the world is your acorn

It’s time for the giant national annual conference in my field of study. I’ve been every year since my first year as a student here, and I’m going again this year. Even though there are reasons to dislike the conference (too large and unmanageable, peer reviewing process is awful), I’m always excited for it. It’s always in a fun city, there are enough interesting researchers there to make it worthwhile, and enough people that I know go so that it’s a good mix of work and fun.

This year though, I can tell I’m in a totally different place. I’m glad to be going, but also glad that I’m only staying a couple of nights instead of the 4 or 5 nights I usually go for. I’m over it partly because I’ve finally discovered my niche in this research world, and have had the opportunity to attend much smaller, more intimate conferences and events where I get to meet really smart people. Of course, the other part is that The Little Red Haired Girl isn’t joining me at all this year (she usually tries to get away and join me for at least part of the conference) because of our pre-baby budgeting and vacation-day-saving. And not only is she not joining me, I also feel a little guilty or anxious leaving her home alone while she is wicked pregnant and we are preparing to move in a week. And, a couple of weeks ago when I went away for a conference, all kinds of shit went down that I wish I’d been there for. Ugh.

I guess this is the next stage of the shedding of my foot-loose and fancy-free life. At least I’m fortunate enough to have multiple things in my life going on that I want to be there for; that’s much better than having none.

friedapplepie posted a photo:

Yesterday I rearranged my day so that I could spend the majority of the afternoon checking out a last few rentals with The Little Red Haired Girl before making a decision. We had one that was really nice but a little too expensive and had some kitchen flaws that we were ready to pull the trigger on, and another that was doable but not ideal for a more affordable price. We thought that we might see one on Monday that was better than both those options, or at the very least help us figure out our priorities better. First we saw a ridiculously laid out place that stank like gasoline because the current tenants kept their lawnmower in the mud room instead of the shed in the yard. Right?

Then we saw Andrew’s place. Andrew’s place was gorgeous, super cheap, in a neighborhood with sidewalks (nothing to sneeze at, if you live in Nashville). But just a little too small. We could probably do it. At this point we decide it’s between Andrew’s place and the more affordable one from before.

The last showing of the day was what we were calling William’s place. Same rent as the more affordable one from before, and I’d driven around the neighborhood before and peeked in the yard, and liked it. The pictures also made it look beautiful inside, but you know how those go. I had actually been counting on this one being “the one” since last Friday, but the property manager couldn’t show it until Monday. So, while we wait for her, I drive The Little Red Haired Girl around the neighborhood (walking distance to bars and restaurants, and the grocery store!), and we looked in the yard. We both felt really good about it. When we saw the inside, we fell in love. I should say, we walked in the front door and saw the two front rooms and the kitchen, all open to each other, and fell in love. High ceilings, open layout, huge kitchen with lots of counters and cabinets, big windows (with screens!), hardwoods. Then The Little Red Haired Girl noticed that there is no dishwasher.

WHAT? We asked the property manager if the owner would be willing to put one in, and she said probably not. WHAT? She said that she was really into keeping the house all historic, was reluctant to put in central air and heat, and would probably not go for a dishwasher. We were heartbroken. Property Manager was totally passive about it, but finally she said she’d ask. Meanwhile, we looked more around the house and fell in love more. Huge closets, pantry, lots of space for baby and office and even a guest room, if we want. Property Manager comes back to say that her boss will call the owners, and she’ll get back to us tomorrow. We go home, convinced that we have to decide between Andrew’s house and the other place.

We actually debated between the two all night, and both slept terribly trying to figure out what to do. Then The Little Red Haired Girl talked to Property Manager this morning, and the dishwasher is a go! What with all the drama? Anyway, we are crazy relieved, and we don’t need to pay this much rent, but the place is gorgeous and the location is great. We can move in in two weeks, which gives us some cushion before closing, and Property Manager even agreed to add a garbage disposal.

Cons:
* We have to do an invisible fence for the dog, which is an added expense and inconvenience
* We have to buy a washer/dryer
* I’m worried I didn’t look carefully enough around the house because I was convinced we wouldn’t be able to live there

Well, it’ll be what it’ll be, I guess.
</rental drama> (i hope)

Well, the good news is that our house is basically sold. The appraisal hasn’t officially come through yet, nor has the closing date come and gone. However, we are feeling positive about it. I know that things tend to go wrong, and this buyer/agent have not been the easiest to deal with. But we are also pretty sure that he wants the place pretty badly. He scheduled a showing for his mom this past weekend. Just sayin’. So, at the risk of jinxing the whole damn thing, I’m going to say that I’m not super worried about the sale.

I am, however, getting really sad to say goodbye to the house. It’s really great little house, and has served our purposes really well for 4 years. Sure, there are little things about it that piss us off. Like there’s nowhere to keep the vacuum cleaner. Or our food. And the windows don’t have screens and are oddly shaped so we’d have to have custom screens made. At the same time, looking at rentals around town, we’re learning that all other houses have similar and usually many more problems.

By “problems,” I realize that mostly I’m talking about “not our preference.” Like people love the hell out of a divided sink around here. Why? How do you soak a pan? And they don’t seem to care about garbage disposals, even though they are fairly cheap to buy/install and make life WAY easier. And god forbid you flip a house and design a kitchen with more than 4 square feet of counter space. And the carpet! OMG the carpet. WHY the carpet?

So we’re feeling down to the wire on this whole renting thing. We have less than a month before we have to get out of here, and we still haven’t nailed down a place. We had 1 that we loved snatched up because we couldn’t commit soon enough (waiting for inspection and appraisal of our house), and 1 that was pretty good snatched up because I was out of town and The Little Red Haired Girl didn’t want to apply without my having seen it. Literally as we were walking up the front steps to go see it, we saw the couple asking for an application. We have a couple of places that will be fine, and actually much cheaper, but each comes with its compromises. It’s just so hard to know which compromises will make us crazy and which will be fine. Will it be:

• Carpet all throughout the house?
• Paying a couple hundred dollars a month more than we want to?
• A slopey yard but a sunroom to keep our outdoor furniture in?
• A small yard?
• No fenced yard, so the dog will have to have an invisible fence?
• A half-sized dishwasher?
• Not enough kitchen space but lots of space elsewhere?
• The house not in walking distance to anything fun?
• An electric coil stove (which is my least favorite of all the possibilities)?
• Not all the windows have screens?

Right now, I think I’m leaning toward the cheaper place with the electric coil stove, carpets, some screened windows, and no fenced yard. We’re going to see one more today (The Little Red Haired Girl is actually going to see 3, but I have meetings), and decide tonight or tomorrow. Of course, then it’ll be pending application and all that. It’ll be nice to stop thinking about this, and finally be able to start imagining our stuff in the new place. Feeling this temporary sucks.

friedapplepie posted a photo:

friedapplepie posted a photo:

friedapplepie posted a photo:

friedapplepie posted a photo:

friedapplepie posted a photo:

friedapplepie posted a photo: