I made it back from the bonfire in one piece, nothing singed, and nothing frozen. For those who haven't attended a bonfire on a near freezing night, it is a constant war between being too close to the fire and feeling like you're cooking, and being too far and be freezing. The difference can even be as little as a foot or two, since while sitting in a lawn chair, my shins were definitely toasting, while my body was comfortable.
Although, apparently I wasn't nearly entertaining enough this year. So my sister had to bring out all the stories of my escapades from previous years, much to the delight of the fellow revelers. I did take the opportunity to set the record straight about the time I stepped over the log that contained the fire. I didn't almost fall into the fire, I did in fact step into the fire and then back out, without any harm done.
My flight back was a bit entertaining. Since there are no direct flights from Knoxville to Boston, I had to switch planes in DC. Originally I was scheduled for the 9:30PM flight which would have meant a three and a half hour layover. I asked for an earlier connection, since I knew that there was an hourly shuttle between DC and Boston. I did have to pay $25 bucks, but at the time I thought it was worth it. So, according to the new itinerary, I had about 5 minutes between when my first plane landed and boarding for the second plane began.
Landing 15 minutes early, I thought I would have plenty of time, enough to even stretch my legs. But then we were delayed 20 minutes while we waited for the bus to take us to the terminal. Apparently they don't plan on planes being early and can't arrange transportation for such contingencies. Anyway, since boarding is a 30 minutes process, I knew I would still be fine.
I get to the terminal and found one of the handy screens to tell me what gate my flight was leaving from. For a second I couldn't find it, until I realized I was looking at predicted departure times and not scheduled. My flight was delayed an hour an a half. So, in fact, the 7:30 plane was now estimated to leave before my new 6:30 flight. I thought about asking to change to the earlier flight, but when I saw the length of the line, and contemplated whether the frustration was worth 30 minutes, I decided I would wait for my flight.
Luckily, they moved the estimated time forward again, and it ended up leaving only about 10 minutes after the 7:30 flight. The really enjoyable part for me, was that so many people had switched to the "earlier" flight that my flight ended up being nearly empty. In fact, I had half the emergency exit row to myself. So I availed myself of the window seat which allowed my to fully extend my legs, while still maintaining the convenience of not having anyone sitting between me and the aisle, so I could make good my escape from the plane, and ease of trips to the restroom should they be required.
Anyway, it's past my bedtime.
11 November 2007
09 November 2007
Bonfire
I have been in my new place for less than a week, and I'm already leaving. Although it's only for the weekend. My sister is having her annual bonfire party which I have attended faithfully every year. Yes, even when I was on the left coast, I made it 4/5 of the way across the country to celebrate man's earliest invention: fire.
I should probably have spent the weekend unpacking. My place is... well, while there are pathways to and from everything, more than half the floor space is full of boxes or paper, or things that are more or less in their correct places. But I have time to unpack and arrange things. Although I really should get curtains soon. Walking around naked is so much more interesting when you forget to close your curtains rather than not having any. BTW, I'm kidding about that, I just want to get a good night's sleep without light pouring into the window. Really.
I should probably have spent the weekend unpacking. My place is... well, while there are pathways to and from everything, more than half the floor space is full of boxes or paper, or things that are more or less in their correct places. But I have time to unpack and arrange things. Although I really should get curtains soon. Walking around naked is so much more interesting when you forget to close your curtains rather than not having any. BTW, I'm kidding about that, I just want to get a good night's sleep without light pouring into the window. Really.
07 November 2007
First Night
Last night was my first night in my new place. I was debating whether to spend the night at the apartment I'm renting or go ahead and crash here. The problem with crashing here was that I had to unpack enough stuff to spend the night. But, I decided to go for it, and I'm glad I did. Even though I woke up a number of times during the night, I woke up more refreshed than I have in a while.
To get me through the night, and the following morning, I went to the store and bought the necessary things, like toilet paper, soap, and peanut-butter. I was so overjoyed that they had Peter Pan peanut-butter than I bought three large jars. To some that might sound extreme, but for me, it's par for the course. Of course, when I got back to my place, I realized I would have to find my silverware! It is very tricky making a peanut-butter sandwich without a knife! So I unpacked until I had a glass for my milk, and a knife for the sandwich. I also unpacked my bedding, and did a quick load of laundry, since some of it smelled a bit musty after being in storage and transit.
I think it is going to take me a while to unpack and get rid of all these boxes... Speaking of the boxes!
So yesterday wasn't just the first night in my place, it was also move in day. I got here about 8:45, since the truck was supposed to arrive between 9 and 10. In front of the building they had put up signs warning that there was no parking for the day, between 7am and 5pm. Oops, there were not 1, not 2, but 3 cars in the designated area. So when the truck came, he double parked them in. Then the cops were called. I didn't realize there was so much drama going on until I went back down to see why it was taking so long to get the moving started.
While the cop and the movers were figuring out what to do, the washer/dryer delivery men showed up to install my washer and dryer. When he looked at the closet for the laundry, he asked me if I wanted them side by side or stacked. I said I didn't think they would fit side-by-side, and he said he didn't think they would fit stacked. Uh-oh, I thought. The guy on the phone had said they were 36 inches each, plus 1 inch for the stacking kit. The area for the laundry has a shelf on top for the water heater, but with 74 inches of clearance. So after a couple of measurements to be sure, they finally went ahead and assembled the equipment, and without much further ado, they had my laundry machines installed.
So, in the time it took the appliance delivery men to haul in the washer and dryer, assemble them, install all the hoses and what-not, one might think that the other delivery would be sorted out. I went outside to check on the progress, and there were still two cars (apparently one guy wised up and left) the cop, and the two delivery trucks. After much more waiting, the comedy relief showed up. A guy in a huge black SUV with big chrome rims decided that the nice parking spot in front of the yellow curb and the no parking sign was a good place to park. He got out of his car and the cop flash his lights and flipped his siren on for a beat. He told the guy he was already going to have the other two cars towed. The genius actually kept walking toward the curb, apparently he didn't believe the cop. But he did believe the sign that he'd parked directly in front of. Anyway, eventually a couple of tow trucks came and took the offending cars away.
Don't worry, they weren't my neighbors. Well, the cars weren't registered to anyone in my building. Apparently the cops do check and knock on doors, just in case the signs weren't sufficiently clear.
The unloading thus didn't start until nearly 11am. So I didn't get to work until 2pm. I was going to try to get at least six hours in, but by 6pm the day proved to be too much. Oh, if I fast forwarded through the actual moving in... Well, it's moving things in. A few items were missing (like my dresser which apparently broke apart when it was taken off the truck from California), one of my floor lamps was broken (the staff broke), ironically I opened the box that had the glass bowl (randomly, really) and it was broken as well! And the TV, media center had the top taken off, and the pieces that hold the top to the bottom are missing. So there will be a claim for this moving experience.
Anyway, now it's about time for night 2!
P.S. I am stealing wifi because the DSL won't be ready until next week. And I won't get satellite until next week either (which is just as well since I haven't set the TV up yet).
To get me through the night, and the following morning, I went to the store and bought the necessary things, like toilet paper, soap, and peanut-butter. I was so overjoyed that they had Peter Pan peanut-butter than I bought three large jars. To some that might sound extreme, but for me, it's par for the course. Of course, when I got back to my place, I realized I would have to find my silverware! It is very tricky making a peanut-butter sandwich without a knife! So I unpacked until I had a glass for my milk, and a knife for the sandwich. I also unpacked my bedding, and did a quick load of laundry, since some of it smelled a bit musty after being in storage and transit.
I think it is going to take me a while to unpack and get rid of all these boxes... Speaking of the boxes!
So yesterday wasn't just the first night in my place, it was also move in day. I got here about 8:45, since the truck was supposed to arrive between 9 and 10. In front of the building they had put up signs warning that there was no parking for the day, between 7am and 5pm. Oops, there were not 1, not 2, but 3 cars in the designated area. So when the truck came, he double parked them in. Then the cops were called. I didn't realize there was so much drama going on until I went back down to see why it was taking so long to get the moving started.
While the cop and the movers were figuring out what to do, the washer/dryer delivery men showed up to install my washer and dryer. When he looked at the closet for the laundry, he asked me if I wanted them side by side or stacked. I said I didn't think they would fit side-by-side, and he said he didn't think they would fit stacked. Uh-oh, I thought. The guy on the phone had said they were 36 inches each, plus 1 inch for the stacking kit. The area for the laundry has a shelf on top for the water heater, but with 74 inches of clearance. So after a couple of measurements to be sure, they finally went ahead and assembled the equipment, and without much further ado, they had my laundry machines installed.
So, in the time it took the appliance delivery men to haul in the washer and dryer, assemble them, install all the hoses and what-not, one might think that the other delivery would be sorted out. I went outside to check on the progress, and there were still two cars (apparently one guy wised up and left) the cop, and the two delivery trucks. After much more waiting, the comedy relief showed up. A guy in a huge black SUV with big chrome rims decided that the nice parking spot in front of the yellow curb and the no parking sign was a good place to park. He got out of his car and the cop flash his lights and flipped his siren on for a beat. He told the guy he was already going to have the other two cars towed. The genius actually kept walking toward the curb, apparently he didn't believe the cop. But he did believe the sign that he'd parked directly in front of. Anyway, eventually a couple of tow trucks came and took the offending cars away.
Don't worry, they weren't my neighbors. Well, the cars weren't registered to anyone in my building. Apparently the cops do check and knock on doors, just in case the signs weren't sufficiently clear.
The unloading thus didn't start until nearly 11am. So I didn't get to work until 2pm. I was going to try to get at least six hours in, but by 6pm the day proved to be too much. Oh, if I fast forwarded through the actual moving in... Well, it's moving things in. A few items were missing (like my dresser which apparently broke apart when it was taken off the truck from California), one of my floor lamps was broken (the staff broke), ironically I opened the box that had the glass bowl (randomly, really) and it was broken as well! And the TV, media center had the top taken off, and the pieces that hold the top to the bottom are missing. So there will be a claim for this moving experience.
Anyway, now it's about time for night 2!
P.S. I am stealing wifi because the DSL won't be ready until next week. And I won't get satellite until next week either (which is just as well since I haven't set the TV up yet).
05 November 2007
Closed on my condo!
At long last, I finally closed on my condo. It only required signing and initialling about a hundred pages of documents and forking over yet another big check. But, in exchange for all the signing, I received a set of keys, keys which go to my new condo!
Another bit of excitement was that I finally drove my car in Boston! It's actually been an entire month since I've driven (not including driving my car 3 floors to park it at the office after it was dropped off outside my office). I drove it straight through Boston to my condo. It was also odd adding gas to the tank, since it has been well more than a month since I've done that. I was shocked at the price, then I realized that even buying the highest octane (instead of the middle) I paid less in Boston than I paid in California.
Another bit of excitement was that I finally drove my car in Boston! It's actually been an entire month since I've driven (not including driving my car 3 floors to park it at the office after it was dropped off outside my office). I drove it straight through Boston to my condo. It was also odd adding gas to the tank, since it has been well more than a month since I've done that. I was shocked at the price, then I realized that even buying the highest octane (instead of the middle) I paid less in Boston than I paid in California.
02 November 2007
Closing on Monday
Monday is the big day! That's when I'll be closing on my condo. Then Tuesday is the next big day when all my stuff gets moved in. It will be nice to have my things about me again (although saying that in that way reminds me of Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man. For those who haven't seen it, it's excellent and has a great brawl scene).
Then on Saturday of next week is my sister's bonfire party. I think I should get some kind of award for racking up the most miles to attend. The first year or two was only travelling from Virginia, but then two years in California and now from Boston.
In non-home related news, I took a trip down memory lane tonight. I stopped by my fraternity house for a visit. I had been delaying the trip for some sort of psychological reasons, but tonight was the night to stop by. I am glad I did, since they are close to completing preparations for the blacklight party. It has evolved since the days when I lived there, but these things happen. Although a lot of things have changed, many things have stayed the same.
Hrmmmm... I think that is about enough for tonight. Actually that is probably more than enough tonight, since the nice bartender at Whiskey's has been plying me with drinks all night. I'll chalk it up to practice for the bonfire, even if I don't plan to live up to the nickname "Timber."
EDIT: Oh, I actually knew that I was going to be closing on Monday yesterday, but I didn't put it in my blog because I didn't want to upstage my sister's birthday. Of course, she'll probably just hit me in the stomach for adding this edit...
Then on Saturday of next week is my sister's bonfire party. I think I should get some kind of award for racking up the most miles to attend. The first year or two was only travelling from Virginia, but then two years in California and now from Boston.
In non-home related news, I took a trip down memory lane tonight. I stopped by my fraternity house for a visit. I had been delaying the trip for some sort of psychological reasons, but tonight was the night to stop by. I am glad I did, since they are close to completing preparations for the blacklight party. It has evolved since the days when I lived there, but these things happen. Although a lot of things have changed, many things have stayed the same.
Hrmmmm... I think that is about enough for tonight. Actually that is probably more than enough tonight, since the nice bartender at Whiskey's has been plying me with drinks all night. I'll chalk it up to practice for the bonfire, even if I don't plan to live up to the nickname "Timber."
EDIT: Oh, I actually knew that I was going to be closing on Monday yesterday, but I didn't put it in my blog because I didn't want to upstage my sister's birthday. Of course, she'll probably just hit me in the stomach for adding this edit...
01 November 2007
Happy Birthday Melanie
Today's blog is dedicated to my sister Melanie, who had a birthday today. She's the best sister and best friend a person could hope for.
31 October 2007
Walk through and phone calls
I had the walk through on the condo today. Basically just checking to make sure the things that were supposed to be fixed had been fixed. Very exciting, I know. While doing the walkthrough my broker called my agent and said that everything was good to go as soon as I turned in my paystub. But...
A few hours later I got a call from the mortgage broker that said the verification of employment (VoE) didn't include salary information. So either I needed my last paystub and my W-2 from 2005 or I had to find a way to get the verification of salary. My w-2 from 2005 is in storage, so that would be a little hard to find. My paystubs were all online, and once my resignation took effect, I didn't have access to the website any longer, making the paystub hard to track down.
I called Lockheed's employee service center and talked to them about it, no much help. They steered me toward the website where I can get the salary VoE. Then the problem became that I need a pin number, so I had to call Lockheed again to get that. They gave me a pin number that didn't work (actually three pin numbers to try). So then I called the place to get the VoE again, but they don't have a button to press to get a live person. In fact, a number of things I tried instead ended up just disconnecting me. I tried the website, managed to lock out my account trying the pin numbers. Again I called, and eventually figured out how to get a live person. The live person kind of helped, but confirmed that the pin numbers I had really didn't work. But she was able to make it so that I could log in without the pin number (answering a bunch of questions instead). Then I called Lockheed again to try to figure out how to get my pin number corrected, but the guy I talked to wasn't any help and kept telling me all I had to do was visit that website.
If that took a long time to read it took much much longer to get through. From now on, whenever I move, I am packing all of my financial information in my suitcase to take with me. Either that, or win the lottery so I don't have to deal with mortgages ever again.
Finally, I would like to wish my cousin Elizabeth and my cousin Erica a very happy birthday. I would also like to wish everyone else a happpy Halloween.
A few hours later I got a call from the mortgage broker that said the verification of employment (VoE) didn't include salary information. So either I needed my last paystub and my W-2 from 2005 or I had to find a way to get the verification of salary. My w-2 from 2005 is in storage, so that would be a little hard to find. My paystubs were all online, and once my resignation took effect, I didn't have access to the website any longer, making the paystub hard to track down.
I called Lockheed's employee service center and talked to them about it, no much help. They steered me toward the website where I can get the salary VoE. Then the problem became that I need a pin number, so I had to call Lockheed again to get that. They gave me a pin number that didn't work (actually three pin numbers to try). So then I called the place to get the VoE again, but they don't have a button to press to get a live person. In fact, a number of things I tried instead ended up just disconnecting me. I tried the website, managed to lock out my account trying the pin numbers. Again I called, and eventually figured out how to get a live person. The live person kind of helped, but confirmed that the pin numbers I had really didn't work. But she was able to make it so that I could log in without the pin number (answering a bunch of questions instead). Then I called Lockheed again to try to figure out how to get my pin number corrected, but the guy I talked to wasn't any help and kept telling me all I had to do was visit that website.
If that took a long time to read it took much much longer to get through. From now on, whenever I move, I am packing all of my financial information in my suitcase to take with me. Either that, or win the lottery so I don't have to deal with mortgages ever again.
Finally, I would like to wish my cousin Elizabeth and my cousin Erica a very happy birthday. I would also like to wish everyone else a happpy Halloween.
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