This is a long story, with a happy ending. And yes, it involves a PVR.

Anyone who knows me knows that change, upheaval, or just having things hanging in limbo in general… well, these are things that I do not enjoy.

It is for this very reason that I feel like I’ve spent the last month or so in a steady state of unrest.

It hasn’t been horribly debilitating.  I’ve managed to carry on with my every day life quite well.  But always, at the back of my mind, has been this list.  This growing list of things that NEEDED to be done.

I think I’ve run through it recently here in a blog post, but this list, which was started long ago and I kept adding to, looked something like this:

1. Get Dale (my cousin-slash-favourite electrician) to get power back in the garage.  After one whole winter of not being able to use my power garage doors, I was determined not to have to endure that agony again.
2. Get the house painted.  Especially the downstairs and my bedroom.
3. Get my broken tail light fixed.
4. Get an HD dish and receiver WITH a PVR.
5. Replace my water-damaged Blackberry.

I know.  There’s a list of “First-World Problems” if I ever did see one.

Really, in the grand scheme of things, all of this was small potatoes.  Nothing extremely urgent (other than the cell phone), and life could go on with these jobs being back-burnered over and over again, and no one would ever know it.

But I knew.  Inside of me, I knew.  There was a list of things that needed to be completed, and it was a constant nagging thought chewing away at the back of my mind.  All.the.time.

Getting the BB fixed was the easiest one on the list.  I only spent about a week fretting over it before I had the replacement and had it up and running.  (Even though I REALLY wanted to upgrade… but that’s a whole ‘nother post…)

Getting my broken tail light fixed also wasn’t a biggie, except there was miscommunication between the dealership and I.  They forgot to call me to tell me the part was in, and I delayed and delayed calling them, but finally, it got done (and it was cheaper than they originally quoted me, so bonus!)

I’ve been mildly harassing Dale for over a year to come back to my place and finish the job he started, and get the power running in my garage again.  (It’s kind of a long story, with a lot of electrician terms that I don’t really understand, so I won’t explain any further other than I really missed my power garage door.)  I’d send him the odd text to remind him, and he’d say, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.  Keep reminding me.”  I honestly didn’t know if he’d ever get around to it.  So imagine my surprise when, a week or so ago, I discovered Dale, unprovoked by me (at least, recently), had got the spare key from my mom and been in to fix it!  WOO HOO!!

So… that leaves the two biggies.  The ones that have lingered and caused the most angst…

The painting.   And the PVR.

Painting the house has been on my “To Do List” for five years.  Literally, since we moved into house.   I rent the Manse next to the church I go to.  When we moved in, the house hadn’t been painted recently, the walls were all white or off-white, and whoever had painted last hadn’t really done a very good job.

My biggest wish was for a little colour on the walls.  It’s a very old house with beautiful baseboards and crown moldings, and I’ve always thought it such a shame that they just blended in with the plain ol’ white walls.  Yet, I kept procrastinating and putting it off.  Finally, a month or so ago, I took the plunge, and, along with some help from my mom, I made the decision to hire a friend and co-worker who paints to come in and do the job for me.

My house will be in a bit of disarray for a few weeks, as Doug can only work a few hours every evening (painting is a side-job for him) – but at least it’s finally underway, and I think I can deal with the upside-down house knowing the end result will be worth it!

So.  That just leaves the PVR.

Literally, this has been the bane of my existence for almost TWO YEARS.

It was the winter that my dad was sick and in hospital that my satellite receiver started acting up.  Every few weeks, it would go beserk, and I’d be without TV for a few days at a time.  I’d wiggle a chord on the back of the unit, and then it would work again for a few weeks.  Annoying, but I lived with it.

This past summer, my chord wiggling stopped working.  I had zero satellite signal and my receiver wouldn’t function at all.  But it was summer, and I was busy, and I didn’t really look into how to resolve the issue.  However, as fall approached, I knew I had to do something about it.  I mean, I couldn’t miss out on all that great Fall TV, and especially hockey games!

The process was long.  And tricky.  It involved two visits from the satellite repair man, a hand-me-down receiver from a friend, many emails back and forth with that friend, many phone calls to and even a visit from my brother for help, purchasing an external hard drive, and swapping remote controls with my mother, but finally… FINALLY… at approximately 11:15 PM last night, I could say I have a PVR.

Did you guys hear that??

I HAVE A PVR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have absolutely no frigging clue how to use it, and when I finally had it all set up and running, I was too tired to figure it out.

But I have a PVR.

It’s a friggin’ miracle.

Once the house painting is done, I think I will be able to cross everything off this list once and for all.

Although, I do know that as soon as I do, a new list will start forming.  I can already tell you what #1 is:

Start saving up for an HD TV now that I have all the equipment to go with it!!!

But for now, I’m content.  Finally settled a bit.

I think I’ll stay here for awhile. :)