Tag: moving

Monday Roundup

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review2 Comments

In an effort to help myself get out of bed early to write, I’m going to try doing a weekly round-up post Monday.  This will be a post for quick blurbs about what’s going on with me, various articles I’ve read over the past week, and such.

1.  I’m going to be in DC and NY this week for a colleague’s funeral.  It’s going to be a super quick trip (DC Tuesday night and Wednesday am; NY Wednesday night and leaving Thursday), but if you’re around and want to meet up, let me know.  On a related note, thanks to everyone for all the love and support over the past few days.  I never cease to be amazed by how awesome all my friends are.

2.  This month is NaNo, but I’m not doing it.  I think I would probably go crazy trying to fit in 2,000 words a day, on top of everything else that’s going on.  Instead, I’m going to work on actually getting out of bed at 6 am when my alarm goes off instead of rolling over and catching another 30 minutes of sleep.  I’m going easy on myself and defining writing loosely – blog posts, short stories, Railroad – anything that involves my ass in a chair and my fingers writing.

3.  Speaking of writing, I think I finally know how to finish a story I’ve been working on since high school. I have high hopes for this one, but it is going to involve a ton of work and a complete rewrite.  My goal is to finish the rough draft this week, and have it submission ready by the end of the month.

4.  We are about 75% moved into the new house.  I can’t say often enough how nice it is to finally live somewhere that feels like home.  Even the ugly wallpaper doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it ought to.  I’m also glad that we haven’t bought much furniture yet, because nearly nothing we own matches with the house.  I know, I know, first world problems.  But it’s been fun to start looking on Craigslist and at estate sales for pieces that will work.  We’re hoping to furnish it mainly with used pieces, things that were built to last (and with any luck built around the same time as the house). And it’s definitely going to be a slow, paycheck to paycheck process.

5. Z turned 2 on Saturday.  She’s such a real kid now.  Almost overnight, she started using two and three word sentences.  She has her own language, which I will miss when she grows out of it.  “Ah” is want, “kecks” is socks, and “home” is hand, like give me a hand.  When she says “my home” she means “help me out here.”  It’s exciting to watch her figure things out, even if she does throw a tantrum approximately every 2.75 minutes.

Closing Tabs

Not much this week, as I do most of my web reading through Facebook and it doesn’t have a good history feature.  I’ll open more in browser next week, so I can save them for you.  In the meantime, here’s a few from the week.

The Real Reason Germs Spread in Winter: Hint: it’s not because you didn’t blow dry your hair before you went out.  Also, after reading this I’m seriously considering donating a humidifier to Z’s daycare.

Brown Butter Banana Bread: This is a super forgiving recipe.  I had no measuring cups or spoons, so I winged it using the measuring cup for the rice and one of Z’s baby spoons.  It still rose beautifully and smelled great.  I can’t tell you how it tasted, though, since I realized after baking that the buttermilk I used expired about 3 weeks ago and threw the whole thing out.

Why Food Allergy Fakers Need to Stop: This was a long read, but worth it.  When I was waiting tables, I definitely had customers who would tell me they were allergic to something, then look at the substitute, and say they wanted the original after all.  Also, none of the restaurants I worked in had allergy procedures like this (or if they did, the servers weren’t told).

I’m looking forward reading Wake of Vultures.  A few of my favorite book reviewers and authors have already put it on the must-read list.  Also, if you haven’t yet read Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black books, you should get on that.

Bad Juju

On By BekkiIn Musings & Ramblings1 Comment

I’m not exactly sure what it is that makes a “house” a “home.”  Maybe it’s the sense of a space having been lived in.  Maybe it’s the way the bones of the house arrange themselves around you when you walk in.  Maybe it’s like Justice Stewart’s definition of pornography: you’ll know it when you live in it.  I can tell you this, though.  The new house in Vallejo is home in a way the Glen Cove place or even the Brooklyn house never were.

We didn’t intend to buy a house so soon after moving here.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I told A five or six times that I’d be just fine staying in the rental a few years while we figured out where we wanted to live and found a place.  Except… the Glen Cove house had bad juju.

It made sounds.  Not “house settling” sounds, but “someone is in the house and walking around” sounds.  “The house is talking to me sounds.”  A sheet of glass in the garage spontaneously shattered, exploding so hard that it sent shards of glass flying a good ten feet away.  A light bulb in the upstairs bathroom that was screwed into the socket fell out, crashing into the sink.  And Z invariably said “hi” every morning to something neither A nor I could see.

Glen Cove House
Glen Cove House

Then we found out the prior occupants of the house had been an older man, who either had Alzheimer’s or was mentally ill, and his younger relatives.  The neighbors told us they thought the relatives were using the man for his social security check.  The bathroom downstairs had a lock on the outside and smelled like urine.  The neighbors were pretty sure he was locked in there most of the time.  We think maybe he died in there.  Because that house was angry, and it was mean, and it was sad.

The new tenants moved in on Halloween.  They seem nice.  I hope the house likes them.

New Year’s Wish

On By BekkiIn Musings & Ramblings2 Comments
St. Pete Beach, June 2005
St. Pete Beach, June 2005

Ten years ago, I moved across the country to California. I had a newly minted degree in creative writing, less than $1000 in my bank account, and no reason to stay in Florida. Even so, I left a lot of things behind: an ocean that lit up at night along the edges of the waves; the restaurant where I learned how to wait tables and accept compliments; the woman who gave me my wings. I didn’t mind. I felt that I was moving toward something.

Between San Francisco and Monterey, May 2010
Between San Francisco and Monterey, May 2010

Five years ago, I moved across the country to New York. I had a newly minted JD, an offer at a big law firm, and a large pile of student loans. New York wasn’t my first choice, but it was a new job in a new city, and I’ve always been excited by new things. I left a lot behind: the farmer’s market with fresh, off -the-tree-that-morning peaches; the moody, untameable Pacific Ocean; family, and friends that were like family.  I minded this time.

This spring, we are moving again, back to California, back home.  I don’t have a job yet.  I should be terrified that I don’t have everything lined up, but I’m not.  I’m exhilarated.  For the past ten years, I’ve done what was expected of me.  College, law school, East Coast job, husband, house, child.  Check.  It hasn’t made me happy.

I’ve written here before about the impossibility of “having it all” and the need to decide instead to have it right.  For me, that means more time with my husband and my daughter.  It means letting go of what’s “expected” and doing what works.  It means time to write.  It means living somewhere that makes us happy, somewhere we have a support network of friends and family who love us.  It means going home.

And because it wouldn’t be New Year’s without a wish, here is my wish for you in the coming year:

Find the time for the people and the things that make you happy, and if you can’t find it, make it.  Do things for yourself, because you want to.  Ignore the people who tell you you’re doing it wrong.  Hug someone.  Smile at a baby.  And, as always, love and be kind to each other.

Square Pegs

On By BekkiIn Musings & RamblingsLeave a comment

We are (almost) moved in.  The movers came on Tuesday, two Estonians named Ingos and Ingos.  They arrived in a Penske rental truck, like a couple of guys we’d hired from the Home Depot parking lot instead of the licensed, bonded, insured moving company we’d been promised.  A says they were both very nice – apparently big Ingos apologized for the condition of our stuff (crushed boxes, covered in bird crap) and said ABM was terrible.  On the whole, it could have been much worse, but the headache and hassle wasn’t worth the $500 or so we ended up saving.

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An Object at Rest

On By BekkiIn Musings & RamblingsLeave a comment

I moved into the apartment today.  My dad unexpectedly took a few days off work, so I didn’t have to wait for a car to be free over the weekend.  It was strangely reminiscent of driving down to Florida for college with him, with a few key differences.  For one, the car wasn’t quite as loaded.  We could actually see out the back windshield this time.  For another, dad took the first shift driving.  Last time we almost wiped out about ten miles from the house.  A car had stalled out in the far right lane, and I didn’t react in time to switch lanes.  We ended up a few hundred feet behind it, waiting for a chance to merge over, and almost got rear-ended by a giant suv that pulled into the next lane at the last minute.  My dad’s never really forgotten that one.

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