For five nights now I have slept in my new apartment. I've cooked a few meals, made coffee every morning, taken five showers. I live there.
However, I only have a little furniture there to pad my life-- bed, couch, kitchen. The real moving day, involving dressers, desk and kitchen table, etc. happens tomorrow. Friends, bless them, are coming to the rescue!
I am also blessing the electrician who remodeled the apartment sometime in the last year; there are outlets everywhere, and everything is profoundly practical. And new. It feels as if I am the first to use it, but I am the second.
Apparently this remodel became necessary when a car spun off Murray Road and crashed into the building, taking out part of the kitchen. Can you imagine being inside when something like that happens?
So there are the pros and cons of an end apartment. On the one hand, you only share one common wall with neighbors, on the other hand you are vulnerable to meteorites and bad drivers, I suppose.
Speaking of strange events, t turns out my friend Chris from church lived in my very same apartment 20 years ago when she was in college and these apartments were funky and cheap. Small world.
Then, the first day I was there, a friendly neighbor was talking to me, and suddenly, he and I realized we knew each other from 15 years ago when our sons were little in Southern Humboldt. Small world.
Anyway, it's a nice place to come home to after work.
When I came home tonight and got out of the car, my nose was assailed by the lovely scent of the Pacific Ocean. Fresh and wonderful. When you leave the parking area by day, there on your left is a little peek of blue water.
The roar of the sea is constant, so constant that you forget you're hearing it. It's most apparent at night when the nearby freeway is quiet.
I've been too busy to take a walk to the beach just yet, but I plan to do it Saturday.
It will be a huge relief to get my office set up, since I have sections of my thesis due next week and no serene space to research and write.
At any rate, it's much, much cheaper than the house and I can actually afford it until I get my master's and stop being an impoverished grad student.
13 comments:
Your new home sounds comfy and familiar already. There is a part of me that would love to downsize. I would hate to have to purge that much though. I have so many artsy things, so many books, so much stuff. Today is the big moving day...enjoy getting your home together this weekend.
Dear Stephanie, that's what storage units are for!
I love to read about you've moved already K.! Wonderful. I didn't know about the crashing car though, which makes me doubt I would've moved in there *lol* We lived in a Condo in SLO, so I had stereo snoring each night *ugh* and I can relate about downsizing. I had a fire in my apartment once, then the immigration, the emigration (or the other way around?), two divorces... and each time you reduce your junk, just to find out a year later or so, that you're gathering junk again, hehe. But you now, little woman, better concentrate on your thesis NOW. Not to forget: DID you walk on the beach already, it's Sunday here? I'm looking forward to P. being away for two weeks, in order for me to re-arrange the office =] Discussions and arguing afterwards, but ORDER!!! I'd love to have a new place. So you keep up the good work and begin to enjoy your new life finally. I love that you have it for yourself and you won't have to share it with your sons. I'm egotistic, I know... ;-P TTYS, XOXOXO R.
Stephanie, I got rid of so many art supplies and what you and I fondly refer to as "ephemera." I thought of you and wished I could pass it on. I saved a few goodies though!
I have to say, it feels really GOOD to downsize. My church is having a huge rummage sale next month so I donated everything to them. That made it easier to part with things somehow, knowing they were going to a good cause.
R, moving is such a huge job!!! Moving into the new place, out of th eold place, hauling things away to the dump, or to their donation destination or to storage, cleaning the old place, figuring out where everything is going to go in the new place, putting up shelves, hanging curtains, unpacking. It will be awhile until it's all done. I hope I don't accumulate anymore stuff!
Good luck imposing order on the office! One of these days you have to tell me about the fire and details about the emigrations.
Havent walked the Hammond Trail yet and have to write 5 pages of thesis by Tuesday, yikes. Thank you for the encouragement!!!!!
Indie, you may have a lot of stuff, but you owe it to your readers and yourself to make clear the fact that your tendency to collect more stuff than you need is in no way comparable to the kind of behavior that can be seen weekly on the TV program known as "Hoarders." You know what I mean?
Well, I thought I was being helpful. Maybe not?
I never saw that program but I have definitely seen people who qualify as hoarders and have definitely seen worse than I am! In fact, I used to be worse than I am :-P
It feels good to squeeze into the new apartment. How much does one woman need anyway? Especially a woman who has aspirations of traveling abroad to teach.
Material possession that don't actively contribute to your comfort and/or convenience are like anchors.
That sounds like a lovely place, and it must feel already special knowing that your friend used to live there, and meeting old friends!
I haven't had time to check your blog for a while and had missed the newly born grandchild - congratulations!!
K, you're saying anchors, but it sounds more like chains... Having watched you move for the third time in our short time of acquaintantship (is there such a word, I wonder?) I'm astounded at how quick you make everything so comfy. Bet your new place is cozy already. Female cozy... ;-) R.
THANK YOU for saying that, R!! I feel pretty comfy already in the new place. The part I hate about moving is how much energy you have to expend on your OLD place! When all you really want to do is arrange your new nest.
Petra, thank you. I am so excited about that little baby girl. I wish the kids lived nearer so I saw her more. I will see her Saturday. :)
K, good morning, you're asking about help with finding a place in SoHUM. Is that any closer to where you live now??? Give that newborn an extra little cuddle from me, you know I love babies! TTYS, off to finish this office mission *lol* Oh, and the new blog post I'm gonna study when I'm done here, it's so long to read AND understand for me, hehe. ;-\ R.
"...acquaintantship (is there such a word, I wonder?)..."
"Acquaintanceship" will do the job.
K, at least the to me unkown other Anonymous answered my grammar problem. Thx :) R.
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