Tuesday, June 27, 2006
It's Here
It took about 6 hours but they managed to unload our furniture AND finish in time for me to get the $100 deposit back on the freight elevator key.
And we managed to unpack a lot of the stuff while they were here and get rid of many, many of the boxes.
Now, if we only knew where to put everything...
And we managed to unpack a lot of the stuff while they were here and get rid of many, many of the boxes.
Now, if we only knew where to put everything...
Moving Day is Here!!!
Finally, we are scheduled to get our stuff today. I have the key to the freight elevator and the truck is expected at any time, so we are FINALLY going to get totally moved in.
Which is good, since my mom arrives Saturday for a visit. But let's get caught up, as it's been a fast and furious week.
Last Thursday we worked around the house, went to Home Depot (of course), and finished up the painting in the second bedroom because we'd gotten a call that the guys were coming to install the carpeting on Friday, rather than on Monday as we'd been planning. Okaaayyyyy. So, we got that done and the room looks pretty great, and will of course look even better with furniture. This is The Room of Many Colors and once we get the accent pieces in there it will give seizures to epileptics.
Thursday night was dinner with my friend Fritz, someone I've known almost 10 years, who's in town on business. We met up with him and his new girlfriend (who lives here) which was fun as Fritz is a pretty fun guy in an Eddie Izzard sort of way (though he's not a transvestite or anything like that...so far as we know...). The last time we saw Fritz was in Hawaii last year and the last time before that was in Alabama and the last time before THAT was back here in DC. So yay for seeing him here.
Friday was the carpet installation which was took a little longer than I expected...I mean, it was only two bedrooms, after all. We watched the World Cup while they did their thing and every now and then they'd stop for a break and watch it too (World Cup is kinda big here, seeing as we have folks here from everywhere...there's a very happy guy from Ghana driving around with a big flag on his car). The rest of Friday was pretty chill, I'm not even exactly sure what we did, though we DID try a pho place near here and found it was a nice change from the "pho for white people" we had in Alabama and Colorado.
Saturday Dancin' Mike came over and we went out for Chinese food and spent the afternoon hanging out. We hadn't seen him since getting here and he and Adrian had never even met (I now have only one other friend Adrian hasn't met...so c'mon, Tom, come on over!!). Mike is proof that "when it rains, it pours" -- he moved back from California this spring and had trouble finding a good job, then all of a sudden he had a full-time day job, a bartending job one night a week, he was in school, and he was dancing with a company doing a show at the end of the week. Oh, and his boyfriend was visiting. Yeah, the universe plays its little jokes sometimes. Anyway, Mike is amazing, he is one of my favorite people in the world for a lot of reasons, and he's so much fun to be around. I'm glad he and Adrian hit it off because that makes life so much better.
Saturday evening was spent with Adrian's family, at a cookout celebrating his sister's partner's graduation from her second master's program. His brother Khamla was there with his new boyfriend who is a cutie and who seems much nicer than any of the guys I've seen Little Brother La with before. They were really cute together, they seem to have a really nice relationship, and I look forward to seeing it grow.
Afterwards we went to Velvet Nation because, y'know, that's what you do. At least, that's what WE do, though not many other people seemed to, it was really dead, which was a little surprising considering they're closing their doors in a couple weeks. We figure a lot of the normal crowd might've been in NYC for Pride, and in the summer a lot of people go to the Rehoboth Beach for the weekend, so maybe that's what happened...Mike said that Apex was pretty slow, too. Anyway, we had fun, and if nothing else it gave us more room on the dance floor.
We got up LATE Sunday and then met up with Angelo and Josh for brunch. We were headed to the District but were hungry so we only went as far as the Carlysle Grand, which is changing from "special occasion place" to "our regular place," and that's absolutely fine with me. Afterwards we headed out to Tyson's Corner where we picked up some stuff for the home from West Elm and then of course headed to H&M and then to Armani Exchange, and yes, those pants look FABULOUS on me, thank you very much, and yes, that little shirt from H&M DOES fit me (OK, so, it's a Medium). I look like a little rock star with the H&M stuff and Adrian looks hot in his AX clothes.
The rains came Sunday night and you may have seen on the news that DC got hit hard and will continue to get hit all week (though the sun is peeking out right now, which is much better for moving in). There was some bad flooding a couple miles from here but seeing as we're on the 18th floor we're not TOO worried about that (though our building has suffered some damage, and there's a leak in the ceiling down the hall from us). Hopefully it'll stop for this weekend.
Monday was Home Depot day to pick up flowers for the balcony, then Adrian had to do something with his mom and I headed into town for a little "Will time." But the Metro was all dicked up because of the flooding and I didn't have much time there. I did bounce into Sisley and found some nice pants for myself (we'd been looking for dressy black pants at Tyson's but couldn't find any) and they were ON SALE so it's OK that I spent the money. No, really, it is. I mean, they're Sisley. And they were ON SALE. So it's all good. Plus I needed them. Plus they make me look like I have an ass. Then on the way home I stopped at Nordstrom's and got some Ed Hardy shoes because Dancin' Mike is my fashion icon and he had a pair that looked so good and I got a different pair that was more "me" and yes, they look hot, thank you very much. I'm sure you'd compliment me if you saw me in them so I'll just go ahead and say "thanks" for that.
Angelo and Josh were over last night so Adrian could do highlights for Josh and they looked really good, though with the lack of light here Adrian overcompensated a bit and took the hair a little, tiny, miniscule bit lighter than might look best. But that's fixable, much more easily fixable than, say, cutting off too much hair. Which happens, sometimes.
And the movers called and they should be here in a few minutes, so FINALLY this place will start to look more like a home!!!! A disorganized home, at first, but a home nonetheless.
Which is good, since my mom arrives Saturday for a visit. But let's get caught up, as it's been a fast and furious week.
Last Thursday we worked around the house, went to Home Depot (of course), and finished up the painting in the second bedroom because we'd gotten a call that the guys were coming to install the carpeting on Friday, rather than on Monday as we'd been planning. Okaaayyyyy. So, we got that done and the room looks pretty great, and will of course look even better with furniture. This is The Room of Many Colors and once we get the accent pieces in there it will give seizures to epileptics.
Thursday night was dinner with my friend Fritz, someone I've known almost 10 years, who's in town on business. We met up with him and his new girlfriend (who lives here) which was fun as Fritz is a pretty fun guy in an Eddie Izzard sort of way (though he's not a transvestite or anything like that...so far as we know...). The last time we saw Fritz was in Hawaii last year and the last time before that was in Alabama and the last time before THAT was back here in DC. So yay for seeing him here.
Friday was the carpet installation which was took a little longer than I expected...I mean, it was only two bedrooms, after all. We watched the World Cup while they did their thing and every now and then they'd stop for a break and watch it too (World Cup is kinda big here, seeing as we have folks here from everywhere...there's a very happy guy from Ghana driving around with a big flag on his car). The rest of Friday was pretty chill, I'm not even exactly sure what we did, though we DID try a pho place near here and found it was a nice change from the "pho for white people" we had in Alabama and Colorado.
Saturday Dancin' Mike came over and we went out for Chinese food and spent the afternoon hanging out. We hadn't seen him since getting here and he and Adrian had never even met (I now have only one other friend Adrian hasn't met...so c'mon, Tom, come on over!!). Mike is proof that "when it rains, it pours" -- he moved back from California this spring and had trouble finding a good job, then all of a sudden he had a full-time day job, a bartending job one night a week, he was in school, and he was dancing with a company doing a show at the end of the week. Oh, and his boyfriend was visiting. Yeah, the universe plays its little jokes sometimes. Anyway, Mike is amazing, he is one of my favorite people in the world for a lot of reasons, and he's so much fun to be around. I'm glad he and Adrian hit it off because that makes life so much better.
Saturday evening was spent with Adrian's family, at a cookout celebrating his sister's partner's graduation from her second master's program. His brother Khamla was there with his new boyfriend who is a cutie and who seems much nicer than any of the guys I've seen Little Brother La with before. They were really cute together, they seem to have a really nice relationship, and I look forward to seeing it grow.
Afterwards we went to Velvet Nation because, y'know, that's what you do. At least, that's what WE do, though not many other people seemed to, it was really dead, which was a little surprising considering they're closing their doors in a couple weeks. We figure a lot of the normal crowd might've been in NYC for Pride, and in the summer a lot of people go to the Rehoboth Beach for the weekend, so maybe that's what happened...Mike said that Apex was pretty slow, too. Anyway, we had fun, and if nothing else it gave us more room on the dance floor.
We got up LATE Sunday and then met up with Angelo and Josh for brunch. We were headed to the District but were hungry so we only went as far as the Carlysle Grand, which is changing from "special occasion place" to "our regular place," and that's absolutely fine with me. Afterwards we headed out to Tyson's Corner where we picked up some stuff for the home from West Elm and then of course headed to H&M and then to Armani Exchange, and yes, those pants look FABULOUS on me, thank you very much, and yes, that little shirt from H&M DOES fit me (OK, so, it's a Medium). I look like a little rock star with the H&M stuff and Adrian looks hot in his AX clothes.
The rains came Sunday night and you may have seen on the news that DC got hit hard and will continue to get hit all week (though the sun is peeking out right now, which is much better for moving in). There was some bad flooding a couple miles from here but seeing as we're on the 18th floor we're not TOO worried about that (though our building has suffered some damage, and there's a leak in the ceiling down the hall from us). Hopefully it'll stop for this weekend.
Monday was Home Depot day to pick up flowers for the balcony, then Adrian had to do something with his mom and I headed into town for a little "Will time." But the Metro was all dicked up because of the flooding and I didn't have much time there. I did bounce into Sisley and found some nice pants for myself (we'd been looking for dressy black pants at Tyson's but couldn't find any) and they were ON SALE so it's OK that I spent the money. No, really, it is. I mean, they're Sisley. And they were ON SALE. So it's all good. Plus I needed them. Plus they make me look like I have an ass. Then on the way home I stopped at Nordstrom's and got some Ed Hardy shoes because Dancin' Mike is my fashion icon and he had a pair that looked so good and I got a different pair that was more "me" and yes, they look hot, thank you very much. I'm sure you'd compliment me if you saw me in them so I'll just go ahead and say "thanks" for that.
Angelo and Josh were over last night so Adrian could do highlights for Josh and they looked really good, though with the lack of light here Adrian overcompensated a bit and took the hair a little, tiny, miniscule bit lighter than might look best. But that's fixable, much more easily fixable than, say, cutting off too much hair. Which happens, sometimes.
And the movers called and they should be here in a few minutes, so FINALLY this place will start to look more like a home!!!! A disorganized home, at first, but a home nonetheless.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Conspiracy
I have done something to piss off the universe. I apologize to people for bringing bad luck to them. It's following me and affecting them. Let's take a look at Monday and Tuesday, shall we?
Monday was our day to rent a truck and pick up some furniture from West Elm that didn't fit into the Element last Friday, and also some IKEA stuff. So, off we go.
As we're at the truck rental place, the phone rings and it's the guy from Texas with whom I'm working on a book. As he'd said Sunday, he'd like to meet up Monday, but unlike what he said Sunday, he'd like to meet at 5 instead of 7. Since it's already almost noon, I'm thinking "uh oh."
We go into the rental place and there are 3 people in front of us...no biggie. But there's a guy with problems on his bill, so 3 people are helping him, leaving 1 for everyone else. Then, the computers are going slow...literally 10 minutes between one entry and the next. 45 minutes later, after the guy behind the counter flirts with me (and is visibly disappointed when Adrian walks in, after being accosted by a homeless man outside), we leave with a van.
Everything goes fine with the furniture pickup, though we have some trouble getting things off the shelves at IKEA. We get back to our building and have to learn how to use the frieght elevator (keys are required). We get everything unloaded, though I bruise Adrian in the process. I leave to drop off the van and head to the Metro, and I gas up the van only to get in and turn it on and realize it still isn't full. I put a couple more gallons in and get to the rental place, where a guy asks "do you want me to put that gas cap back on for you?" Um, yeah. Computers are now totally down, so I can't get a receipt. And it's starting to sprinkle.
I make it to the Metro with 10 minutes to make a meeting that is 40 minutes away by train. I decide to save time by switching from Blue to Yellow trains to avoid a bunch of stops and save around 20 minutes. I get off the Blue train and find that no Yellow trains appear to be running. At all. Anywhere. So I'm back on the next Blue having wasted a few minutes. My co-editor calls but I let it go to voicemail, figuring he'll assume I'm underground. Soon enough I am, but we pop up long enough for me to get another call from him. I answer, tell him trains are having trouble, and we arrange for an alternate meeting site. Then my train stops because someone on the train in front of us is having medical problems and they're trying to move us around it. I wonder how this will affect me, which means now I have bad karma points on top of everything else. Hope they're OK, whoever they are.
Finally make my 30-minute meeting which lasts an hour. It is POURING down rain when we leave and I have no umbrella. Make it to the train looking like a wet dog for a 40-minute ride home. Am supposed to meet Dancin' Mike for dinner, and I have a voicemail from him that is all static. I try to call him twice but get no response. No dinner that night, alas.
I get home and we do some work on the house. By the time we leave the restaurants are closing. We get Chinese food (bad, as it turns out) and head back to the hotel. Bear in mind we were supposed to be painting Monday as well, yet little painting has been done.
Tuesday morning we check out of the hotel and go to the condo. We unload some furniture that's been in the Element since Friday and Adrian leaves for his 1pm job interview. I put together our bed because the mattress is being delivered. When it is I can tell the guys want a tip but I have no cash so BANG, some more bad karma. Adrian's interview goes great and they appear to already be scheduling him, even though they want him to do audition by doing one of the owner's hair next week.
We paint and paint and paint, waiting for the cable guy who's coming from 4-8pm. He calls at 7, says he's overbooked, can they reschedule for Wednesday? A pain in the ass, because we have plans for Wednesday evening, but the alternative is a disgruntled cable guy showing up at 9 or 10 for what promises to be a couple hours worth of work. I resolve to write a nasty letter to the cable company (which I've already done). Of course, we'd checked out of the hotel because we expected phone and Internet by Tuesday night, but alas.
We get up early Wednesday morning for our 7:30am New Resident Orientation, which only happens once a month. We wait for a while, only to find it's at 7:30pm. When the cable guy's here. And when Adrian is doing someone's hair. I get pissy. And no one likes that.
Over bagels at Panera Bread, with it's free wireless, we discover that rain is expected along the east coast this weekend. We had already bagged our plans to head to the Caribbean because we'd only be there a couple days, not enough to justify the cost and it also wouldn't allow me any time to scuba dive, which Adrian wants me to be able to do. We decided to back off of that and try it later in the year, like Thanksgiving, and just head to a beach this weekend, maybe Rehoboth Beach. But the weather forecast calls for rain all the way down to Miami. So we thought, "let's just go to Charlottesville," as I want us to get out of here, otherwise we'll continue working on the condo. We cannot find a room in Charlottesville, either downtown or near the University. What the hell? We consider New York, but know we won't relax there, and then we realize it's Pride Weekend and we REALLY wouldn't relax, so I guess we'll stay here and hang out and maybe see some friends. But I expect Adrian's family will ask us to arrange a cookout at the condo. Because they asked for that last weekend.
I need a vacation. More importantly, I need whoever is screwing with my universe to back off for a day or two.
(BTW, when I first tried to post this, my connection to Blogger failed. The universe obviously doesn’t want me posting about how it’s trying to screw me. It's now 12 hours later and I'm sending this from home with our new connection, so at least that worked. The orientation got postponed until next month at the last moment.)
Monday was our day to rent a truck and pick up some furniture from West Elm that didn't fit into the Element last Friday, and also some IKEA stuff. So, off we go.
As we're at the truck rental place, the phone rings and it's the guy from Texas with whom I'm working on a book. As he'd said Sunday, he'd like to meet up Monday, but unlike what he said Sunday, he'd like to meet at 5 instead of 7. Since it's already almost noon, I'm thinking "uh oh."
We go into the rental place and there are 3 people in front of us...no biggie. But there's a guy with problems on his bill, so 3 people are helping him, leaving 1 for everyone else. Then, the computers are going slow...literally 10 minutes between one entry and the next. 45 minutes later, after the guy behind the counter flirts with me (and is visibly disappointed when Adrian walks in, after being accosted by a homeless man outside), we leave with a van.
Everything goes fine with the furniture pickup, though we have some trouble getting things off the shelves at IKEA. We get back to our building and have to learn how to use the frieght elevator (keys are required). We get everything unloaded, though I bruise Adrian in the process. I leave to drop off the van and head to the Metro, and I gas up the van only to get in and turn it on and realize it still isn't full. I put a couple more gallons in and get to the rental place, where a guy asks "do you want me to put that gas cap back on for you?" Um, yeah. Computers are now totally down, so I can't get a receipt. And it's starting to sprinkle.
I make it to the Metro with 10 minutes to make a meeting that is 40 minutes away by train. I decide to save time by switching from Blue to Yellow trains to avoid a bunch of stops and save around 20 minutes. I get off the Blue train and find that no Yellow trains appear to be running. At all. Anywhere. So I'm back on the next Blue having wasted a few minutes. My co-editor calls but I let it go to voicemail, figuring he'll assume I'm underground. Soon enough I am, but we pop up long enough for me to get another call from him. I answer, tell him trains are having trouble, and we arrange for an alternate meeting site. Then my train stops because someone on the train in front of us is having medical problems and they're trying to move us around it. I wonder how this will affect me, which means now I have bad karma points on top of everything else. Hope they're OK, whoever they are.
Finally make my 30-minute meeting which lasts an hour. It is POURING down rain when we leave and I have no umbrella. Make it to the train looking like a wet dog for a 40-minute ride home. Am supposed to meet Dancin' Mike for dinner, and I have a voicemail from him that is all static. I try to call him twice but get no response. No dinner that night, alas.
I get home and we do some work on the house. By the time we leave the restaurants are closing. We get Chinese food (bad, as it turns out) and head back to the hotel. Bear in mind we were supposed to be painting Monday as well, yet little painting has been done.
Tuesday morning we check out of the hotel and go to the condo. We unload some furniture that's been in the Element since Friday and Adrian leaves for his 1pm job interview. I put together our bed because the mattress is being delivered. When it is I can tell the guys want a tip but I have no cash so BANG, some more bad karma. Adrian's interview goes great and they appear to already be scheduling him, even though they want him to do audition by doing one of the owner's hair next week.
We paint and paint and paint, waiting for the cable guy who's coming from 4-8pm. He calls at 7, says he's overbooked, can they reschedule for Wednesday? A pain in the ass, because we have plans for Wednesday evening, but the alternative is a disgruntled cable guy showing up at 9 or 10 for what promises to be a couple hours worth of work. I resolve to write a nasty letter to the cable company (which I've already done). Of course, we'd checked out of the hotel because we expected phone and Internet by Tuesday night, but alas.
We get up early Wednesday morning for our 7:30am New Resident Orientation, which only happens once a month. We wait for a while, only to find it's at 7:30pm. When the cable guy's here. And when Adrian is doing someone's hair. I get pissy. And no one likes that.
Over bagels at Panera Bread, with it's free wireless, we discover that rain is expected along the east coast this weekend. We had already bagged our plans to head to the Caribbean because we'd only be there a couple days, not enough to justify the cost and it also wouldn't allow me any time to scuba dive, which Adrian wants me to be able to do. We decided to back off of that and try it later in the year, like Thanksgiving, and just head to a beach this weekend, maybe Rehoboth Beach. But the weather forecast calls for rain all the way down to Miami. So we thought, "let's just go to Charlottesville," as I want us to get out of here, otherwise we'll continue working on the condo. We cannot find a room in Charlottesville, either downtown or near the University. What the hell? We consider New York, but know we won't relax there, and then we realize it's Pride Weekend and we REALLY wouldn't relax, so I guess we'll stay here and hang out and maybe see some friends. But I expect Adrian's family will ask us to arrange a cookout at the condo. Because they asked for that last weekend.
I need a vacation. More importantly, I need whoever is screwing with my universe to back off for a day or two.
(BTW, when I first tried to post this, my connection to Blogger failed. The universe obviously doesn’t want me posting about how it’s trying to screw me. It's now 12 hours later and I'm sending this from home with our new connection, so at least that worked. The orientation got postponed until next month at the last moment.)
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Painting
Since our stuff's not here yet and we haven't recarpeted yet, we spent today painting...without covering the carpet! We are SO crazy sometimes.
Adrian did great work today, while I spent the whole afternoon priming one room. Oh well. We'll run around Monday picking up stuff with a U-Haul, then we'll go back to the condo and paint some more. We have some fun colors in mind for one bedroom, hope it turns out well.
Monday evening I think I have to meet with someone involved in a book I'm working on. He's in town from Texas and we need to take the opportunity to meet. Bad timing, tho. We're hoping to have dinner with Dancin' Mike afterwards.
And yeah, the Bahamas are still a possibility later this week.
Adrian did great work today, while I spent the whole afternoon priming one room. Oh well. We'll run around Monday picking up stuff with a U-Haul, then we'll go back to the condo and paint some more. We have some fun colors in mind for one bedroom, hope it turns out well.
Monday evening I think I have to meet with someone involved in a book I'm working on. He's in town from Texas and we need to take the opportunity to meet. Bad timing, tho. We're hoping to have dinner with Dancin' Mike afterwards.
And yeah, the Bahamas are still a possibility later this week.
Accumulations
We've been running around town buying some of the furnishings we needed to get upon arriving. For the last few months we've been coming up with ideas about what we want the new home to look like so we've hit West Elm and Bo Concept and picked up or ordered the stuff we needed. One of the things we apparently need is a U-Haul because sofa pieces and queen-sized beds apparently don't fit into Adrian's Honda Element. We were already pretty sure they wouldn't fit into my Bug.
So anyway, we've got a great new sofa coming from West Elm (which was on sale as it turns out, so YAY for that) as well as a low platform bed that matches some other West Elm furniture we have. Then we were off to Bo Concept for some wall units and tables and shelves, which we'll get in a few weeks. We've hit IKEA already and have found some things we'll pick up once we have the U-Haul, probably tomorrow. Today is going to be a painting day...a few areas are left over from when Adrian painted in April, plus we're changing the color of one room. We want to get all the painting done before the new carpet we picked out yesterday gets installed.
Speaking of carpet, let me say YAY for the phrase "Vinnie sent us" because that has saved us a few hundred bucks and carpet and a mattress.
We got an interesting call Friday as we were running around town. A professor I know is involved with some research that's getting announced this week and one of the networks was looking for a gay couple to interview...naturally, he thought of us because Adrian is so hot. We chose not to do it because it had to be done NOW and frankly, our heads are still spinning a bit since arriving...we didn't really have time to think about it, much less do it, and we were a little concerned about the implications of that on my new job. So we'll pass for now but we left the possibility open for the future.
We've seen some of our friends since getting back...Friday night was Angelo and Josh's combined birthdays/anniversary party, and we got to meet a bunch of their friends in the process (including one guy who was talking to Adrian and was visibly disappointed when I showed up :P ), then Saturday morning we had breakfast with Tracy (and I'm not going to mention that Tracy forgot and was still asleep when I called him from Trio's...oops, I guess I did mention it). We spent some time yesterday evening with Adrian's family...he did some hair, and I took a couple of his nephews out for ice cream. And no, I definitely didn't get any strange looks when I walked into Baskin Robins with two little Asian kids. Nope, none at all. Well, maybe a few. Today will be a painting day then we're going to see Dancin' Mike for dinner...he and Adrian still haven't met.
And yeah, we're still thinking about a short trip this week. We'll let you know.
So anyway, we've got a great new sofa coming from West Elm (which was on sale as it turns out, so YAY for that) as well as a low platform bed that matches some other West Elm furniture we have. Then we were off to Bo Concept for some wall units and tables and shelves, which we'll get in a few weeks. We've hit IKEA already and have found some things we'll pick up once we have the U-Haul, probably tomorrow. Today is going to be a painting day...a few areas are left over from when Adrian painted in April, plus we're changing the color of one room. We want to get all the painting done before the new carpet we picked out yesterday gets installed.
Speaking of carpet, let me say YAY for the phrase "Vinnie sent us" because that has saved us a few hundred bucks and carpet and a mattress.
We got an interesting call Friday as we were running around town. A professor I know is involved with some research that's getting announced this week and one of the networks was looking for a gay couple to interview...naturally, he thought of us because Adrian is so hot. We chose not to do it because it had to be done NOW and frankly, our heads are still spinning a bit since arriving...we didn't really have time to think about it, much less do it, and we were a little concerned about the implications of that on my new job. So we'll pass for now but we left the possibility open for the future.
We've seen some of our friends since getting back...Friday night was Angelo and Josh's combined birthdays/anniversary party, and we got to meet a bunch of their friends in the process (including one guy who was talking to Adrian and was visibly disappointed when I showed up :P ), then Saturday morning we had breakfast with Tracy (and I'm not going to mention that Tracy forgot and was still asleep when I called him from Trio's...oops, I guess I did mention it). We spent some time yesterday evening with Adrian's family...he did some hair, and I took a couple of his nephews out for ice cream. And no, I definitely didn't get any strange looks when I walked into Baskin Robins with two little Asian kids. Nope, none at all. Well, maybe a few. Today will be a painting day then we're going to see Dancin' Mike for dinner...he and Adrian still haven't met.
And yeah, we're still thinking about a short trip this week. We'll let you know.
Friday, June 16, 2006
We're Home!!!!!
Got into DC around 2:30 this afternoon. We've already had dinner at Cafe Asia.
Sadly, our moving van won't be delivering until June 27th, so it's hotels (paid for by my office) until then. Though with that much time, we might take off for the Bahamas or something.
Most important: after 4 years, we are HOME!!!!
Sadly, our moving van won't be delivering until June 27th, so it's hotels (paid for by my office) until then. Though with that much time, we might take off for the Bahamas or something.
Most important: after 4 years, we are HOME!!!!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Almost There
We spent last night at a slightly skanky Holiday Inn Express on the southeast edge of Pittsburgh. ("slightly skanky" means the internet connection didn't work and there was construction going on in the room next door this morning) We got in late last night because of stupid construction in stupid Illinois on the stupid interstate, which was followed by a toll booth where they were apparently charging us 60 cents for going a mile in about an hour. Stupid tolls.
And some pinhead before us reset the clock by 12 hours so when it says PM it's really AM, and vice versa. So I got up later than expected because that screwed up the alarm. But Adrian still got up on time, so it all worked out. Stupid people and their stupid "I gotta change the clock" fetishes.
Anyway, we're about 4 hours from home, so off we go!!!!!
And some pinhead before us reset the clock by 12 hours so when it says PM it's really AM, and vice versa. So I got up later than expected because that screwed up the alarm. But Adrian still got up on time, so it all worked out. Stupid people and their stupid "I gotta change the clock" fetishes.
Anyway, we're about 4 hours from home, so off we go!!!!!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Joliet, Illinois
Trip's gone well so far. We left Sunday morning after a slight delay to watch the men's final of the French Open. Made it to Omaha late that night, then spent Monday touring that historic land (i.e., that's where I started elementary school and later graduated form high school). Monday night was spent with Pete, my best friend from high school whom Adrian had not yet met.
Some interesting things came out of the Omaha trip. More to follow as I mull them over.
Today we left late (well, we went to bed around 1:30am, so it made sense) and drove 7 hours or so to Joliet. The plan is to drive another 7 hours Wednesday to Pittsburgh, then on to DC Thursday morning. With any luck, the moving van will arrive as expected and we can move into the condo Friday.
Actually, with a LOT of luck.
To help us with the trip we bought a pair of 2-way radios. We have call signs, of course...I'm "Mountaineer" and he's "Outrigger." Fans of Alias will appreciate the significance of those code names.
Some interesting things came out of the Omaha trip. More to follow as I mull them over.
Today we left late (well, we went to bed around 1:30am, so it made sense) and drove 7 hours or so to Joliet. The plan is to drive another 7 hours Wednesday to Pittsburgh, then on to DC Thursday morning. With any luck, the moving van will arrive as expected and we can move into the condo Friday.
Actually, with a LOT of luck.
To help us with the trip we bought a pair of 2-way radios. We have call signs, of course...I'm "Mountaineer" and he's "Outrigger." Fans of Alias will appreciate the significance of those code names.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
It's Been an Adventure
When I was in graduate school in DC a friend told me no one would want to be with me because I knew I'd be moving after finishing my PhD.
A few months later, I met this cute guy named Adrian. I didn't know if anything would come of it, but he was a nice guy, so we saw more and more of each other.
9 months after meeting I learned that, before returning to Colorado Springs to teach, I'd be spending another year in a school in Alabama. It was one thing to ask Adrian to come with me to Colorado...Alabama was another matter entirely.
I told him I'd like him to come with me...I even got down on one knee and asked. But I also suggested he not make a decision yet, because honestly, we hadn't even been together a year.
Just before our first anniversary we visited Colorado and he seemed to like it. We had fun here, and I guess he decided a year in Alabama was a small price to pay to come here.
So in July 2002 we left Washington DC for Alabama, a hellhole to be sure, but a place in which we had some interesting experiences and met up with some great people. We visited briefly about a month before the move, to find a place to live and bring some stuff down to put into storage, and also enable Adrian to start looking for a job. He got one right away, which was nice, because I later learned he wasn't sure about moving with me until that point.
Then in the summer of 2003 we moved here to Colorado. This is not an easy place to live...we are in a very conservative town, I taught at a very conservative school, and we are far from his home. Our arrival was strange...the first night, we weren't able to eat at the restaurant where we wanted to because we weren't dressed well enough. Two days later our stuff arrived and was dumped into a house with old carpet that smelled and cat pee and scraps of recently removed wallpaper. Adrian was not a happy camper when the stuff was placed in the house, a house that was about 800 square feet smaller than the one we'd just left.
We painted, an amazing job I might add, a paint job that later helped sell the house in a day. We recarpeted. We got new (retro) furniture. Adrian painted some artwork for the dining room. We made friends. Adrian got a job...then another one...then another one. I traveled a lot for work, then went off to a war for a few months. We took trips together, to Paris, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Diego, Thailand, Laos, and of course, to DC a few times. The job I'd been looking forward to wasn't everything I'd hoped. We got iPods. Adrian started drinking at Starbucks. We became closer with old friends and sadly lost touch with some as well. We visited Wyoming. We both grew a lot.
In a few hours we'll get up, toss our bags into the cars, and head east. It's time for the final part of this adventure: the drive home. After 4 years we will be moving back to Washington DC on Sunday. We have already bought a home, our first together. Adrian has a line on a new job. I'm leaving teaching (for now) to be an international negotiator for the government. Our friends are mostly still there, and with all the visits we've made back east, they are still a big part of our lives.
I'm ready for whatever comes next. The book may close on this adventure, but there are plenty of more books to be written in the decades to come.
Thank you, Adrian, for making the decision to join me. I love you.
A few months later, I met this cute guy named Adrian. I didn't know if anything would come of it, but he was a nice guy, so we saw more and more of each other.
9 months after meeting I learned that, before returning to Colorado Springs to teach, I'd be spending another year in a school in Alabama. It was one thing to ask Adrian to come with me to Colorado...Alabama was another matter entirely.
I told him I'd like him to come with me...I even got down on one knee and asked. But I also suggested he not make a decision yet, because honestly, we hadn't even been together a year.
Just before our first anniversary we visited Colorado and he seemed to like it. We had fun here, and I guess he decided a year in Alabama was a small price to pay to come here.
So in July 2002 we left Washington DC for Alabama, a hellhole to be sure, but a place in which we had some interesting experiences and met up with some great people. We visited briefly about a month before the move, to find a place to live and bring some stuff down to put into storage, and also enable Adrian to start looking for a job. He got one right away, which was nice, because I later learned he wasn't sure about moving with me until that point.
Then in the summer of 2003 we moved here to Colorado. This is not an easy place to live...we are in a very conservative town, I taught at a very conservative school, and we are far from his home. Our arrival was strange...the first night, we weren't able to eat at the restaurant where we wanted to because we weren't dressed well enough. Two days later our stuff arrived and was dumped into a house with old carpet that smelled and cat pee and scraps of recently removed wallpaper. Adrian was not a happy camper when the stuff was placed in the house, a house that was about 800 square feet smaller than the one we'd just left.
We painted, an amazing job I might add, a paint job that later helped sell the house in a day. We recarpeted. We got new (retro) furniture. Adrian painted some artwork for the dining room. We made friends. Adrian got a job...then another one...then another one. I traveled a lot for work, then went off to a war for a few months. We took trips together, to Paris, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Diego, Thailand, Laos, and of course, to DC a few times. The job I'd been looking forward to wasn't everything I'd hoped. We got iPods. Adrian started drinking at Starbucks. We became closer with old friends and sadly lost touch with some as well. We visited Wyoming. We both grew a lot.
In a few hours we'll get up, toss our bags into the cars, and head east. It's time for the final part of this adventure: the drive home. After 4 years we will be moving back to Washington DC on Sunday. We have already bought a home, our first together. Adrian has a line on a new job. I'm leaving teaching (for now) to be an international negotiator for the government. Our friends are mostly still there, and with all the visits we've made back east, they are still a big part of our lives.
I'm ready for whatever comes next. The book may close on this adventure, but there are plenty of more books to be written in the decades to come.
Thank you, Adrian, for making the decision to join me. I love you.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Sold!!
The house is sold. It doesn't belong to me anymore. The new owners are moving in as I type this. They hugged us at the closing. I am glad the house is in their hands.
Adrian and I did a final walkaround and I kissed him and thanked him for coming on this 4-year adventure with me. I would have put the moves on him, but we were running late. And as it turns out, the new owners and their agent did a walkthrough before closing, so they would have caught us anyway.
The patch job on the hole in the wall by the front door looks amazing. We did make it to the movie last night, then out for dinner afterwards, and when we got to the house around 11:30 and Adrian started sanding, it turned out the spackling wasn't quite dry. Uh oh. He covered it with a little more, we cleared the last of the trash out of the house, then headed back to the hotel and hoped for the best. As I went into work today to clear up last-minute paperwork Adrian went to the house to clear up the last-minute patchwork. When I got there a few hours later I couldn't even tell where the hole was. The patch was great and the paint matched very well, I had to look HARD to even find it. So, really, there was no need to bother the new owners with that, was there?
Good thing they didn't come in while he was painting.
The rest of the afternoon was errands, the most important of which was depositing the check for the house. We are now a little richer than we were before. Richer for the experience, that is. Oh, and for the money, too.
Going away dinner tonight, wedding tomorrow (not ours!) depart Sunday. Here we come, DC!!
Adrian and I did a final walkaround and I kissed him and thanked him for coming on this 4-year adventure with me. I would have put the moves on him, but we were running late. And as it turns out, the new owners and their agent did a walkthrough before closing, so they would have caught us anyway.
The patch job on the hole in the wall by the front door looks amazing. We did make it to the movie last night, then out for dinner afterwards, and when we got to the house around 11:30 and Adrian started sanding, it turned out the spackling wasn't quite dry. Uh oh. He covered it with a little more, we cleared the last of the trash out of the house, then headed back to the hotel and hoped for the best. As I went into work today to clear up last-minute paperwork Adrian went to the house to clear up the last-minute patchwork. When I got there a few hours later I couldn't even tell where the hole was. The patch was great and the paint matched very well, I had to look HARD to even find it. So, really, there was no need to bother the new owners with that, was there?
Good thing they didn't come in while he was painting.
The rest of the afternoon was errands, the most important of which was depositing the check for the house. We are now a little richer than we were before. Richer for the experience, that is. Oh, and for the money, too.
Going away dinner tonight, wedding tomorrow (not ours!) depart Sunday. Here we come, DC!!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Loading Up
The packers were here until 7pm last night. Normally they're supposed to be done by 5, but truthfully, I don't think anyone was scheduled to come out here yesterday, which is why they were late arriving.
Today, the truck got here around 9 and the two guys were pretty efficient, getting the house done in 4 hours. We still have some cleaning to do -- I followed them around with a vacuum cleaner and as they cleared a room I did one final run through. They may actually get to DC ahead of us which is going to screw up our delivery. I sense I'm not having good karma with this move but I'm not sure why.
Why do I think good karma is missing? Well, there are the little things...like the fact that yesterday the packers apparently didn't use the original boxes that we provided for some appliances, which means they used their own boxes (which they charge for) plus we have no way to transport these boxes with us if we want them for the future, plus we now have to dispose of them, and strangely enough, we don;t have a dumpster in the backyard. We also have 4 sets of extra mattress boxes to get rid of somehow. And in the kitchen I found some pieces of white porcelain on the floor that look suspiciously like the handle of one of our coffee cups. I bet one of the guys yesterday broke it and didn't have the balls to tell me.
But the biggest issue was the wind. And the door. And the wall. About 1 o'clock -- 24 hours before we close, mind you -- a gust of wind slammed the front door into the wall and the doorknob punched a hole in the drywall. Yes, we have a hole in the wall by the front door. Lovely. I have called Adrian because he knows something about patching drywall, and he is getting a patch and some spackling. It's my job to get paint, because the original can (from 3 years ago) isn't usable anymore. Even though we know the name of the paint, I'm hoping the base hasn't changed so much that it looks different.
Bad karma, indeed. In any case, I am still determined that we will go see the movie Brick tonight. Because I want to.
Today, the truck got here around 9 and the two guys were pretty efficient, getting the house done in 4 hours. We still have some cleaning to do -- I followed them around with a vacuum cleaner and as they cleared a room I did one final run through. They may actually get to DC ahead of us which is going to screw up our delivery. I sense I'm not having good karma with this move but I'm not sure why.
Why do I think good karma is missing? Well, there are the little things...like the fact that yesterday the packers apparently didn't use the original boxes that we provided for some appliances, which means they used their own boxes (which they charge for) plus we have no way to transport these boxes with us if we want them for the future, plus we now have to dispose of them, and strangely enough, we don;t have a dumpster in the backyard. We also have 4 sets of extra mattress boxes to get rid of somehow. And in the kitchen I found some pieces of white porcelain on the floor that look suspiciously like the handle of one of our coffee cups. I bet one of the guys yesterday broke it and didn't have the balls to tell me.
But the biggest issue was the wind. And the door. And the wall. About 1 o'clock -- 24 hours before we close, mind you -- a gust of wind slammed the front door into the wall and the doorknob punched a hole in the drywall. Yes, we have a hole in the wall by the front door. Lovely. I have called Adrian because he knows something about patching drywall, and he is getting a patch and some spackling. It's my job to get paint, because the original can (from 3 years ago) isn't usable anymore. Even though we know the name of the paint, I'm hoping the base hasn't changed so much that it looks different.
Bad karma, indeed. In any case, I am still determined that we will go see the movie Brick tonight. Because I want to.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Packing Up
The movers have been here all afternoon. Of course, I thought they were coming this morning, so I've been here since 7. Alas. That wouldn't have been a problem except I didn't get to bed until after 3:30 this morning. We had dinner last night with a couple of Adrian's clients and that ran until midnight, then we still had some stuff to do around the house.
Dinner was great. Adrian really likes these folks -- in fact, he started taking yoga in the wife's class, and he and the husband have been trading books forever. That's due in part to the fact that the husband is an English professor at my school; unfortunately, given the conservative nature of my school, it's sometimes a little tricky "coming out" to other faculty members. These folks, however, are really great and I wish we could have done this sooner. And their daughters totally rock.
Ironically, I had met this fellow last year at a faculty meeting. I knew who he was but he didn't know anything about me. But last night he actually quoted back to me something I said in a presentation there. The world is small.
Adrian has been helping a lot today with running errands and such. I just know he's exhausted too. Hang in there, sweetie!
Dinner was great. Adrian really likes these folks -- in fact, he started taking yoga in the wife's class, and he and the husband have been trading books forever. That's due in part to the fact that the husband is an English professor at my school; unfortunately, given the conservative nature of my school, it's sometimes a little tricky "coming out" to other faculty members. These folks, however, are really great and I wish we could have done this sooner. And their daughters totally rock.
Ironically, I had met this fellow last year at a faculty meeting. I knew who he was but he didn't know anything about me. But last night he actually quoted back to me something I said in a presentation there. The world is small.
Adrian has been helping a lot today with running errands and such. I just know he's exhausted too. Hang in there, sweetie!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Love 4 Sale
We leave a week from today.
The big garage sale went well yesterday. We cleared $150, plus another $100 for furniture we sold to friends. Gas money for the trip, I guess. That's the good news.
The bad news is, I didn't think to put on sunscreen. The worse news is, I didn't think to wear a tank top, so now I have a beautiful (and by "beautiful" I mean "ugly") farmer's tan.
Conversation this afternoon:
Me: I'm such a dumbass, I should've worn a tank.
(long pause)
Me: This would be a good chance for you to tell me I'm NOT a dumbass, and you love me.
(longer pause)
Adrian: Um, I love you.
The big garage sale went well yesterday. We cleared $150, plus another $100 for furniture we sold to friends. Gas money for the trip, I guess. That's the good news.
The bad news is, I didn't think to put on sunscreen. The worse news is, I didn't think to wear a tank top, so now I have a beautiful (and by "beautiful" I mean "ugly") farmer's tan.
Conversation this afternoon:
Me: I'm such a dumbass, I should've worn a tank.
(long pause)
Me: This would be a good chance for you to tell me I'm NOT a dumbass, and you love me.
(longer pause)
Adrian: Um, I love you.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Sleepy Time
I'm a tired little pup tonite. But every night since the weekend I've been getting a little more sleep. The jet lag is gone, now I'm just a mad fool who doesn't go to bed early enough. Like tonight. I have to get up at 5am Saturday and here I am blogging.
Why 5am? Because there's a hug neighborhood-wide garage scale where some of our friends live and we're selling stuff there tomorrow. Like, IKEA stuff. We are an upscale garage sale, thank you very much.
Of course, the house buyers got in touch with us today, interested in buying some of our furniture. Too bad, we have rooms now that are practically empty because we sold some stuff to friends. Of course, we'd rather the friends have it than these strangers, but it warms my heart to know they think so highly of our (that is, Adrian's) sense of style that they want the furniture that fits the house so nicely. Pity they didn't say something, oh, a month ago.
We had dinner out tonight and some woman was making flirty eyes at Adrian. Is she kidding? Anyone who looks THAT good is already taken, one way or another.
Today my Institute had a little going-away luncheon for me. It was fun, but the reality is I'll continue to work with them long-distance...in fact, the founder of the institute still works with us on occasion, proof that once you get in, you really can't get out. It's kinda like the Mob. Or Cub Scouts.
Yesterday I was in the Dean's office for a little presentation, an award she wanted to give me before I leave. They'd invited some of my friends from different departments. As soon as I walked in the Dean asked "Is Adrian going to be here for your big day?" Those who know where I teach will be rolling on the floor with laughter at this point.
Adrian reminded me as we drove home that his night vision sucks, and he was driving based on knowing the route home rather than on actually being able to see. I hate when he tells me that.
Why 5am? Because there's a hug neighborhood-wide garage scale where some of our friends live and we're selling stuff there tomorrow. Like, IKEA stuff. We are an upscale garage sale, thank you very much.
Of course, the house buyers got in touch with us today, interested in buying some of our furniture. Too bad, we have rooms now that are practically empty because we sold some stuff to friends. Of course, we'd rather the friends have it than these strangers, but it warms my heart to know they think so highly of our (that is, Adrian's) sense of style that they want the furniture that fits the house so nicely. Pity they didn't say something, oh, a month ago.
We had dinner out tonight and some woman was making flirty eyes at Adrian. Is she kidding? Anyone who looks THAT good is already taken, one way or another.
Today my Institute had a little going-away luncheon for me. It was fun, but the reality is I'll continue to work with them long-distance...in fact, the founder of the institute still works with us on occasion, proof that once you get in, you really can't get out. It's kinda like the Mob. Or Cub Scouts.
Yesterday I was in the Dean's office for a little presentation, an award she wanted to give me before I leave. They'd invited some of my friends from different departments. As soon as I walked in the Dean asked "Is Adrian going to be here for your big day?" Those who know where I teach will be rolling on the floor with laughter at this point.
Adrian reminded me as we drove home that his night vision sucks, and he was driving based on knowing the route home rather than on actually being able to see. I hate when he tells me that.
