Things Coming Together

A little update on my life. Ever since coming back from Philly, time has been flying and many changes have taken place.

First, I caught a ride with Adrian and Lee back to Arkansas over Easter’s weekend to see my parents. Can you believe that we actually arrived in town with snow falling! It was weird Easter weather! I spend a few blissful days at home while my mom cooked for me. We ate so much fresh Chinese leek in everything, dumplings, pancakes, stir-fry that it was almost like a bovine diet! But it was so yummy. I had a totally laid-back time, it was great. During the trip, I also knitted 90% of my first scarf! Pictures to come later.

As soon as I came back, I got off my butt and started apartment hunting. I was totally engrossed, I felt more preoccupied than busy those days, if that makes sense. Like, going-to-bed-after-3am and on-the-computer-for-hours type of preoccupation. Hubby attributes it to my obsessive personality. I do tend to get preoccupied/obsessive about one thing for a week or so. Finally, we decided to rent a condo that I saw on Craigslist. We just met the owners and signed the contract last night. The area is not perfect but we were assured by multiple neighbors that it’s safe. We are going to be living right smack in downtown Dallas, afterall! It is the perfect location for Paul and I, though. Also, I was very drawn to the fact that the condo is huge (almost twice the size of our apt now) and was completely updated with new carpet and appliances! Two things I loathe in life: inheriting someone else's used carpet in apartments and sleeping on used pillows in hotels. Finally, the price was a big leap for us but I just can’t bring myself to moving into another cramped apartment so it’s worth every penny as they say. Now, we actually have a guest bedroom/study room. I should finally have enough room for all my ever growing clothes and shoes. And if I want a Christmas tree this year, I can, and the closet space to store it if we decide on a fake tree.

I like the idea of renting a condo from private owners. I did that for the first two years of medical school. The landlord-renter relationship is so much more personal. LA, as I’ll call Mrs.Owner, actually gave me a 3-ring binder with her “rules”, the lease contract, the HOA regulations, and copies of all the appliance instructions/manuals. She had very specific instructions/recommendations on how the tiled floor should be cleaned, the right scrubber to use on the stovetop, and the frequency of cleaning of the carpet. She even gave me dish covers for the microwave and samples of all the cleaning products she recommends. I liked her thoroughness and organization. Perhaps it reminds me of myself? Paul just thinks she’s anal.

So, I’ve also hired professional movers, another ordeal that got me preoccupied. We know we wanted an easy and smooth move but finding the right movers was anything but easy! Short of hiring illegal help on street corners, I decided to look into profession moving companies. I found out that there are a number of mover scams out there. They will actually hold your stuff hostage and then demand extra money! So, I did what was suggested, I called area real estate agents to ask for recommendations and came upon Firehouse Movers. The company was started by a local fireman and employs brawny firemen as movers. Another tip: check out the Better Business Bureau for complaints and check their state DOA number for authenticity.

Then, I went about to find a cat sitter for Kitty. This is another service you obviously need really trustworthy people as they will be coming into your home and taking care of your pet. Luckily, I e-mailed Joyce, who’s the cat rescue lady that took in Blacky the lovable stray, and she recommended someone. I also managed to sell our washer and dryer (unfortunately the condo has no connections) last week. Luckily, I didn’t have to rely on strangers from Craigslist as I sold it to a student at my school.

Okay, so now, I’m faced with the task of packing up boxes AND planning our trip this week. We didn’t even have our hotel in Tokyo booked until today. It turned out to be a good thing, actually, since I was able to book our hotel very close to Robert and Lieu’s place after finding out we’ll be in Tokyo together.

So, today’s agenda is to buy suitcases, and all the necessity things for the trip. Then, it’s pack, pack, pack!