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.