i think i may have recovered from the food coma.
no black friday shopping this year; we went to visit mom's family and had a second dose of holiday food.
zzz...
oh. i have a paper to write.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
movement.
i don't believe it's the middle of november already. this is crazy.
we moved a few weeks ago. still haven't sold the damn house; it's being rented by people who are paranoid and wanted a place near the hospital for their new baby.
so we're renting a loft apartment. it's a nice location, 3 blocks from his office, 2 blocks from the subway, 2 blocks from a supermarket.
urban supermarkets are weird things. on one hand, they tend to drive small, locally-owned corner stores out of business. on the other hand, those small, locally-owned corner stores tended to be really expensive and not stock much in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables, or raw meat, or anything not already procesed and cooked somewhere industrial. so now food is cheaper and better quality, and there's way more healthy selections. but more the neighbourhood's money is going to some national chain somewhere. it's nice to be living within walking distance of a supermarket, though, instead of having to drive 20 blocks to a shitty one that was built out in the ghetto because that's where land is cheap.
i think the cat still isn't sure about the new place. he spent the first couple days camped out in his litter box. also, the problem with a loft apartment is that there are no doors, except the front door and the bathroom door, so there's nowhere we can put things to keep them out of his reach. he's currently sitting on my desk and sniffing the bills. not chewing on them yet, thankfully, but the bills used to be in the office in the old place which had a door and he could be kept out. he can also, for the first time in the 7 years we've owned him, spend the night on our bed, which he is really happy about. us, not so much. cats don't sleep through the night like people do (or are supposed to). getting stepped on at 3am isn't great when you have an exam the next morning.
speaking of changes, i've also transferred schools. i think i'm done with change for this year, seriously. can i have a boring year next year? new place to live, new school, new job, new furniture (we should seriously buy stock in ikea), new bank... shit. i want a boring, uneventful couple of months. i am feeling a little more confident when i say i want to do a ph.d. in ancient literature nowadays, though, so the transfer seems to have done that much good already (a big part of the reason i'm doing a professional master's instead of a ph.d. now is because i don't know what i want to be when i grow up).
the other thing i'm really liking about living in the city is mass transit. i know, isn't that weird? but i don't like driving; it stresses me out. i think i overdosed on driving this summer when i drove my sister to phoenix. now i can take the subway and/or train practically everywhere. and the really nice thing about taking mass transit in the city is that everyone does it. out in the 'burbs, it's seen as a thing for poor people who can't afford a car (that someone might not want to have a car doesn't seem to cross many people's minds). in the city, at least in an east coast city, it's everyone: kids, students, poor people, downtown professionals, tourists, and so on. it's kind of an equalizer. i won't say it builds community, despite the often literal rubbing shoulders; most people tend to be quiet and not make eye contact. but at least there's no hands clenched on the wheel, trying to avoid assholes in trucks, breathing exhaust fumes, trapped in a module of steel and glass, and losing several hours a day of productive time. now i can sit on the train and read and do homework. we're going to sell one of the cars. yay. and i guess there is a kind of community feel to mass transit... you're all riding together. it's ok to ask someone for directions, or which train goes where, or am i on the right platform? i always have to wonder about the panhandlers, though. wouldn't it have been smarter to spend your two bucks on food than on entrance to the subway platform where you ask people for quarters for food?
so yeah. life in the city. too much change. too much new shit. i'm about at capacity for this stuff right now.
we moved a few weeks ago. still haven't sold the damn house; it's being rented by people who are paranoid and wanted a place near the hospital for their new baby.
so we're renting a loft apartment. it's a nice location, 3 blocks from his office, 2 blocks from the subway, 2 blocks from a supermarket.
urban supermarkets are weird things. on one hand, they tend to drive small, locally-owned corner stores out of business. on the other hand, those small, locally-owned corner stores tended to be really expensive and not stock much in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables, or raw meat, or anything not already procesed and cooked somewhere industrial. so now food is cheaper and better quality, and there's way more healthy selections. but more the neighbourhood's money is going to some national chain somewhere. it's nice to be living within walking distance of a supermarket, though, instead of having to drive 20 blocks to a shitty one that was built out in the ghetto because that's where land is cheap.
i think the cat still isn't sure about the new place. he spent the first couple days camped out in his litter box. also, the problem with a loft apartment is that there are no doors, except the front door and the bathroom door, so there's nowhere we can put things to keep them out of his reach. he's currently sitting on my desk and sniffing the bills. not chewing on them yet, thankfully, but the bills used to be in the office in the old place which had a door and he could be kept out. he can also, for the first time in the 7 years we've owned him, spend the night on our bed, which he is really happy about. us, not so much. cats don't sleep through the night like people do (or are supposed to). getting stepped on at 3am isn't great when you have an exam the next morning.
speaking of changes, i've also transferred schools. i think i'm done with change for this year, seriously. can i have a boring year next year? new place to live, new school, new job, new furniture (we should seriously buy stock in ikea), new bank... shit. i want a boring, uneventful couple of months. i am feeling a little more confident when i say i want to do a ph.d. in ancient literature nowadays, though, so the transfer seems to have done that much good already (a big part of the reason i'm doing a professional master's instead of a ph.d. now is because i don't know what i want to be when i grow up).
the other thing i'm really liking about living in the city is mass transit. i know, isn't that weird? but i don't like driving; it stresses me out. i think i overdosed on driving this summer when i drove my sister to phoenix. now i can take the subway and/or train practically everywhere. and the really nice thing about taking mass transit in the city is that everyone does it. out in the 'burbs, it's seen as a thing for poor people who can't afford a car (that someone might not want to have a car doesn't seem to cross many people's minds). in the city, at least in an east coast city, it's everyone: kids, students, poor people, downtown professionals, tourists, and so on. it's kind of an equalizer. i won't say it builds community, despite the often literal rubbing shoulders; most people tend to be quiet and not make eye contact. but at least there's no hands clenched on the wheel, trying to avoid assholes in trucks, breathing exhaust fumes, trapped in a module of steel and glass, and losing several hours a day of productive time. now i can sit on the train and read and do homework. we're going to sell one of the cars. yay. and i guess there is a kind of community feel to mass transit... you're all riding together. it's ok to ask someone for directions, or which train goes where, or am i on the right platform? i always have to wonder about the panhandlers, though. wouldn't it have been smarter to spend your two bucks on food than on entrance to the subway platform where you ask people for quarters for food?
so yeah. life in the city. too much change. too much new shit. i'm about at capacity for this stuff right now.
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