LAST CALL AT ALLEY 24

++ I MOVED THE last of my stuff out of the old apartment last night. With Zac and his friend Tommy there, it went quite smoothly and quickly.
Sweep the upstairs carpet.
Clean the upstairs bathroom.
Clean the oven.
Dust everything.
Sweep the downstairs floor.
Pile load number one into the car. Drive to the new place. Unpile load number one into the new place. Rinse and repeat three more times. And then on load number four, with one more load to go, at 2AM, parked in the 30 minute loading tow zone, I opened the trunk, turned the key, pulled the key and it broke...in half.
Spare key you say? Yup, I wish I had one.
Call AAA.
A visit from the locksmith.
3AM.
Yay! (Maybe not as enthusiastic as I might read that, because it’s 3AM.)
Go get load number five.
Drop off load number five and Zac and Tommy.
Go to friends’ house to help them clean and paint.
4AM
Prime the red wall, white.
5AM
Wipe down the walls.
6AM
Paint the wall white.
Dawn is breaking. (What a funny saying. I’m thinking birds chirping, yellow dishsoap, eggs being cracked open on a skillet, the smell of bacon. Pigs. A farm. Corn. An annual festival in my childhood hometown at the park just around the corner. Bikes. An old childhood friend. Fire in origami balls. Ping Pong. An endless tournament of three people. Brian Saunders. Two hand touch football. A stolen bike retrieved…)
(Where am I again?)
Goodnight all, er, Good Morning all.
Back to my new place.
Don’t wake the boys.
Upstairs to bed. Jeans still on.
“Hey, you going to work?”
“Yeah. What time is it?”
“7:50.”
“Yeah.”
“OK”
“Yeah.”
++

HALF-SIZED WATER HEATER

++ I CANNOT FILL the bath tub up full with hot water. It turns luke cold about one third of the way and ice cold by two thirds of the way. ++

SKYLINE CHILI

++ I MUST MAKE a better effort at remembering to not wear anything white on the days I bring Skyline Chili for lunch. Grr. ++

HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING

++ I WENT TO my first Home Owners Association meeting. It's quite weird. Introductions go something like this: "Hi, I'm Laurie, #309." "Hi, Mike, #109, one floor below and to the right." "Hi there, #209, Lisa." "Hi, I'm Jay, #213, just moved in a week and a half ago."

Six random observations from the two hour eighteen minute meeting of a one side single sheet agenda.

1. We have all been reduced to a first name and a three digit number.
2. Everyone has issues about noise.
3. My building is full of architects. Of the nine people that were at the meeting, three on the Board of Directors, there were four architects there. One worked for Mithun, one worked for NBBJ, one for some other office, and me.
4. Everyone has issues about other units smoking wafting into their open windows.
5. No one in the building has a backyard, but they somehow still have a NIMBY syndrome.
6. Every building has at least one of each stereotypical tenant. It's fantastic. ++
   

FRANCIS AND WENDY

++ HAVE BEEN IN town since last Wednesday and sleeping downstairs on an air mattress. It's been actually quite nice to have visitors in town that don't need to be babysat. I gave them a key and told them to make themselves at home. I need to go to work, but we'll meet up afterwards for a bite to eat and a drink and maybe a little bit of video games. It's too bad they're leaving tomorrow morning. ++

*PSST.* PART FOUR

++ I SLEPT AT the new place for the first time last night. I must have been either fantastically tired or fantastically comfortable there.

Tired theories:

1. I played a soccer game last night.
2. It was 12:42 AM by the time I turned off all of the lights and hopped in bed.
3. I just finished playing 5 games of soccer in four days.
4. The whole process has been fun, seemless, but tiring.

Comfortable theories:

1. First time in two years since I've slept with open windows. Fresh air is great.
2. No one was downstairs sleeping on the couch.
3. It was a bit cool because of the open windows which always makes me sleep well.
4. It's my place! I'm still giddy! ++