This is very exciting. A huge 3 1/2 (one bedroom) minutes from both Chemin Queen-Mary and Avenue Monkland, and the Snowdon and Villa-Maria metro stations. Very large rooms, high ceilings, eat-in kitchen, balcony, heat and hot water included, cat-friendly, all for just 650 CAD/month. I swear our current apartment is the same size as the living room in the new place, and it costs three times as much.

Whew! It's so wonderful to know that we have a place to live in Montreal. Plus, it's both the the cheapest and one of the nicest places we've seen.

OK, the ebullience must subside. I've gotta get back to work.

I was worried that all the requirements wouldn't be met on time because of slow administrative staff, but it all worked out.

I can pick up my diploma after June 14th. It's going right above the toilet so everyone will see it.

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I quit smoking last May, so I should technically be celebrating my one-year smoke-free anniversary. However, when Josh and I were up in Montreal, out in the downtown bars, surrounded by laid-back, cool Montrealers who were smoking, we couldn't resist the urge and bought a pack. I have smoked quite a few cigarettes since then, all while drinking (what can I say...I'm a lush). Now, I feel myself sliding down that slippery slope back into the full-time inhalation of carcinogens.

I don't quite understand why, though. I really dislike smoking. It doesn't give me a satisfied feeling, but it does give my clothes and body a god-awful stench. So, why do I feel the need to do it?

But damn, I do enjoy it on some ridiculous, purely carnal level.

This is going to sound like a cop-out, and probably completely ludicrous, but one of the factors that's led to this is the feeling I get that I sort of "forced" Josh to quit smoking. He's told me over and over again how much he enjoys it and wants to smoke, but since I quit, he "might as well, too." So, my not smoking was depriving him of something.

Anyway, I know that's silly, but this is the way our minds work. We're not always rational. We all make excuses for our vices.

I suppose I'll have to go through the torture of quitting smoking again. The sooner, the better. But with all the stress of the wedding and moving to Montreal, I'm really not looking forward to this added nuisance.

Invitations go out today!

I'll perhaps update later on the weekend in Montreal. We're still keeping our fingers crossed to hear back from a rental office today.

On a sidenote, I picked up two cakes from Finale yesterday for a party we're throwing at work today for my co-worker Beth, who's getting married on Sunday. Collecting money for them has been a headache, as there are several tightwads in my office ("I'm not paying more than $4...cakes should only cost $12...why didn't you get one of those sheet cakes from the grocery store?"). But, whatever, the cakes look scrumptious. I can't wait to show everybody what I picked out: A 10-inch Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake and a 6-inch Ultimate Chocolate Cake. Thanks to bobofcups for his help in getting them. Mmmmmmmmm.

It looks like apartment hunting in Montreal is going to go better this time. I've already got five apartments lined up to see, and I'm adding more to the list. I'm making a schedule, and hopefully we'll be able to see 10 apartments while we're there. The more we see, the better our chances.

Only two months until I'm in my early late 20s. :(

I am currently putting some of my books on Half.com. If I have old books sitting on my shelf that I think I will never open again, but might look "impressive" in a library, should I still keep them?

Finding an apartment in Montreal sucks. It just plain sucks.

I guess another apartment-hunting trip up north is in the near future.

I'm tempted to break that sucker open now and have a liquid lunch, but I think we'll save it for a special occasion.

On a completely unrelated note, I desperately need to do some laundry. I was out of regular underwear today (and I use the term regular very loosely, given my predilection for the more exotic undergarments), so I had to wear a thong, which I'm not even sure why I own. In any event, it's sometimes difficult to concentrate on filling out very important patent documentation while your undies are creeping up your crack.

I should have just gone commando.

As Josh said, we have no emotional Friends closure.

Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

You'll take it now, if you know what's good for you.

danielspice

Refresh your friends list and reply to the 3rd entry from the top with the phrase "In the Butt." No matter what the content of the original entry. Then repost these instructions in your own LJ.

[IMPORTANT EDIT: New date is July 10.]

Quickass recap: as previously mentioned, jermo's party on Saturday was a raucous and saucy time. If you weren't there, you wish you were, and if you were there, you already know, so I needn't waste my time telling you.

At the party I met narcissisme, eyecouldbee, and swirlychick, who are now my new best friends. They gave me a ride home and didn't even touch me inappropriately, despite my repeated requests.

In other news, I spent almost all day Sunday with tonyz21 planning jdhorner's and my wedding. *swoons* We've got some good ideas so far, and Tony is the bestest wedding planner ever. He should do it on the side for extra money. Wedding planning, I mean. I'll post more details once I have a chance to sit down with Josh and finalize things.

I spent much of the weekend spring cleaning my apartment. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough time to finish, so there are now boxes and random craptastic junk from the bowels of the closet strewn about my home. Needless to say, I don't think Josh was too pleased when he got home from an 8-hour bus ride to find the place a shambles. Oops! It wasn't quite the nice welcome he gave me after my trip to Florida. I'll make it up to him somehow.

We have to start organizing all of our belongings. When we move to Canada, we have to submit a list including every item we're carrying across the border and how much it's worth. Sheesh! I have a feeling we'll be throwing away a lot of needless things. Who the hell knows how much a Swedish penis pump costs, anyway? Except, of course, jermo.

Unrelated rant: I wish people would return phone calls.

I get to grade papers all night, when all I want to do is open a bottle of wine and watch some bad pay-per-view movie.

jermo

So, yeah, it was a great party, and I'll post more about it tomorrow when it's not almost 3:00am. I'm old, I need sleep.

Still no news on the Montreal apartment. I suppose we'll wait a couple weeks and try looking again. *sigh*

Also no takers on our car. Not sure what we're going to do if we don't find a buyer before we move.

The weather is awesome today, and I'm in a great mood. Josh has left to visit his mom for the weekend, though, so my good mood probably won't last. :(

Now that I'm done with school, I finally have time to think about these things. We've got about $2000 to spend on a wedding, which is just 10% of what the average wedding costs these days. Yikes! What I'm envisioning now is the following:

--Josh and I get married at the courthouse. Anyone can come who would like to, but it's just going to be a quick "I do" kinda thing.
--We get nice, but mid-priced rings.
--Josh makes all the invitations and paper goods at work.
--We have a reception (hopefully at our favorite restaurant Flux...still waiting to hear back on availability and cost).
--Open bar is a must. That usually runs about $25/head, with hors d'oeuvres, and since we're looking at only about 50 people to actually show up, that's doable.
--We get an amateur photographer, or a friend, to take pictures. Plus, we hand out a bunch of those disposable cameras.
--Since we're not into dancing, we probably won't need a DJ. We could just as easily make an iTunes playlist and hook up one of our computers to the place's sound system.
--Instead of using a wedding coordinator, we just dip into our pool of talented friends for help planning. I mean, c'mon...when you hire a wedding coordinator, you're pretty much just renting out a gay guy and using him for his God-given talents.
--After the reception, which will be about three hours, everyone who would like to join us will go to dinner somewhere not-fancy. Bennigans or something. ;)

So, the main cost is the open bar, but if you're not going to have an open bar, you might as well not get married at all. Oh, and we'll register for gifts, but I think we're going to suggest that a monetary donation would be just as appreciated (especially from our families...you poor schmoes out there can buy us a dish or something from Crate & Barrel). Speaking of monetary donations, I'm now accpeting PayPal donations on my userinfo page, just in case some rich, benevolent person is reading this and wants to make two gays guys very happy by helping them and their friends have a great time when they get legally married.

The date I have in mind for all this is July 3rd. That's easy to remember, so neither Josh nor I will ever get in trouble for not remembering. That's all contingent on availability.

Oh and, of course, I have to discuss this all with Josh. :)

And who wants to throw me a bachelor party, eh?

When answering all of these, please keep in mind that we's po'.

Poll #286424 Wedding
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which ring do you like the most? We're obviously not going for the gold. We're not pimps.

What kind of wedding should we have?

If you think we should have a party, should that party include (check all that apply):

What should the date be? (any day between May 17 and July 18)

Spinach ceases to be as healthy when you mix it with bacon, so why does the cafeteria where I work do this?

I've decided that my body likes eating larger lunches and smaller dinners, rather than vice versa. It makes sense. A big lunch will give me the energy I need for the rest of the day, but all I do after eating a big dinner is sit on my ass and let it collect around my waistline. So, today I'm having pork loin with apple and pecan chutney (in lieu of gravy), small roasted potatoes, aforementioned spinach w/ bits of bacon, and mashed sweet potatoes. It's gooooood. I worked out today, too, so I'm feeling very mindful of my body. Tonight I'll just have a sandwich or soup.

How did I ever live without Nutella? Mmmmm...on a croissant.

Also, Easy Mac is just too easy, which makes it evil.

On a non-food-related note, my thesis advisor said that my thesis was better than most M.A. theses he's seen, and suggested that I pursue a similar subject for my dissertation. I'm not ready to think about my dissertation yet! But it's nice to know that what I wrote was valid.

The only bad thing about eating a big lunch is that now I want to take a nap really badly.

I've been lax in responding to my friends page. I'm going to try to be better about that.

Oh, finally, and just as randomly, I'd like to give a shout out to rfmcdpei, sushi_bard, and, of course, jdhorner for leaving me voicemails on my Canadian cell phone. Y'all rock.