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Well, i'm finally here. Actually i've been here since Monday morning, but with moving and etc...well, you know. Been a bit busy.
I've been wondering how much or how little to tell, and feeling guilty because a lot of this has to do with Soffers, and dear Kim has just lost her own cat...i'm still going to write about her, but i am thinking of you Kim, so i'll keep the gushing to a minimum.
Left Morgantown Sunday night at 9:30, the plan being to drive through the night and arrive right about the time of my appt with the landlord. Jody's man Dan (JMD?) asked what kind of crack i had been smoking to dream up something like this, but actually, it worked quite well. By now Sophie was an old hand at being stuffed into the cat carrier.
Her week consisted of:
Going from VA to MD and straight to the vet
Back to the barracks
Back to the vet for an all day stay and teeth cleaning
Barracks
Smuggled from my room up to A's so i could pack and clean
from barracks to Morgantown
from Morgantown to Indiana
So as you can see, she's been around the country a bit. She probably thinks it's high time i was an asshole and stuffed her into the carrier again, but no, we're here for good, little girl.
She actually got used to being in the Ryder: wandering about, sleeping on the blanket between the seats, climbing on stuff, etc. We made a funny picture at toll booth stops: me, strung out tired wearing a black fleece shirt that was starting to look like a cream-colored Angora sweater, Sophie on my lap trying to catch some zzz's. Yes, yes, i know it wasn't safe to let her roam around, but the other option wasn't really an option, you know? We crossed the Indiana border with her on my lap and Maggie's show tunes on the tape player. It was grand.
When it got a bit lighter we got a wee bit scared, oh yes-- now we could actually see those big scary trucks passing by the windows and we started to panic a little bit, so at a rest stop i put her back in cat jail until i got to the rental office. While i kept reassuring her that babies are gonna be all right and that babies are gonna be okay, the pitiful squeaking from the carrier let me know in no uncertain terms that babies are not going to be all right, babies are not going to be okay, and that Mom was a King Kong-sized asshole, so there!
That was when i called to let Vali know that "I'm at the White Castle..." like there was only one in the entire state or something. But really, at that point i was whacked. But my woman understood.
The only part of the plan that didn't work perfectly is that i could only take out X amount of money from the atm each day and that i had reached my daily limit with $117 to go, but all worked well. The landlord let me in so i could dump off my junk and btw, turn in the key when you're done, there's no time limit on it so long as it's in the mailbox in the morning, wink wink nudge nudge. She's quite nice to me-- her son's in the Navy, and with me in the Army i earn brownie points by proxy.
Unloading the Ryder of all my crap after an all-night drive...oy. I'm glad i lived on the first floor next to the parking lot. i'm not as young as i used to be. I used to be as strong as an ox, but now it's more like a full-grown calf, bleeeeeat.
The place is starting to shape up nicely-- it's your stereotypical Playskool's My First Grad School Apartment: all furniture is secondhand and is done in varying shades of brown and orange, and even if i trash the place i'm only out about $100 bucks. Pressed wood as far as the eye can see...
Very cool furniture coup: yesterday morning i stepped outside and see the desk o' my dreams just sitting next to the dumpster, not 15 feet from my doorstep. It was Perfect!! I couldn't believe my fantastic good luck. I brought it inside, wiped if off with some 409, and thanked the gods for handing me a freebie. this would've cost me 50 bucks easy.
I was a little apprehensive about moving into an apartment i hadn't seen, but it's worked out really well. The apt complex isn't very big so you don't feel like you're living Chez Roach, i'm in a quiet residential neighborhood next to a school, the neighbors are working stiffs with families so it's relatively quiet (we'll see if that holds up on the weekends), the laundry room has washers and dryers that actually work, i live walking distance to the grocery store (they have stores in Indiana where you can buy things! It's like a beautiful dream! :-D) and best of all, Vali's only 5 miles away.
After a year and a half of living 1/2 across the country from her, do you know how cool it is to drop her an email asking her if she wants to come over to watch a movie? It's the best feeling in the world! Even better, just before i sent it she was knocking on the door. Synchronicity, maaan! It's heavenly. I've been waiting for this for so long, now that it's happened it feels too good to be real. I haven't quit smoking yet, but i have scaled back. i was smoking like a fiend right before i moved-- major stress. but i know i'll give it up for good soon- it's too damned cold to go outside all the time! I know when winter hits about ten days from now i'll quit for good or die of hypothermia.
i don't know...i keep waiting for the bad stuff to kick in, like how awful civilian life is in comparison to the military, but i don't see it happening. I feel like i've been living as a second class citizen for years and that i've finally stepped out of the cave. I have my own apartment that's comfy and close to my sweetheart, a cat that's forgiven me my trespasses, and life feels pretty great. i'm not looking back at all.
The next part is the job interview for tomorrow. i'm horribly nervous. i really need this job-- sure, i could find a job anywhere, but i really want this one because it's a library job and the pay is decent. I called the lady yesterday to work out the specific place and time, and she let slip that they are very understaffed. Very bad for them, very good for me, but still, that's no guarantee of a hire. I'm meeting with three of the staff tomorrow. Eeep! any librarians out there, hit me with questions!
Ever since i've been here i think i've been doing small bits of magic-- the desk is one example. i think i'd better do some more for tomorrow so i can keep Sophie in her favorite brand of Iams. If i get this job, that means the three pronged Indiana attack will have gone off w/o a hitch. oh please oh please...
Better go and register for spring classes and do a little more unpacking. every box contains a surprise since i marked very few of them. the goal is to do the other half of the living room today. the bedroom...uh, don't talk to me about the bedroom. it's a disaster of crap.
I've been wondering how much or how little to tell, and feeling guilty because a lot of this has to do with Soffers, and dear Kim has just lost her own cat...i'm still going to write about her, but i am thinking of you Kim, so i'll keep the gushing to a minimum.
Left Morgantown Sunday night at 9:30, the plan being to drive through the night and arrive right about the time of my appt with the landlord. Jody's man Dan (JMD?) asked what kind of crack i had been smoking to dream up something like this, but actually, it worked quite well. By now Sophie was an old hand at being stuffed into the cat carrier.
Her week consisted of:
Going from VA to MD and straight to the vet
Back to the barracks
Back to the vet for an all day stay and teeth cleaning
Barracks
Smuggled from my room up to A's so i could pack and clean
from barracks to Morgantown
from Morgantown to Indiana
So as you can see, she's been around the country a bit. She probably thinks it's high time i was an asshole and stuffed her into the carrier again, but no, we're here for good, little girl.
She actually got used to being in the Ryder: wandering about, sleeping on the blanket between the seats, climbing on stuff, etc. We made a funny picture at toll booth stops: me, strung out tired wearing a black fleece shirt that was starting to look like a cream-colored Angora sweater, Sophie on my lap trying to catch some zzz's. Yes, yes, i know it wasn't safe to let her roam around, but the other option wasn't really an option, you know? We crossed the Indiana border with her on my lap and Maggie's show tunes on the tape player. It was grand.
When it got a bit lighter we got a wee bit scared, oh yes-- now we could actually see those big scary trucks passing by the windows and we started to panic a little bit, so at a rest stop i put her back in cat jail until i got to the rental office. While i kept reassuring her that babies are gonna be all right and that babies are gonna be okay, the pitiful squeaking from the carrier let me know in no uncertain terms that babies are not going to be all right, babies are not going to be okay, and that Mom was a King Kong-sized asshole, so there!
That was when i called to let Vali know that "I'm at the White Castle..." like there was only one in the entire state or something. But really, at that point i was whacked. But my woman understood.
The only part of the plan that didn't work perfectly is that i could only take out X amount of money from the atm each day and that i had reached my daily limit with $117 to go, but all worked well. The landlord let me in so i could dump off my junk and btw, turn in the key when you're done, there's no time limit on it so long as it's in the mailbox in the morning, wink wink nudge nudge. She's quite nice to me-- her son's in the Navy, and with me in the Army i earn brownie points by proxy.
Unloading the Ryder of all my crap after an all-night drive...oy. I'm glad i lived on the first floor next to the parking lot. i'm not as young as i used to be. I used to be as strong as an ox, but now it's more like a full-grown calf, bleeeeeat.
The place is starting to shape up nicely-- it's your stereotypical Playskool's My First Grad School Apartment: all furniture is secondhand and is done in varying shades of brown and orange, and even if i trash the place i'm only out about $100 bucks. Pressed wood as far as the eye can see...
Very cool furniture coup: yesterday morning i stepped outside and see the desk o' my dreams just sitting next to the dumpster, not 15 feet from my doorstep. It was Perfect!! I couldn't believe my fantastic good luck. I brought it inside, wiped if off with some 409, and thanked the gods for handing me a freebie. this would've cost me 50 bucks easy.
I was a little apprehensive about moving into an apartment i hadn't seen, but it's worked out really well. The apt complex isn't very big so you don't feel like you're living Chez Roach, i'm in a quiet residential neighborhood next to a school, the neighbors are working stiffs with families so it's relatively quiet (we'll see if that holds up on the weekends), the laundry room has washers and dryers that actually work, i live walking distance to the grocery store (they have stores in Indiana where you can buy things! It's like a beautiful dream! :-D) and best of all, Vali's only 5 miles away.
After a year and a half of living 1/2 across the country from her, do you know how cool it is to drop her an email asking her if she wants to come over to watch a movie? It's the best feeling in the world! Even better, just before i sent it she was knocking on the door. Synchronicity, maaan! It's heavenly. I've been waiting for this for so long, now that it's happened it feels too good to be real. I haven't quit smoking yet, but i have scaled back. i was smoking like a fiend right before i moved-- major stress. but i know i'll give it up for good soon- it's too damned cold to go outside all the time! I know when winter hits about ten days from now i'll quit for good or die of hypothermia.
i don't know...i keep waiting for the bad stuff to kick in, like how awful civilian life is in comparison to the military, but i don't see it happening. I feel like i've been living as a second class citizen for years and that i've finally stepped out of the cave. I have my own apartment that's comfy and close to my sweetheart, a cat that's forgiven me my trespasses, and life feels pretty great. i'm not looking back at all.
The next part is the job interview for tomorrow. i'm horribly nervous. i really need this job-- sure, i could find a job anywhere, but i really want this one because it's a library job and the pay is decent. I called the lady yesterday to work out the specific place and time, and she let slip that they are very understaffed. Very bad for them, very good for me, but still, that's no guarantee of a hire. I'm meeting with three of the staff tomorrow. Eeep! any librarians out there, hit me with questions!
Ever since i've been here i think i've been doing small bits of magic-- the desk is one example. i think i'd better do some more for tomorrow so i can keep Sophie in her favorite brand of Iams. If i get this job, that means the three pronged Indiana attack will have gone off w/o a hitch. oh please oh please...
Better go and register for spring classes and do a little more unpacking. every box contains a surprise since i marked very few of them. the goal is to do the other half of the living room today. the bedroom...uh, don't talk to me about the bedroom. it's a disaster of crap.
