From the emergent nest

I arrived in Scary City on Tuesday late in the afternoon. Picked up the keys to my new place (which I do still like immensely) and went out to buy some household items, including a vacuum cleaner for the carpet (It is called a Roadster, which amuses me.) ...The semi-carpeted status of this place is the one thing about it that doesn't thrill me.

The movers arrived at 8 yesterday morning...this move has been so efficient on both ends, I can't quite get over it. They were jovial and bizarrely helpful - one took it upon himself to destroy the mini wasp nest that I had noticed was developing on my balcony. (The wasps have come back to look for their home and, I suspect, to build another...it is time for the killer aerosols, I'm afraid.) The best part was that I was able to get the movers to put together my enormous new bed frame and huge bookcase, and to assemble the futon frame I bought from Grumpy ABD Adjunct (which I hadn't a clue how to put together, since I so daft in such matters...) I paid them some cash, it took them an hour or so, and now it is done! I am so pleased about this, as I thought I was going to have to wait until Saturday to have it done...I had a tradesperson booked to come over then. This puts me significantly ahead.

The rest of the day was a bit frustrating. I was tired and overwhelmed by chaos. I got the kitchen unpacked, and went grocery shopping, but mostly felt like I was treading water. As well, it turned out that my phone service wasn't working - so neither, therefore, was the Internet. A call to the phone/Internet company last night, though, resulted in a service appointment today...and the technicians arrived at 8am, though they were scheduled to come anytime until 5pm. Not only did these - once again - insanely happy and helpful characters fix the phone service problem, but they also volunteered to set up my Internet and wireless for me. I can't tell you what a relief this is...I have to say that I was feeling really isolated, what with the shock of being in a new place and no way to communicate with people...Which was compounded by the fact that my doorbell isn't working, either! I think I was just over-tired, because that is a rather dramatic reaction - it's not like I'm out in the middle of nowhere. At any rate, it's all great now, and here I am, posting this on my very own wireless connection...I've never had wireless at home, so this makes me very happy.

My reactions to being here swing dramatically. Of course, at bottom, it's too early to tell anything - and I'm too ensconced here in my home and unpacking tasks to really get a sense of anything right now. But on the drive in, I was feeling very positive...it's so beautiful around here. I felt full of hope and promise. Yet when I walked downtown (which is very close to where I'm living) late in the afternoon yesterday, I felt dejected. And then I went into a second-hand bookstore that had Internet terminals, since I couldn't get online at home, and when I was leaving I asked the store's owner -a middle-aged guy - if there was anywhere nearby I could buy a phone. He thought for a moment, semi-suggested a couple of possibilities, and then said, very vehemently, "This is downtown Scary City - it sucks!" Well. Quite the vote of confidence in my new home there!

So we'll see how it plays out. Off I go to continue unpacking...if nothing else, at least I have this lovely place to nest in. My colleague - my one friend here, who hired me, and whom I stayed with when I came apartment-hunting - is coming over for a visit this afternoon. She lives very nearby. She'll come by with her dog - it will be nice to see them both, for I am really missing Mr. K still. Tonight, I will have a drink - god, I look forward to that gin and tonic. There has not been enough of that lately, I must say.