Monday, October 10, 2016

On Moving

One day, I will have a place to call my own for more than a 9-month period. That day is not today. But I lasted from May until October, which is pretty good for something that began in the summer. I was never that good at putting down roots anyway. The major reason for the move was monetary.  That is to say, my car and my gas tank and my wallet said a very firm no, we are not doing this until you graduate, do not even try.

I can put up with a lot, but I cannot put up with my gas tank eating up my food budget. I have needs. They include something other than rice, tuna, chicken and canned veggies. There is only so much rice I can eat before I am heartily tired of the flavor, the texture, and the everything else.

So I found a place!

I like it. The cat likes it. The neighbors are a bit noisier, and it’s not exactly a safe place, but they haven’t knocked it off the night time delivery list yet, and until I am out of college, that is my low bar of safety.

Once I am out of college, I may have a higher bar. I may wait on that higher bar until my student loans are paid off. It depends on how much I make out of college.  As with basically every other Millennial I know, there’s not a lot of hope there in making as much as people swear I can make right out of college with my shiny new degree and my basically bare resume. Still, full time work that is meaningful is kind of the most important thing to me. I’m one person, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s a bit of a bummer, but I can keep my bills pretty low if I need to.

Luckily, about all most of my hobbies require is a connection to the internet and a computer.  I admit that I look forward to getting a powerful desktop so I can go back to making art again, but I’m pretty happy with my pretty little laptop right now.

Back to my moving adventure though. So. Here I am. My SUV, dear sweet beast that is, was packed solid yesterday.  For field of view reasons, and because there’s a distinct possibility that for some mysterious reason none of my friends trust my driving or my car, I was careful not to block my view out the back.

I swear I am a good driver guys. I haven’t nearly gotten into a wreck in at least five days.

So here I am, my car is full. My darlingest history major’s car is also full, and we’re on our way to the new place! I would have to make a second trip with my car, but we definitely had everything I needed for comfort packed! (Ha!)

I’m going a slightly less steep route, because The Beast doesn’t like gaining speed on hills on normal days when it’s just me in it, and everything is going fine.

Except.

About a third of the way there, there was a red light. It’s a nuisance, and I’ve never not caught it, but there it is. And of course I hit the red light again. So here I am idling at the light, waiting for it to turn, and speaking in baby talk to the cat who wasn’t fond of speeding up, slowing down, stopping, or really most of the ride at all. The baby talk soothed her. Or at least, it stopped the periodic confused meowing, and that worked for me.

And then.

And then my engine stops.

Oh lordy, lordy, apple pie and rhubarb sandwiches. Not again.  I hit the emergency lights button.  And I think about the dear old man who rescued me last time. What do I do?

First, crank it. Nothing is cranking. Bad Beast. Second groan in embarrassment cause the light is now green and your car is being a brat. Third, turn it completely off (park first!) and then turn it on again?

Yes! It worked.

Now mind you, my friend is supposed to be following behind me right now.  I lost her though, somewhere towards the beginning of our journey, because my faith in the time it takes two cars to turn onto the road was not, apparently, all that good. I am maybe not that great at estimating time. This is a distinct possibility.

The long and short of it is: she one hundred percent beat me there. One hundred percent. No contest.

We did get everything in the house though, and in time for her to go to class, which is good because my car and I were not going to go back there.  The Beast has Spoken. None shall defy the Beast less they wish to find themselves stranded an hour from their destination for the second time, seriously, one day I’m going to get a new car, and this same nonsense will occur.

Anyway, I like the new place. The cat likes the new place. I have a bit more bedroom room, and the cat is enjoying the freedom of exploring the upstairs of the townhome. She’s yet to figure out the stairs. Give her a bit.

And now I have to unpack everything tonight, so I can put more things in this place tomorrow.  Hurrah! Wish me luck, and cross your fingers that tomorrow’s moving part two won’t come with it’s own special brand of ‘seriously?’


One Final Byte: No mattress. No couch. One Bookcase. Innumerable books.