I just realized it's been a month and a half since either of us (who are we kidding...me) updated this blog and seeing as how the whole point of it was to chronicle our journey as we uprooted our lives and moved across the country and that we've already made the entire move without chronicling much of any of it, well, it's pretty sad and pathetic. But alas, here I am. And here is an update.
I last posted here on February 8 while we were still on the road out to LA the first time to find a place. Here's the Cliff Notes version of what's happened since:
Got to LA. Found a house we loved. Deposit was too expensive. Found a townhouse we loved. Debated between the two, ended up with the townhouse. Hung out in LA for another couple of days then flew back to Birmingham. Went back to work. Had a kick ass going away party at Rojo. Said some sad goodbyes. Packed up a 22 foot UHaul. Alex & his dad left in the truck on Saturday, my mom and I left the next day. Drove cross-country for the second time in a month. Got to LA on a Tuesday. Fast forward 2 weeks later and that brings us to the present.
Now, there are other things that have happened in between. I went to Vegas with my mom last week and thankfully didn't lose all my money. She hadn't ever been before so it was a must on her list before she went home. She stayed a full week and a half after we got here so I've pretty much spent these first 2 weeks doing touristy things so I'm just now really beginning to feel like I actually live here. Our place is slowly but surely getting put together and unpacked. I really like the place a lot. I know there are things Alex doesn't like about it, and there are a few things I would've done differently, but overall I really am happy with our choice.
Speaking of our place..our building managers are some piece of work. It's a husband and wife who manage the building. We were originally told that the wife was our contact, but every time I've called, which, by the way, is already more than I ever had to call our landlord in Birmingham, I've always had to deal with the husband because the wife is never there. Not a big deal really, but he sounds stoned as hell every time you get him on the phone so I just get a lot of long pauses and "uh's" and "um's" so I don't really feel confident that we'll ever get everything done that we need. For example, we only have 1 key to our building. Meaning if one of us leaves with the key, the other person can't get into the parking garage at all. Meaning if one of us is gone and the other has to walk out of the building, we're screwed. We've tried to get a copy but have been told by 2 different people that we need to take it to a locksmith. So, I call up my good ol' building manager who tells me that they're waiting on more copies to be delivered and it should be Monday at the latest. It's now 1am on Wednesday morning and we have yet to see a second copy of the key. We also have an entry system for visitors to get in the building. I asked about that at the same time I asked about the key and was told that someone would call me back about it. Have they? Nope. Nada.
All this brings me to today. We bought a washer & dryer last week and had it scheduled to be delivered today. We had to sell the one we had in Birmingham because there's only room for a stackable unit here, so we had to find one here. The delivery guys show up this morning (15 minutes earlier than their earliest delivery time, by the way. First time I've ever had delivery guys be early) and they're busy working away when suddenly they come down to tell us that there wasn't a power outlet. Um, excuse me? Yeah...no power outlet. Just a metal plate with live wires behind it. Now, in California not all buildings have individual water metering, meaning the meter is for the entire building, not individual units. Because of this, water is included in our rent; however, if you have a washer & dryer you have to pay a little extra per month to cover the cost of the extra water you're using. To deter you from getting a w/d and not tell them, they remove the power outlets. Ok, fine...except someone should've told us this when we told them we'd definitely be wanting to have our own washer/dryer. So here we are with delivery guys ready to install everything, but no way to install it. They tell us we need to call an electrician. Great. I call the good ol' building manager again. Mr. Spacey has no idea what I'm talking about or why there's no power outlet but to my amazement manages to get me an appointment for an electrician to come out on Thursday. So now we have two very heavy, bulky paperweights sitting in our hallway for another 2 days. I've been told this is pretty normal for the LA rental market though so I guess I just will have to sigh and grit my teeth.
Let's see...what else? Ah! We've already been in a car accident. Thankfully we weren't in either of our cars. Our friends Amanda and Eric had picked us up to go see a movie in Hollywood and this girl rear-ended us. Alex and I both hit our heads on the head rests and I think we all had a bit of a headache for a while, but the good news is that there was no damage to either car, nobody was really hurt and we still made our movie with 6 minutes to spare. Welcome to LA, right?
Some things I love so far: Being able to actually WALK to things. Alex and I walked over to this little chinese restaurant about a mile away the other night. It's just so nice to not have to drive everywhere and to be close enough to walk to the store if we needed to. I mean, Whole Foods is on our same block. Also, the weather has been pretty fantastic this week. That alone is reason enough to stay here.
That's really about all I have for now. We're still looking for jobs so please everyone say some prayers and send good employment finding vibes our way. We have some leads but nothing concrete yet. Maybe Alex will actually update this thing now that he's unemployed. Eh?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Trip 1, Day 3
Right now we're in Flagstaff, AZ where there is currently more snow than I've seen in my entire life. I never would've expected it to snow this much in AZ, but it's piled high. For example:
See the gigantic pile of snow in the far corner??
We woke up yesterday in NM and got on the road fairly early. We were really afraid of this snowstorm we kept hearing about, but really we only came through one really bad patch for about 20 minutes, then it was sunny. The snow would come and go though...one minute the sky was dark and the snow was falling. The next it was gorgeous, blue sky and the sun was hot beating in the car on you. I guess that's the desert for you.
New Mexico was really, really beautiful. It's really a cross between the desert and the mountins. One side it's nothing but flat brush land, and the other is snowcapped mountains. Simply gorgeous.
Don't know if you can really see the mountains in this last one but it was amazing.
We stopped in Albuquerque at a KFC/Taco Bell combined restaurant to grab a quick lunch. I stuck out like a sore thumb here with blonde hair. Seems the population of Albuquerque is a Latino/Native American crossbreed.
While I was getting my drink from the self serve fountain this homeless lady came up, put her arm around me, and asked for money so she and the other lady with her could get back downtown. Now...I only had a 20 on me so she wasn't getting that anyway, but it was hard to feel bad for her when they had an entire table full of KFC food. So, I politely said I didn't have anything to give and she walked away. Sure enough, every new person who came in the door she went to them asking for money. I was really surprised management was letting her do it and sure enough, someone went and told on her and this teenage manager had to come kick them out. I don't really like being asked for money, but I specifically don't like them touching me then asking for money. Especially when you haven't showered in God knows how long.
We got into Arizona and stopped at The Continental Divide. Honestly, it was a pretty picture, but eh...
Next stop was The Petrified Forest. This has been my favorite so far. There were all these points to stop and look out over the painted desert, which was breathtaking.
I didn't even take pictures of the petrified wood because to me it just wasn't very interesting and it just looked like old stumps lying around everywhere. Alex took a few though.
After that, we came into Flagstaff, ate at a Mexican joint, then found a hotel and crashed. Today we're supposed to do The Grand Canyon and Vegas but Alex is sick so we'll see what happens.
Until tomorrow...
See the gigantic pile of snow in the far corner??
We woke up yesterday in NM and got on the road fairly early. We were really afraid of this snowstorm we kept hearing about, but really we only came through one really bad patch for about 20 minutes, then it was sunny. The snow would come and go though...one minute the sky was dark and the snow was falling. The next it was gorgeous, blue sky and the sun was hot beating in the car on you. I guess that's the desert for you.
New Mexico was really, really beautiful. It's really a cross between the desert and the mountins. One side it's nothing but flat brush land, and the other is snowcapped mountains. Simply gorgeous.
Don't know if you can really see the mountains in this last one but it was amazing.
We stopped in Albuquerque at a KFC/Taco Bell combined restaurant to grab a quick lunch. I stuck out like a sore thumb here with blonde hair. Seems the population of Albuquerque is a Latino/Native American crossbreed.
While I was getting my drink from the self serve fountain this homeless lady came up, put her arm around me, and asked for money so she and the other lady with her could get back downtown. Now...I only had a 20 on me so she wasn't getting that anyway, but it was hard to feel bad for her when they had an entire table full of KFC food. So, I politely said I didn't have anything to give and she walked away. Sure enough, every new person who came in the door she went to them asking for money. I was really surprised management was letting her do it and sure enough, someone went and told on her and this teenage manager had to come kick them out. I don't really like being asked for money, but I specifically don't like them touching me then asking for money. Especially when you haven't showered in God knows how long.
We got into Arizona and stopped at The Continental Divide. Honestly, it was a pretty picture, but eh...
Next stop was The Petrified Forest. This has been my favorite so far. There were all these points to stop and look out over the painted desert, which was breathtaking.
I didn't even take pictures of the petrified wood because to me it just wasn't very interesting and it just looked like old stumps lying around everywhere. Alex took a few though.
After that, we came into Flagstaff, ate at a Mexican joint, then found a hotel and crashed. Today we're supposed to do The Grand Canyon and Vegas but Alex is sick so we'll see what happens.
Until tomorrow...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Trip 1, Day 2
Day 2 was a little more exciting than day 1. We woke up in Conway, AR, had a little breakfast at IHOP, then hit the road again. It was a really dreary, grey day, which made driving all day a little more tiring.
We got into Oklahoma pretty quickly, and I must say that OK's roads are really awful. Bumpy, potholes, just awful. The only other thing worth noting about Oklahoma is that there are Indian reservations and casinos every couple of miles. It's a gambling addict's heaven, for sure.
300+ miles later we get to Texas. Our friend Jonny told us of this restauant in Amarillo called "The Big Texan" that's the home of the 72oz steak, and if you can eat the whole thing you get it for free. If not, it's $1 per ounce, so $72 just for a steak.
We get there and it looks like some kind of Old West theme park outside and inside was all wooden with dead animals on the wall, a gift shop, etc. We end up sitting on the upper level where we have a good view of everything.
Sure enough, there's a guy there trying to eat the 72oz steak. They have him sitting at a table up on this platform/stage with spotlights on him. People are walking up taking pictures, like he was the Wolfman at the circus.
When we sat down he had 30 minutes left. I have to say we were pretty anxious watching the countdown clock. When it hit zero, someone came up and asked everyone to give him a hand, handed him a t-shirt and that was that. Problem is, we're not really sure if he did it or not. BUT it figures, he gets up and turns around and he's wearing an Alabama shirt. We ended up talking to him and he was from Huntsville but lives in TN now.
Here are a few pictures:
After the most enjoyable dinner experience ever, we got back on the road and drove to Tucumcari, NM to stay at The Blue Swallow Motel, recommended by Brie and Jeremy.
Cute little 1950's, neon signs everywhere, hotel on Route 66. This place was fantastic. The lady who checked us in was great. We were the only people in the hotel last night though so I take it this is their slow season.
As we were checking in the lady told us that there's another snowstorm that's supposed to hit tonight and they were expecting another 5-7" on top of what they got last week. We told her we were planning to get to Flagstaff tonight and she said "oh no Flagstaff will be worse! It always snows in Flagstaff!". Great. So that brings us to now. We're on the road trying to see how far we can get. The snowy desert is beautiful!
Here are some pics outside our hotel this morning.
We got into Oklahoma pretty quickly, and I must say that OK's roads are really awful. Bumpy, potholes, just awful. The only other thing worth noting about Oklahoma is that there are Indian reservations and casinos every couple of miles. It's a gambling addict's heaven, for sure.
300+ miles later we get to Texas. Our friend Jonny told us of this restauant in Amarillo called "The Big Texan" that's the home of the 72oz steak, and if you can eat the whole thing you get it for free. If not, it's $1 per ounce, so $72 just for a steak.
We get there and it looks like some kind of Old West theme park outside and inside was all wooden with dead animals on the wall, a gift shop, etc. We end up sitting on the upper level where we have a good view of everything.
Sure enough, there's a guy there trying to eat the 72oz steak. They have him sitting at a table up on this platform/stage with spotlights on him. People are walking up taking pictures, like he was the Wolfman at the circus.
When we sat down he had 30 minutes left. I have to say we were pretty anxious watching the countdown clock. When it hit zero, someone came up and asked everyone to give him a hand, handed him a t-shirt and that was that. Problem is, we're not really sure if he did it or not. BUT it figures, he gets up and turns around and he's wearing an Alabama shirt. We ended up talking to him and he was from Huntsville but lives in TN now.
Here are a few pictures:
After the most enjoyable dinner experience ever, we got back on the road and drove to Tucumcari, NM to stay at The Blue Swallow Motel, recommended by Brie and Jeremy.
Cute little 1950's, neon signs everywhere, hotel on Route 66. This place was fantastic. The lady who checked us in was great. We were the only people in the hotel last night though so I take it this is their slow season.
As we were checking in the lady told us that there's another snowstorm that's supposed to hit tonight and they were expecting another 5-7" on top of what they got last week. We told her we were planning to get to Flagstaff tonight and she said "oh no Flagstaff will be worse! It always snows in Flagstaff!". Great. So that brings us to now. We're on the road trying to see how far we can get. The snowy desert is beautiful!
Here are some pics outside our hotel this morning.
Location:Cuervo,United States
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Trip 1, day 1
Well we made it through our first day on the road. Sadly, I had to work yesterdy so Alex was kind enough to drive me to work and pretty much hang out all day so that we could get on the road as soon as I was done. The original plan was to try to make it to OK. Then we decided that was probably a bit too ambitious so we settled on stopping in Little Rock, AR.
This was the only picture I could get while in the car at night.
We ended up stopping in Conway, AR, a small little place about 30 miles or so past Little Rock. Alex has this strange love for Motel 6, probably because it's cheap, an we had seen a sign for one along the interstate, so we get off the exit and drive past the nicer hotels and pull into this tiny, ghetto looking place. Ghetto, but albeit packed out.
We walk into the lobby and it's one of those places where you have to check in through a plate glass window after hours, and there are two guys in front of us. One who is announcing every 30 seconds how much he has to piss. The other whose pants are just below his ass and buckled tight enough so that they don't fall down.
The only first floor room they had (because this is the kind of place where you park your car right outside your room) was a handicap room. Ok, that's fine, except I feel like I was staying in a hospital. Not only did it smell like old person, but this is the shower...
Complete with hospital/old person shower seat!
So now we're getting back on the road. 125 mikes to Oklahoma. Now for a healthy IHOP breakfast.
This was the only picture I could get while in the car at night.
We ended up stopping in Conway, AR, a small little place about 30 miles or so past Little Rock. Alex has this strange love for Motel 6, probably because it's cheap, an we had seen a sign for one along the interstate, so we get off the exit and drive past the nicer hotels and pull into this tiny, ghetto looking place. Ghetto, but albeit packed out.
We walk into the lobby and it's one of those places where you have to check in through a plate glass window after hours, and there are two guys in front of us. One who is announcing every 30 seconds how much he has to piss. The other whose pants are just below his ass and buckled tight enough so that they don't fall down.
The only first floor room they had (because this is the kind of place where you park your car right outside your room) was a handicap room. Ok, that's fine, except I feel like I was staying in a hospital. Not only did it smell like old person, but this is the shower...
Complete with hospital/old person shower seat!
So now we're getting back on the road. 125 mikes to Oklahoma. Now for a healthy IHOP breakfast.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
29 days and counting...
It's official, I am homeless. Homeless and staying with my parents for the next 29 days. Well...my stuff is staying with my parents for the next 29 days. I'll only be here 17 thankfully.
But, this means that we are moved out of the townhouse. Adios Dewberry Downs, you have served us well. Many a good time was had in that place. Lots of memories made, but it's time to move on.
The truck:
The final picture:
I've spent the past week dreading this day because #1-I have to be apart from Alex for almost a month, after having lived together for almost 4 years. #2-It's hard leaving a place that you feel at home, that has been your home for 3 1/2 years, and that you have so many memories attached to. Alex has seemed to really care less about leaving. He's ready for the next step and is in the "get me the hell out of here" mode, but I've been much more attached...much more sentimental...and it's been harder for me to let go. But the funny thing is, after we loaded up everything and the place was emptied out, it began to feel very foreign. Our belongings were gone and the shell that was left wasn't familiar...it didn't feel like home anymore. So although I teared up a bit driving away tonight, the place I've called home for so long has already become a stranger to me.
I'd like to personally AGAIN thank Ben,Mark and of course Jenn for coming and helping us move yesterday. You find out who your friends really are when you move...and we were very, very blessed to have 3 great friends who didn't mind giving up their Saturday to load very heavy things into and out of a moving truck all day long.
We leave Friday for California to find our next home. I hope we make as many good memories there as we have here.
But, this means that we are moved out of the townhouse. Adios Dewberry Downs, you have served us well. Many a good time was had in that place. Lots of memories made, but it's time to move on.
The truck:
The final picture:
I've spent the past week dreading this day because #1-I have to be apart from Alex for almost a month, after having lived together for almost 4 years. #2-It's hard leaving a place that you feel at home, that has been your home for 3 1/2 years, and that you have so many memories attached to. Alex has seemed to really care less about leaving. He's ready for the next step and is in the "get me the hell out of here" mode, but I've been much more attached...much more sentimental...and it's been harder for me to let go. But the funny thing is, after we loaded up everything and the place was emptied out, it began to feel very foreign. Our belongings were gone and the shell that was left wasn't familiar...it didn't feel like home anymore. So although I teared up a bit driving away tonight, the place I've called home for so long has already become a stranger to me.
I'd like to personally AGAIN thank Ben,Mark and of course Jenn for coming and helping us move yesterday. You find out who your friends really are when you move...and we were very, very blessed to have 3 great friends who didn't mind giving up their Saturday to load very heavy things into and out of a moving truck all day long.
We leave Friday for California to find our next home. I hope we make as many good memories there as we have here.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
For Brie....
I was given crap yesterday for not having updated the blog lately, so Brie, here you go. However, I'd like to point out that since this started Alex has only written one post, so really everyone should be giving HIM crap.
The first reason we haven't been writing here is because our lives have been turned upside down a bit since my last post and life has gotten busy and complicated trying to be ready for the move this weekend. The second reason we haven't been writing here is because we lost the internet at our place the first week of January, so we haven't had ready access outside of work, which has been too busy to write.
Now that the excuses are over, it's January 27 (Happy 83rd birthday to my grandfather, by the way) and we move out of our townhouse in 3 days. It would be fine if we were even remotely close to being ready, but our place looks like a monsoon hit it, or as Alex & Brie have both stated, it looks like something on the show Hoarders. It is RIDICULOUS how much crap you can accumulate over 3 1/2 years. It's even more ridiculous how hard it is to part with some stuff...even though you might not have used it in those 3 1/2 years...even if it's junk you know you don't need. Alas, this week is crunch week and we're spending every waking hour that we're not at work packing up our belongings to go into storage for a month.
Also, in 4 days I will be living at my mother's house again. If that's not the most depressing thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is.
We leave next Friday, 2/5, to drive out to LA and find a place to live. I promise, this blog will get more exciting and active after that happens.
The first reason we haven't been writing here is because our lives have been turned upside down a bit since my last post and life has gotten busy and complicated trying to be ready for the move this weekend. The second reason we haven't been writing here is because we lost the internet at our place the first week of January, so we haven't had ready access outside of work, which has been too busy to write.
Now that the excuses are over, it's January 27 (Happy 83rd birthday to my grandfather, by the way) and we move out of our townhouse in 3 days. It would be fine if we were even remotely close to being ready, but our place looks like a monsoon hit it, or as Alex & Brie have both stated, it looks like something on the show Hoarders. It is RIDICULOUS how much crap you can accumulate over 3 1/2 years. It's even more ridiculous how hard it is to part with some stuff...even though you might not have used it in those 3 1/2 years...even if it's junk you know you don't need. Alas, this week is crunch week and we're spending every waking hour that we're not at work packing up our belongings to go into storage for a month.
Also, in 4 days I will be living at my mother's house again. If that's not the most depressing thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is.
We leave next Friday, 2/5, to drive out to LA and find a place to live. I promise, this blog will get more exciting and active after that happens.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Post #2 of the night...
Not to pimp out the blog or anything, but if you look to the right you will see that you can now subscribe via email. So do it.
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