Transitions
Might as well make it official-- Ken got a job in San Jose so we're moving down to that area in a month or so. Yesterday we went down there to check out a couple of rentals, mostly just drive-bys since trying to get in touch with these craigslist people last minute never seems to work. Not many places floated our boat, though there was one we really thought worked well and that was in a decent neighborhood. A property management company owns it though, so we'll see if we ever get an appointment and if they check out. Also, housing is a little more expensive down there, but we're also spoiled from our current place and are looking for non-duplex, detached single families with three bedrooms, garage, and yard. Not a lot of those floating around in our price range.
The one place we got to see the inside of was a front-to-back duplex and it had some very nice features (floor vents? I haven't seen those since I was a child living in Utah, so that was awesome. I have no idea why people go for ceiling vents if heat rises!). But the landlady seemed really ignorant about the upkeep and even the next-door tenants. I mean, I noted the kitchen had a dishwasher and she was like "yeah but I'm not sure if it works." Seriously?
There was one place we saw the outside of and driving down the street it was literally like, "Nice, nice, nice, GOD WHAT A DUMP oh wait that's the house we were considering." It was rundown, had junk stacked on the patio, and to top it off a couple of cats hanging out on the piles of junk (obviously cats aren't bad, but it really did add to the whole motif in quite an amusing way).
Another place seemed ok from the outside, though the description mentioned pool service and there was clearly no pool. Also, the back area was the parking lot of some industrial building and it was just bizarre. Walking back to our car, we passed a little boy who lived two houses down. He was kicking at something on the wet concrete walkway to his house and going "Come On! COME ON!" At first I thought it was a branch. Turned out he was kicking a dead mouse.
And then there were a couple of pretty good places. But they were all at the extreme upper end of our price range, of course. I guess you get what you pay for. One of them did piss me off quite a bit-- not because it was bad but because it looked like it could be a really nice place but the tenants were clearly treating it like shit-- even parking on the lawn right in front of the door. Seriously?
For lunch we tried out the Iguana Burritozilla, a taqueria in downtown SJ with, oh my lord, papitas flautas for $1.50 each. I just about died. This is definitely my kinda place.
I'm going to miss Davis though, despite myself. I spent so long wanting to get out and now it seems that things are finally picking up here. I'm going to miss my friends, obviously, but also my kick-ass superhero therapist, and my dance teacher, and Davis Media Access. Since the job doesn't start til mid-June, I decided I'm definitely going to at least participate in the spring recital for dance. Which means that if we (hopefully) move to SJ by June I'll have to drive up for practice and so on. So there's that, but it's still one of those "why can't I move you with me?" moments. Pam Trokanski is the best teacher I've ever had, not just for dance but for anything. She's amazing and I don't think I'll easily find her like anywhere else.
To make matters even more depressing, the other day I got taken aside by a producer at DMA and was told that she thought I had real potential and she wanted to help me succeed in whatever I decided to do related to television production. And that I should come more often, and tell her when I wanted to start producing my own stuff for the channel. I didn't have the heart to tell her yet that I'm moving but if I'm going to be kicking around til June hopefully I can get some cool stuff done with her first anyway.
Oh, and soon after Ken accepted the job, we played two shows as Never Right Now-- one at a Steampunk Bohemian event (you can read more about that and see pics I took here) and one at Karma Cafe up in Folsom. Both times we got an unbelievably positive reception, were asked back, and made more money selling CDs and making tips in one show than I think we ever have.
So yeah, it'll be tough leaving Davis after all. But I think Ken will be much happier at his new job, and I'll probably be able to find something to do part-time down there, and being closer to SF and the surroundings is something we've wanted for a long while. So mostly I'm just excited, thinking about future plans and looking forward to exploring new surroundings. Could be just the kick in the ass we need.
The one place we got to see the inside of was a front-to-back duplex and it had some very nice features (floor vents? I haven't seen those since I was a child living in Utah, so that was awesome. I have no idea why people go for ceiling vents if heat rises!). But the landlady seemed really ignorant about the upkeep and even the next-door tenants. I mean, I noted the kitchen had a dishwasher and she was like "yeah but I'm not sure if it works." Seriously?
There was one place we saw the outside of and driving down the street it was literally like, "Nice, nice, nice, GOD WHAT A DUMP oh wait that's the house we were considering." It was rundown, had junk stacked on the patio, and to top it off a couple of cats hanging out on the piles of junk (obviously cats aren't bad, but it really did add to the whole motif in quite an amusing way).
Another place seemed ok from the outside, though the description mentioned pool service and there was clearly no pool. Also, the back area was the parking lot of some industrial building and it was just bizarre. Walking back to our car, we passed a little boy who lived two houses down. He was kicking at something on the wet concrete walkway to his house and going "Come On! COME ON!" At first I thought it was a branch. Turned out he was kicking a dead mouse.
And then there were a couple of pretty good places. But they were all at the extreme upper end of our price range, of course. I guess you get what you pay for. One of them did piss me off quite a bit-- not because it was bad but because it looked like it could be a really nice place but the tenants were clearly treating it like shit-- even parking on the lawn right in front of the door. Seriously?
For lunch we tried out the Iguana Burritozilla, a taqueria in downtown SJ with, oh my lord, papitas flautas for $1.50 each. I just about died. This is definitely my kinda place.
I'm going to miss Davis though, despite myself. I spent so long wanting to get out and now it seems that things are finally picking up here. I'm going to miss my friends, obviously, but also my kick-ass superhero therapist, and my dance teacher, and Davis Media Access. Since the job doesn't start til mid-June, I decided I'm definitely going to at least participate in the spring recital for dance. Which means that if we (hopefully) move to SJ by June I'll have to drive up for practice and so on. So there's that, but it's still one of those "why can't I move you with me?" moments. Pam Trokanski is the best teacher I've ever had, not just for dance but for anything. She's amazing and I don't think I'll easily find her like anywhere else.
To make matters even more depressing, the other day I got taken aside by a producer at DMA and was told that she thought I had real potential and she wanted to help me succeed in whatever I decided to do related to television production. And that I should come more often, and tell her when I wanted to start producing my own stuff for the channel. I didn't have the heart to tell her yet that I'm moving but if I'm going to be kicking around til June hopefully I can get some cool stuff done with her first anyway.
Oh, and soon after Ken accepted the job, we played two shows as Never Right Now-- one at a Steampunk Bohemian event (you can read more about that and see pics I took here) and one at Karma Cafe up in Folsom. Both times we got an unbelievably positive reception, were asked back, and made more money selling CDs and making tips in one show than I think we ever have.
So yeah, it'll be tough leaving Davis after all. But I think Ken will be much happier at his new job, and I'll probably be able to find something to do part-time down there, and being closer to SF and the surroundings is something we've wanted for a long while. So mostly I'm just excited, thinking about future plans and looking forward to exploring new surroundings. Could be just the kick in the ass we need.