Life Update
Well, a lot has happened since I last updated my much-neglected LiveJournal. Dunno entirely why I am now, other than it’s one of only a couple of ways to notify a couple of people about things.
The biggest news is: I’ve moved. I got a little apartment last week in the new city where I work (for the job I got back in December), and moved on Saturday. We rented a big U-haul and picked up all of my belongings that, for seven years, have been in storage. Most of my things were in Grandma’s barn, but I had a scattering at Dan’s (my books and bookcases), and some at my parents’ house.
The apartment is two bedrooms, a living room, large bath, and a diminutive kitchen on the second story of an old house exactly three miles from my job. It’s on the same street, even. The lady downstairs has a hugely overweight Chihuahua, and smokes, so I’ve been burning candles to hide the scent. The bath’s last update was in 1961, when it was tiled in bubble gum pink and black tile. The bedrooms have wood floors.
The smaller of the two bedrooms I’ve turned into my library and office. It’s good to have (most) of my books out and on shelves again. I don’t have enough bookcases for them all to be out-even with the one Dan bought me this week as a housewarming gift-but they’re mostly out now.
I have about half of my things unpacked and organized. Still seems like I have a lot to go. Seven year is a long time to store and tuck things away.
Cassie made the transition from indoor-outdoor cat to 100% indoor on Sunday last week, but it was too cold to move my fish, the parakeets, and my plants. Will try to move them this weekend or next. The plant shelves haven’t been rebuilt yet, but I’ve plenty of window room where the plants can sit for now.
I don’t have everything moved yet, either. There are still a few things at my parents’ place, and I don’t have a computer or internet access. Well, I don’t have a computer other than my old reliable ’98 Compaq, which only has a dialup card. That, and it’s old enough it doesn’t understand what to do with stick drives. It’ll do for general stuff for now, but to really work (and play), I’ll need to get a newer one soon. Hopefully within the year I’ll be back online and ready to go instead of borrowing the parents’ Mac on weekends when I come home to visit and do laundry… And, yes, saving for an Alienware. I think I’ll do a PC this time instead of a laptop for better cooling power when I game. I just seem to fry laptops too fast, and Alienware makes PCs small enough to be relatively easy to transport if need be.
Dan is taking my being away rather hard. He’s struggling on several fronts-the grant for his work ran out in February and he’s being taken advantage of at work (still). He’s searching for a new-and better-job, everywhere from Indiana to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois (where I’m now based).
I’m living on a block where there are a bunch of families, including relatives of my landlady. The family next to the house I live in has three boys, and the husband used to be the youth pastor of the church across the street. He had his wife both teach there, and he works part-time at the same place I do-which turned out very convenient with the snow at the start of the week. I was shoveling out when the wife and two youngest boys pitched in to help, then, because it snowed through the night and I still couldn’t get out to go to work Monday morning, someone from work picked me up (turns out he knows my neighbors too), and the husband brought me home. I like my neighbors. I’ve met a bunch of them, mostly while we were unloading the U-haul and they were walking their dogs along the alley. Everybody seems nice.
Cassie has mostly settled in, but has her moments. I wound up trimming her claws, buying her a scratching post and new squeaky mouse to occupy her a bit until I found more of the toys I’d packed. Maybe when we’re settled more and the furniture is in final position I’ll be able to get her a new floor-to-ceiling climbing one like I had at the old apartment (which my sister now has for her two cats). I may also have to get her a buddy.
With this move I gained a loveseat to replace the ancient and much-loved giant (and heavy!) pineapple couch pretty much everyone in the family has used in their homes over the span of my lifetime, an entertainment unit, TV, and DVD player, and a recliner, plus the bookcase Dan bought me. The loveseat and recliner were originally my parents’ and went to my Grandma when they got new furniture. The entertainment unit, TV, and player were also theirs, but Mom wanted more room in the living room and watches movies and shows anyway.
Problem is, we forgot to pack the remotes, so I haven’t had internet or a way to watch TV all week. Oh well…been listening to my CDs in my old player and that’s fine.
Out of all my fragile things, only one glass was broken. All of my perfume bottles and other dishes were in perfect condition.
I have had a couple of mishaps since moving in…my smoke detector started beeping low battery, and the first sinkload of dishwater I attempted to drain ended up flooding under the sink and all over the floor when the PVC drain pipe underneath popped out of its socket. Oh, and Cassie, a nervous wreck from being moved, threw up all over the floor multiple times.
I figure about a week more and I’ll have the majority of my things unpacked, the shelves up, and everybody moved in.
It’s exhausting. I work about 40 hours a week, then come home and unpack until I’m too tired, then go to bed and do it all again.
But the place is mine, and, though my life is very small, it’s mine again. Seven years.
The biggest news is: I’ve moved. I got a little apartment last week in the new city where I work (for the job I got back in December), and moved on Saturday. We rented a big U-haul and picked up all of my belongings that, for seven years, have been in storage. Most of my things were in Grandma’s barn, but I had a scattering at Dan’s (my books and bookcases), and some at my parents’ house.
The apartment is two bedrooms, a living room, large bath, and a diminutive kitchen on the second story of an old house exactly three miles from my job. It’s on the same street, even. The lady downstairs has a hugely overweight Chihuahua, and smokes, so I’ve been burning candles to hide the scent. The bath’s last update was in 1961, when it was tiled in bubble gum pink and black tile. The bedrooms have wood floors.
The smaller of the two bedrooms I’ve turned into my library and office. It’s good to have (most) of my books out and on shelves again. I don’t have enough bookcases for them all to be out-even with the one Dan bought me this week as a housewarming gift-but they’re mostly out now.
I have about half of my things unpacked and organized. Still seems like I have a lot to go. Seven year is a long time to store and tuck things away.
Cassie made the transition from indoor-outdoor cat to 100% indoor on Sunday last week, but it was too cold to move my fish, the parakeets, and my plants. Will try to move them this weekend or next. The plant shelves haven’t been rebuilt yet, but I’ve plenty of window room where the plants can sit for now.
I don’t have everything moved yet, either. There are still a few things at my parents’ place, and I don’t have a computer or internet access. Well, I don’t have a computer other than my old reliable ’98 Compaq, which only has a dialup card. That, and it’s old enough it doesn’t understand what to do with stick drives. It’ll do for general stuff for now, but to really work (and play), I’ll need to get a newer one soon. Hopefully within the year I’ll be back online and ready to go instead of borrowing the parents’ Mac on weekends when I come home to visit and do laundry… And, yes, saving for an Alienware. I think I’ll do a PC this time instead of a laptop for better cooling power when I game. I just seem to fry laptops too fast, and Alienware makes PCs small enough to be relatively easy to transport if need be.
Dan is taking my being away rather hard. He’s struggling on several fronts-the grant for his work ran out in February and he’s being taken advantage of at work (still). He’s searching for a new-and better-job, everywhere from Indiana to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois (where I’m now based).
I’m living on a block where there are a bunch of families, including relatives of my landlady. The family next to the house I live in has three boys, and the husband used to be the youth pastor of the church across the street. He had his wife both teach there, and he works part-time at the same place I do-which turned out very convenient with the snow at the start of the week. I was shoveling out when the wife and two youngest boys pitched in to help, then, because it snowed through the night and I still couldn’t get out to go to work Monday morning, someone from work picked me up (turns out he knows my neighbors too), and the husband brought me home. I like my neighbors. I’ve met a bunch of them, mostly while we were unloading the U-haul and they were walking their dogs along the alley. Everybody seems nice.
Cassie has mostly settled in, but has her moments. I wound up trimming her claws, buying her a scratching post and new squeaky mouse to occupy her a bit until I found more of the toys I’d packed. Maybe when we’re settled more and the furniture is in final position I’ll be able to get her a new floor-to-ceiling climbing one like I had at the old apartment (which my sister now has for her two cats). I may also have to get her a buddy.
With this move I gained a loveseat to replace the ancient and much-loved giant (and heavy!) pineapple couch pretty much everyone in the family has used in their homes over the span of my lifetime, an entertainment unit, TV, and DVD player, and a recliner, plus the bookcase Dan bought me. The loveseat and recliner were originally my parents’ and went to my Grandma when they got new furniture. The entertainment unit, TV, and player were also theirs, but Mom wanted more room in the living room and watches movies and shows anyway.
Problem is, we forgot to pack the remotes, so I haven’t had internet or a way to watch TV all week. Oh well…been listening to my CDs in my old player and that’s fine.
Out of all my fragile things, only one glass was broken. All of my perfume bottles and other dishes were in perfect condition.
I have had a couple of mishaps since moving in…my smoke detector started beeping low battery, and the first sinkload of dishwater I attempted to drain ended up flooding under the sink and all over the floor when the PVC drain pipe underneath popped out of its socket. Oh, and Cassie, a nervous wreck from being moved, threw up all over the floor multiple times.
I figure about a week more and I’ll have the majority of my things unpacked, the shelves up, and everybody moved in.
It’s exhausting. I work about 40 hours a week, then come home and unpack until I’m too tired, then go to bed and do it all again.
But the place is mine, and, though my life is very small, it’s mine again. Seven years.