February 24, 2009

• I’ve Moved!

  Routinely Shattering Expectations

  An Update on the housing situation of yours truly.

  I’ve written before about the feeling of “limbo life” which sometimes overcomes me. Sometimes, even after settling into a routine, and knowing pretty much what to expect from any situation, a sporadic feeling of ennui arrives, and I won’t know which way is up, or have much confidence that anything new or exicting will ever again happen to me. I think it’s a holdover feeling from taking lots of drugs during the 70s-80s. “The Come Down”. Right up until the beginning of this year, I would gladly accept this feeling into my life, and honor it. I would look around, becoming comfortable with the way things go, and I would relish all the great things the world has to offer, even as I read about dire economic woes and the standard killings and strife ridden occurrences which blanket the news stories. Some may think that this immersion into limbo is not to be desired. But I would welcome it over and over again.

  Limbo Life is good.

  I guess the first broken block of Limbo Life to be stumbled over was when Joel died last July. No feelings of Limbo or complacency were coupled with this event. Although we weren’t related, he was a friend, and although he wasn’t coupled to me in any tangible way, his passing marked the first step towards a change in the Mikester’s lifestyle after nearly 15 years of a limbo life lived well.

  It’s pretty difficult to describe the emotions which play out when one disposes of another’s life and belongings. I’ve blogged about how Joel’s brother, his last remaining relative, didn’t really help all that much with the dispensation of his worldly goods. I “inherited” most of Joel’s furniture, his record and CD collections, and his two cats. Frankly, I was amazed at how quickly I was able to completely “disappear” the presence of the person that was Joel. His clothing and books went to the Salvation Army. I began to advertise and sell his furniture, or put it out by the curb for trash pickup. I kept the CDs, records, and the cats.

  In short order, I welcomed a new roommate into my home, and that roommate decided that he couldn’t keep up with the lifestyle at inflated rent prices. My four months living with Mike were interesting, and I saw him move his life into mine, and then saw him move it away, with relative ease, and no regrets. When I went into his bedroom to clean it up prior to moving myself, I didn’t have to spend all that much time, as I had done exactly the same thing just four months earlier.

  No time for Limbo Life. Too much to do. Too many things happening.

  Since I last visited this blog, escrow has closed on “my little house” and I’ve moved almost completely into the mobile house I call home. I thought I was nervous during the approval process for the loan. Knowing that I had to move most of my stuff by last weekend, with friends scheduled to drop by on Saturday, utilities scheduled to be moved or cancelled, a moving van reserved with deposit paid, and most of my “life” packed up in 14x12x20 cardboard boxes, the physical “move” had to happen on Saturday, Feb. 21st. I paid my money back on the 13th. I thought that the week of the 15th was going to be the slowest week of my life, but things were moving too quickly, and by Friday, after a delayed UPS shipment of my paperwork, countless phone calls to my realtor and escrow officer, and enough nervous energy that I could have probably bottled it and used it to run electrical equipment, I was just about at “my wit’s end”.

  Didn’t help that I had to make a major delivery and sales call on Friday. Escrow “closes” when the lendor sends a wire transfer to the escrow company which will be forwarded to the seller. As soon as this is accomplished, my insurance takes over for the seller’s, his stake in the property is pulled out, and mine is plunged deep into the ground. On the evening prior to the close of escrow, the lendor called me at 8pm, and gave me more instructions on sending yet more financial information to him via email. (I can only imagine how long this process must have taken in the past before computers) I had to participate in a phone interview with the mortgage company, a credit union, the morning of the day escrow would supposedly close. I did everthing else I was asked to do, and crossed my fingers.

  Coming back from my client’s place late Friday afternoon, I had not received word either by phone mail or email that escrow had closed. I called the escrow office, and my fears were alleviated, when Virginia, the escrow officer, told me the money had been wired, and I could move in.

  I had begun packing on January 23rd, and the boxes piled in my living room were beginning to gather dust. I had assessed my own life as I packed, distilling not only my 55 years on the planet, but the nearly 14  I lived in the same house. I’m a bit of a pack rat and a collector, and as I have written, if I didn’t think I’d really handled something in the 14 years I had lived in my rented house, I probably wouldn’t handle it again. I watched as the accouterments of Ruth’s life, she who owned the mobile home before she had to move into a nursing home, were either tossed away like so much trash or given away to charity. I had the carpets cleaned, and successfully eradicated her presence. I borrowed our company truck, a big GMC pickup, tossed in a nice four wheeled dolly,and drove to my old “home” to prepare to move into the new one.

  I was in such a rush to get something of my own into my new home, that I loaded up the company truck with lightweight boxes and unboxed odd shaped items, framed art and posters, lamps, fans, and electronic gear, and moved one load into the mobile home before 8pm. In twelve hours, I would be picking up a 17 foot long UHaul moving van, but my impatience, pounding the concept of Limbo Life into smithereens, forced me to keep up my momentum. I finally dropped into bed (just my mattress lying on the floor of my old bedroom at this point) at 9pm, somewhat exhausted, but deliriously happy.

  I awoke with a snap at 4am. (My usual hour of arising, it might be noted) I couldnt’ get back to sleep, and I kept wondering what my LazyBoy chair would look like in the living room of my new home. I tossed and turned a bit, then awoke completely, showered, dressed, and packed up the LazyBoy, the couch, some occaisonal tables, and other light furniture, into the company pickup.

  My second pickup load was deposited into the new house by sunrise. I had some trouble maneuvering the LazyBoy chair into the new place, but acheived success after some thought as to how to accomplish the task. Good thing you can remove the back from one of these oversize chairs!

  At 8am on the dot I arrived at the UHaul lot, picked up the truck, and went back to the old house to call my moving crew. My (now ex) roommate Mike, two of his able bodied friends, and Christian, the 17 year old neighbor’s son, were able to move almost my entire household by 4pm on Saturday. It was fairly smooth going, and I made more snap decisions to throw more stuff away I didn’t really need. One piece of furniture, an L shaped  computer desk I assembled in the media room back in 2002, gave us some trouble, but we were able to split it in two, so it would go through the door and around the short hall and out of the house. It was easier to move it into the new house than it was to get it out of the old one.

  I moved some more stuff on Sunday with the company truck, and began to clean up the old house, now almost completely rid of my existence. I did a little more work on Monday evening after work. Since my internet, phone service and DirecTV service aren’t scheduled to be moved to the new place until Wednesday and Saturday, respectively, my HDTV and computer were left behind.

  I packed up the computer last night. I am now in the process of 1. cleaning the old place in preparation to receive up to $1600.00 of my original security deposit. 2. Cancelling electric and gas service at the old house, 3. Unpacking and getting situated in the new place. (It’s weird not being able to find stuff, until I find the box I put something in. I’ve unpacked about 30 of the 120  boxes so far.) 4. Calling my doctor to schedule my hip replacement replacement surgery, 5. Buying stuff for the new home at Big Lots. (which used to be Pick and Save, my favorite place for household goods, since they sell closeouts and markdowns exclusively.) and  6. Getting in touch with escrow (I’m getting a refund of $700.00 whoopee!) and with my old landlord to update him on my progress.

  Just no time for any Limbo Life right now. I’m just too busy. Last night, just needing a little rest in between the madness, I sat down in my Lazy Boy and  looked over my new domain. I’ve now unpacked and put away the first of my total “collections”, my laserdiscs, and all my furniture is pretty much “staged” where I believe I’ll keep it placed. I love to position my life in a new place. It’s an experience I used to have often, but since I was in the same place for nearly 15 years, I haven’t experienced it in a while. We are a nomadic people, us humans, whether we realize it or not. Some people stay in the same place till they are buried. (Memories of my late friend Bob come to mind.) But most of us move around, in an attempt to keep the Limbo Life feeling at bay. Frankly, I don’t think I’ll be experiencing limbo anytime soon.

  But I am experiencing excitement, exhaustion, and elation. I try not to keep my expectations etched in stone for too long, because I’m forever routinely shattering them.

  Life (without the limbo) is good.

  Photos and video to come soon! (As soon as I unpack the box with the cameras!)

  ---

  (Incredibly long) EDIT/UPDATE: 02/25/09 6:50am pst. All that’s left in the old house is my HDTV, another LazyBoy chair, my vacuum cleaner, and “cleaning kit” (a plastic Sterlite bin containing cleansers, scrubbers, dusters,etc.) (Also my ex roommate’s refrigerator and microwave, which he will remove on Friday.) Most of my ”free” time (when I’m not at work) since this weekend I’ve spent at the new place unpacking, but I’ve allocated a couple of hours each evening for the final cleansing of my old house, in preparation for a “walk through” with the landlord on Friday, when I intend to move the TV, hand over the keys, and get my security deposit back.

  On Tuesday afternoon I got a call from Anwer, the landlord. He thinks he has the old place rented already for March 1st, and wanted to know if his handyman could start painting the walls in the living room. I told him it was all right with me, although I really wasn’t through “cleaning”. (I like to leave a place almost ready for the new tenant to move in, and I always get most of my security deposit back.) We met at the house after I got off work, and I was surprised to find that the ceiling stucco (some of which had sustained water damage back when they added the 2nd bathroom a couple of years ago) had mostly been removed. The carpet had been covered in plastic sheeting, and there were stucco chips and white dust all over the floor. “I’m still in the back room!” I exclaimed, worried that I would find my new HDTV covered in dust. “We haven’t touched that room.” Anwer responded, to which I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “That was my cleaning kit.” I pointed to the Sterlite container. The contents were covered in stucco dust from the ceiling.  ”I guess I can’t really finish the cleanup now.” Anwer looked delighted at how quickly I’d removed all my stuff and how clean I’d prepared the house. I was (invisibly) upset that I hadn’t finished the preparations before his handyman had started on the ceiling. (I thought he only was going to paint the walls.) Anwer asked how much I expected to get back from the security deposit, and I told him at least three quarters of the $1600.00.

  Without any hestiation, he agreed. (Pretty much to my surprise, I should have asked for the whole thing!) On the way over to the house, I’d stopped by the escrow company to get my “refund” check of $670.00. (The amount “overpaid” on the initial certified check to escrow on the 13th.) So my landlord is happy with how I left the premises, and will fork over $1200.00 on Friday when I give up the keys.

  Needless to say, I’m pretty happy not only to get almost the full amount back, but I packed up my “cleaning kit” and don’t have to use any more elbow grease on the old place, leaving me more time to unpack! I also expect to get my $700.00 tax refund check soon, so it’s nice to be able to put some income back INTO my checking account after all the checks I wrote over the past month!

  • 10:16 am
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