Location, Location, Location
The new house has been everything I hoped for and more. We’re fitting into it perfectly now that we put up a storage shed in the yard. Looking out through the back windows to see all the trees, with the shadows of their leaves dancing on the skylights back there, lifts my spirits so easily. The open layout makes the most of the space we’ve got, and it feels cozy, not cramped at all.
But the biggest difference I’m feeling is from our location and our neighbors. We’ve got tons of families with young kids on our block. The kids play together outside just about every day. It’s like my own neighborhood was when I was a kid, except with more parental supervision. But the parents cover for each other all the time, which gives more moments of freedom than I’ve had in years.
We also walk the kids to and from school. I love doing that so much. We get to stretch our legs in the fresh air instead of creeping the van along a line of cars at a dropoff point. It’s a privilege I’ll be exercising at every opportunity. Maybe I’ll change my tune once winter digs in, but I really hope not.
I really can’t overstate how this neighborhood changes the whole game for me. I already know more people here, within a half-mile radius, than I knew in Knoxville and Fayetteville put together. I’d even call some of them good friends already. And now that the loneliness of the past few years isn’t gnawing on me all the time, I’m kind of amazed to see how much of it I tolerated.
*ping*
Hello LJ. I still love you, I’ve just been going through stuff and feeling even less inclined to post than usual. I’m still reading you almost daily.
I started an account on Tumblr, but I’m not sure where it’s going to go. I’m thinking I’ll use it for some very specific topic or other. It was kind of silly to start in the middle of a big posting ebb, but in my own mind at least, I’m on the brink of becoming more active again.
For now I’m off to cook grownup dinner. It’s a new menu: chicken turkey patty pita sandwiches with a cucumber mint yogurt sauce, and sesame eggplant on the side. First time cooking both recipes, but they both sounded pretty good.
The Hell Outta Dodge
Wow, I completely lost track of how long it’s been since I posted non-privately. Quick update, because that’s all I have time for tonight.
We’re moving to the house I mentioned a while back. It’s in Decatur, which is much closer to downtown Atlanta — and also much more of a destination in its own right than Fayetteville is. The house is smaller than this one we’ve been renting, but I think that’ll be good for us. The biggest sacrifice is that we won’t have a garage.
But we’ll have lots more dining and entertainment options, and more small kids in our neighborhood for Riley and Lydia to play with. Agnes Scott College is nearby, and apparently a good source of babysitters. Laura’s commute will be about the same, except running the opposite direction of the traffic majority. And those occasional tech writing jobs north of Atlanta won’t be out of my reach anymore. At least, not physically. 😛
The moving truck arrives early tomorrow morning, and we still have a bunch of junk to pack/clean up. Internet cuts out tomorrow too, and it’ll be a few days before we have it up at the new house. I’ll give some more details then.
Hmm. It’ll be one 26-foot truck. Looking around at this labyrinth of furniture and cardboard, I’m wishing we could’ve rented a Tardis instead.
Passing the Crossroads
It’s looking like a move back to North Carolina is still not in the cards for us. But the good news is that we’re excited enough about our new house to be happy anyway. We did put an offer on the house I mentioned before, and the owners accepted. We’re currently wading through loan application stuff (that is, Laura’s wading through that while I finally do our income taxes).
We like the house’s layout and its location. Some of the equipment is getting old (e.g. water heater, one of the AC units), but it’s in great shape otherwise and everything’s still functional as of now. The neighborhood seems nice and has a bunch of small kids for Riley and Lydia to play with. The one downside is that there’s no garage or even a carport, but I can live with that.
I applied for a contract-to-hire job as a web developer here in Atlanta. Still no word, but the recruiter did forward my resume to their client yesterday, so at least I made it that far. It’s a junior-level position, which I’m overqualified for, truth be told, but I’m reasoning that my child-rearing hiatus will make that seem less true. But I’m also sure they’re flooded with applicants, so I’m not holding my breath. It would be a good thing, though, so wish me luck.