing so there were a lot of broken and damaged items. At the moment, almost all the boxes are empty but there's still stuff everywhere - I don't know where to put half this crap! I also redid the dryer outlet in the basement and had a plumber in today to clear the roots out of our sewer line, so it's been a busy week.
Thursday is my first day of classes, so last week I went down to the university to buy my books and get my student card. I love new books and school supplies!

Next on the agenda: safety inspection for the car tomorrow morning!