September 05, 2004

4:53 p.m.

The Short Haul

What a long and full and satisfying afternoon, with undercurrents of deep emotion and moving anxiety and thrilling upheaval. Rose showed up with the van as planned, and we hauled a big pile of stuff down the stairs, and got my bike from the basement and stuffed that in, and then went (rather circuitously owing to a detour) to my old new apartment. Joliette showed up just after we did, as I was peeling the old tenant's letters off the mailbox. She and Rose hit it off immediately, and we went upstairs.

The first thing I thought of going up the front stairs was how I'd had to clean so many droplets of blood off after Ex tried to drunkenly do himself in years ago, right outside my door. It's no longer a gory or unpleasant association; it was long ago and the energy has completely changed there, and I've changed. Then there were the carpet sections I'd tacked onto the upper stairs (my God, I got that carpet remnant from when I cleaned old people's apartments at The Arbors -- how long ago was that? 1993?) and the ones I had to remove after the abovementioned debacle. Note to self: get new carpet treads for front stairs. Then we were inside, and at first I had the sensation that the apartment had shrunk by about half. My memory of the living room was a bit different. The floor looked a little trashed, the walls were all a bit more weathered -- it definitely needs paint throughout -- but as I went from room to room, I was delighted to see that the touches I'd left were still there. A shelf here, an alteration there. My chinup bar was still in the walk-in closet doorway! I'd forgotten it when I moved, and now I have it back! Joliette wanted me to show her how to do a chinup. It was sweet to be in the space. Mine, all mine. A little more run down, but fixable -- and I can definitely put some color on the walls. The last tenant left the kitchen way too yellow and the bedroom a powder blue that has got to go -- Rose offered to come next weekend and do it before I get back from Florida -- if we go to Florida -- so I have no shyness about redoing it. Joliette was so sweet, and she called her husband Dave over to look at something else, and then their daughter Sunny from the first floor showed up with her boyfriend Rob, so it was a wonderful reunion. The neighborhood is just as seedy as it was, if not more so, but there are a few homeowners adjacent who really try to take care of their places.

Rose thought it was still bigger than where I've been living, and after we talked at length about how to position things in the living room and bedroom, I felt a lot better about it. Strangely, the balcony seemed larger. It's a dear, old place and I feel so lucky to be going back.

Joliette will have the gas man come this week and inspect the heaters, for which they're due. She'll also ask about a gas smell, though the pilots were off and shouldn't have been. Dave relit them but they'll check for leaks and so forth when they come. She also said she'd pay for the paint when I'm ready to launch - excellent.

The last tenant didn't clean all that thoroughly, so on my ONE day free between now and moving I'll be over there scrubbing and putting spackle on all her wall damage. Old horsehair plaster walls. Dear old walls.

And the windows are funky and need to be propped open; the doors have painted-over gouges; there's an old, dead smoke alarm without a cover, long replaced but never removed. The ceiling light at the back end of the hall still doesn't have a chain. I could ask Dave to fix that; it broke off when I lived there. There's a lot of work to do.

In spite of all that it's the right place for me to be. Good things are going to happen there. It's mine, and it's cheap, and my neighbors are great.

Hallelujia.

After much socializing and bringing up of boxes, and more socializing, and finding that Joliette also loves to bicycle AND run (though she just turned 60), and that Sunny and Rob also love to ride and that, like me, they're unaware of any wine color besides red, Rose and I brainstormed a little more about painting and furniture placement and by then we were starving. So we headed out of town.

After finding some lunch, we went to Lowe's (I can't remember how to spell that right now and I'm too tired to figure it out... Loewe's?) and struck it big: one shelf unit for the bathroom to replace the silly long shelf that goes along one whole wall, and a pantry unit that's low enough to put the microwave on, so I don't need a microwave cart. The bathroom shelf thing is really sort of a wide bookcase, but it'll go nicely under the slanted ceiling (I hope). I'll have to paint it; it's unfinished.

Slightly overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead of me this fall, I'm nevertheless satisfied. If we're stormed out of Florida next weekend it'll be a financial shame, but on the other hand I'd get everything done -- ALL the painting, cleaning, etc. -- before moving in and that would facilitate the move so much. Part of me hopes we're cancelled, and the other part thinks I'm evil for even entertaining the idea. I leave it in the hands of Gaia.

And now, it's time to head to Rose and Mike's for a sushi dinner.

I wish you could all see the place. It's so cool and sweet. :)