Water, Water Everywhere

Ok....So I've been slacking off.  A lot. I was originally planning on posting once we got internet access from Comcast set up on the day after we moved down.  Of course the guy that showed up at 7am was an incompetent imbecile and we had to wait three more days for a new guy to hook us up.  When he had to call something in to finish the set up he was on hold.  For an hour.  And he's the Comcast rep.  That's seriously messed up.  Anyways, then I was going to post after a week.  Then 10 days.  Then 2 weeks.  Then 3 weeks.  Anyways, not you get an update.  Not a great update, but I'm a little rusty.  So sue me*

So far Atlanta has been incredible!!!  Hubby has been loving the severe thunderstorms that we get somewhat regularly (we got an inch of rain today starting around 5), and Zoe has apparently gotten used to it, asking to go for a walk in it.  To be fair, I didn't realize it was raining until I got outside, but it didn't bother her at all.  Also, it was less humid while raining than it was earlier in the day when I took her outside.

Hubby and I had a wonderful time experiencing the joy of big city bureaucracy when we went to set up our water utility.  We were told that even though we live in Atlanta, we had to set up our water through Dekalb County, because the vast majority of Atlanta is in Fulton County, so a lot of the part of the city in Dekalb receives their water from the county.  If you are confused, it's just as well.  The woman at Dekalb County water place told us that even they weren't completely sure which sections of Atlanta got their water from the city and which got it from Dekalb.

So anyways, we went to the county office and were quickly told that we got our water from the city of Atlanta.  So we had to go downtown and go from line to line in various city halls and annexes (annexi??) before we finally got everything straightened out.

That is until yesterday when we got a water bill for the previous tenant.

I have more stories, but I just have to find a way to bring it all together and present it.  So probably wont happen.  Fingers crossed though!

*please don't, I beg of you!

My Life in Boxes

It is official!!! Well, at least unofficially.  Our new landlords have accepted are application and after negotiations (where they countered their own counter-offer) we are all free-and-clear.  Except we haven't signed a lease.  But according to our wonderful agent, Z, has assured me that it is a done deal and we can start with the whole change of address thing.  We will be living on the eastern edge of the Edgewood neighborhood in Atlanta!!!!

The sides of the hill are covered in undergrowth now, but the grass is still really nice.  It's nice and shady, so the A/C won't work as hard as it would've had to with several of the houses we looked at.  Technically, it is a downgrade in space.  We're losing our dining room (aka computer room), but has three bedrooms - the smaller two are massive compared to our current second two.  The space is laid out much more sensibly, and even though the kitchen is a good bit smaller, it has more counterspace and storage!  For some reason, I only took one picture in the house (in my defense, it was house number 6 we saw that day), and Z was in the picture on accident, so I blurred her. We do not have a ghost. Yet.  Give Hubby a chance, and I'm sure he'll figure out a way to have a pet ghost.

I took this near the front door, so it is diagonally across the living room and into the kitchen.  It's a little small, but with a studio apartment walk-in closet in the master, the coat closet will be transformed into a giant pantry!!  Oh yeah, and we have TWO BATHROOMS NOW!!!!!!!11!!!1!!!

We're 1 mile away from a subway station, 1 mile away from the center of the Kirkwood neighborhood, 1 mile away from a massive big box shopping center, and apparently 1 mile away from one of the happening-est gay districts in the ATL! We are very excited.  BUT....

We still have to get there.  I've talked a lot about the when, where, and how issues of this move.  Fortunately, they are all addressed finally!  Where: We're moving to a cute ranch house in Edgewood.  How: We have a 26 foot truck on reserve from a branch of a self-move service.  When: That's the kicker.  We pick up the truck one-week from tomorrow!! We're desperately trying to pack up boxes, although I think we're pretty much done for the night at this point.  DVDs and about 2/3 of the books are all packed, as is half of our wardrobe.

We are getting a washer and dryer from friends here, then loading up the truck Sunday.  Monday, we're going to my parents' house, where we pick up more stuff, and spend a night.  Tuesday, we're going to Hubby's parents' house, where we pick up yet more stuff and spend another night.  Wednesday is the long-haul, with a 7 hour drive - one of us in a 26 foot truck, the other in a car with a dog and a cat who will both be going crazy.  We might stop and visit family in North Carolina as a rest stop, because they live about half-way between Hubby's parents' and our new place, but only to stretch and give the animals a little relaxation time.

We should get to Atlanta no later than 4pm or so, and we need to unload as much as possible on Wednesday, but the truck won't be due back until the next day, so we can spend a little extra time the next day unloading.

Our trip (which we also just came back from a few hours ago) was amazing! We had a wonderful - if not completely crazy time.  We got to explore a lot of the area near where we'll be living and have already tried out a few of the really cool eating places near our new place.  Hubby even found a really neat organic/vegetarian grocery store nearby that has a better selection and cheaper prices than the specialty store he's frequented here in Central PA.  We quickly noted that regardless of age, gender, and race, the unifying factor of employees and shoppers alike in the store was long, gray hair.

Sorry, I thought this post was going to be funnier than it turned out being, but I'm too tired to really care.  Also, hopefully this won't be the last time I post before we actually move, but it might be.  Maybe when I move in, I'll actually take pictures of the place so I can show it off!!!

Hey Y'all

Just trying that out...it's definitely a better contraction of 'you all' than the local "yu'ns" or "yi'ns". I'm not exactly sure where to put the apostrophe there, because spell-check counts "ya'll" as a word, but not the other two.

Anyways, no we haven't moved yet.  But we have some real and tangible details (well almost tangible). Last time I posted, I mentioned that we finally knew when we were moving, but not how or where. We now know for a fact that while the move will be paid for, we have to move ourselves.  Apparently the moving company that Hubby's new job uses laughed at him when he asked for a quote.  Something about not being able to arrange the logistics that quickly.  Welcome to our world.  Assholes. Geez, you'd think that they'd understand that I'm an internet celebrity and that they should do it for free in exchange for free publicity.  Regardless of their inconsiderate nature, we at least know now how.

I have been talking to a really nice realtor in the Atlanta area who sounds exactly like Paula Deen.  I was kinda disappointed when I saw her picture after we first talked and she looks nothing like her, but I can't really hold that against her.  We have narrowed our choices to a dozen or so places that look promising, but are just waiting to be able to see them before making a decision.  That's right.  Fitz and Hubby are going on a vacation! First one in five years.  Of course by vacation, I mean that we're going to a new city and being showed a ton of apartments in only a couple of days, but still! Usually when we get away, we visit parents, which is a vacation for no one.  And? We get a chauffeur! Well to see the places at least.

So Tuesday evening, we are driving to Baltimore and are staying with some friends....I am SOOOOOOO excited, because I haven't seen K or M for two years.  True, they're both lawyers, but I don't hold it against them.  Then, at the ass-crack of dawn, we're flying down to Atlanta (by way of Fort Lauderdale, Florida...what the fuck??), and spending the next 48 hours in the "Capital of the South", which Atlanta never was, but whatever.

Anyways, by the time we get back to the 'North' on Friday, we should have finally have the where.  Then we are finally set to actually pack up and move.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to start prepping for tomorrow's excursion.  Both animals are going to the vet for check-ups and then I'm driving around for an hour or so to see how the cat does in the car.  Hopefully, all involved will survive.

Unpacking

Yes, you read the title right.  So does this mean that I am now living it up in the ATL? Nope.  You'll notice how long it's been since my last post when I confirmed that we were moving and moving quickly.  16 days.  Until Tuesday, we didn't even know things like Hubby's salary and benefits because the contract hadn't officially come.

If you'll remember two weeks ago, I said that we should have the official contract by the end of the week.  Well we didn't.  And no one could tells us why it hadn't come, but it'd be there by the end of the next week.  Rinse and repeat.  Turns out, like all good bureaucracies, there is only one person who is allowed to send out the contracts.  And that person? On vacation.

Anyways, Tuesday we got the contract.  Or rather Hubby's advisor got his.  Which is a start and allowed us to confirm what we already knew and commit fully to the move.  Only we didn't know exactly when the move would happen, or how we would get there, or where we would live.  You know, all the essential things you need to know for the move.

Today we confirmed when.  We'll be moving the second week of July.  Yes.  In a little under four weeks.  Nothings packed, no notices have been given, etc.  We know that the move will be paid for, but don't know if we'll be doing it ourselves, or if Hubby's new employers will move us.  Either way, it's time to clean house.

If you remember back a year ago, we went on a spree reducing our books, dvds, and video games.  Well, the dvds and games were sold on ebay, so there gone.  The books were sitting on the floor in what we call 'the other room'.  Meaning it's NEVER had a use.  Sure, it stores our router and printer, and the closet is overflowing with a ton of electronics, cables, and boxes that I don't even want to think about right now.  Also, by sitting? I mean spread out so that you could easily see every single book.

Notice I  used the past tense there? I finally boxed them up.  Today. Yes, today.  This weekend, they'll go to the local library, where they will be recycled, because no one will want to buy or even borrow them.  But at that point? Not my problem.  Also, the clothes that I mentioned had been sitting in a basket for two years? they were still there until today.  Along with a (I shit you not) ALMOST TWO CLOSETS' WORTH OF CLOTHES.  See, we knew that the move was coming so we did try to whittle down our clothes and get rid of things we didn't wear anymore.  We actually emptied one closet completely, and condensed down to 1 1/2 closets with virtually everything we own hung.  We also emptied out two drawers in our three dressers.  Considering I never got the keen fashion sense that was supposed to arrive in the mail when I got my 'Gay Card', there is NO REASON FOR ME TO OWN THIS MANY CLOTHES.

Anyways, I packed up all the clothes in trash bags to take to Goodwill this weekend.  TWELVE FRICKIN' TRASH BAGS. Are you kidding me? And yes, I went through it again, just to make sure.

When we first moved from to our current place, 4 years ago, we kept all the boxes.  Just in case we moved again, and would need to find boxes in a hurry.  Most of these are boxes that were shipped to the retail store I used to work at. Very beat up. But we kept them, because moving is expensive and I'm fine using crap boxes.  Although now we're either being moved, or being reimbursed. So I might as well get good boxes.  I also bought a grill when we moved here. And kept the box (full of trash) in the basement.  I was going to deal with it later.  Which was today.  Actually, I took an entire car's worth of boxes to the recycling drop off and got rid of them.

I feel very accomplished with my actions today.  I even contacted the landlady to terminate our lease.  Of course as of right now, that means that we're homeless at the end of July.

We now know when we will move, have a very good idea of how we will move, but still don't know where we will move to.  Considering that with our current time frame, they will not pay for us to house-hunt (not that Hubby can afford to take any days off of work before the move), we will probably be renting a house sight-unseen.  Fortunately, my parents are friends with a realtor in the DC region who is putting me in contact with some people in the Atlanta area.  And he knows the time frame we are looking at.  If possible, we might dip into savings for me to fly down and look at the top places we are considering.

And in case you were wondering, both animals are freaking the crap out.  They don't know what's happening.  Calvin at first thought it was fun, but he's now avoiding me, despite being offered treats.  Zoe just looks like she's about to die from misery.  And there's still a little under four weeks.

It's going to be an adventure.

On Unemployment

No, I'm not on unemployment.  Also? Happy random-double-post-day to you!

As the school year winds down, I'm reminded one of the major downsides to being a substitute teacher.  I'm paid only on days I work, unlike 'real' teachers, who are paid a salary for the school year, which is then divided up over 12 months.  But, since there is no demand for substitutes, I don't make any money in the summer.  However, since I don't work because there is no demand, I can't get unemployment.  Which means no money for me.  Which makes me a sad panda.  I'd get another job, but as you've probably surmised by  now, I'm moving to Atlanta, Georgia sometime this summer, so there's no point in finding summer employment.

However, I now have lots of free time to dedicate to hobbies.  Which I now have.  Besides television and video games.  Well, a hobby, but that's better than nothing.  When I was young, my mom taught me how to cross stitch.  And I started a few projects. I don't think I ever finished any, but I started a few. Then I didn't do another one for many years.  Then one year in college, I was shopping in a giant big-box retailer, when I found a panda cross stitch kit.  If you don't know, Hubby is obsessed with pandas.  As in last time we went to the National Zoo, I took 40 minutes of video while he took close to 200 pictures.  We were at the panda exhibit for over 2 hours.  I'm not even sure we spent two hours on the rest of the zoo.  Also, for the record, Zoo Atlanta has 3 pandas.  Hubby has already set money aside for an annual membership.  Anyways, I spent like 2 months working on that damn panda cross stitch (late at night, after all distractions had gone to bed studying).  Then I bought another kit to work on, and promptly stopped.  Then another.  And stopped.  Shortly after moving up here, I was miserable.  I had no friends, and I had no job.  Hubby bought me a giant light house cross stitch that I worked on for about 3 months off and on, and then put it aside for a few years.  Then I worked on it crazy for a summer.  Then stopped again.  It's about 1/4 done, and I want to keep working on it, but I have no real motivation.







And the point, you ask? I'm getting to it.  Chill.  Geez.  Then after telling Hubby that I didn't want anything for my birthday, which he stupidly took as I literally didn't want anything, not I wanted a gift, but didn't want to ask for anything. How thoughtless, right?  Anyways, he bought me a scroll frame and two new cross stitches.  The first of which (also a light house, but much smaller) I finished in about 3 weeks. 







The second one will probably take me about a month, but that's because I'm ramping up for my next big project.  More on that in a second.

While browsing the internet one day, I came across a cross stitch that someone had made of the Light World overworld map from Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.  And then I started to explore the site.  So I ended up making what I call a sampler that I pieced together myself (and I did it in exactly 4 weeks)







The only part that I had a pattern for was the words.  The rest I made myself.  I'm very proud of it.  Except Kirby.  He doesn't look quite right to me.  Anyways, I decided to make Hubby the Light World map to thank him for getting me back into the cross stitching.  Only then I discovered the Dark World map.  I decided that Hubby could choose which one he wanted.  He couldn't decide.  So I decided to make both.  Yes.  Both.  He then had the gall to ask if I could work in the game logo.  Or I asked if he wanted it.  I can't remember.  Either way, this is what it will eventually look like:

Oh, and that's not to scale compared to the other pictures.  It will actually be 14 inches wide and 28 inches long.  It's 77 colors and 119,724 stitches.  The instructions were 36 pages long when I printed them.  I bought the thread yesterday, and the fabric is being shipped.  I just have to finish my second birthday project first.

So I guess I'm a lot like my dear, sweet Hubby...as much as I bitch.  When he picks up a new hobby, he goes full-swing into it, and clearly, so do I.  Also, he enabled me, notice HE bought me the equipment.  Also, the lighthouse that's 6 years in development? Still not in the works.  It might be a while.

Out of the Frying Pan...

Ok.  It's official.  Well not really.  We haven't signed anything.  Or even seen the contract yet.  But it's supposed to be coming by the end of this week.  Granted it was supposed to arrive by the Friday two weeks ago.  But Hubby's advisor hasa very good idea what's in the contract (he was obviously in on the negotiations) and has passed on what we need to know.  There is still the possibility that the written contract will be different, but we are at 99.9% certainty.

I've lived in a major metropolitan area.  I've lived in a town with an amazing university that's part of the ACC athletic conference.  I've lived near large popular museums and amusement parks.  I've lived near some amazing and some mediocre professional teams...mostly mediocre.  And I've gotten to see and swim with sharks.  And I like to drink Coke. Now I get to do all at once. Well not simultaniously...although.... *enters catatonic euphoric state imagining the possibilities*

Ok, I'm back...now where was I....oh yeah, baiting you along...back to that.

This potential move has been very hush-hush for a multitude of reasons.  Hubby's advisor at the university is abandoning ship for a different one, potentially leaving starving grad students in a lurch.  We were horrifically burned by the city-that-shall-not-be-named (it rhymes with malmamurque) after I posted extensively about relocating there.  I was not originally planning on leaving all my (5) die-hard followers in the lurch for months - I was originally told 4-8 weeks.  Four months ago.  In fact my brother and sister-in-law (yay, I get to write that instead of fiancé!!) were apparently talking about us the other day and came to the conclusion that it must have fallen through, due to the lack of announcements from us.

I hate Pepsi.  Like HATE. Maybe it's the whole Joan Crawford thing...still don't get the draw of Mommy Dearest.  And I love Coke.  I've always lived in 'coke towns' before moving to central PA, where everything is all pepsi, all the time.  Probably because Aquafina gets a lot of it's water from the Spring in Bellefonte.  Check your bottles, if you have any.  They might very well say "Bellefonte, PA" or "Milesburg, PA".  I'm really not sure where I was going with this other than to continue to distract from my main point.

I've been bitching about the weather and heat here in PA, which is nothing compared to what we will have to endure in our new locale.  And my new-and-improved sinuses will get a workout with allergens (which are relatively mild here).

Anyways, here it is.  You may have already figured it out.  We're moving to Atlanta.  Yes, I've been bitching about the heat, and I'm going to be moving to Atlanta.  Hubby will be working for a major university there.  And both of us are forbidden from calling it 'Tech'.  It's a two-year post-doctoral position, so we might only be there for two years, but we are thinking about it as a permanent relocation.  Largely because it will allow me to lay some roots as a teacher.

Speaking of that, I've already submitted my application for a Georgia teaching license.  Over the course of the next several days I will be looking at specific school districts and begin to make contacts for jobs.

I don't know exactly when Hubby will start working down there, but he has yet to defend his doctoral-level research.  However, it appears as though we are in for a whirlwind move.  As in we may be there Permanently in about 2 months.  We. Not I.  Originally the plan (assuming Hubby got the position) was for me to move down during the summer so that I could begin to teach while he finished up his work here. However, as of 2pm today, I was informed that we would be moving down together.

We have already begun to go through all of our accumulated crap, separating out the clothes that no longer fit/aren't worn/are hideously ugly.  If you live in central PA, you may have an opportunity to load up on goodies that we no longer want/don't want to have to move. (not the clothes.  We'll donate those.)

Obviously, there's still more to come....I'll keep you updated, I swear!

UPDATED: I just realized that this is full of weird capitalizations and some of the sentences don't make any sense. Maybe I'll come back to it and fix it when I'm no longer feeling a buzz from the champagne, but I doubt it.  Pizza and Champagne: Celebration of Champions.

UPDATE 2: I have absolutely no idea why it's acting funky with comments.  The fields required to post a comment aren't even showing up for me.  Feel free to send them via facebook, twitter, email, or any other contact method (if you know them already)

I Swear I Had an Excuse...At One Point

Ok, so I know its only been like eleventy years since I last posted (or 3 months...one of the two).  But I was waiting to hear back on potential job news.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Anyone who knows all the details of our near-relocation to Albuquerque knows how badly we were burned there, and that we're trying to not do that again.  Every time I get some sort of inspiration to write about, I decided to wait a few more days and see how job stuff pans out.  Then I lost my inspiration. Rinse and repeat.

So am I writing today because I have news? Nope.  Of course not.  That'd be too awesome.

Actually, Hubby and I just got home from visiting my brother.  And his wife.  Only she wasn't when we got down there on Thursday.  His wife, that is. Yes, that's right.  My kid bro is now married.

There was  beautiful weather and everything was great. I'd post pictures, but there'd be no point, because I'd feel obligated to blur everything beyond recognition.

I think I had more inspiration earlier, but it's all left.  This is why I haven't posted in forever.  Also? Here's to hoping that I may have a real reason to post very soon.  Or I get my mojo back.  Either one.

This post is crap, and I know that, so I'm not even bothering to involve the editor.  Because he's already sleeping off the weekend.