The Wrong Side of the Tracks

Yesterday, we moved into our new apartment in Natick. After having only seen it once, for approximately 10 minutes, we were faced with some surprises. For instance, the previous tenants didn't do such a fine job of cleaning up when they moved out. And the building owner didn't pick up the slack. This meant that the first thing we had to do was clean the place. This is terribly unsatisfying, especially given that one of the previous tenants apparently had very long hair that was still on everything. Although I wouldn't mind if one of my friends came over and shedded (Kjerste, I'm talking to you), there is something about picking up hair from someone you don't know that is not cute. Plus, there is some painting that needs to be done, and some egregiously broken window shades that should have been fixed when the last people moved out. More work for us. We are also not entirely sure where to take out our garbage and recycling because the building owner hasn't called us back about doing an initial walk through.

We also noted how little storage space this place has, especially compared to our previous, fabulous apartment in Oakland. In Oakland, we had 2 walk-in closets, a hallway closet, and tons of drawers in our huge bathroom. And a stunning view of the lake, of course. And I realize that this is not the normal state of affairs, but damn, did I get used to it. So the room that was to be the home-gym will probably now be the treadmill room and walk-in closet. And should I even be complaining about this? I mean, really: If we've got an entire room that we can turn into closet space, I should really just shut the hell up. But complaining makes me feel better, so that's what I'm going to do.

One of the bonuses of this apartment is that it is a 4 minute walk to the commuter rail station. What this also means is that it is right on the train tracks. We can see and hear the trains go by. And although I've complained before that the trains don't run frequently enough to get me where I want to go, I'm kind of glad now that they don't run more frequently. Last night and this morning, I was awakened by every single commuter train, as well as the occasional freight train. I've also stated previously that I wanted to live somewhere with some urban noise, so I wouldn't feel like such a suburbanite. I guess I should be careful what I wish for. In some sense, the current setup is the best of both worlds: It's really, really quiet at night (except for chirping crickets) but then the train rolls through to remind me that I am livin' on the wrong side of the tracks after all.

I miss my old apartment. I miss my old life. And dammit, I'm crying in an internet cafe. Why am I in an internet cafe? Well, Verizon can't come out until next week to set up our phone and internet. And again, why am I complaining? I live within walking distance to a cafe that provides free internet.

I would take to my bed, but all we've got is an air mattress (the movers won't arrive with our stuff for a little over a week). And taking to one's air mattress just doesn't have the same histrionic flair as does taking to one's bed.