this music sucks

I did not end up buying the apartment that I thought I wanted. It turns out that the apartment building had been made with cheap materials + labour (26 years ago) and since then, due to mismanagement/ apathy/ laziness, the building itself has greatly suffered. Water-damage, leaky pipes, ill-repaired balconies, foundation cracks and other nasty things have piled up to the point where the tenants cannot ignore it any more. Had I purchased the apartment that I thought I wanted, I would have had to shell out about $50,000 over the next 5 - 10 years. That would be just to keep the building at ‘fair’ condition.

No way!

So, I walked away from the real estate deal about 5 days before it was due to be finalized. I am thankful for my many friends that sat around the Winlaw campfire with me and helped me to decode the strata jargon. I already knew that things were looking a little rough, but my friendly-friends helped me to understand that this was not the place for me to buy.

The hunt is on!

In other news, it is my first day back at work after being away for 2 & ½ weeks. Getting up at 6:30am was not as fun as you may think.

The visit to Winlaw, Nakusp, Nelson + Halcyon hot springs was *lovely*. Fires were burned, lakes were swum, rivers were enjoyed, boats were hijacked, food was scarfed, books were read, knitting was knit by the light of the bonfire, and hot springs were lounged in.

Along the way I got a little sun, bought a few used books (Girlfriend in a Coma – Coupland, Kafka on the Shore – Murakami, and some Ursula K. LeGuin book that I cannot remember the name of), and was given the gift of an amazing hat (white with pink pinstripes).

As much as I wished that I could stay another week and actually begin to tackle the amazing list of ‘things to do’ that Shea + Steph had created, I was also very happy to be leaving the area around Nelson before the onset of Shambhala. An old flame of mine has been an organizer of this event for years. Every time I run into him he asks me if I will be joining him at the celebration this year. While I sincerely appreciate the work that he puts into this community event, I have told him in plain language that Shambhala (and events like it) are my idea of my own personal hell. The only thing that I would find slightly worse would be if I were locked in a Walmart for a week with the furnace stuck on full blast.

Pay $150 for admission to an outdoor hippy rave? No thanks, I am good.

Anyway, no disrespect intended to my fine dreadlocked event-organizing friend. Though I will tell you one of Sarah’s jokes in order to finish off this rant:

‘What did the ravers say when the drugs wore off?’

‘This music sucks.’