15. November, 2003 - local news - inspected
- Poor lighting raises concerns in my neighborhood. But one of the things that people need to do first is actually report existing lights that are out so they get fixed. That would make a pretty big difference.
- Riot preparations divert money from police needs, leading to increased costs at the University.
- Student housing forum focuses on student-renters and sends a petition to the city council to revoke the licenses of landlords with multiple violations.
- Ruminator Books in St. Paul is in dire financial straits. They’re having an Auction beginning today to raise some money, and you don’t even need to drive to St. Paul. [boing boing]
- If you’ve recently upgraded to Mac OS X 10.3, perhaps you’ll need to run this Panther Printing Fix. I know I did. But the ability to view .ps files in Preview and Exposé are worth the price of admission to me.
- Yesterday I had Ron from InspectaHomes inspect the house I’m looking to buy. He gave me a 14-page booklet detailing all of the house’s shortcomings, but concluded by saying that they’re all “petty” and there’s really no work I’d have to do upon moving in.
It’s been interesting watching my attitude change as the process of first finding, and then buying a house has moved forward. I started out thinking this was a pretty nice house, and figuring what I wanted to do to it (like ripping out the carpeting, refinishing the hardwood floors on the ground level, and getting new carpeting upstairs). I moved on to trying to think of the things that had to be done before I could move in, such as the carpeting, but only replacing the carpeting in the bedroom that will be mine (the other bedroom and the upstairs hallway can wait until later), and dealing with the old, noisy, but still working dishwasher in the kitchen (I’d like to get rid of it, but now that I know it works, I don’t have to). Now I’m trying to put together two lists: one of the things that have to get done before I start filling the house with my life, and another of weekend projects I’ll do when I get a chance. The list of weekend projects is already long enough that I don’t see having a free weekend anytime during the first year I live there.
I’m also starting to see myself living in the house. The vision hasn’t completely come together yet, as there are a lot of details I still need to work out, but I can already picture some of the ways a different living environment will shape my life.
I currently wake up and wander a dozen feet out into the living room to read the morning news on the computer as I go from conscious, but still fuzzy-headed to being wide-awake and ready to face the day. I can already see that my mornings will be different in the new house. The bathroom is on the same floor as the bedrooms, and the office will be down the stairs on the ground floor. I see that encouraging me to get showered before heading downstairs, which will probably mean that I’ll start working sooner in the day, as a shower is currently the line that divides my time from the day’s work. But where will breakfast fit into the picture? I guess there’s still plenty to discover.
I’m looking forward to that discovery, but I’m still worried. I’ve settled into a routine in the seven years in this apartment, and it’s going to change. I’m looking forward to the change, but it worries me. There’s a lot that’s comfortable about the rut I’ve settled into, and while I’m sure I’ll find an equally comfortable rut in the new house, I worry about the work involved in changing ruts, and whether the new ones will be aimed more in the direction I’d like to be moving.
Copyright 2008, Dave Polaschek.
Last updated on Sat, 15 Nov 2003 07:22:00.
