In between houses

Well, After finding a place and signing the lease, I am halfway moved in. Actually, more than half way. Everything that I brought from LA is moved in and settled, but there are a few things still to do before the place is inhabitable. Second- assemble a kitchen so that I can eat. First, remove some unwanted furnishings to make room for kitchen.

These things are taking rather longer than I'd like, and in the meantime, I am rather split- my clothes, and everything I own are at my place. Things that I need to keep alive (food, etc) are somewhere else. I really wish that I could just be set up already.

Yay! with strings...

So, the room hunt is over! *knock on wood* After the disappointment that I experienced with my first look at a room, I was not particularly enthusiastic about going to view more places today. How different can spare bedrooms be from one another? How could I possibly enjoy one? I was continuing to look at places out of a sense of duty and helplessness at not being sure how to find a better solution, rather than an actual pressing interest.

 

Surprisingly, the place that I went to see this morning was exactly what I was looking for. a little studio with its own bathroom, separate entrance, and garden views, located about a block from campus, at a not-very-outrageous price of $700/month. After looking around a few of the other places, I was sure. That I got three strait yeas in obligatory coin toss that I use in all serious decisions was only the icing on the cake.

 

Now, however, I have a few smaller issues to iron out. 1) where do I park the car? There's no room at the place, and on campus does not allow overnight parking. 2) How do I cook for myself without a kitchen? I am thinking that I may have success with a combination of a hot plate, rice cooker, crock pot, and bread maker. From my experience at Colgate, I know that between the latter three, my usage of the stove was really limited to boiling pots of water for noodles, hard boiled eggs, and the like. And I suspect that a hot plate has the power to boil water. More of the issue is where do I set all this stuff up without burning the room down or making an unsightly mess (remember that I am struggling hard for minimalism and extreme neatness here.)

 

Things to think about, things to think about. I'll get photos eventually. 

Rooms for Let

Yesterday I went to Boston College (BC) for the second time, this time to start doing some apartment hunting, and start to get a better feel for campus. In the material I picked up, I learned a few things- Renting apartments solo is hugely expensive, and the cheaper options- renting rooms in private houses- is rather strange also.

This is because the area around BC is one of those upscale-residential types, full of big, grand houses that only grandparents or the hugely rich could afford. Thus, when an ad says room in private house, it doesn't mean you are renting a room in a privately owned frathouse with 200 other students, but rather that you are renting a room from somebody's great-grandmother who has nothing better to do than sit around playing bridge and watching soap operas.

Not that theres anything wrong with that, and that it may not be preferable in the school year, but it just didn't strike me as appropriate for a summer where i'm in a new city and don't know anyone or anything.

When it comes to that, having a bunch of people who want to go places and do things and make friends can be kinda helpful. But is it worth the added hassle of trying to find roommates and/or rent an apartment on my own? The other thing that I have to figure out is how feasable it is to rent far away from the college (read: dirt cheap place in the boonies) and commute by bike/metro every day.

So much hunting to do, and so little experience in doing it right.

Flight information

Thursday, July 27, 2006

AirTran Airways # 277
Boston Logan International (BOS) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL)
Departure (BOS): July 27, 6:00 AM EDT (morning)
Arrival (ATL): July 27, 8:52 AM EDT (morning)
Class: Economy

AirTran Airways # 49
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL) to Los Angeles International (LAX)
Departure (ATL): July 27, 10:25 AM EDT (morning)
Arrival (LAX): July 27, 12:25 PM PDT (afternoon)

--------------------------------
Monday, July 31, 2006

AirTran Airways # 54
Los Angeles International (LAX) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL)
Departure (LAX): July 31, 7:00 AM PDT (morning)
Arrival (ATL): July 31, 2:10 PM EDT (afternoon)

AirTran Airways # 839
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL) to Boston Logan International (BOS)
Departure (ATL): July 31, 4:11 PM EDT (afternoon)
Arrival (BOS): July 31, 6:40 PM EDT (evening)

Arrived In Boston

I arrived safely In boston yesterday morning, and immediately went to the college to figure out what I still need to do. I was surprised to discover that most everything is pretty straitforward, and that my big projects for the future are simply to find a place to live and do an online prep course before orientation. Needless to say, I am relieved.

In the meantime, I am staying with an aunt who lives in boston. While she is very kind and generous to give me a place to stay, I am eager to find a space and cadence of my own.

I will begin hunting for apartments today, but first I wanted to let you all know that I was safe.

Between Home and Traveling

In between home and traveling there is this awkward space. At home, free time can be put to use doing one of a myriad tasks- cooking, cleaning, laundry, bills, rearranging, tinkering, even napping. When traveling, the travels themselves can be an all-consuming experience as well. But in between, there is this odd place: the mid-trip pause. In the pause, there is no particular destination or goal to reach, but also a lack of the typical chores that are always available at home.
Needless to say, I am in a mid-journey pause.
I have been occupying my time hanging out with friends that I made during the summer of 2004, bouncing from party to party and couch to couch as though that were all there was to life. Part of me enjoys the whole affair, but a big part of me is starting to feel lonely as well- there has to be more to life than this. I feel nagging urges to be productive, to clean something, to build or destroy, to renovate, to maintain. To put the time that I have to use, doing something- anything really, to leave a sign that I am here, that I am. But even here there is a tension: between the urge to leave a wake behind me and the desire to leave no trace, to leave things as they lie, to change nothing and alter nothing in a place that is not my own.