It seems I can't start a new year without change and drama. Last year I uprooted and moved across country for a new job in a new town, with a new and quieter routine surrounded by friends old and new. I burrowed into my new surroundings with a fervor, reveled in my new nest and neighborhood. I loved it. Then 2012 came, and decided a change was warranted.
I've lived in DC and Boston, where rents are high, and rent increases an annual occurrence. I was not prepared for the bay area, however, where rents are higher, and rent increases only regulated in the amount of time required for notification. I'll spare you the extended version and give you the punchline: I'm moving two doors down from my lovely nest, into a one-bedroom apartment with smaller kitchen, balcony, and a linen closet the size of a tea towel. Yes, there were tears. I have no idea where my lovely craft closet will fit in the new place, nor any of the items currently in the outside storage closet, which is lacking in the new place.
To focus on the positive, I do love this neighborhood, where I can walk to my wee city's downtown restaurants and festivals. I will still have a washer/dryer, which I consider a must. I'll get direct sunlight in the mornings, so my plans for tomatoes and herbs will proceed apace this spring. They painted the wall in the living room this week, so I still have my lush green, non-white decor. I'll reward my storage creativity with a trip to the Container Store after the move - I may be losing the craft closet, but we all know I love a chance to organize and use the label maker.
Stay tuned, you know there will be stories of catastrophe and recovery to come.
Showing posts with label bad day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bad day. Show all posts
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Road Warrior
As I was driving home yesterday (and that's still weird to say), I was struck by the lessons I've learned from driving in DC. During my car-free days, I was a hesitant driver, mostly because I was unused to it, or unused to the speed that was involved in not being on public transportation. There was also a healthy recognition that any vehicle I was driving was not mine, and damages are expensive. I'm overcoming that hesitancy, however, and not necessarily in a good way.
Blocking the Box. It took getting passed in the intersection twice, but I've learned that when turning left, you sit in the middle of the intersection, so that, at the very least, you can turn when the light turns red.
Kiss my Bumper. The idea of leaving a car length between myself and the vehicle ahead makes me smile indulgently at the naivete of non-city drivers. If there's enough space for a car, then a car is coming over, so ride that bumper, friend. This does, of course, lead to...
Doing the Jerk. Between following too closely, and the drivers who change lanes whether there's room or not, DC driving is an exercise in stop and start - even at 50 mph. It's a good thing I showed up early for the Prius brake recall.
Serenity Now! Whether it's a day of getting stuck behind cars moving 5mph slower than you want to be going, the guy who honks at you when you don't turn between the two Mac trucks, or the scatterbrain who almost changed lanes into the side of your new car, keeping your inner calm is a struggle. It's worth the effort, however, as I've noticed a marked change in fuel consumption depending on my mood. Because when you're angry, stomping on the accelerator and speeding away just feels good.
Blocking the Box. It took getting passed in the intersection twice, but I've learned that when turning left, you sit in the middle of the intersection, so that, at the very least, you can turn when the light turns red.
Kiss my Bumper. The idea of leaving a car length between myself and the vehicle ahead makes me smile indulgently at the naivete of non-city drivers. If there's enough space for a car, then a car is coming over, so ride that bumper, friend. This does, of course, lead to...
Doing the Jerk. Between following too closely, and the
Serenity Now! Whether it's a day of getting stuck behind cars moving 5mph slower than you want to be going, the guy who honks at you when you don't turn between the two Mac trucks, or the scatterbrain who almost changed lanes into the side of your new car, keeping your inner calm is a struggle. It's worth the effort, however, as I've noticed a marked change in fuel consumption depending on my mood. Because when you're angry, stomping on the accelerator and speeding away just feels good.
Monday, June 29, 2009
sometimes it's the little things...
Today was a Monday that shouldn't have been a Monday. My mood was a reflection of the mood of those around me, and it seemed that everyone around me was having a bad day. So I rolled in the door, thought about the cold pizza in the fridge, and promptly walked out again, heading to the pub, thinking about food and beer. I walked in and found Youk on the tv, getting ready to bat, ordered my favorite beer, and deliberated between fried green tomatoes and fried brussel sprouts.
Crap, while typing this - about how the guy at the bar changed to the Mets game in the middle of the 5th inning and speed with which my mood could go from bad to good and back to bad again, things have plummeted to awful... I ran a quick errand to Bed, Bath, and Beyond tonight - had bought a blender there last week for my brothers, but forgot my coupon for 20% off. No worried, I was told, just bring coupon and receipt back and all will be well. So I did, on my way to the bar, and questioned the girl behind the register when she said it went through alright - I didn't remember seeing where she credited my card, but she said she did, so... NO, NO, NO! So now I've been charged twice for a blender that doesn't even live in my house, and since it's the end of the month I'm going to have to deal with the bank and overdraft fees (have already called them, can do nothing until tomorrow) and still have to go BACK to the store and deal with the mistake - in my spare time. I called their customer service line and yelled at the guy who was less than helpful, but it only made me feel marginally better. I'm all wired and angry, which means it's going to take me a while to calm down, and it's past my early-morning-meeting bedtime, which just makes me more angry. I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!
Crap, while typing this - about how the guy at the bar changed to the Mets game in the middle of the 5th inning and speed with which my mood could go from bad to good and back to bad again, things have plummeted to awful... I ran a quick errand to Bed, Bath, and Beyond tonight - had bought a blender there last week for my brothers, but forgot my coupon for 20% off. No worried, I was told, just bring coupon and receipt back and all will be well. So I did, on my way to the bar, and questioned the girl behind the register when she said it went through alright - I didn't remember seeing where she credited my card, but she said she did, so... NO, NO, NO! So now I've been charged twice for a blender that doesn't even live in my house, and since it's the end of the month I'm going to have to deal with the bank and overdraft fees (have already called them, can do nothing until tomorrow) and still have to go BACK to the store and deal with the mistake - in my spare time. I called their customer service line and yelled at the guy who was less than helpful, but it only made me feel marginally better. I'm all wired and angry, which means it's going to take me a while to calm down, and it's past my early-morning-meeting bedtime, which just makes me more angry. I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wait for it...
I think I've said before, and I'm sure I'll say again, if Monday doesn't kick my ass, then Tuesday will surely suck. As such, there was trepidation yesterday when I was pretty sure my morning hadn't been rough enough to spare me from future ass-kicking. I was right.
Monday morning I was running late. I thought I'd be in the clear, but looked up at the clock and suddenly, I was late. So I sat down to e-mail some documents pertaining to a Monday morning meeting. I packed up my bag only to discover that the magic crackberry had neglected to turn himself off Sunday night, so the battery was drained - I am officially incommunicado. And late. Junk. I hop on the Metro, watching the clock. I make it out to VA, not in time to stop by my office first, but in time to make it to my client's office for our Monday AM meeting. I show up at his office, and he looks up in surprise to say, "you didn't get the message?" I'm just relieved to be off the Metro in some semblance of a timely manner, so I reassure him that I'm on my way in, it's no big deal, I'll see him in the afternoon, when he's rescheduled. I head over to my office with a detour for a bacon and egg sandwich and find myself thinking, this can't be it. My train ride was fairly smooth, and I would have been on time, so something still needs to go wrong. Wait for it.
The day goes as planned, meetings happen, plans for trivia night go down. Next thing I know it's time to leave the office, and by this time I've forgotten my morning worry that the Universe has not yet fulfilled my Monday dose. I pack up and head out - it'll be a late night, so no laptop, but don't forget that lunch Tupperware. I find my crackberry is charged and yet not turning on, which starts to bring the grumpy as Class Clown is not where I thought I was meeting him, and I have no way of contacting him now. I find him as I head over to meet up with J - not where I expected him, but he managed to fix the crackster, so I find myself still grumpy, but with no clear cause. We link up with J and head down to the Metro, where the full force of grumpy catches up with me as I realize that Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment, so had planned to work from home - that laptop would sure be useful for that! Oh, but I was mad at myself. And yes, I knew it was me I was mad at. It's a four block walk in the heat and a suit back to my office, and we're only just on time to get a table for trivia night, and I feel I can't leave J and Class Clown, as they've only met seconds ago. So I start debating the relative evil of a two hour back and forth in the morning for a couple of hours of work, and then decide that sending the "I'm an idiot" email (and I really did put that in the subject line, but I don't think that surprises you) to my client cohort and supervisor is justified. I want to spend Tuesday morning in my rainbow pants, dammit! I wasn't getting the appropriate amount of compassion from the guys - because who gets grumpy about working at home? - so I went for the quick phone call home for a little motherly sympathy. Um, hello, idiot, your phone batter is dead. It took a good while for me to get out of the funk, and it didn't happen before I told another co-worker to shut up for smiling at me. Thank goodness he just laughed at me.
By the end of the night I was feeling better, my cohort had promised to send the files I needed, and we had the best trivia night performance yet - take that secret nemesis team, we beat you! (Also, when they're score was announced to be less than ours, we cheered and people stared.) But I was exhausted by the turmoil of the day when I got home; good and bad, I was one tired girl.
I still live in fear of Mondays. And my doctor's appointment was canceled.
PS - I saw a shot of myself on the robot show - my ass looks huge. What's the saying? The camera adds twenty pounds?
Monday morning I was running late. I thought I'd be in the clear, but looked up at the clock and suddenly, I was late. So I sat down to e-mail some documents pertaining to a Monday morning meeting. I packed up my bag only to discover that the magic crackberry had neglected to turn himself off Sunday night, so the battery was drained - I am officially incommunicado. And late. Junk. I hop on the Metro, watching the clock. I make it out to VA, not in time to stop by my office first, but in time to make it to my client's office for our Monday AM meeting. I show up at his office, and he looks up in surprise to say, "you didn't get the message?" I'm just relieved to be off the Metro in some semblance of a timely manner, so I reassure him that I'm on my way in, it's no big deal, I'll see him in the afternoon, when he's rescheduled. I head over to my office with a detour for a bacon and egg sandwich and find myself thinking, this can't be it. My train ride was fairly smooth, and I would have been on time, so something still needs to go wrong. Wait for it.
The day goes as planned, meetings happen, plans for trivia night go down. Next thing I know it's time to leave the office, and by this time I've forgotten my morning worry that the Universe has not yet fulfilled my Monday dose. I pack up and head out - it'll be a late night, so no laptop, but don't forget that lunch Tupperware. I find my crackberry is charged and yet not turning on, which starts to bring the grumpy as Class Clown is not where I thought I was meeting him, and I have no way of contacting him now. I find him as I head over to meet up with J - not where I expected him, but he managed to fix the crackster, so I find myself still grumpy, but with no clear cause. We link up with J and head down to the Metro, where the full force of grumpy catches up with me as I realize that Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment, so had planned to work from home - that laptop would sure be useful for that! Oh, but I was mad at myself. And yes, I knew it was me I was mad at. It's a four block walk in the heat and a suit back to my office, and we're only just on time to get a table for trivia night, and I feel I can't leave J and Class Clown, as they've only met seconds ago. So I start debating the relative evil of a two hour back and forth in the morning for a couple of hours of work, and then decide that sending the "I'm an idiot" email (and I really did put that in the subject line, but I don't think that surprises you) to my client cohort and supervisor is justified. I want to spend Tuesday morning in my rainbow pants, dammit! I wasn't getting the appropriate amount of compassion from the guys - because who gets grumpy about working at home? - so I went for the quick phone call home for a little motherly sympathy. Um, hello, idiot, your phone batter is dead. It took a good while for me to get out of the funk, and it didn't happen before I told another co-worker to shut up for smiling at me. Thank goodness he just laughed at me.
By the end of the night I was feeling better, my cohort had promised to send the files I needed, and we had the best trivia night performance yet - take that secret nemesis team, we beat you! (Also, when they're score was announced to be less than ours, we cheered and people stared.) But I was exhausted by the turmoil of the day when I got home; good and bad, I was one tired girl.
I still live in fear of Mondays. And my doctor's appointment was canceled.
PS - I saw a shot of myself on the robot show - my ass looks huge. What's the saying? The camera adds twenty pounds?
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
In honor of the "less is more" philosophy of life:
It was so hot and humid this morning that I had to remind myself that I'd chosen to live in this swamp. My neighbor's mulch smelled like poo. I couldn't get on the first two red line trains that pulled into the station. A (male) co-worker told me I looked exhausted. I spent five minutes pressing cool fingers under my eyes - were there bags there? I bolted out of the office realizing I'd just make it to the dry cleaners on time. Forty minutes later I was three Metro stops from my office, and an hour and forty-five minutes later I was above ground in my neighborhood, the dry cleaners long closed, feeling stale, starving, and now, exhausted. I had scowled at a little girl on the train. All told, with a quick trip through CVS for toilet paper and a stop at the neighborhood pizza joint for a slice to eat in the tub, it took me two hours and fifteen minutes to get from my office to my home. The maintenance guy had been in my house; he didn't leave a note, but I have a new drain in my tub. I shrugged, turned on the water, shoved a bite of pizza in my mouth, and proceeded to leave clothes all around the apartment - I'll deal with them tomorrow.
It was so hot and humid this morning that I had to remind myself that I'd chosen to live in this swamp. My neighbor's mulch smelled like poo. I couldn't get on the first two red line trains that pulled into the station. A (male) co-worker told me I looked exhausted. I spent five minutes pressing cool fingers under my eyes - were there bags there? I bolted out of the office realizing I'd just make it to the dry cleaners on time. Forty minutes later I was three Metro stops from my office, and an hour and forty-five minutes later I was above ground in my neighborhood, the dry cleaners long closed, feeling stale, starving, and now, exhausted. I had scowled at a little girl on the train. All told, with a quick trip through CVS for toilet paper and a stop at the neighborhood pizza joint for a slice to eat in the tub, it took me two hours and fifteen minutes to get from my office to my home. The maintenance guy had been in my house; he didn't leave a note, but I have a new drain in my tub. I shrugged, turned on the water, shoved a bite of pizza in my mouth, and proceeded to leave clothes all around the apartment - I'll deal with them tomorrow.
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