a phone, a clinic, a bank, and some screws
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
It was a rainy day spent on the streets of The Beaches doing errands.
First stop; the clinic where Kenny had an abscess diagnosed and lanced earlier in the week. The bad news: the lab had been unable to work with the sample swabbed from the pustule at the last visit. Better news was that a further consultation wasn't actually necessary. This saved us a lengthy wait at the clinic with a boy who's had to be force-fed some of the worst-smelling medicine I've ever encountered.
Next stop: some screws for a project I'm working on. I'm building my own desk and I needed some 31/4" #10 screws. I've been dismayed at the frequency of the Imperial system's showing up since I've been back in the country. I guess I'd better get used to it. This is the way it goes when you've decided that anything you can afford is either unspeakably nasty (e.g. used office furniture) or ridiculously flimsy and cheap and ugly (IKEA). There's really no excuse not to try this: I need a desk that's taller than most of the models on the market in any event, and I certainly have all the tools lying around.
After the screw stop, it was on to a Fido shop to sign Mari up for a mobile phone at long last. In Ontario everything seems to depend on you having a local credit card and a local driver's license. I should probably write up a page with instructions for people moving to the province before I forget all of this stuff!
We then ate at a fast-food burger shop that was so well run I went and spoke with the manager about it to congratulate him. I'm not kidding: it was just a "Harvey's" but the staff were smiling, things ran very efficiently, the place was clean, and we were served quickly and had freshly prepared food. Compared to a dismal encounter we had at a sit-down place last weekend, it was refreshing indeed. The manager was delighted at the feedback; I can only imagine the sort of crap he's used to hearing as someone who runs fast food places for a living (such as the "you're touching the money and food at the same time" freak from two days ago).
We rounded out the routine with a stop at the liquor store for some wine for tomorrow's miniature birthday party, and then some banking. We added Mari to my bank account so that she can have her own bank card and spend while I work. I also learned about VISA debit cards, which seem at first blush like a good idea. It also turns out that we can open a bank account for Kenny free of charge or fees, and can even attach his account to mine for the purpose of transfers. We'll return to do so next weekend.
I spent the afternoon working on the desk project. I'm sure I'll make a total hash of it and wind up in a dangerously unstable situation (much like during my dating years) but just like that bygone era I'm sure it'll continue to be an adventure. I'm using hardwood plywood on the surface, some oaken banister limbs for the legs, and lots o' sandpaper.