Update Part I: Apartments
Wow, I am so behind in updating. I've wanted to sit down and write something for the past week or so but have never found the time. I'm going to break this up into separate entries because there's just so much (or at least it seems that way in my head).
We are, for the most part, moved in to our new place in Squirrel Hill. I think Robert is finishing that up this morning and then turning in the keys. The new apartment is not as nice as the old one, which we knew going in (the Highland Park place really would be hard to beat) but I think we'll make do. At least it feels so much safer! We heard on the news the other night about how someone got robbed at the Highland Park Reservoir... you know, where I ran pretty much every day. Crazy. I'm glad we're gone from there.
Things I will not miss:
-Feeling unsafe during my run and necessitating pepper spray/keys/dog/husband or some combination thereof whenever I went out.
-Loud buses and traffic passing right outside our window. Also, loud people. And that stupid man with the motorcycle who lived in our building.
-Smoker lady.
-People stealing my scheduled laundry time. Though, by the end, I think I had left enough passive-aggressive notes to those who took my time that it stopped.
-Bills mysteriously not making it to my destination when mailing stuff from the apartment and making me look like a delinquent.
-Being on the 3rd floor... we may still have a lot of steps, but not nearly as many as before.
Things I will miss:
-The size... while I think the square footage is the same (some bigger, others smaller) the living room and bedrooms are definitely a little smaller, yet manageable.
-The office, while not always incredibly on the ball, were very good landlords.
-The really nice dog area behind the buildings, the ability to talk with people and their dogs, free doggie business bags, and the dog run.
-No utilities.
Our apartment looks like a train wreck at the moment. I can't wait until we're more moved in and are able to walk from one end to the other without slaloming or tripping over something. It's like an obstacle course. However, we did get free cable, in a sense... we had Comcast come over last week to set it up again (really, all you have to do is plug stuff in, it's not hard, I don't understand why I have to pay $30 to let them do it for me), and the guy was like, basic cable, right? Yup. We pay $10 to receive broadcast channels from a cable because the internet is cheaper that way. So I go out to get lunch while Robert deals with the guy, I come back, then FINALLY the guy is done. I realize once he's gone that we now have a cable box and a special remote and a crapload of channels... wait, what? I don't pay for things like ESPN and MTV and TBS... I tried to get it settled by telling them that I didn't think I was supposed to have this and basically they were like, we see here your plan is for $10 basic cable, is that correct? To make an already long story short, I tried to tell them, they didn't seem to care, so now I pay $10 for real cable. Sweet.
I must say, I do enjoy having a garbage disposal... one of life's little luxuries that you don't appreciate until it's gone.
We are, for the most part, moved in to our new place in Squirrel Hill. I think Robert is finishing that up this morning and then turning in the keys. The new apartment is not as nice as the old one, which we knew going in (the Highland Park place really would be hard to beat) but I think we'll make do. At least it feels so much safer! We heard on the news the other night about how someone got robbed at the Highland Park Reservoir... you know, where I ran pretty much every day. Crazy. I'm glad we're gone from there.
Things I will not miss:
-Feeling unsafe during my run and necessitating pepper spray/keys/dog/husband or some combination thereof whenever I went out.
-Loud buses and traffic passing right outside our window. Also, loud people. And that stupid man with the motorcycle who lived in our building.
-Smoker lady.
-People stealing my scheduled laundry time. Though, by the end, I think I had left enough passive-aggressive notes to those who took my time that it stopped.
-Bills mysteriously not making it to my destination when mailing stuff from the apartment and making me look like a delinquent.
-Being on the 3rd floor... we may still have a lot of steps, but not nearly as many as before.
Things I will miss:
-The size... while I think the square footage is the same (some bigger, others smaller) the living room and bedrooms are definitely a little smaller, yet manageable.
-The office, while not always incredibly on the ball, were very good landlords.
-The really nice dog area behind the buildings, the ability to talk with people and their dogs, free doggie business bags, and the dog run.
-No utilities.
Our apartment looks like a train wreck at the moment. I can't wait until we're more moved in and are able to walk from one end to the other without slaloming or tripping over something. It's like an obstacle course. However, we did get free cable, in a sense... we had Comcast come over last week to set it up again (really, all you have to do is plug stuff in, it's not hard, I don't understand why I have to pay $30 to let them do it for me), and the guy was like, basic cable, right? Yup. We pay $10 to receive broadcast channels from a cable because the internet is cheaper that way. So I go out to get lunch while Robert deals with the guy, I come back, then FINALLY the guy is done. I realize once he's gone that we now have a cable box and a special remote and a crapload of channels... wait, what? I don't pay for things like ESPN and MTV and TBS... I tried to get it settled by telling them that I didn't think I was supposed to have this and basically they were like, we see here your plan is for $10 basic cable, is that correct? To make an already long story short, I tried to tell them, they didn't seem to care, so now I pay $10 for real cable. Sweet.
I must say, I do enjoy having a garbage disposal... one of life's little luxuries that you don't appreciate until it's gone.