November 5, 2012
This morning saw one kinda major
achievement, a little more fiddling while Rome burns, and this
afternoon brought an introduction to a neighbor who brought some good
news and the arrival of television.
Also, a meager windfall when one of
the Dish network installers bought my 16' ladder for $60. I think her
name was Tanya, but it could have been the other girl, who was
equally large and burly looking. Well, this is supposed to be a life
of deprivation and I do have another ladder. If I feel silly
about owning three or four jackets and coats when my closet is only
one square foot, I can't be running around with more than one ladder.
Besides, I think sixty bucks was a
good deal and there's a real good chance I won't use it any more,
anyway. Not unless I need to get on the roof.
But that's not the point.
I didn't sleep nearly as well last
night as I did the first night here, but maybe I wasn't quite as
exhausted. It took a few cups of coffee and my usual post-coffee and
get-up lay-down before I finally succumbed to the day and got a
little busy. With the armoire. Jeez, what a beast that beautiful
thing is.
By about nine it was in the house.
While it's basically impossible for me to move, roll, or dolly it
from the side, I was surprised at how easily it moves if the dolly is
on the back. Got it to the door without a sweat, but then I needed to
cover the pavers with plywood and lay it down on its side to get it
in the door.
That, of course, required the “front
room” to have the things in it moved to make a good-sized empty
opening. The armoire fell off the four-wheeler once or twice, but it
made it in and was all ready.
I was a little afraid, but the TV
survived the move and worked when I plugged it in.
My Dish appt was any time between
eight and noon, and I moved some boxes onto the tables in the yard
and did some measuring with the tape measure I was able to find. The
yard, I guess, looks a little neater with the boxes on tables instead
of just sitting on the dirt, and there was a hint or two of
organization, but it's still mostly random or dependent on weight and
box size.
I wanted to leave room for the Dish
people, so only the small blue bookcase made it into the house and is
now situated under the west window. I plan to set that cowboy table
next to it, then the armoire just about in the corner.
The southern wall will hold the black
desk, the computer one, and I hope to get the Stefania bookcase next
to the entrance to the bathroom.
I couldn't be doing all that, though,
not while waiting for the Dish people to arrive, but they got here
just after noon and a couple hours later they were gone and the TV
was working.
So, there's that.
While they were here, “Mike”
showed up.
He used to own this place, or his
sister did, or something like that, but he lives next door (the brown
place) and had a couple pieces of information. He let me know a
little about the neighbors but, most importantly, let me know that
when he tried to get a building permit for his garage he was pretty
much told to never mind. There's no longer anyone checking on
permits, not here, anyway, and the county can't be bothered any more
with us desert residents.
That may or may not be a temporary
thing because of the county's financial state, but he said something
about anything being five feet from the structure being ignored.
Hmmm...
Also, and this just goes to show how
little I investigated this place before moving in, as it turns out
that through the wall air conditioner is also a heater! Mike
mentioned that, and I just checked and he's right: it has settings
for heat, cool, and just fan.
I found some more kitchen boxes, but
that tiny kitchen is a bit daunting. Sure, there are nine cupboards
waiting to be filled, but I've yet to figure out what I want to go
where. The cupboards may be numerous, but they're also tiny and, like
everything else, I have lots of kitchen stuff.
I pretty much took the day, yeah.
Minardi barked when I left for the
store, and I've been trying all day to give him lots of attention and
make sure he knows he's still part of a pack. True, the pack is only
he and I, but I think he misses Mika, Cheryl, and the life he's known
up to now. Fortunately or not, he's getting up there and the thought
of burying him disturbs me, but most of the day he spends napping,
which I hope gives him some relief from any anxiety he might be
feeling.
The Dish installers gave him a cookie,
which he was reluctant to take at first, even from me, but he took
the second one and the girls weren't worried about him or unhappy
with his presence at all.
That was another thing I thought
about, but I don't think it rose to the level of worry. I just
figured I'd put him inside while they were outside and vice-versa,
but there was no need.
After they left, I gave up on doing
just about everything (Hey! It was hot!), and ended up spending some
time learning about the workings of the Dish network. No, not
particularly productive, but it had to be done.
Some food, though, did make it into
the cupboard, mostly the stuff I'd packed for Rachael's apartment,
leftover candy and more ramen.
As far as getting unpacked and moved
in goes, I'm willing to give the books and computer games a pass, at
least for the time being. Most of the “misc” or decorative shit
can also wait. I think my focus should be kitchen, clothing, and
furniture arrangement. And, by furniture arrangement, I don't think I
mean any more or less than putting bookcases, shelves, and desks
somewhere.
Dad's desk is outside, slated for
patio furniture. Well, it would be nice to sit out there and use it
with a laptop or something. The cowboy desk may end up being my desk
for official crap, and maybe those kind of things will sit on its
surface. The black desk will stay as the computer desk, and I plan to
put it in place tomorrow.
Minardi is troubling me as much as
anything else. I want to get him a big bag of cookies, but I don't
know how to do that. I could hop in the Jeep and go to a supermarket,
something I'd like to do for me, too, but what about him? If I leave
him here, he'll get upset. If I take him with me, I'll have to tie
him up outside the store, and I'm not sure he'll like that, either.
Yep. This desert living is new for
both of us.
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