<body>
 

CSI: My Office

I don’t write about work very often, but this was just… I can’t stop the laughing.

There are several contractors working on some technology project for the company. They all work on laptops and log some odd hours (which makes some sense since I think most of them bill hourly). So some come early to the office.

Earlier this week one of them came to work in the wee hours, I think before 7 AM. She worked for a while, went to the bathroom for a few minutes, came back and discovered that her laptop, power cord, Cat 5 cable and mouse were missing. Someone stole it right off her desk.

At the time I thought, huh. But a few minutes later it became clear that the crack squad of other contractors was on the case. In the span of a few minutes, three dudes had come together to solve the case. It was a cross between Law and Order and CSI. Below is an approximation of their chat. I will say this, I’ve taken some liberties for narrative purposes but they did actually use all the jargon that they’ve learned from cop shows. Really.

My office
9:30 AM
Cubicle aisle way
Dude1: It’s shocking.
Dude2: I should really lock my desk more often.
Dude 1: She was just going to the bathroom.
Dude 3 (walks up and joins in): It had to have been an inside job.
Other dudes look on in horror.
Dude 2 (excitedly): Yeah, they could have been staking out the place.
Dude 1(interrupting): Exactly – they had to case the joint.
Dude 3: A perp like this was fast, in and out. He knew what he was doing. He’s not an amateur.
Dude 2: He saw his opportunity and he made his move.
They all nod in agreement.

It was like watching one of those commercials on Spike! Where they advertise the CSI reruns. Except that this all happened without irony.

The case is still unsolved.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Thursday, September 30, 2004 at Thursday, September 30, 2004 | |  

Happy Birthday Mom!

Per tradition giant red roses have been delivered from me and Deeps - and I've been sure to apprise her of the following facts:
* She doesn't look a day over 29.
* She's the youngest mom at school.
* I figured I'd save the automatic litter box for a more appropriate occasion, like Christmas.

My mother was a wee lass when I was born, having just turned 21 a few months before I arrived. That made her one of the, if not the, youngest mom of any my friends growing up. Also I remember when she was 29 (I was just 8) that she said she's never get older than 29. I think we celebrated several 29th birthdays. For all I know, she might think she's only 43 or something. She's not - because that would make me like 22 and that just isn't true. I can do some things with product, but I'm not a miracle worker.

Happy Birthday!

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Wednesday, September 29, 2004 at Wednesday, September 29, 2004 | |  

Small miracles

The couch has arrived in the state of MA. Sadly, it will not be able to arrive at our apartment until next week. I emailed my boss and told her that I needed to take the day off for the delivery - to save my marriage.

Thankfully my boss is extremely understanding.

It's been good though, this whole learning about life without a couch. We need a couch. Simple. I had no idea it was so critical.

In other exciting news someone else is going to paint our bathroom! Our landlord and her handyman came to do a little look at the showerhead thingey (it's coming off the wall) and figured they could do a repair next week. Then the handyman said he'd be painting the bathroom too. I told him I'd already bought some special bathroom paint but just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

There's a good chance that by this time next week I could have new furniture and a freshly repaired and painted loo.

These are heady days.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | at Wednesday, September 29, 2004 | |  

Much ado about Conan

Deeps and I like to speculate about TV because we a) do not have children and b) do not have a sofa. We have a lot of awkward conversations perched upon old rocking chairs and sketchy ottomans (the footstool, not the empire).

Anyway, we've been chatting about the whole Leno retiring (in five years) and Conan taking over The Tonight Show deal. There's been some good coverage about the timing, the negotiations, the Leno factor, and such. Deeps question was along the lines of, "How'd Conan get sucked into such a crappy deal?" and mine was "Why does anyone care anymore?" Not because Conan isn't great or deserving but because of Leno's lame comedy, his lame interviews, and his lame show - I'm not sure the Tonight Show is so relevant anymore. It's not like must-see TV or tune-in television (TM by me) - it's what I watch to fall asleep. Literally. It's that boring.

More and more viewers are moving to cable, the Daily Show is being heaped with accolades, praise, indie cred, and awards. Letterman is sharp and has been gaining on Leno (The Tonight show has beaten Letterman season after season since the OJ trial - remember the comedic genius of the Dancing Itos? Didn't think so) despite still being an also-ran. It just makes me wonder - what kind of raw deal is Conan really getting?


Labels:

By: Alyssa | Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at Tuesday, September 28, 2004 | |  

Bump and grind

I’ve read several interesting things about public transportation lately – primarily in NYC and Chicago, but the findings apply to Boston.

The Times ran a story around the beginning of September (sorry, it’s all archived now so you’ll have to Google yerself) about a prof who was recreating an experiment first conducted in the 70s. The prof sent out teams of grad students (in pairs) to visit the subway and tries to get people to give up their seats. They had a few ways of doing it: they’d ask directly without specifying why they needed to sit, they’d ask their partner if they should ask for a seat (while standing next to a possible “mark”), or they’d say something like can I have your seat because I have trouble reading while standing. They asked men and women and people over and under 40 equally.

The interesting thing is that if you ask without specifying why, you’re more likely to get a seat (like 70% of the time). Everything else results in mean looks and worse results. But more interesting was the sickly reaction that the students had when they asked. All of them reported being sick to their stomachs, getting nervous and shaking. The Times interviewed the people from the original experiment to describe their experiences (listed above) and found that people had incredible recollection of really vivid, horrifying reactions.

Meanwhile in Chicago, Eric Zorn (a guy I worked for whilst at the Trib back in the 20th century) wrote a hilarious entry about his encounter with one of the EL religious ranters. You may have encountered this person before – he/she stands up and starts preaching loudly about how you’re going to Hell and that you are a minion of Satan. Apparently Zorn isn’t alone in his recent encounter.

I haven’t run into the zealous evangelists on the train in Boston yet, however I have been in close proximity to a man who wet himself; the crazy mumbler who I think might not have a tongue (at worst) or at best is a guy who can’t enunciate to save his life; the F word guy who kept saying that some guy was F*(^%#@ crazy and what did he expect with that family (I know no more…); and the usual freaks on the train like the pole clutchers and door huggers.

The crazies – well you can spot them quickly and try to avoid them. For me it’s harder because I have red hair and I think that’s like God’s natural crazy attracter. But for the pole clutchers and door huggers - these people just don’t get out of the way or make room for their fellow riders. It’s bad manners really. So I take matter into my own hands – literally. I’ve become the bumper.

If you walk just inside the door of the train and stop, I will bump you – probably kinda hard. You won’t expect it from me – the somewhat businessy looking redhead, but I’ll do it. I’m not above whacking you (accidentally of course) with my bag, brushing by with my hands in a forward pushing manner or loudly stammering “Oh my, excuse me!” and generally speaking to you like you’ve recently escaped from a mental facility. Be warned.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Monday, September 27, 2004 at Monday, September 27, 2004 | |  

Mmmm...Movies

So we saw two enjoyable films this weekend: Shaun of the Dead and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. (Go see them!)

Shaun
What a fantastically enjoyable film: hilarious, gross, surprisingly moving and so British. I loved it! I knew it would be a delightful film going experience before the first previews rolled and we saw the new Tears for Fears video. Deeps and I thought the zombies had started early - nope just old rockers. Or as we like to call them For Fears.

Sky Captain
It was all British all the time. Well not so much - but GP and AJ both fake their Brit on and Jude is all Britalicious. This is a beautiful movie to look at - in full sepia glory and I think I must have had a giant smile on my face for the first 30 minutes or more. The movie was old-school in many ways, from the look to the construct of the story. It wasn't too modern Hollywood - we were deep into action within the first 12 or so minutes.

Aside from thinking Jude is lovely, I've never had much of an opinion about him. He still seems a bit light for a roll as a dashing pilot, but just a bit. He was fine. I had no strong opinion about Angelina either - but she was okay too. I'm not a fan of Gwen P and this movie did nothing to change my opinion of the fish stick. Her character wasn't really well-written. See in old-school movies like this there's a lot of good banter. The push and pull helps you to understand that these people are both interesting and terrible at the same time. Jude was mostly a put-upon man and GP was an annoying harpy. I desperately wanted him to uses his gun or machete or maybe a stray coconut on her. Seriously - shut up fish stick!

But the movie was so enjoyable she couldn't ruin it. If they make a sequel I'd suggest the writer rent His Girl Friday before hammering out the first draft of the script.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Sunday, September 26, 2004 at Sunday, September 26, 2004 | |  

Best morning ever

I tried to go down the street (in the car - I never drive, weekend driving is F-U-N!) to the schmancy place to get croissants and the yummy yogurt that reminds of Paris. We didn't really love Paris all that much, but we did love the food. Good God.

Digression #1... So there was no place to park. I guess there was some Anti-Bush fundraiser/bake sale/garage sale thingey and the Cambridgians were running wild. So I went with plan B which is Dunkies. I drove over and got a couple of donuts and some coffee and choco milk (for my man - he was still sleeping) then blazed out into the Rotary of Doom (my emphasis). There was a woman in some late model Buick heading the wrong way in the rotary. She was flipping out, traffic was stopped and she started shaking and crying and put her head in her hands.

I've never seen this before and clearly no one else had either because in a totally unBostonian move - there was this weird stunned silence. No horns, no blaring, nothing. So this big van takes pity on the sad sack (she was also wearing a poncho) and kinda blocks the entry to the rotary so that poncho-gal can reverse out and drive the right way.

So it was the best morning ever - I saw something totally weird in the world of rotary traffic and the woman was wearing a poncho so I already have a poncho count at 1 before Deeps even rolls his sorry butt out of bed.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Saturday, September 25, 2004 at Saturday, September 25, 2004 | |  

The story of the XP and the waiting

Deeps updated our machine with the XP service back which has been out for a while, which is why we waited. The thing with those Microsoft people is that they break stuff and they deploy a patch or something, and why not let someone test that out first? It’s like a polio vaccine. I’m not the first one in line, but I’ll eventually take the shot.

The reason we delayed the update was the fear that the update would be unstable and wipe out our data or mess up our machine. Deeps felt pretty confident that the service pack wouldn’t really cause us any problems.

Of course, if you read this blog with any regularity, you know that was a wrong assumption.

We lost all of our stuff. Software, data, and bookmarks – everything is gone. We’ve been rebuilding and re-installing all week. I still have like 3 or 4 pieces of software to reload. Luckily, I was able to find some of my special writing projects hidden away on alternate back-up discs – so some of that work is still available.

But this made me think, I should have a laptop. Why? Well maybe I’d write more if I didn’t have to wait for Deeps to get off the computer. Or if I could write in the living room or while I was laying around in the bed because I’ve lost the freaking sofa. But like everything else, I have this realization much too late. I could have gotten a laptop for a song just a few weeks ago during back-to-school sales. But now, no such luck. They cost a lot and there are no sales for me.

Plus, let’s be real – with my track record there’s a very real possibility that they’d be on back-order. So if have to wait, then I might as well wait until there’s a sale. So I’m waiting. I’m becoming British I wait so well. Don’t mind me. Just waiting.

The Wait list:
File cabinet
Sofa
Chair
Coffee Table
Laptop
Airfare sales for Christmas flights

Recently removed from the wait list:
Desk – gave up after almost 6 weeks and got another one
Desk chair – for once, something arrived on time

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Friday, September 24, 2004 at Friday, September 24, 2004 | |  

Overheard

I was walking to the bus and passed two old ladies dressed in matching outfits: light aqua sweat pants, doily-decorated shirts and baby pink cardigans.

Old Lady 1: Oh my God! (with thick Boston accent, so it was more like OOOOO My GAAAWWD.
Old Lady 2: What (again with the thick Boston accent, it was more like WAAAAAT?
OL1: Look at the HerAAAALD.
OL2: WAAAAT does it SAAAAAAY?
OL1: Britney didn't even get MAAAAAAAARIED
OL2: That girl has problems.

You're not kidding old ladies, you’re not kidding.

Ed. note: Seriously - I've tried to capture the accent, but it's just not the same. So my apologies. But what you see above is (phonetically) how I heard it. For reals.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Thursday, September 23, 2004 at Thursday, September 23, 2004 | |  

To the big Valley in the sky

Russ Meyer has passed away. I can't say I've seen all of his films - but I've seen a lot of them. They remind me of weird episodes of Xena except that the women were incredibly bosomy. Or like Wonder Woman episodes with bikers and crappier dialogue. Well, I guess the dialogue was probably about the same.

Anyway, he and Roger Ebert made one of my all-time favorite camp films, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. This movie is so freaking weird and trippy and funny you can't help but watch it. It's the cinematic equivalent of a train wreck and a... twinkie maybe? It has no nutritional value. It's really enjoyable and you can't look away? Something like that.

Ebert wrote a fantastic obit for Mr. Meyer who had suffered from dementia in his later years. I can only hope that in his final days he was transported to a time and place that made him most happy. If you've seen any of his films, it's easy to guess where that might be.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at Wednesday, September 22, 2004 | |  

No more couch

Apparently my couch was delayed by the hurricane. See, most furniture manufactured in the US comes from the Carolinas. And so with all the weird weather and problems with flooding, the shipment has been delayed. For a week.

So next week we might get our couch.

And this week I hear a lot about "confirmation" and "verification" - a girl gives away the whole living room suite and you'd think it's the end of the world.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | at Wednesday, September 22, 2004 | |  

Das couchenfreund

We went couch shopping several weeks back - I guess it's been about 6 weeks ago. I had this idea that if we buy a house next year we won’t be able to afford to buy new furniture for it. Since some of the stuff we own is…. tatty, why not buy now when we could (in theory) afford it. My little logic puzzle worked on my husband and off we went for adventures.

We found a great sale, got a fantastic deal, placed an order with Mimi. We paid and got a nice little receipt that carefully outlined that the couch, chair and coffee table (I was on a roll) would be ready for delivery no later than September 20.

That was yesterday.

I called last week, Friday, to confirm. Yes, I was told, everything seems to be on track for the stuff to arrive on Monday. You'll be able to get you stuff on Tuesday or Thursday. So I activated my rapid get-rid-of-old-couch-and-chair plan. I posted a picture on my office's Intranet message board and in about 10 minutes I got a zillion offers to haul it away. Sunday night someone came to pick it up and away they went.

Deeps was a little concerned. "Did you call to confirm we're getting stuff this week? You know for certain that we're getting the couch?"

I told him what I knew - everything was on track for Monday. I'm such a stupid girl.

Yesterday I waited for the call. I waited and waited. I caved after lunch and called them to find out what's up. I didn't get good news. The couch wasn't in and then there was something about the chair maybe not coming at the same time. What? Huh? Where's Mimi?

So there's nothing in the living room except our old coffee table that we'll be delivering to a friend soon, a rocking chair and a chair from the office. The cat is annoyed that we took away one of her napping places. She's actually started sleeping in her dog bed (okay - if I coat it in cat nip). Deeps is annoyed that he can't lounge in the office chair to watch TV.

"It's not really comfortable for laying around," he muttered before disappearing into our office to break the computer (you'll have to wait for that entry).

So now we wait and rock and hope. I was watching TV and I saw this couch that looked kind of like the one we ordered - it's been so damn long now that I've kinda forgotten what it looks like. I hated those TV people, and then felt bad, then realized it was Charlie Sheen and then I changed my mind. Sheen is totally hateable.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Tuesday, September 21, 2004 at Tuesday, September 21, 2004 | |  

Baby Party

We went to a party for a one-year-old boy on Saturday. It was surprisingly okay - I've been to several such birthday parties for friends who are desperate to not have lame parties for their kids.

I can happily report that there were no clowns, however there was some alarming children’s' music that made my ears bleed a bit. Luckily, the CD was over after 1 play and not on limitless repeat.

There were some lessons learned (not by me - but by some moms). You can have too much cake. Strangers and babies don't always mix. You must have an exit strategy otherwise adults will linger when they don't know how to tactfully extract themselves from the festivities when it's clear that the kids need to be fed or need naps. Next year say the party is just from 2 to 4 or something - then everyone knows what the plan is.

Best of all - a baby love affair was born, possibly, between the birthday boy and a little girl just a couple of days younger than him. She's smaller but spry - she went after him over and over again like some sort of baby free-for-all. At one point she was sitting on his back and gnawing on his head. He cried for his mother.

That's how I got Deeps to marry me.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Sunday, September 19, 2004 at Sunday, September 19, 2004 | |  

Price check

So I was at the check out of the store I go to all the time (aka Target - seriously, I'm not going this weekend. I mean it!). The woman was running things through the scanner: bicycle pump, a pedometer, cat nip, some lip balm, a pack of gum and....

She gets to an item without a SKU number - Deeps looks at me with horror.
"Rookie mistake,” he mutters. I nod. "It happens to everyone," he sighs.
"I know - it's just, I'm usually so much better," I reply.

Then a manager-type lady comes over and starts looking at my item. She and the cashier are talking in Spanish and I'm kinda following along. The gist of it is they don't know what my item is.

Finally, manager-type lady turns to me and asks, "What is this?"

"A hacksaw." I smile at the woman.

"A what?" she is still confused. "A saw?"

"A HACK saw," I emphasize because not all saws are created equal. She looks at me as she talks into her walkie-talkie. Finally she sighs and heads off to the Home Improvement department.

In the meantime the line has started to fill up behind me as angry women start to unload their carts. We all wait a couple of minutes. Finally I look over at them and fill them in on what's going on, “They’re price-checking my hacksaw."

One woman rolls her eyes, but the other.... I feel like she understands. Every girl needs a hacksaw.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Friday, September 17, 2004 at Friday, September 17, 2004 | |  

Foot shame

My colleague, Curly, returned from vacation yesterday. I hadn't seen her since before I moved. So we caught up happily and chatted and then she talked about how she desperately needed a pedicure because she climbed and hiked on vacation. She showed me her feet and they were a mess.

Then she looked at my feet. I'll admit, I've been lax on the pedi front since before the move. I dropped boxes and stuff and things on my feet during the move. My hands had been shredded to bits packing and unpacking boxes. I know at one point I had a big bruise on my foot. I felt like I had an excuse, then I looked down.

Hooves!

So I was quickly shamed into going for a pedicure during lunch. Thank God such problems can be remedied in under 45 minutes. I've never been foot shamed before.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Thursday, September 16, 2004 at Thursday, September 16, 2004 | |  

Sweater count

It's that time of year again - it's cooler and new folks are finding their way to Boston for the first time. It doesn't really matter why they're here. What matters is the sweater count.

Deeps and I started keeping track of the sweaters when we first came here to do a little apartment hunting back in July of 2002. You'd see people casually strolling around with sweaters tied around their necks. You know - old school preppie - like you see in bad movies from the 80s. You don't really see people in other parts of the country do this, but I see it all the time when I pass through Harvard Square. Maybe it's a special Harvard thing.

So today was a real red-letter day for sweater counts: 8 sweaters were knotted around necks and draped over shoulders. As a bonus, we've started counting ponchos - I only saw 3 today.

I'm not sure what happens when you get to Cambridge that you have to wear the sweater knotted like that - but it happens. There are special fashion trends that seem to linger in the Northeast: blue blazers for women, dickies, knotted sweaters and those stupid quilted bags. Sometimes I feel like the whole region dresses like my great Aunt Gladys - phasers set on fuddy.

But that's neither here nor there. I had to explain the poncho thing to Deeps. He was puzzled at first but then commented that at least those ponchos covered up the weirdly-formed love handles caused by excessively low-riding jeans. He still doesn't get that look. Neither do I.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Wednesday, September 15, 2004 at Wednesday, September 15, 2004 | |  

Garden State

Last night Deeps and I capped our summer movie run with Garden State. It was the last movie on our short list of 'must-see' summer flicks. I'm not sure why we waited so long, but it was a good night for a movie.

I think it's a great movie to watch - it's very interesting from a visual perspective. Most of the jokes are visual. They're more complex than a mere sight gag, but ultimately fall into that category. It's a smart sight gag. The dialogue is very natural. There were a few moments when I had a Mamet flashes with all the "ums" and "ehs" and "ohs" scattered about. But it was good. I'm interested in seeing more from Zach Braff in the future.

I've really liked Peter Sarsgaard for a while and have loved Braff on Scrubs. They had a natural rapport onscreen that worked for the story. I realized last night I had no real opinion about Nathalie Portman before the movie. She doesn't do anything for me one way or another. Overall I thought she was pretty good - there were a few scenes where she was a little stiff, a bit awkward but overall she worked.

It's not a wildly plot-driven film. In that way it reminds of things like Lost in Translation and to a lesser degree Eternal Sunshine. They're really films about characters and mood - they're very evocative of a particular time and place in life. I guess as I get older I like being so fully transported and engaged with people. Their stories are rather simple but they are incredibly complex.

So there you have it - it's funny and entertaining, talky without being too talky and has a great aesthetic without beating you about the head and neck with it.

Cuddles - throw it in your Netflix queue. Everyone else, get thee to a theater.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at Tuesday, September 14, 2004 | |  

The saddest cat in the neighborhood

So I have a cat and she was pretty cheesed off by the move. It's been almost 2 weeks and she's still mad. I know this because she's taken to attacking my feet while I sleep. Plus she likes to walk around and yowl at ungodly hours of the night and early morning.

She seems happiest when she is cuddled up in her cat carrier (a soft-sided duffle bag like item with open mesh sides). I put her in it during the move for a couple hours. Over the next couple of days I'd put her back in for a few minutes to keep her out of trouble while we lugged things in and out. I left the carrier under a table, open - now she's got her own personal cat fortress of solitude.

Since she seems so into the carrier I thought she might finally use a cat bed. I spent some QT at Target (where I go every weekend apparently) and was looking at pet beds. Here's the thing, the cat (aka Poopus), Dana Kitty - is a bit chubby. She's fat. She's too fat for a regular cat bed. She won't fit. My husband likes to point this out to me often and if possible, in public.

She's a housecat. Of course she's fat. She's older too - like 8. I mean, let's not kid ourselves.

So I had to buy her a bigger bed - a dog bed. I think she knows because she looked at it and just ignored it. I put the frog in the bed and a couple of new catnip toys but she's not going for it. I'm starting to devise new plans to get her to love it.

This morning I was flipping the bed around for a perfect placement in the room. I then discovered that the mattress flips over and has a flannel side. It had a giant dog toy - a frisbee with a dogs head and "good boy!" written on it. I heard a weird noise and looked up to see the cat watching.

I'm pretty sure she's figured out what's going on. I may never get a normal night's sleep again.

Labels: ,

By: Alyssa | Monday, September 13, 2004 at Monday, September 13, 2004 | |  

What they don't tell you

We haven't unpacked all the boxes yet, but we're already planning our next move, which would (hopefully) be to a place we buy. Our hope is that we might be able to do it next year.

The problem - the upfront cash and also the monthly payments. We horde a tremendous amount of money each month in the house fund over at the ING which brings in a whopping 2.2% savings rate (almost 5x what we'd get from our primary bank). So that money grows a little every month. We add to it. We're diligent. We budget. We plan. I don't know if it will ever be enough.

The problem is that the Boston real estate market, not unlike markets in New York and California, is really tough. We start to think about where we might live and what we might like and what makes sense for us to live in for the next 3-5 years and then we pull out a calculator.

It's really daunting.

To find something that we think would work for us and our lifestyle (working in the city and commuting from a distance that's not too far) we're going to have to spend.... at least X dollars if we want a 2 or 3 bedroom condo that clocks in around 1000 square feet. (We can make do with 2 but 3 might be smarter if I go crazy one day and decide we should have a kid.) And to be honest, that X is really, really low.

Earlier this week Deeps, in an uncharacteristic moment of pessimism, told me that he could easily calculate by the minute what it costs us not to buy. He's serious - he's a mathematician - and he's serious because there's an actual calculable number by the minute! No half pennies people - it's really numbers and it's terrifying. If we don't buy next year, we should just assume that the costs of a place that was $X in 2004 is probably going to be more like X+12% as soon as 2006.

So there it is - the big scary thing that makes it hard to sleep at night. Should we jump on the buying bandwagon? Will we be in over our heads? My husband isn't even allowed to use a hammer - how can we ever be homeowners? Can we raise enough money? Should I borrow from my parents? Should I sell some blood?

I never really had any big ideas about being a homeowner. In Chicago we found a nice place that was decent and pretty large and was very affordable compared to what some of our friends paid (of course we did live across the street from a mental institution - so that helped keep costs lower). When we moved to Boston and got the big sticker shock of paying almost 3x what we paid in Chicago the discussions immediately turned to buying because it seemed more prudent to build equity.

It's not all doom and gloom. We're saving extra because our new apartment (while dirty and spider-infested) is much cheaper than our old place. All that extra money goes to the House fund and that makes me feel better. Plus we're practicing doing some fixer-upper things on this place because our landlady said she'd cover the costs of supplies if we did the labor. So I can learn about light plumbing work and do a little construction. My husband might be allowed to use a hammer (with strict supervision).

Just the other day Deeps asked if we could figure out a better way to do something - and suggested we call upon my dad for some advice and help.

I laughed because it's just what my dad used to do with my gramps. It's part of the cycle - we just need to figure out when we're ready to start.


Labels:

By: Alyssa | Friday, September 10, 2004 at Friday, September 10, 2004 | |  

New TV

So I guess it kind of snuck up on me - the new fall season. I thought I still had a couple of weeks. Guess not.

I didn't have a plan or really read much about what I should watch this season, so I'm winging it. I watched Father of the Pride last week because it was the night we were packing (before the move) and honestly - I wanted to see the train wreck. It was really unfunny. I've laughed more at an episode of Mystery! The only slightly funny bits involved the humans and that really seems to not be the focus of the show.

So it's not funny and on NBC and the critics hate it so I expect we'll be seeing it for another 7 to 10 seasons. Rejoice.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Thursday, September 09, 2004 at Thursday, September 09, 2004 | |  

Kiss of the Spider

I've disparaged the former tenants enough. But I can't stop! I've been responsible for removing dozens of spiders from this apartment. I don't have any deep arachnaphobia but I'm not a huge fan of the spider. I understand their value in the food chain and so I don't kill them, I hustle them out quickly.

I think the former tenants may have worshipped and revered the spiders more than I - I've found spiders and cobwebs in EVERY single corner of this apartment. I wish I was kidding.

Last night I found spiders - plural! - in my bed. But today the spiders are gone. A lot of the horrible marks on the wall are gone thanks to a lot of elbow grease. That means we won't have to repaint anything but the bathroom. Or hire an exterminator.

Next up - operation Smell Better. I've had the windows open 24/7 since we moved in but the place still smells like an old basement. We've swept, washed walls, scrubbed floors and unpacked - still the smell lingers. I've resorted to placing air fresheners around the house and several scented candles are lit. So far, smells good.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Monday, September 06, 2004 at Monday, September 06, 2004 | |  

Target

By my calculations, rough estimates, we have spent approximately $15,489 at Target over the past 5 days on the following items:
large garbage bags
Swiffer Wet Jet refills
Swiffer Wet Jet pads
Swiffer dusters
Swiffer duster refills
Swiffer extensions
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
Diet Pepsi

When I'm through, this apartment will be clean.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Sunday, September 05, 2004 at Sunday, September 05, 2004 | |  

Things you should know about

If your bathroom is terrifying - like mine - then you might need some of this paint. It sounds like a miracle and that's what the bathroom needs along with a fumigation and heavy demolition. And a bomb.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Saturday, September 04, 2004 at Saturday, September 04, 2004 | |  

Moving cocoon

I think there's a period of time a few days before and a few days after a move date (I guess it's about a week long) when you're so focused on the move and packing and the unpacking that you are in a world unto itself. News? What news? You're just curious about the weather the day some dudes haul all your stuff out of one place and into another.

Right now we're making lists. I think the funniest part is that we do all this as renters - run to Home Depot to pick up a better shower head, look at radiator paint, consider adding window film to a few odd windows. I can't imagine what it will be like when (and if) we ever become buyers.

I think the best part of moving is the weird discoveries. The book you forgot you had. The journals you stashed away from years ago. The picture of your niece when she was a baby - almost 9 years ago! And of course there are the other discoveries - they are less pleasant. The weird collection of dirt behind the bed,the giant family of spiders in your new bathroom and that your neighbors can see you naked in the shower.

But there's still good stuff - I'm sure someday I'll find it again. And magic is real. I speak of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Seriously - it's like magic.

This place is so dirty, I figured a repaint would be the only way to make it look clean again. I was wrong. Mr. Clean is magic - even my husband agrees. I don't know what was on some of these walls - I don't want to know. I just know that it's gone, thanks to magic and elbow grease.

Also I'm not sleeping so I think this is really hilarious. Please forgive me.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Friday, September 03, 2004 at Friday, September 03, 2004 | |  

Turns out they were dirty hippies afterall

I found a protest sign inthe basement and the apartment is dirty - but we're in. As of last night around 10 PM. Ugh, my back.

Oddly, the same weird cardinal that used to sit outside my office window and chirp at me has just appeared outside my new office window. Bizarre.

More to come later - my back, she aches! Must buy some paint. And sponges. The scrubbing begins in earnest.

Labels:

By: Alyssa | Thursday, September 02, 2004 at Thursday, September 02, 2004 | |