The Move: Part 1

Welp. A lot has happened since the last post, as per usual. I sat down and typed out two pages in one go. I'll likely publish it in sections because adding pictures in the appropriate sequence makes me want to throw expensive things. No good.

So. We moved across the country! Our preparation began several months in advance as we cleaned pieces of our apartment and packed the non-essentials. The first couple of weeks we discovered that we mostly use everything we were packing and played the pack, unpack game several times. We finally got to a point (the week before the actual move) where packing became useful. We tucked away the grill, bike, craft supplies, and most of our clothing. The last few days we finished squeezing the belongings in our single bedroom apartment into a 5x6x8  taped-off section of our living room.

We decided to utilize U-Pack's ABF boxes, very similar to Pods. It ended up being the perfect size for our belongings, and a much more affordable (and enjoyable option) than a moving van. We packed it up on a Thursday and received it on the next Wednesday, the day we officially moved into the apartment. 

 The remaining items (two suitcases with clothes, food, plants, and documents) all squeezed into the back of our reliable hatchback.

 Waiting for the gas pump and starting our drive!

 All these little specks are lapwing bugs on the pillars near the gas pump we began our drive at. Gross!

Speaking of our apartment, we are now renting a townhome. It has two full bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a nice little patio area. The buildings are laid out in a large squarish rectangle, with wood fences in between the buildings, sealing off the inner courtyad to residents. It's a large, grassy area with massive old trees. 

There are dog services stations for the pet-owners, a laundry facility and pool. Most of the residents here are young international families, although there are a few college students who room together. The area seems fairly quiet, with the exception of our neighbors to the left, who are a bunch of young frat boys with shaggy hair, bare chests, and black socks that come to their skinny knees and clash with their jersey shorts. I'm convinced they will have serious neck issues within five years with the persistent manner in which they shake their shaggy manes out of their eyes. I feel rather disdainful. 'Nuff said.

Our apartment is nice. It's about twice the size of our prior apartment, for about the same price.

The walls are an okay shade of buttermilk, but the painter decided to coat EVERYTHING. I mean, the popcorn ceilings, the trim, even the nails that were in the walls. I'm not sure what lunatic painter decides to do battle against door stops, but this particular one did a stupendous job of painting every door stop and hinge into stiff-as-a-board, buttercream submission. *Shakes head in puzzlement. Some things we've learned between our two apartments together: Leave the ceilings and trim white. Never paint a popcorn ceiling. Always remove hardware from the walls prior to painting, unless the item in question is very far submerged in the drywall. Remove adhesive (including glow-in-the-dark star stickers) prior to painting. The tenants in our last apartment decided to paint over some stars near our bed. They created a lovely faint glow through the paint after we turned out the light each night. Invest in good windows. Single paned windows do a poor job against the elements and moisture. 

The south is lovely and full of character thus far. It's more mild than expected and very green. I grew up about 30 minutes from Seattle, and have always marveled that cities are just plopped down in the middle of the forest. The same is true here. I also expected more exotic plants. The most exotic looking plant I've seen is bamboo growing on the side of the road. Bamboo grows in Washington too. I noticed our water tasted dirty our first night here in the motel. I chalked it up to old pipes, but was alarmed to realize the water here just tastes like dirt. Or moldy grapes. It's pretty bad, to the point that it can be tasted through toothpaste. We invested in a water filter that has worked miracles. The gasoline here is a glorious $3..10. Most of the roads are highways of 45-55mps hour, split up by periodic stoplights. Also. They are all numbered in a most nonsensical manner. Coming from Utah's north/south/east/west numbered grid system, the criss-crossing diagonal roads really throw me off. Additionally, the highways are numbered as follows: 28. 123. 93. 76. 85. Eek. It'll come, albeit slowly!