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Posts Tagged ‘Moving’

Quirks Mode

Having successfully spent more than one night in the new apartment—a good three weeks after I signed the lease—I am now operating in what I call “quirks mode.” That is, I am learning the quirks of the new place. For example, the mailbox door requires you to push down to open it and you may have to push the dishwasher door slightly to the right in order to shut it properly. The ceiling light in my bedroom makes a slight buzzing noise, sometimes, and the switch operates it from high-medium and then to low. I wish I could say the water heater issues were only due to a quirk but that is not the issue and it required a plumber (albeit, a fairly good looking one) to fix it. Four days without hot water may not sound that extreme but I can tell you that it felt awful and there was nothing more amazing than taking a hot shower this morning. I will have to remember to be grateful for that.

It is that very same gratefulness that will pull me through when I’ve had a bad day, when I’ve dropped furniture on my fingers or toes, when the DirecTV technician incorrectly informs me of policies and fails to install the damned thing after I have waited all day, when the cats have kept me up at night and I have been unable to fall asleep despite a very important meeting in the morning. When the Internet is shoddy and I have had one too many quirks for my liking, I will remember to be grateful. Hopefully, I will not wind up hating my home as I have previous abodes.

Because, hey, nothing can really be that bad as long as you have a hot shower—and your own bathroom to shower in, even if the cats keep forcing the door open because it does not close all the way. d=

I Feel Good

Not 3 days after posting a mopey thread at DayDreamz about not knowing where I’m going to live and being upset about this whole ordeal.. Well, let me explain.

Yesterday, I was officially here a month. After spending weeks looking for places over the phone, with my cousin, she decided to back out suddenly. Wendy piped up and said she’d like to move with me so I sent her and mom on apartment searches. We found a really nice place.. who took two weeks to reject us and basically rented the place right out from under us. “So Sorry, try next month.” We were unhappy.

My wishes to have a place ready for me pretty much fell through at that point. I sent Wendy on more apartment views–many of which sucked. We finally found one that was affordable and decent but, it took them 5 weeks to deny us, essentially. It was a combination of me moving and their utter lack of professionalness and disorganization. By the time yesterday rolled around, this “sure shot” seemed doomed and we were looking for more apartments.

Or apartment.

Wendy wasn’t at all happy on the way to the first place. Everything seemed to be delighting in making us miserable. We’d already had to pay for another month’s rent at her old place (the one at which she’d already put in her notice). I tried to convince her that maybe this was meant to be–that maybe the place we were about to see was really fucking awesome and it was all happening for a reason. Yea, I wasn’t buying it either.

After some Google map mishaps, we found the place and she wasn’t happy with the outside looks. To be honest, the exterior and the hallways within the buildings are extremely plain but.. the apartment. My god.

Is amazing. Two large bedrooms. Two full bathrooms. Real carpet. Tons of closets. New appliances. Garage. Adjustable lighting (in my room!) A patio. And a washer and dryer in its own room.

The woman who showed us the place wanted to know if we were serious and, if so, she’d put our application in ASAP. She did and we continued to look but I fretted. We’d been turned down by two places. One because we essentially didn’t make enough and the other because we made too much.

But, I was right bitches.

We were approved within the hour and we will be heading over this morning to sign the lease. And maybe use the washer and dryer. I don’t know. It’s all just amazing.

I feel a certain sense of smug satisfaction that I was right. Things did happen for a reason! I can call this morning and have my stuff delivered to my new home. I won’t have to live out of luggage anymore.

I almost started crying when she told us we were approved and I am crying now because this has all been so exhausting and I am just.. flabbergasted that it took a month and a half for two places to fuck us around and only an hour for one place to make my fucking year.

It will be a struggle to move Wendy and all her stuff but it will be well worth it in the end, for sure.

No Thank You

It’s been quiet around here, sorry. Things in my life are still turbulent but in a weirdly boring way and not very entertaining. Except for this conversation I had with Wendy regarding Lego Batman:

Me: You can use the Penguin’s umbrella as a gun and it makes him float through the air, too.
Wendy: That doesn’t make any sense! He’s too heavy to float.
Me: Out of all of the unrealistic things that could possibly bother you in this game, you pick that?!

Anyway, we hung out at Mom’s on Thanksgiving and despite her feeding nearly 20 people, it went really well–for the most part. There’s always some family drama and this year was no exception but I was able to help Mom out a lot and spend time with Samantha and that’s all that counts.

I have adjusted quite well to the weather, despite having a persistent cough left over from a cold my second week here. We had some chilly days that week, in the single digits, but it’s surprisingly warm tonight and rained all day today. It’s amazing to me that it could be warm enough here for rain at the end of November. It’s also more than amusing when I want to go for a walk and Wendy or someone else whines because it’s too cold. Hello?! Who spent most of the year in Texas? That’s right, bitches. I’m hardcore like that.

This post is winding up being rather incoherent but writing it has made me smile. I just want to say that I hope you have been well and I am grateful for you to be reading this. I’ve probably never been as thankful as I was this Thanksgiving.

Remember, Remember the fourth of November

As I type this, Wendy and I are watching V for Vendetta. We are a day off, oops. It’s actually the first time I have watched the movie. It has been several days since many of you have heard of me and I assure you that I am not avoiding you–simply been busy moving across the country, cleaning my former apartment, applying for a new one and making all the calls that are necessary when performing a major life transition.

In between, I’ve been trying to spend time catching up on sleep, catching up with work and meeting up with friends and family. To be honest, I haven’t seen many people but there is no rush now.

So how is it, you ask?

Pretty awesome. I’ve adjusted to the cold better than I thought I would have. I bought an awesome new coat. It’s actually been warmer than expected. I walked a couple places yesterday and it was quite enjoyable. People I passed greeted me and drivers even yielded to me!

The kitties were amazing. They weren’t happy and I certainly wasn’t when I had to hold them in the San Antonio airport while the TSA agents scanned the carriers but, all in all, things went well. My last flight on Monday night actually got in 10 minutes early! And they haven’t killed Wendy’s cats or vice versa.

So now we are just waiting to see if we can get an apartment and them moving her stuff over there. It’s a lot of stuff and I’m not sure if I am ready to move so soon. My body has just gotten over being exhausted and I’m still bruised all over. I shaved my legs this morning and it only makes the bruises stand out.

Anyhoo, I’m alive. I miss you guys. I’d update more but I can’t access the Internet or send/receive picture messages on my phone right now. I’m trying to get that figured out.

Change of Heart

I’ve begun to make a few phone calls regarding moving and apartments. Our plan is for the end of next month. We’ll have most of our stuff moved and drive to Milwaukee with the cats. Simultaneously, I have become so frustrated with this apartment. It’s the one I wanted but I’m done with it. We’ll likely have much less time to apartment hunt (because we will probably be in a hotel) but I hope to be a more discerning “shopper” when we do. There are just some things I am no longer willing to put up with or do without.

No more shallow sink.

Our dishes pile up incredibly fast, my back hurts and I have trouble washing some dishes because we have midget sinks. I didn’t notice at first. I will in the future.

Carpet Bars.

All our carpets simply just end with no bars to attach them to the floor. This makes it easy for them to fall apart and our cats sometimes paw at the floors if the doors are closed. The carpets are pretty much falling apart because of this.

Bedroom Lights

There is no lighting fixture in our bedroom. I know. Ridiculous. Even with all the lamps on, it’s still dark.

A working oven.

Maintenance thinks my oven works fine but everything I’ve ever burned begs to differ. Everything remains cold on the top and middle while the bottom is burned black. No thank you.

No Fireplace.

Don’t ask me why nearly every apartment we looked at in San Antonio had a fireplace. We’ve never used ours and I don’t know who would, unless it’s to hide the evidence . It’s Texas! We have a wall that looks okay with a shelf and some decoration but it’s mostly a waste of space that limits how we can arrange our furniture.

A higher tub.

Again, with the ridiculously sized water related things. Our tub is so low that water always spills over the side because the faucet is so high above it. And our shower curtain looks stupid.

Ryan says we can’t be picky but, to be honest, I’ve never experienced most of these problems in any of the other apartments I’ve lived in. It just seems like some ridiculous oversight by the construction/management companies. Carpet falling apart? No problem! Just distract yourself with the fireplace! Maybe I was distracted when we were looking. Not this time.

Tags: apartments, Moving
Posted in Rants, Thoughts

I Do Stuff

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December 8th, 2008 Posted 10:52 am

Life since we moved to San Antonio has been quiet. Well, that’s not looking at the whole story. Life since I’ve lived with Ryan has been quiet. This is not always a bad thing, although sometimes it does get lonely. I certainly miss my friends and family. So, when I was in Wausau, I made sure to see them and I even got to get out of the house a few times.

For example, Wendy I took Samantha with Robyn and Ashley and their little cousin to see the Central Wisconsin Children’s Theatre production of Willy Wonka which was super cute and a lot of fun.

I went bowling with Ashe, Sami and Sami’s friends which was a hoot. Anyone want to know how to get 6 people into a Saturn Ion?!

I went out to drink with Fernie and her boyfriend, ran into an old friend from school and finished off the night with Wendy, Sav and Sav’s boyfriend at a new bar downtown.

I played Monopoly until 3 in the morning with Ashe and her friends, got an industrial piercing in my left ear and had my hair cut, coloured and highlighted.

I intended to relax after my little break and have done so, for the most part. Today I went with my mother and sister in law to movie and a dinner. We saw Four Christmases which was much better than expected.

So, there! I do stuff!

Tags: Movies, Moving, visiting
Posted in Family, Friends, Life, Ryan

Hangin’ Around

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September 17th, 2008 Posted 12:41 pm

Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long

Really, relaxation hasn’t been key these past few days. Friday we finally moved into our apartment, after I finished a paper for my psychology class and submitted it to my teacher. both things provided a bit of excitement for me. Of course, I had been waiting quite impatiently to move and it seemed like the day would never come but it finally has! I also shared some of those same feelings when it came to going back to school but I am no longer not doing anything with my life! yay!

Really, we didn’t have that many belongings to move in so after planting my luggage down, I continued to read. I recently finished The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan so I have begun to reread The Death Gate Cycle by Weis/Hickman. I’d forgotten how fast reading those books were (and short compared to the Robert Jordan books) and I’m really glad that I enjoy them as I did when I first read them in high school.

Sunday introduced the presence of our brand new bedroom set which is still gorgeous and I will be enjoying for many years to come. Unfortunately, lack of mattresses has been a bit of an issue so we’re still using the air mattress until tomorrow night.

Yesterday left me exhausted and sore after unpacking most of our stuff that was delivered. Save for a few boxes I still need to go through, the only thing left packed are things were don’t yet have space for. I have a neat little idea for furniture that will really make the dinging room wall more useful for us. I definitely need more drawers because the kitchen doesn’t have nearly enough.

Today wasn’t much better when it comes to exhaustion. I put together our desk without instructions, from memory; I called and requested them but didn’t find them in my e-mail until well after I was done. with a little logical guessing, I think I did a decent job. Ryan was quite surprised, I believe “awed” was the word he used for my workmanship. Hehe.

But today was also a blessing as cable, phone and internet were installed all relatively quickly and without hassle even if we do have a big cable box and the workers didn’t come until 2 hours after they told us. I’m grateful to be back online even if I still have to deal with the laptop for a couple more days.

Thursday, when our unaccompanied baggage arrives, will be the last shipment and we will definitely be able to relax and enjoy our home. It’s not quite as nice as I remember it from viewing but it certainly beats out other apartments we saw and it’s really shaping up as we add furniture. After the staples are taken care of, I can’t wait to tackle the decor; I definitely have some ideas!

I love how large my bathroom is and all the storage space in there. It’s been too long since I actually had drawers and counter space but the shelving is really the icing on the cake! Plus, 2 closets in the main room as well as a walk in bedroom closet are something I didn’t find in any other apartments we looked at and I knew we’d need a lot of storage space because we had 4 closets and an extra bedroom in Misawa.

Things are really going to quiet down soon and I’m not sure if I’ll be relieved or disappointed. I guess you’ll have to hang around. ;)

Tags: Lyrics, Moving
Posted in Life, Ryan

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