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With my impending move to an apartment rapidly approaching, I
thought about the essentials I would need and decided that I
will be fine for a few days with just a mattress. I can take a
little more time to find the other furniture. So, I went
mattress shopping, and shocked is what I was.
My first mattress set out of college was used, a cast off from a
friend that I acquired for $25. I slept on that for at
least a year, never bothering with headboard or a frame to get
it up off the floor. It was pretty simple then; mattresses were
soft, medium, or firm, or like mine, just plain worn out.
Well, mattresses are not simple anymore. Each brand must
have a hundred different models at least, and the stores have
these really outrageous list prices, mostly over $1000 for a
queen set. I told the salesmen that I didn't expect the prices
to be so high, but they always have some sale underway, so they
aren't real prices.
At the urging of the salesman, I laid my tired body on at least
a dozen beds, all of which felt just fine to me. I mean, I'm
comfortable sleeping on a thin foam pad on the ground on hiking
trips, so I guess I'm not as fussy as most folks. He had a
super-duper deal on a Serta Euro-something pillow top
thing-a-ma-job, so I paid him and told him to have it delivered
on June 1, in the afternoon, to my new address. I told him I
didn't need any of the extra stuff he wanted to sell me to go
with it. I warned him that I'm on the third floor, but he
doesn't do the deliveries so he said "No problem."
I looked at a couple of furniture stores for dinette sets and
futons, and I didn't even get started on living room stuff. I
really just couldn't get excited about shopping though and gave
up. Maybe the spirit will move me when I get moved in and
have to eat off the kitchen counter.
I'm going to have to get more serious about cooking, since I've
reverted to my old habits of cobbling together whatever I can
find and calling it dinner. One night I had bread, potato chips,
and a block of cheddar cheese with a beer. Last night I
made a salad and cooked spaghetti, thinking it would be a nice
change. but nobody else showed up until after 9 PM, so I won't
try that again. I'm eating cheese, bread, and leftover potato
salad tonight. I don't like cooking for one. Maybe I'll
meet some people in the apartment complex who want to trade
cooking nights or something.
Tomorrow evening, I'll be heading back home for Memorial Day
weekend. A couple of friends will be driving in for the weekend
as well, so hopefully we'll all have a nice time.
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So much has happened in the past month; where shall I start?
I am adjusting slowly to living in the city. I’m staying with a
friend, who wouldn’t mind having a long-term housemate for the
companionship, shared cooking and such, but the drive to work is
40 miles each way. That doesn’t seem to faze native Houstonians,
but it seems like driving to another state to me. I’ve tried
different combinations of freeways, and I’ve found different
routes going and coming to avoid stop-and-go traffic. I can
average at least 60 mph every day, but it is still way too much
time spent in the car.
My friend has a
four bedroom house, but it seems like a hotel most days. She
laughs about it, saying “The inn is full tonight.” Her son, her
uncle, and I each have a guest room, and we each have a
different reason for being here temporarily. One night her
sister showed up after I had gone to bed, so when I got up at my
usual 5:00 AM to get ready for work, I didn’t see her asleep on
the couch downstairs. After banging around in the kitchen and
turning on lights, I noticed her there as I was going out the
door. I wanted to apologize, but hoped she had slept through the
ruckus. She hasn't come over to spend the night since. Sometimes
my friend's mother shows up, but since all the bedrooms are
taken, she goes back home. It has occurred to me that this may
be why my friend smiles when the inn is full! It is extremely
rare that we all sit down to eat together, since we all keep
different schedules. I try to buy food for the group (including
the cat, Princess) when I see we’ve run out of something
important, but mostly they all eat out a lot more than I ever
have.
All good things
must come to an end though, and after some serious consideration
about buying a house, even looking at quite a few with a
realtor, I couldn’t get comfortable with adding a third piece of
real estate to the collection. I switched strategies a couple of
weeks ago and decided to rent an apartment instead, at least for
a few months. After surveying the area, I found a one bedroom
with a study that should be just what I need. So, as of June 1,
I’ll be in new digs. I remember getting really tired of
apartment life back when I was in grad school, but there were
three people in that space, so I’m sure I can make it for
awhile. It will be within biking distance of work, and three
hours from home. Friends will of course be welcome (and
encouraged) to visit :)
Enough of the
mundane details of living stuff though – important things have
happened. I’m very proud to say my son graduated from college a
couple of weeks ago. Two down, one to go. Oldest daughter flew
in from California, youngest daughter drove up from Austin, and
I drove home, picked up M, and we drove to Denton. My parents
and my honorary brother and his wife rounded out the cheering
section. We spent five hours sitting in the arena seats waiting
for him to walk across the stage, but it was well worth it.
There were lots of sore butts that day. After the event, most of
us drove in a caravan to the lake house of our close friends to
celebrate the occasion. For some reason, son had an overpowering
need to water ski in his graduation gown. I immortalized it on
video for him, for whatever that’s worth. It was his day, after
all.
Youngest
daughter was using our old minivan for transportation at school,
and it had been having problems with a cooling system leak for
awhile. I put off a serious attempt at repairs until I was
earning money again, but I waited a little too long. One
evening, I got a call on the cell phone, and she was stranded,
lost, and very upset when the car overheated on her again. She
had to knock on a stranger’s door and ask for help. I decided
enough was enough, and the next Saturday I made a deal on a new
car for her over the internet, then picked it up the following
Monday evening. It was the easiest car deal I’ve ever made.
The following weekend, M came down, and we drove to Austin
together to surprise youngest daughter with her new car. I
think she was pretty happy about it. I asked her to please not
cry on the phone too often, because it tends to be very
expensive.
After watching
youngest daughter perform in a band concert, the excuse we had
for driving to Austin to see her, M and I were planning to add
water and drive the minivan back to the big H, but we got a few
miles out of town and it completely quit in a cloud of steam. We
arranged for a tow truck by cell phone relay with my housemate
friend, who happens to have a house in a small town near Austin
as well, and we only had to wait an hour in the dark on the side
of the road. The diagnosis by my friend’s cousin is a blown head
gasket. That makes sense to me based on the symptoms. It
probably isn’t worth fixing, but hey, 200,000 miles on a 10 year
old car isn’t too bad.
If I’m going to
be living for the city, I figure I may as well take advantage of
the things you can’t do in a small town, so last weekend M drove
down and we went to an old-timers rock and roll festival at an
outdoor pavilion in the Woodlands. We brought towels to sit on
and opted for the lawn seating. It was really a nice day –
eight hours enjoying the succession of bands, and more than
anything, watching the rest of the crowd. Some really
interesting people show up for concerts like this.
Which brings me
to an observation: One of the things the city offers is such a
diverse mix of people that you would have to be really,
seriously odd to stand out. And even then, few people would
care. Odd is ok in most places. Oddly enough, I don’t stand out
much at all. I suppose you could say I’ve assimilated, just
another random middle-aged woman in the crowd. And that feels
pretty good.
Several of my
fellow engineers at work are from all over the world, and I look
forward to hearing their stories as I get to know them. I was
just comparing notes with a PhD from Nigeria today; we both have
kids in college and have strongly encouraged them to excel at
their studies, to get their young lives off on the right track.
I haven’t worked in such a culturally mixed group since grad
school. I’ve also gone to lunch with the girls a few times, so
before you know it, I’ll hopefully just be another one of the
gang instead of “that new girl. or that strange person.”
I’m actually a
little surprised at how quickly the angst of being around people
who think of me differently, from my former life, has melted
away. I am so comfortable with myself now, and I can hardly
contain my excitement at all the opportunities awaiting me. |
