zoom, june.

well, it's almost over, June that is. we did our best RB  and I to get this move going in the right direction. I can make an itemized list of all the things I would have done differently for the both of us, and all the things RB was in charge of that he learned a lesson for next time- you know when we move again in 5 years.

the month started out great with a hot trip to Maine, retirement parties, fathers day. birthday parties, and pretty much every weekend being consumed by either family time, OR moving. we closed on the 12th, and that's when the madness set it. I began packing as soon as i could, I can say with almost 100% certainty we have WAY to much crap. -anyone interested in buying some things? I've got plenty to sell- RB packed 3 boxes. -what a big help- my favorite packing moment with him was when he said to me one night, "why are you packing now, we have plenty of time?" it was June 15th, we moved THURSDAY.

I booked the movers, got boxes, packed, and slowly we moved stuff we could by ourselves after closing. RB sat in our new apt waiting for cable/phone/Internet and a locksmith. poor guy sat on a folding chair for 6 hours. I also hired a cleaning lady to help with the mess over at the new place. I knew that the older woman who had lived there didn't live there for three years prior to selling it, and no way she cleaned the way i needed it cleaned. I didn't expect the cleaning person to do it all alone, i was going to clean along side them. Well, moving day came, and the cleaning service called AFTER i confirmed payment, that they service our area, and that they are prepared to clean an empty apartment, to cancel and tell me I was out of their service area. just another added bonus to moving day.

our next bonus came when the movers arrived 30 minutes early and looked around in awe of how much crap we have. of course the actual move was well over the estimated priced surprise, surprise, but at least I didn't have to figure out how to put a hole in the wall of my own hallway, they did it for me.

My mom and I arrive at our new address, to clean up a little, and to our surprise, the place was FILTHY. And when I say FILTHY I mean FILTHY. Turns out in February the boiler broke and there was "blow back" of soot into our apartment and the one upstairs. It happened twice. Now, soot is worse than dirt because it's oily, greasy and sticks to everything, the floors, the walls, inside every crevice of every crack and nook and cranny you can imagine. we did the best we could in 6 hours time, and i'm sure you can't really even tell how dirty everything is because EVERYTHING is dirty. Don't walk around barefoot in here, you'll pick up the soot on your socks or feet.

The AC in our bedroom is as old as I am and barely cools anything down, while the one in the living works well but is so loud I am choosing to sweat than to be comfortable in the NYC humidity. My kitchen is smaller than I remember, and the slope in the floor is worse than I remember. The slope can be equated to the episode of "How I Met Your Mother" when Lily and Marshall move to DOWISETREPLA, yup, its that bad.

This morning RB asked for a frying pan, and I obliged of course, i'll dig one out of a box for you--- because we aren't unpacking due to the fact that we are renovating in about 4 weeks. renovations entail a total gutting of the place, so why unpack just to pack again--- when I went to look for a sponge to wash said pan, I found the sink leaking in the kitchen, ain't I lucky. I couldn't help but to think and feel that the hits just keep on coming. I'm not the type of person who thinks or says things like "Fuck My Life" or Dark clouds only follow me, bad things happen to me, or a giant negative nancy BUT it's hard to stay positive and know that in 10 weeks time all the little annoyances of this new home will dissipate with renovations. But we do have to live here for the time being, which brings me to our last bonus.

we went to contract in October of 2012, we were told it won't take longer than 6 months for us to close,  which made our time lime perfect for closing, renovations and moving in after all the renovations were done. we all know what happened there- we closed 8 months after going to contract and now have to live in it while the renovations are going on, plus we have to wait for the renovations to begin, and they are going to continue while we are away in August. I'm hoping that when we return from our Hawaiian getaway, all i'll need to do is unpack.

OH! I almost forgot! our last apartment refuses to give us back our security deposit, made us pay $1000 move OUT fee, plus $50 because we were moving out prior to 12-noon. the realtor trying to rent our space was an enormous bitch who was nasty and very difficult to work with and continues to harass us because we took our washer/dryer that we bought ourselves 4 years ago and the next tenant doesn't want to pay us the amount we are asking for it. the washer/dryer thing really gets me going because when she was showing our space I said numerous times it's for sale, we will just leave it for $600, now that we have had to move the washer/dryer out with us, she tells us that its an added expense for the new renter and they will buy it for $500 because they have to come and get it. this is one time I will proudly cut my nose off to spite my face. I'd rather sell it to someone I know for less than $600, than sell it for one penny less than the asking price, because that apartment, the landlord, the realtor and the bullshit that went on there is too much for me to sell it for less.

this is one of the first summers i'm angry that i have to work summer school, i haven't been to the beach, and have to live where i live, the way I live. on a better note, our favorite restaurants deliver to us now, loading and unloading the car is easier, we are in more of a neighborhood, where kids are outside playing, and hopefully our renovations will go a little better than our actual purchase and moving in.

I guess it could all always be worse. let the renovations begin, pray for us...

New England heat.

I'm super behind and i'm going to try my best to move it along. many things have happened all of which were extremely time consuming. first let's start June off with a flight to Maine for the weekend to enjoy my girls and the littles christenings, hence the back dating. of course I had a great time, ate lobster, snuggled with June and Jan, I even had the pleasure of going to the beach. mostly because it was sweltering! 

how does that even happen, 90+ degrees with humidity in freakin' Maine. either way though, it was fantastic. I ran both saturday and sunday, feeling pretty decent except when I thought I was going to die on my run back on saturday morning--- it was seriously so hot, there was no shade, and i thought of the brilliant plan to run at 9am for 2 miles without water--dummy. 

sunday was fo' sho' a great and happy day. woke up early, had some breakfast, some great qt with Jan, and made the decision to run to the beach. 3.4 miles later, I arrived. it was beautiful. it was the first beach day of the season for me which is totally odd, because usually i'm there at least once a week throughout the year. the sound of the lapping water, and the beautiful blue sky was so serene and happiness provoking. I felt completely at ease and that that day would be one of those unexpected days and wonderful-ness. (I was right)

I ran into that water, and it was so cold, but my burning legs needed it, it felt amazing. i played with the kids in the water and didn't feel uncomfortable about being in a bathing suit- for the first time in about 15 years. 

the best part about that day though, was simply sitting on the beach blanket with Jan and June enjoying the serenity of the beach, watching their kids play, and creating a memory for both them and us, that I certainly will treasure always. at one point Jan's mom said " you three look like the 'ya-ya sisterhood' sitting there." it was an experience, and small, to some insignificant experience that meant a lot to me, and it was exactly where i wanted to be, and want to be every sunday morning. 

of course you didn't think that the weekend went off without a hitch did you? my flight home was supposed to happen at 3pm and i should have gotten to NY around 4:30ish. instead, due to weather -that according to mom, didn't exist- my flight was delayed to around 6, which in the grand scheme of most of my stories isn't that bad, but, of course i don't mind the necessary evil when i get to enjoy the time with June and Jan. 

the move is on

up until this afternoon, we had yet to find out when our closing date was for this apartment that was "purchased" almost 10 months ago. i wasn't that worried, although between the end of the school year kind of work i have to do, our impending trip at the end of the summer, packing, or attempting to pack, figuring out a move and the everyday inertia of life, it was all becoming somewhat anxiety provoking. do you blame me?

finally, we have a closing date, and things can finally move along. granted not the way we hoped or anticipated, however, movement will happen. this isn't to say that the anxiety will dissipate, however it will (hopefully) subside for the time being. perhaps i'm misreading the anxiety and it's actually excitement? fear? nah, i'm going to stick with anxiety. either way, the move is on, it's on like donkey kong.