I am finally finished with my monster project at work, so I can now return to the important things in life, like posting about the freakish weather in Florida. Because holy hell people! One week it is in the nineties, the next week it's raining and in the seventies, then it's in the fifties and windy and below freezing at night, and now this week it's back to raining and in the seventies. I never know what kind of clothes to put on in the morning! At least now we have daylight savings time, so I am no longer trying to get ready for work before the sun is up. There is something very difficult about that for me, psychologically.
Anyway. I've been living in Florida for just over a month now, and so far I like it. It's hard not having anyone I can randomly call up and do things with, but I can usually drag Ricardo with me. But that brings up my question: how do you make friends in a new town when you are not in some sort of school situation? My coworkers are all older than me, married, and have young children, so they are not exactly friend-material. Should I be going out to bars and meeting people? I feel like that would get very awkward very quickly. Another part of this problem is that I don't really know how to approach women. Wow, that sounds weird. Ok, I know how to make friends with guys. Guys are easy. How do you make friends with women when there is not a built in situation for continued exposure?
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Time In A Bottle(neck)
I am moving across the entire continent in three and a half days.
I'm mostly excited, with a touch of nervous. I'm mainly nervous about the trip itself, not about actually living in Jacksonville. I think I will really enjoy living there. I'm particularly excited about being able to afford an apartment bigger than my office, with a backyard to boot! I got a cute 1950s duplex with two bedrooms, a fireplace, and a washer and dryer. Very exciting!
I don't have much else to talk about, since we aren't actually leaving until Saturday. I have almost no furniture in my apartment, which is a nice change from having it filled up with boxes. For a while we had a one foot wide pathway from room to room. The movers came to take everything last week, and now we just have things to sell/donate, and we are set. I feel like I still have so much time, but I totally don't. Three days is not much time, especially when we still need to clean everything. And I need to go to at least two happy hours. Speaking of which, I need to go set up Thursday night...
I'm mostly excited, with a touch of nervous. I'm mainly nervous about the trip itself, not about actually living in Jacksonville. I think I will really enjoy living there. I'm particularly excited about being able to afford an apartment bigger than my office, with a backyard to boot! I got a cute 1950s duplex with two bedrooms, a fireplace, and a washer and dryer. Very exciting!
I don't have much else to talk about, since we aren't actually leaving until Saturday. I have almost no furniture in my apartment, which is a nice change from having it filled up with boxes. For a while we had a one foot wide pathway from room to room. The movers came to take everything last week, and now we just have things to sell/donate, and we are set. I feel like I still have so much time, but I totally don't. Three days is not much time, especially when we still need to clean everything. And I need to go to at least two happy hours. Speaking of which, I need to go set up Thursday night...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Too Much Food On My Plate
To Do:
- Finish packing
- Send rent check
- Turn on electricity and cable at new apartment
- Make E-vite for my last weekend in California
- Call movers with questions
- Finish 2 1/2 projects at work by tomorrow
- Sell Abe
- Deal with the movers next Tuesday
- Get at least halfway through three other projects at work
- Finish a bunch of administrative stuff for my replacement for my old job
- Finalize our route across the country
- Do at least three things that I can't remember right now
- Leave California on September 20 at the crack of dawn
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Coast To Coast
I'm not entirely sure where to start this post, so I guess I'll just dive right in.
On September 20th-ish, I'm moving across the country to Florida. Crazy, right? Here's how that came about. The company I work for has locations all over the place. I applied for a job at the Jacksonville, Florida business unit, and I got the job. Which is awesome, since it's in a new department and I got a raise. But now I have to live in Florida, the state where much of the nation's more amusing stupid criminal stories originate. Plus, hurricanes.
But then again, no earthquakes.
Everything still feels mildly surreal, and September seems like forever from now, even though it is only seven weeks away. I've been looking for an apartment, but not really applying anywhere. That mostly has to do with my sucky credit, which I've made serious progress on these past few months. I've gone from "high-risk" to "medium-risk", but it's still not pretty.
The thing that has suddenly made everything seem very real is that there is a person coming to look at my car today and potentially buy it from me. I posted an ad for it two days ago, thinking that it would take a while to sell a Ford Escort, even if it's in good condition, but I got an almost immediate response. So now I'm trying to figure out how Ricardo and I would work around having only one car for over a month. Fun times.
We also need to go through everything in storage and get rid of stuff. That is mainly going to be Ricardo's job, since he literally has giant bags of clothing in there. I don't get it either.
Another pressing matter is figuring out if it will be feasible to get married before moving to Florida. Obviously, it would be nice to get married in Santa Barbara, since more people would be able to attend. But we don't really have traditional views on marriage in the first place, and it's not at the top of the Shit We Need To Do Before We Move list. And as easy as it would be to hit Vegas on our way, I'm pretty sure that several people would crucify me. So I feel a list-making session coming on. Even if is it physically possible, it still might not be financially. Well, okay, actually getting married would be easy. It the rest of it that would be costly and take planning. Even for the small-scale "wedding" I want, which basically ends up just being a reception, but more cocktail party-esque. Ugh, I just don't even want to think about it.
Everything still feels mildly surreal, and September seems like forever from now, even though it is only seven weeks away. I've been looking for an apartment, but not really applying anywhere. That mostly has to do with my sucky credit, which I've made serious progress on these past few months. I've gone from "high-risk" to "medium-risk", but it's still not pretty.
The thing that has suddenly made everything seem very real is that there is a person coming to look at my car today and potentially buy it from me. I posted an ad for it two days ago, thinking that it would take a while to sell a Ford Escort, even if it's in good condition, but I got an almost immediate response. So now I'm trying to figure out how Ricardo and I would work around having only one car for over a month. Fun times.
We also need to go through everything in storage and get rid of stuff. That is mainly going to be Ricardo's job, since he literally has giant bags of clothing in there. I don't get it either.
Another pressing matter is figuring out if it will be feasible to get married before moving to Florida. Obviously, it would be nice to get married in Santa Barbara, since more people would be able to attend. But we don't really have traditional views on marriage in the first place, and it's not at the top of the Shit We Need To Do Before We Move list. And as easy as it would be to hit Vegas on our way, I'm pretty sure that several people would crucify me. So I feel a list-making session coming on. Even if is it physically possible, it still might not be financially. Well, okay, actually getting married would be easy. It the rest of it that would be costly and take planning. Even for the small-scale "wedding" I want, which basically ends up just being a reception, but more cocktail party-esque. Ugh, I just don't even want to think about it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
I Got A Man And A Plan
Tomorrow we are finally going to move the rest of the stuff from Ventura up here, including my sofa, hooray! No more cramming two to three people in a chair that is just shy of being a love seat. Now as soon as my bookshelf gets here, I can put away all the clutter and we will have an actual home. If my bookshelf would ever ship from wherever UPS is holding it hostage, that is. Overstock.com told me that it would leave their warehouse in 1-3 business days, and I should receive it within 5-10 business days from the day I order. So, I have two more days before I can fill out the "Where the hell is my shit?" form. Great. I would be way less concerned if the UPS page showed more than "billing information received". Sigh.
In other news, Ricardo and I picked a year in which to get married. We're planning for the summer of 2010, which will be smack dab in the middle of law school for me, so that should be all kinds of fun. Even more fun is that I have no idea what I want as far as wedding stuff. I never really thought about it. So I bought some magazines and did some researching. It turns out that most places need to be reserved about 18 months out. But here is where I am running into entirely self-created stress. I will be applying for law school at the end of this year, and that means that I will not know where I'm going until about April of next year. Then law school will start next August. So I will have from April-ish 2009 until Whatever Day We Ultimately Pick to plan everything, or about 12 months. Which may seem like a long time, but when you consider that I will be in fucking law school for those 12 months, you can begin to understand why I want to start planning things now, even though I kind of can't. The type of wedding we have will ultimately depend on where we end up living. If I end up in LA or San Diego, that is vastly different from San Francisco or Oregon. Different venues, different colors, everything would be somewhat different. And I am not really liking the idea of planning two simultaneous weddings...
As far as the inevitable question "Why don't you wait until you finish law school?", there are a few answers. The shallow answer is that when I finish law school I will be thirty (!), and I'd like to get married before then. The deeper answer is that this is a compromise between me, who would rather wait, and Ricardo, who would just a soon go to Vegas tomorrow. And keep in mind that the next question is "Why don't you get married before law school?" So the ultimate answer is that the reason we picked 2010 is that it is a good balance of time that is acceptable to both of us. I don't really give a crap if it is acceptable to anyone else or not.
In other news, Ricardo and I picked a year in which to get married. We're planning for the summer of 2010, which will be smack dab in the middle of law school for me, so that should be all kinds of fun. Even more fun is that I have no idea what I want as far as wedding stuff. I never really thought about it. So I bought some magazines and did some researching. It turns out that most places need to be reserved about 18 months out. But here is where I am running into entirely self-created stress. I will be applying for law school at the end of this year, and that means that I will not know where I'm going until about April of next year. Then law school will start next August. So I will have from April-ish 2009 until Whatever Day We Ultimately Pick to plan everything, or about 12 months. Which may seem like a long time, but when you consider that I will be in fucking law school for those 12 months, you can begin to understand why I want to start planning things now, even though I kind of can't. The type of wedding we have will ultimately depend on where we end up living. If I end up in LA or San Diego, that is vastly different from San Francisco or Oregon. Different venues, different colors, everything would be somewhat different. And I am not really liking the idea of planning two simultaneous weddings...
As far as the inevitable question "Why don't you wait until you finish law school?", there are a few answers. The shallow answer is that when I finish law school I will be thirty (!), and I'd like to get married before then. The deeper answer is that this is a compromise between me, who would rather wait, and Ricardo, who would just a soon go to Vegas tomorrow. And keep in mind that the next question is "Why don't you get married before law school?" So the ultimate answer is that the reason we picked 2010 is that it is a good balance of time that is acceptable to both of us. I don't really give a crap if it is acceptable to anyone else or not.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Puzzle Pieces on the Floor
After I stayed up way too late last night watching Australia's Next Top Model (I have a problem...) I realized that having a roommate who works the night shift is just about the greatest thing ever. I didn't have to worry about the tv being too loud, and my deaf ass had that sucker blasting. I moved the furniture around finally, so our living room actually looks like people live there, not just like someone was using it as storage space. I did a couple loads in the fancy-pants dishwasher and I got to put the dishes where I wanted them (i.e. where I can actually reach them). The dishwasher does take like an hour, but if it wants to wash my dishes for me, it can take as long as it wants to.
In the course of setting up the living room, I came to the conclusion that it is the weirdest shape. Best Friend confirmed this when she came over to watch I Love New York (I told you, I have a problem). The cable outlet is directly opposite the sliding glass door, but we can't put the tv there or it will get all kinds of glare. We could move it to the kitchen wall and put the couch in the alcove area by the kitchen entrance, but then the cable wire will have to wrap around two walls and a doorway. No good. Right now the tv is next to the hallway and perpendicular to the sliding glass door, with the couch facing it. There is this big blank space right when you walk in the door that I have no idea what to do with. The sliding glass door is right next to the front door, so there's a whole lotta door going on there. And then a whole lotta empty space. Currently the big chair that matches the couch and the ottoman are over in that area kind of facing the hall. I sit sideways in that chair, so where it is now I can look out the sliding glass door or I can watch tv, depending on the way I'm facing. I don't know what else to do with that chair, it's so huge and it looks funny sitting there all by itself.
Bah.
Furniture is hard.
In the course of setting up the living room, I came to the conclusion that it is the weirdest shape. Best Friend confirmed this when she came over to watch I Love New York (I told you, I have a problem). The cable outlet is directly opposite the sliding glass door, but we can't put the tv there or it will get all kinds of glare. We could move it to the kitchen wall and put the couch in the alcove area by the kitchen entrance, but then the cable wire will have to wrap around two walls and a doorway. No good. Right now the tv is next to the hallway and perpendicular to the sliding glass door, with the couch facing it. There is this big blank space right when you walk in the door that I have no idea what to do with. The sliding glass door is right next to the front door, so there's a whole lotta door going on there. And then a whole lotta empty space. Currently the big chair that matches the couch and the ottoman are over in that area kind of facing the hall. I sit sideways in that chair, so where it is now I can look out the sliding glass door or I can watch tv, depending on the way I'm facing. I don't know what else to do with that chair, it's so huge and it looks funny sitting there all by itself.
Bah.
Furniture is hard.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Deep Breathing Excercise
These past few days have been insane. Wednesday and Thursday of last week were spent frantically finishing a project at work (hence, no posts those days), Friday was spent packing up the rest of my belongings and having an emotional not-exactly-argument with Boyfriend. And then there was Saturday. Move-in Day. Everything went surprisingly well. With the actually moving of furniture anyway. I was so busy making sure that everything was packed and that I didn't leave anything behind and that my old place was properly cleaned that I forgot to eat properly. My hypoglycemia reared its ugly head and I done fainted y'all. I'm kind of embarrassed about it; I haven't even come close since Prom, when they thought I was drunk. Boyfriend found me, got me an orange and it was all okay. Except for the pounding in my head.
Even with that little episode, I managed to get all of my stuff moved in one day, with the help of Turbo's truck, Boyfriend, and Other Guy and his truck. So now I officially live in my beautiful new apartment with my often-absent roommate and Singe. Speaking of Singe, she is so happy already. I had thought that she would hide under the bed for at least a few days,but she was out and exploring the first day. She likes New Roommate and she seems to really like the new apartment. What she doesn't like is her new food. She basically ain't havin' it. I didn't feed her Saturday morning so that she would be all hungry when I fed her at the new apartment (which is a good trick to get her out from inside the box spring). So she got the new food Saturday afternoon. She ate a little of it Saturday and a little more on Sunday. This morning, however, she turned up her little cat nose at the same food that was perfectly fine the day before. I even buried treats under it, but no. She's suddenly too good for this food. Even though it's more expensive and better for her than the old food. Oh well, when she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it. It'll do her good to not eat so much anyway, she's too fat.
But look at this! I just moved to a whole new place and the only thing I'm worried about is that my cat doesn't like her food! Ah, life is beautiful...
Another way in which life is beautiful and this past weekend was great was that Old Roommate from College came up this weekend to visit. On Saturday she and Best Friend (who also lived with us, along with Number Four, which is a story for later) celebrated Purim, but on Sunday I, the poor neglected shiksa, was finally allowed to join them. We went out shopping and the only one who actually got anything was Boyfriend. He wasted his Boy-Shopping time right away and then was stuck wandering around with us Ladies for the rest of the time. Poor guy, we even went into Sephora. Just one of the ways that you can tell he doesn't have a sister.
After dinner, though, was the best time. Boyfriend and I walked the fifty feet to Best Friend's apartment and all four of us watched Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version). Now, before you knock on this version, I want to make it clear that I know that the Colin Firth version is a thousand times better. However, there are many important points about the K. K. version. 1) It is not 8 hours long. 2) The rain scene has more sexual tension packed into it than just about any other entire movie you can name. 3) Donald Sutherland. 4) The thing with Mr. Darcy's hand...so good.
So even though I had to take Boyfriend home a third of the way through it (I got back just in time for the rain scene), it was still a perfect night spent swooning on the couch with Old Roommate and Best Friend. Especially when Old Roommate informed us that Keira means "penises" in Farsi.
Even with that little episode, I managed to get all of my stuff moved in one day, with the help of Turbo's truck, Boyfriend, and Other Guy and his truck. So now I officially live in my beautiful new apartment with my often-absent roommate and Singe. Speaking of Singe, she is so happy already. I had thought that she would hide under the bed for at least a few days,but she was out and exploring the first day. She likes New Roommate and she seems to really like the new apartment. What she doesn't like is her new food. She basically ain't havin' it. I didn't feed her Saturday morning so that she would be all hungry when I fed her at the new apartment (which is a good trick to get her out from inside the box spring). So she got the new food Saturday afternoon. She ate a little of it Saturday and a little more on Sunday. This morning, however, she turned up her little cat nose at the same food that was perfectly fine the day before. I even buried treats under it, but no. She's suddenly too good for this food. Even though it's more expensive and better for her than the old food. Oh well, when she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it. It'll do her good to not eat so much anyway, she's too fat.
But look at this! I just moved to a whole new place and the only thing I'm worried about is that my cat doesn't like her food! Ah, life is beautiful...
Another way in which life is beautiful and this past weekend was great was that Old Roommate from College came up this weekend to visit. On Saturday she and Best Friend (who also lived with us, along with Number Four, which is a story for later) celebrated Purim, but on Sunday I, the poor neglected shiksa, was finally allowed to join them. We went out shopping and the only one who actually got anything was Boyfriend. He wasted his Boy-Shopping time right away and then was stuck wandering around with us Ladies for the rest of the time. Poor guy, we even went into Sephora. Just one of the ways that you can tell he doesn't have a sister.
After dinner, though, was the best time. Boyfriend and I walked the fifty feet to Best Friend's apartment and all four of us watched Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version). Now, before you knock on this version, I want to make it clear that I know that the Colin Firth version is a thousand times better. However, there are many important points about the K. K. version. 1) It is not 8 hours long. 2) The rain scene has more sexual tension packed into it than just about any other entire movie you can name. 3) Donald Sutherland. 4) The thing with Mr. Darcy's hand...so good.
So even though I had to take Boyfriend home a third of the way through it (I got back just in time for the rain scene), it was still a perfect night spent swooning on the couch with Old Roommate and Best Friend. Especially when Old Roommate informed us that Keira means "penises" in Farsi.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What Do Y'all Think?
The Dresser Dilemma has been solved. Mama wants to take it to Arizona, so now I just have to hang onto it until she can pick it up. Now if the damn check that Dad sent me would just get here, I can actually give my part of the deposit for the apartment(who ever heard of it taking a week to mail something from Texas to California?), and I'll be all set to move in a week and a half! Then I'll be rid of the Dubious Duo I live with now. Although I will miss the little incidents like last night's Dish-Washing-Yelling-Cabinet-Door-Slamming Midnight Marathon. I do live for those moments.
Other than being so tired I feel like I'm about to fall over, today has been a good day. We had a big Company Luncheon today, which was a pleasant surprise, since I had forgotten that it was today. The theme was Chinese New Year, the upside of which was an abundance of mediocre Chinese food and the downside of which is that I'm hungry. But I have some delicious pizza waiting at home for me, so I have that to look forward to.
On a completely different note, I am thinking of doing a Full Disclosure once I'm done dealing with Asshat (i.e. once I get my deposit back), mainly because I'm tired of making up code names for everyone. Thoughts? Opinions?
Other than being so tired I feel like I'm about to fall over, today has been a good day. We had a big Company Luncheon today, which was a pleasant surprise, since I had forgotten that it was today. The theme was Chinese New Year, the upside of which was an abundance of mediocre Chinese food and the downside of which is that I'm hungry. But I have some delicious pizza waiting at home for me, so I have that to look forward to.
On a completely different note, I am thinking of doing a Full Disclosure once I'm done dealing with Asshat (i.e. once I get my deposit back), mainly because I'm tired of making up code names for everyone. Thoughts? Opinions?
Monday, February 19, 2007
Decisions, Decisions
I've been thinking about downsizing my bed. I have a queen right now, and I love it, but it's quite difficult for me to get the fitted sheet on by myself, or if it's time to flip the mattress, I have to get someone to help me. A full would just be more manageable all the way around. It won't be quite as comfortable when Boyfriend stays over, but for a few nights out of the month, it's not that big of a deal. Another plus will be having room to actually move around in my bedroom. I'm also not going to have that big ol' chair taking up space in my bedroom anymore, and I will have enough closet space that I can sell my dresser/vanity thing. I'm not sure that I want to sell it because it's so pretty, but I won't actually need it and it's an awkward size. I can't use it to put things on top of because there's a mirror on a pivot right in the middle of it and the sides aren't large enough to hold anything that I will need to be out of the way. A quandary.
So Many Reasons
I got the final "Yes, everything is fine, you can have this apartment" call this weekend. It all seems a little dream-like. I wanted to start packing immediately, but I still have two weeks before I move. I don't have a lot of space to put all of my crap right now, so this is likely going to be a last minute rush job. i am not looking forward to that. What I am looking forward to is never having to deal with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb ever again! No more dishes left on the edge of the sink for two months and counting, no more Jaeger spilled on the floor and not cleaned up for a week, no more carpets blackened by dirty shoes, no more single-pane windows that double as cold-air conductors, no more dryer that doesn't actually dry, the list goes on and on...
When New Roommate came over to see my things and meet Singe, Asshat was completely true to form. There was a note left right inside the entry that read: This house smells like cat shit. Figure it out please. I like the "please", like that make it a polite reminder. Mind you, I had cleaned the litter box the day before. New Roommate looked a little shocked. At that moment, Asshat and Asshat in Training (formerly Pretty Decent Guy) came around the corner from the hallway, clearly on their way out. Just in case I hadn't seen the lovely note that I was holding in my hand, they kindly reiterated, "This house smells like cat shit. In case you didn't know." before leaving. New Roommate turned to me with a look of bemusement and said, "I'm guessing you don't get along. I can see why you want to move out." Then, after looking around for a second, she observed, "I don't smell any cat shit." Bless her.
When New Roommate came over to see my things and meet Singe, Asshat was completely true to form. There was a note left right inside the entry that read: This house smells like cat shit. Figure it out please. I like the "please", like that make it a polite reminder. Mind you, I had cleaned the litter box the day before. New Roommate looked a little shocked. At that moment, Asshat and Asshat in Training (formerly Pretty Decent Guy) came around the corner from the hallway, clearly on their way out. Just in case I hadn't seen the lovely note that I was holding in my hand, they kindly reiterated, "This house smells like cat shit. In case you didn't know." before leaving. New Roommate turned to me with a look of bemusement and said, "I'm guessing you don't get along. I can see why you want to move out." Then, after looking around for a second, she observed, "I don't smell any cat shit." Bless her.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Sitting, Waiting, You Know the Rest...
It is such an amazing day today! February and eighty degrees outside! I love Santa Barbara on days like this. All I want to do is go to the beach. But alas, I must make zee money.
I met New Roommate yesterday and hung out with her more last night. That's right, I said NEW Roommate! Because...
OH MY GOD I'M MOVING IN TWO WEEKS! (deep breaths to prevent hyperventilation)
Calling all of my friends with trucks and strong arms! (cough cough Turbo cough cough) I need your help on March 2nd, 3rd, and probably 4th. I'm so excited! I just can't hide it (Please don't hit me I have to do it there are people in my head singing it and they made me do it)!
I met New Roommate yesterday and hung out with her more last night. That's right, I said NEW Roommate! Because...
OH MY GOD I'M MOVING IN TWO WEEKS! (deep breaths to prevent hyperventilation)
Calling all of my friends with trucks and strong arms! (cough cough Turbo cough cough) I need your help on March 2nd, 3rd, and probably 4th. I'm so excited! I just can't hide it (Please don't hit me I have to do it there are people in my head singing it and they made me do it)!
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