Life has been chaotic at McVirgo Manor lately. We decided, sorta on the spur of the moment, to move to a different apartment. As most everyone knows, moving is hell wrapped in torment and topped with pain. I'm glad it was only across town instead of out-of-state this time, but still, it's an ordeal.
Suffice it to say there has been a fair about of stress and crankiness in our household the past few days. Which makes tomorrow's holiday all the more humbling -- yet so, so welcome!
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Why did we move then, you might ask, if the process is so unpleasant? Well, there was nothing really wrong with our place, but there were several little things that could have been better. It's just far enough from public transportation to make being a one-car couple kind of a bummer (there is a bus that runs near the place, but it's quite unpredictable). The landlord assured us he'd take care of landscaping, raking leaves, shoveling snow, etc., but he never did, and the place has a huge yard with lots of trees and a fairly long, steep driveway. It's more work that McDoc and I are willing to either do ourselves or pay for this year.
And the place sort of stuck out in a neighborhood of owner-occupied homes as one that clearly was not up-to-date, maintenance-wise. Every time I looked at the linoleum on the kitchen floor, I fantasized about lighter fluid and matches. Our cute little sunroom had a broken windowpane since we moved in -- another deferred maintenance item on our decidedly laid-back landlord's list. The floors creak like a mofo, such that if McDoc is trying to nap after being on call and I need to use the bathroom, my footsteps wake him no matter how gingerly I creep. Little things like that.
Every once in a while over the past year or so, I would look at rental listings, just to see what was out there. I found a place that caught my eye a few weeks ago. It has two big bedrooms and one small one, plus an open front room. We'll use one of the big bedrooms as a living-dining room, and the front room will be my music workspace. It's on the third floor and has really nice light.
The owner was living here up til now, so it's in better shape than the old place. There's a manager who'll arrange for snow removal, and the leaves, if there were any, are already gone. But the best things are, 1) it's 2 blocks from a commuter rail station and four major bus lines that get us to the subway station in about ten minutes, 2) it's also two blocks from a village square area with many shops and restaurants and 3) it's four blocks from one of the most beautiful green spaces ever, where McDoc and I love to walk and bike.
So, we took the plunge, and moved our furniture and other large items over on Saturday, with the help of wonderful friends who we now owe, big time. And I'm really glad we did, though this is a hell of a week to be in the purgatory of bringing the last odds and ends over, then cleaning the old place. (Especially when "last odds and ends" turns out to be three carloads of stuff!)
Now, I don't think it'll be a startling confession if I reveal that McDoc and I can get short with each other during times of high stress, of which moving is one. I think that must be true of any long-term relationship involving mere mortals. So when I dropped him off at work this morning for his overnight shift, we kissed goodbye as usual, but we weren't necessarily each other's favorite people in the world at that moment.
When that sort of thing happens, it's always followed shortly thereafter by a twinge of guilt, as I realize, after all, how good I really have it. Today, as I shuttled a couple carloads from the old place to the new, I heard some heart-rending news stories on the radio: about the mine explosion in New Zealand; about the ongoing hardships in Haiti. Even as my nose itches and my arms ache, due to the dust I'll soon be cleaning in our old place and the errant boxes I've had to lug up three flights of stairs to the new, when I hear about these things, I realize that I have no legitimate complaints.
On the contrary, I have a lot to be grateful for! Here are just a few things:
- McDoc, my hero and my hunky baby
- Piccolo Pootie, my sweet boy
- My wonderful friends (especially the ones who so kindly helped us with this move!)
- Our nice apartment! (It's around here somewhere, under all the boxes!)
- My family, who I wish I could see more often
- Music, and all it adds to my life
I'm also grateful for all the calories I've burned lugging stuff around the past few days. And I'll work off a little bit of Thanksgiving when I spend Friday cleaning! What a deal! ;)
Finally, I'm thankful for these Top Comment nominations!
From indycam:
In kos's story on The RNC's War on Christmas, Terminus finds some iconography too funny to be missed.
Angie in WA State
This comment by khereva, in this diary by Laurence Lewis:
I give deep respect to Major Witt for wishing to serve a country that has repeatedly proven itself unworthy of her service.
From The Raven:
This item by xxxdr zombiexxx about the unholy terror that is Harry Reid should not be read with a mouthful of coffee.
From RenaRF:
This comment from Alkali Bill in Jed Lewison's front page post about Tom Delay's conviction made me laugh out loud! If I had been drinking milk, it would have come out of my nose.
From yours truly, virgomusic:
karma13612 has some timely advice for angry user hey mister.
Oh, and I'm thankful I remembered how to do Top Mojo, using the patented cskendrick/sardonyx method!
Top 30 Comments excluding tip jars, first comments, pooties and stuff:
1) No, my friend...THANK YOU... by APA Guy — 150
2) I'm so sorry, honey. by Aji — 126
3) i got tired of BWDs diaries after a few by bluefaction — 118
4) He also saved GM, damn you Obama by LaurenMonica — 109
5) You know by MeMeMeMeMe — 104
6) I'm grateful for the shout out... by Land of Enchantment — 103
7) Second such diary I've seen in the past 24h. by Adam B — 99
8) That is very sad by Driver 8 — 92
9) I'm starting to suspect by zeiben — 89
10) But don't misunderestimate her. by flitedocnm — 87
11) The Hammer gets NAILED... by APA Guy — 86
12) Insinuating that Obama is a Manchurian by PhillyJeff — 85
13) Thanks for the link! by cjinca — 81
14) right wing talking points... by kalmoth — 81
15) Wendell Potter - you are an American hero. by ericlewis0 — 80
16) It is a diary. by niemann — 79
17) Good for you. Michigan is raising its head a litt by makesense — 79
18) Oh, for Christ's sake. by slinkerwink — 78
19) the premiss that eclectblog is a selfish by mos1133 — 77
20) Palin's Going to Tame the Economy First by JekyllnHyde — 76
21) Thank You Wendell by webranding — 75
22) And those who didn't bother reading her diaries by Jennifer Clare — 74
23) Not a photo...It's the BULLY PULPIT... by David Kroning II — 74
24) You got that from his diary? by chicago minx — 73
25) I'll Also Lend My Support by JekyllnHyde — 72
26) That Is In Fact Exactly How You Should by webranding — 70
27) Wow by Diogenes2008 — 68
28) Hooray is Spot-On!! by Predictor — 68
29) Good, an Obama fan site by fly — 66
30) Amen!!!! n/t by jan4insight — 65
31) Welcome to Kos by JupiterIslandGirl — 65
Top 30 Comments with no exclusions, aka the Tip Jar list :-):
1) Grief Jar by GlowNZ — 533
2) Tip Jar by Eclectablog — 531
3) Tip Jar by Wendell Potter — 515
4) 3 cheers for excoriating those by xxdr zombiexx — 320
5) Tip Jar by Scarce — 319
6) Tip Jar by ThisIsMyTime — 309
7) Tip Jar by boofdah — 276
8) Tip Jar by DRo — 248
9) Tip Jar by Badabing — 231
10) I aim to publish this before each Memorial Day by Seneca Doane — 227
11) Congrats to Kamala Harris! by LaughingPlanet — 212
12) Tip Jar by bevomav — 212
13) No, my friend...THANK YOU... by APA Guy — 150
14) Tip Jar by teacherken — 131
15) I'm so sorry, honey. by Aji — 126
16) i got tired of BWDs diaries after a few by bluefaction — 118
17) He also saved GM, damn you Obama by LaurenMonica — 109
18) Tip Jar by War on Error — 108
19) You know by MeMeMeMeMe — 104
20) I'm grateful for the shout out... by Land of Enchantment — 103
21) Scritchie Jar by triciawyse — 100
22) Second such diary I've seen in the past 24h. by Adam B — 99
23) Here's to winning one for the good guys! by LaughingPlanet — 95
24) That is very sad by Driver 8 — 92
25) Tip Jar by WineRev — 89
26) I'm starting to suspect by zeiben — 89
27) But don't misunderestimate her. by flitedocnm — 87
28) The Hammer gets NAILED... by APA Guy — 86
29) Insinuating that Obama is a Manchurian by PhillyJeff — 85
30) Tip Jar by MediaFreeze — 85