It’s been while since I’ve updated this site (almost a month), but not because of a lack of interest. I recently moved out of my parents’ house into a new apartment to begin work, in the real world. Yes, I’m no longer a student, and while I will never regret my university years, there comes a time to move on. (I have yet to update the about page, but will get around to it) I started work on the 4th of September and have been diving my time between getting adjusted to the job and getting settled into my new place and surroundings.

So, how have things went since then? It’s been a mix of good and not-so-good, but thankfully things are getting better now that I have most of my stuff setup. I actually moved into my new place about one week before starting work, knowing that it would take some time to get things setup. Getting unpacked and setup however, took more effort than expected. Having to basically buy everything I needed was a task itself, but not having a car and having to bus-it or take a taxi everywhere was hard.

Cleaning and setting up

In the end, it took me around three or four days to get the apartment fully cleaned, and most my stuff unpacked and setup. You may not know it, but I am a neat freak, and if I don’t know whether something is clean or not, I assume it’s dirty. Thankfully I was able to get my bed setup on the first night, but I didn’t get phone/Internet service until three days after moving in. In retrospect, this was probably a good thing, as without Internet service there was literally nothing distracting me from getting tasks done.

Starting work

I started work on the 4th of September, the day after labour day, and things went smoothly – sort of. My manager was actually on vacation the week I started, so he had referred me to another manager for orientation. My station was nicely setup for me on the first day, and everything including e-mail was working; e-mail access on the first day, imagine that! I spent that day and the rest of the week meeting coworkers and getting up to speed on the protocols in use at work. The week after that was reserved for training, and this past week I finally got started on some actual project work.

Getting Furniture

Not having a car or any furniture, the result of being a new graduate, I decided the best way to outfit my apartment would be to visit the local IKEA while I was in Edmonton at my parents’ place, and decide what I wanted to get before leaving. While visiting IKEA and looking for furniture deserves its own section, in summary I had made a list of all the furniture I wanted and proceeded to order it online from IKEA’s site, since they offered delivery. Their ordering procedure was a bit weird – you place the order online, and the next day, a representative calls you to confirm the order and get your credit card details. I assume this is because they have to manually determine shipping charges for large items.

I placed the order 27th of August, and the rep. said that it would take between 1-2 weeks for the order to arrive. No problem – I understand that it’s probably a busy time of year for IKEA, with the start of September being the back-to-school season, meaning that there are probably tons of university students also ordering and buying furniture from them. Two weeks later, my furniture had still not arrived and my credit card had not yet been charged. I sensed something was amiss, so I called IKEA back, and they told me that Per your request, we canceled the order..

I was baffled – I had done no such thing. However, the issue was quickly corrected and my order was promptly shipped. It finally arrived this past Wednesday, the 19th of September. The delivery man was nice enough to leave a message on my machine asking what time would be best for me. Thankfully, he was able to make the delivery at 6 PM, after I had arrived home from work. Having received the furniture, the arduous task of assembling it all could begin….

Putting it all together

During the rest of that week, I got two or three items put together after I’d got back from work. This past weekend though, was the big push. I managed to get everything, save the dining table, put together, and at the same time, also went out and bought a TV. I also threw out my old $75 Wal-Mart desk that had served me so well for the past three years. In the process, I completely re-arranged my apartment and the end result is a space that looks and feels much better than sitting inside a warehouse, which is what things were like before I got my furniture. I’m a bit sad that I forgot to take any before pictures, having only the shots from after the rearrangement.

What’s left to be done

There’s still some minor reorganizing to be done, and of course, throwing out a lot of empty boxes and cardboard. Though it was a lot of work, in the end it was very rewarding since it’s my stuff and my place. I almost wish I had another space to setup, since the work keeps you busy, and boredom is my greatest enemy. While IKEA furniture is inexpensive and functional, some people dislike having to assemble it. I’d say that having to put it all together yourself makes it more valuable since you’ll remember the literal sweat you put into making it your own. I say this only with a bit of sarcasm.