Well, as 2020 fades into the rear view, I decided I’d reflect back at a hard year.
What was supposed to be a good year, just kept getting harder and harder. Early on, things were okay. I was looking forward to my vacation in the summer to see Melissa and actually propose to her officially.
Then COVID-19 reared its ugly infectious head. Suddenly, our plans were in jeopardy. Still months away from the end of June, we thought maybe things would settle down by then.
Then businesses began closing. Travel became more restrictive. And things just… changed. I am privileged to work in an industry that was not much affected by COVID-19. Early on, it was possible I might get laid off. Our biggest client was suffering, and they needed to cut costs, which meant we needed to cut costs to stay afloat.
But my job stayed. And we actually got busier, as our clients shifted to working from home. Many people were not set up to work well from home, so there was a lot of support in that regard, and just reworking the whole paradigm.
As travel between the US and Canada closed up, Melissa and I decided we’d do Christmas this year instead. Still hopeful that things would get better this year yet. (yeah, that didn’t work out so well).
Work wise, our head of IT was still planning on going back to Romania for the rest of the year, and that wound up happening in August or September. I can’t even remember at this point. The whole year is a… not even a blur… a smudge, a mushy miasma of events. When he left, work got a lot more stressful, as certain things now fall to me with him out of country. I’m fine with that, but an increase in pay would be nice too.
While this was going on, my car decided to die – bleeding out some kind of internal fluids in a parking garage in Vancouver. A month after I had $2700 repairs done to it. The new bill was going to be $3000 plus taxes. The car was $6000 when I got it. So, I bit the bullet and said no to the repairs.
I had some savings left (from selling the townhouse) and decided to try and get a car that was going to be good on gas, comfortable, and last me a few years. I wound up getting a 2017 Toyota Corolla XSE. For the first time ever, I had a bought a top of the line model. I still love this car. 30% cheaper on fuel than my last car, and more comfortable. More features than I’ve ever had before: adaptive cruise control, heated seats, auto high beams, heated rear view mirrors, garage door control, alloy wheels, heated windshield wipers, etc.
So, something good at least in 2020. Though, now I have debt. Not a lot, but I will be paying it off sooner than later. On top of the car dying, my landlord sold the house where I had my basement suite. The new people were going to change the layout of the suite, so essentially I got renovicted. In a pandemic. I now had to look for a place to live, 1 year after I last looked.
As a trans woman, finding a place to rent can be tough. I am positive that many of the first few places I went and looked at, had no intention of renting to me after seeing me. I just got that ‘vibe’ from them. It was palpable. On top of that, I had decided I want to get a cat. Which means I needed to find a pet friendly place – this narrowed my search drastically.
I had pretty much given up, and was going to take temporary lodgings either with my boss, or my ex, and move the rest of my stuff into storage, when I decided to try a few more places. One of which was 3 blocks from where I was living. I walked over, and had a look. It was fairly clean, vaulted ceilings, pet friendly (for a fee), but small.
The landlord told me it was mine if I wanted it, but take a day to think about it. I had pretty much convinced myself it was too small, and then, I changed my mind. I still don’t know what exactly changed it. Maybe I just really want a cat. Maybe I reconciled in my brain that I’d be able to do without a proper bedroom for a year+. Maybe it was Teresa saying I could store some things with her. In any event, I took the place.
Over the last month and a bit, I’ve been trying to make it mine. Moving in was long and arduous, as it was only Teresa and myself, and van borrowed from work. But we did it. I downsized a lot, and still have a bit to go. The place has a living room, small kitchen, insuite laundry, full bathroom, and a bedroom. However, the bedroom was not big enough for my desk and bed, and dressers.
So, I already had a sofa bed, which is now my bed sofa. The bedroom is now my office and closet and storage (the actual closet). I have enough room in here that I can use my VR headset, so that has worked out well.
My living room is full, but cozy. The kitchen is small, but adding my kitchen island, has made it quite functional. There were some small things that I’ve had to take care of. The toilet seat was broken, the stovetop elements were all warped, the blinds needed a bit of attention, and there’s a couple things with the carpet that I want to fix before getting a cat. But… it feels like home to me now.
The Christmas get together with Melissa did not happen. We don’t know when we’ll actually be allowed to visit each other. I have another friend in the US that I really want to visit as well, and they’re in Tacoma. Actually, there are some other friends as well in Washington state too.
My bubble of people have been great, and helping to keep my sane. Seeing my bf every (almost) Friday and Saturday. Teresa helping me when I needed it and always being there. Getting out of town a couple times with another close friend. The whole D&D crew as well on Friday nights.
I look forward to 2021 being a better year, with socializing again. Wishing you all the best.