The New 'Hood
John and I moved into the new apartment last Saturday, though the move is far from over. Maybe not far, but certainly not over. What can we say? We're coping.
Tomorrow, I leave for a 2 week conference at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, so whatever still needs to be done in terms of moving stuff, painting, and cleaning, well...all that will lie with John and my dad. It's not fair, no, but I've promised both of them that I will have No Fun Whatsoever during my 2 week stint.
This move has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. With four years of memories and accumulated junk at the old place, there was a lot of sorting to be done, much shredding, and a no-mercy attitude when it came to the "This is for the GoodWill" pile. (Note: our wordwise buddy Chris referred to the Good Will as "Good Riddance" and after filling dad's suburban with donations, I have to agree.) As for the Big Stuff, the fridge, the couch, the bed and mattresses, the TV stand...let me say this: it's a very good thing that my sister married a forklift. It was a group effort, this move, with dad directing traffic and filling and emptying the suburban, mom packing dishes and cleaning the oven (it took FOUR HOURS!), Laura and Chris (the aforementioned forklift) supplying muscle and some laughs, Jake sleeping in the closet and generally being cute, John lifting and packing and unpacking, and comforting me, and our wonderful friends showing up when they could to do whatever needed to be done. And I worried for the whole group. And now there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and that feels fantastic.
As for our new place, if you asked either of us, we'd say, "It's OK." We both admit that we were spoiled by the old one -- it was so big, with so much storage -- and that if we'd found this place without living in the old one, we'd say, "This new place is GREAT." But in comparison, it's crowded, it's farther from the gym, and it's in a new, younger neighborhood. But it does have a wonderful breeze that blows in from the ocean. And it's clean, and things are basically put away. But the best part of the new 'hood is not the apartment. It's the dump.
We're just a 5 minute bike ride from a place called "India's Sweets and Spices," a kind of Indian convenience store with a hot food counter. John and I rode bikes over there on Wednesday night, and we each got the Special #2 -- basmati rice and 3 vegetarian dishes, plus samosa and some sort of fried spinach thing, and some naan. And John got a fancy hi-brow ginger brew, and we ate until we were stuffed. All for $12.50. Including the fancy hi-brow ginger brew. "The Dump," as it's known to the math grads, doesn't give you food on a plate -- they have flimsy styrofoam compartment trays instead. And you carry that out to the "streetside seating," some old tables and older chairs, and you sit and watch traffic go by on Venice Blvd. And probably you're surrounded by some homeless guys, some very well-dressed Indian guys, some Indian woman in saris, and some LA-hotties, all enjoying the cheap meal. It's not service with a smile...it's not even service on the McDonald's level. But the food is spicy, if you get thirsty you can help yourself to water from a decrepit tank (they do provide styrofoam cups), and if your food isn't salty enough, never fear...there is a can of Morton's at the end of the table, spout up, ready for you to pour away. The food's not great, but it's decent, cheap, and frankly, it's just a LOT of fun to sit there and watch the people go by.
We're also only about 7 minutes by bike from the largest, nicest Trader Joe's I've ever seen. We're close to downtown Culver City, which has all kinds of cool little shops and restaurants, and the nicest Starbucks I've ever been in.
So yeah, It's going to be fine. We're going to be happy here once we really get settled in and once the work at the old place is done. I'm sure of this.
Tomorrow, I leave for a 2 week conference at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, so whatever still needs to be done in terms of moving stuff, painting, and cleaning, well...all that will lie with John and my dad. It's not fair, no, but I've promised both of them that I will have No Fun Whatsoever during my 2 week stint.
This move has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. With four years of memories and accumulated junk at the old place, there was a lot of sorting to be done, much shredding, and a no-mercy attitude when it came to the "This is for the GoodWill" pile. (Note: our wordwise buddy Chris referred to the Good Will as "Good Riddance" and after filling dad's suburban with donations, I have to agree.) As for the Big Stuff, the fridge, the couch, the bed and mattresses, the TV stand...let me say this: it's a very good thing that my sister married a forklift. It was a group effort, this move, with dad directing traffic and filling and emptying the suburban, mom packing dishes and cleaning the oven (it took FOUR HOURS!), Laura and Chris (the aforementioned forklift) supplying muscle and some laughs, Jake sleeping in the closet and generally being cute, John lifting and packing and unpacking, and comforting me, and our wonderful friends showing up when they could to do whatever needed to be done. And I worried for the whole group. And now there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and that feels fantastic.
As for our new place, if you asked either of us, we'd say, "It's OK." We both admit that we were spoiled by the old one -- it was so big, with so much storage -- and that if we'd found this place without living in the old one, we'd say, "This new place is GREAT." But in comparison, it's crowded, it's farther from the gym, and it's in a new, younger neighborhood. But it does have a wonderful breeze that blows in from the ocean. And it's clean, and things are basically put away. But the best part of the new 'hood is not the apartment. It's the dump.
We're just a 5 minute bike ride from a place called "India's Sweets and Spices," a kind of Indian convenience store with a hot food counter. John and I rode bikes over there on Wednesday night, and we each got the Special #2 -- basmati rice and 3 vegetarian dishes, plus samosa and some sort of fried spinach thing, and some naan. And John got a fancy hi-brow ginger brew, and we ate until we were stuffed. All for $12.50. Including the fancy hi-brow ginger brew. "The Dump," as it's known to the math grads, doesn't give you food on a plate -- they have flimsy styrofoam compartment trays instead. And you carry that out to the "streetside seating," some old tables and older chairs, and you sit and watch traffic go by on Venice Blvd. And probably you're surrounded by some homeless guys, some very well-dressed Indian guys, some Indian woman in saris, and some LA-hotties, all enjoying the cheap meal. It's not service with a smile...it's not even service on the McDonald's level. But the food is spicy, if you get thirsty you can help yourself to water from a decrepit tank (they do provide styrofoam cups), and if your food isn't salty enough, never fear...there is a can of Morton's at the end of the table, spout up, ready for you to pour away. The food's not great, but it's decent, cheap, and frankly, it's just a LOT of fun to sit there and watch the people go by.
We're also only about 7 minutes by bike from the largest, nicest Trader Joe's I've ever seen. We're close to downtown Culver City, which has all kinds of cool little shops and restaurants, and the nicest Starbucks I've ever been in.
So yeah, It's going to be fine. We're going to be happy here once we really get settled in and once the work at the old place is done. I'm sure of this.