Changes in Latitude...An Ode to Wishful Happenstance

I'm back, and so is the blog. (Consider yourself warned now.)

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I've finally finished the move to the new digs, which would have been a tad bit more enjoyable the last two days of the move had I not been marred by a heavy and a cold rain and also (in my stubborn and impatient manner) had I not sprained the lower side of my forearm and thumb. The latter has been problematic even until this weekend, as the numbing and then the throbbing comes and goes with some vehemence. The fact that this is also on the primary hand (and the hand, wrist and forearm which led me to give up dreams of being a guitar hero years ago) has just been icing on the cake. Literally, it's been all I can do lately to even hold a fork halfway correctly.

The new digs themselves are in a state of process, both in the unpacking and in the acclimation to its new tenant. The new place is the bottom part of a secondary farm house, built half into a hill and with energy savings in spades, surrounded on three sides by trees. It's taken a small act of Congress to get Internet connections set up (as only new customers can get dial-up right now), phone (which still is problematic with my existing cell phone carrier), and TV (had to get satellite as cable has not come out here as of yet). I went cheaper as far as rent, but I also apparently went back in time a bit, too, in exchange for the new space. I've felt I'm in slow-mo recently, and I'm not sure exactly why.

My new blessings:

I wanted quiet and a place to relax... I've got almost deafening quiet now, save a reading-inclined, and silence appreciative, professor as an upstairs neighbour.

I wanted birds to watch and enjoy outside...I have what seems like entire species come through still and forage for something outside my main windows.

I wanted an area to garden this spring and summer...I will soon be able to garden to my heart's content and have several 'wild' things already around, including some very pleasing 'wild' mint at the front door.

I wanted a screened in porch with a tin roof to enjoy the sounds of the rain...I have not only that but also a door to it (and the woods it overlooks for almost a half mile) straight from my bedroom.

I wanted wild animals to sometimes surprise me and come trot through the yard...I have so far met more than a half dozen persistent possums, a raccoon, and a couple of fearless deer all of which seem to like looking in on me as much as I do looking out at them. All of us are quite uncertain as to whom is exactly in charge.

I wanted to enjoy some country living where I could see the sunrise and sunset every day...and so far, I've missed almost all of them due to work, catch-up sleep from moving exhaustion, or pain from just moving the arm. (But I have come close, and there's hopefully always tomorrow.)

And it could go on and on. The home 'checklist', so to speak, is almost completely ticked off. It feels eerie, though, sorta like a dream.

I'll get adjusted, it's just taking me a bit as I've obviously went the complete opposite of what I had. I finally got what I've hoped for all these recent years...well, except I wanted all of the above in Australia, complete with a nearby beach and/or vineyard, overgrown dog, yapping kookaburras, and a loving and joking husband, all of which are still missing from this current picture...and I'm not really sure how to react to it all.

Be careful (and specific) in what you wish for, folks...you just may get it. Cheers and best wishes to you all on the beginning of this new year.

"Green Acres is the Place for Me..."

Sorry for the temporary delay in dropping out there last week, but I do have a valid reason: I've been looking for a new apartment.

Let's backtrack a little. While I love my current digs (where I've been at for a couple plus years now) and have worked steadily to make the apartment here more a 'home' with my various art and photographic experiments, it's not necessarily a cheap place to live. When I first moved in, the monthly setup was a good deal: some new amenities, and it included internet and basic cable TV in the cost of the rent. Not to mention very close to work. However, what I didn't know then and found out up later, the major wallet-eaters like the air conditioning and the heating were not replaced and management were/are still quite resistant to do so. Not to mention, I seem to be the unofficial 'adult' in my section of the apartments as everyone else here is under 25 and likes to get drunk and/or have loud sports TV parties on the weekends...which was good when I was 25 or thereabouts. Now, after working a 50 to 60 work week and doing various other errands, not so much, or at least not so much every weekend. But in the first year or so, the rental price made all the extracurriculars tolerable. I was getting a good value and I knew it, so I stayed.

Then the first lease renewal went up $100 a month. At that time, all renovations throughout had been completed...and that had not included the ancient HVAC systems. All inquiries about changing those out were met with an icy reception and essentially a 'we don't care what it costs you in utilities to run them, we're not replacing them until they are completely inoperable' response from management. After looking at the numbers and other options again, I begrudgingly signed on again for another term but at least did it for an extended time so as to not be hit with another increase so soon. What had been an exceptional deal at one point was going in reverse, a situation that got highlighted even more when that winter's heating bills came out.

I've tried in vain to get the circa 1970s heating and porous windows changed out...or at least an investigation as to where all my energy money was going...this last term (the A/C did eventually when it gave away some time last year, but it took three days and a call from a lawyer friend of mine to get it fixed within a week), but nothing has been achieved. Electric rates have raised steadily, and the performance of the apartment, utilities-wise, has decreased alarmingly. Last winter, I upgraded all the curtains (now at about three levels thick), weatherstripped to an insane degree, and even bought a space heater to cut back on costs. On the coldest nights, I even took to wearing double-layered flannel...and I hate flannel...and even after all of these measures, I still was getting bills equivalent to those of a much bigger dwelling. Just two weeks ago, I tried again for resolution when it became apparent our long Indian summer had finally vacated the region. In return, I got a new front door sweep and a weatherstripping job worse than my own...and a review of my electric bills showing I'm paying about 35% more than what I did when I first moved in. When I first moved in just over two years ago. I understand that the electric rates have went up, but they haven't went up nowhere near that much and I'm actually at home less (and with the air conditioning and/or heat off when I am away) since then.

Then last week I came home to find a new renewal agreement on my door for the upcoming term: a raise in rent of almost another $100 a month (well actually it was, but then they indicated I'd get a discount for being a multi-year tenant of about $25/month). So, as I stewed contemplating an increase in rent of $175/month in just over two years' time and the raise in electricity costs, (not to mention the college social club here on the weekends), I started looking for alternate homesteads. Nothing like being forced into action, I guess.

So last week I found one, and one that's much more 'me'. Rural but still close to work, surrounded by woods and a working nursery and farm. Built into a hillside, in the bottom part of the house (must be a 'me' thing, as I've also lived in 2 basements before), with a screened-in porch overlooking said woods for about a quarter mile. A lot more 'home' vibe than what I currently have, with some recent upgrades in the bedrooms and the bath. A lot more space in the kitchen and the living room, too. While I'll have to get a washer and dryer (compared to using the ones provided currently here), that's a minor and temporary inconvenience. Supremely quiet, and the landlords don't even mind if I plant a garden. There will be a few changes...getting DSL and satellite TV out there as Time Warner Cable hasn't extended that far yet...but I practically jumped up and down when I got the tour. Even when adding up the laundromat, DSL, and other expenses, I still come out ahead. More space, less money...less hassle, more 'me'. Hallelujah.

And Friday, after much hand-wringing and worry I'd miss out somehow, I got it. And despite everything that is going on with me, I'm very very happy right now. I'm even packing boxes right now.