Recent Happenings

A few things have happened in the past several days that warrant mentioning, but I'll have to expand on some of them (with pictures) later since I'm blogging at 6am and need to go get ready for work soon! I have one story that has to be told today, though, so enjoy.

The first and biggest exciting thing is that Nick and I moved into our new apartment. Now, you might be asking yourself why on earth we'd move to an apartment from the cute house we had. The answer is two words: shadetown and deployment. The first word refers to our old neighborhood. At one time described as "up and coming" I've determined that the sentiment was in fact wishful thinking. While there were several nice families on our block, once you strayed from there it was a total mixed bag...of nuts! Since Nick is hoping to go to Afghanistan for nine months next year, and let's face it he's been gone for half of this year, we thought an apartment in a nice, quiet community would be far preferable.

We were not let down! Our apartment is bigger and so much nicer than our old (read uncleanable dirt and grime hiding in every cabinet, only two prong outlets, and power that goes out whenever you vacuum) cute (read tiny) house. We've got a nice deck for enjoying the outdoors, and I think Finlay likes his daily walks more than the chance to run around freely in the yard, which he only did occasionally anyway. I'll post some pictures as soon as all the boxes are out of the way.

Yesterday I also got my first major appliance! Yes, Daddy, I did my research first. If you've every been to our house when we've been doing laundry you know it's a big pain to dry clothes. The dryer didn't time itself or turn off on its own, and for the last eight months it has made a horrible screeching sound constantly that is apparently irreparable. Since we have to be more quiet in our home now (we're on the second floor of three) we decided that we had no choice but to buy a new dryer. It's nothing fancy, just your basic-level Maytag. Of all the dryers in our price range this one got the best reviews, and I know that Maytags tend to be trustworthy. The coolest thing about it is that it has a cycle you can run on any heat setting (any of the five!) that senses the moisture in the barrel and automatically shuts off when it reaches the desired dryness level (you choose from several options). I tried it twice yesterday and absolutely love it! I'm a little poorer now, but at least my clothes will be pampered from now on.

The last accomplishment yesterday was the cable set-up. It almost went perfectly. However, we had a small glitch - I mean, come on, it's Time Warner Cable, of course there was a glitch! When I submitted my installation request I noted that we wanted to switch our box to an HD box because our new TV is HD. The guy comes to install my cable - no box. So, knowing how pumped Nick is about getting HD and wanting to reward him during his sixth straight week of 13 hour-plus work days, I haul my butt down to the TWC office in Five Points. Not, I soon discover, a good plan.

When I walk in, I can barely fit in the door because the line is so long - at least fifteen people deep. I should note here that I am holding our massive DVR box. I quickly notice that stationed inside the store is a policeman - not a private security guard, but an honest-to-God City of Columbia police officer, complete with gun. This, I think to myself, is not a good sign. So I stand in line, waiting patiently. After all, if I'm not here, I'm at home unpacking boxes, which is frankly getting monotonous. So I don't really mind waiting that much. I'm determined to remain pleasant.

About fifteen minutes into the experience there is a mini-revolt in the store. It seems that about half of the people in there are just there to pay their bills with cash or money orders. Who knew that many people actually went to the store to pay their bill? Apparently they do. So, there is one cashier who is handling only these people, and at some point they decide to make their own line at her station. Not the right plan! There are others who have apparently inquired as to this option previously and were told that there was one line and one line only. They become somewhat irrate at the people in the new line. It's at this point that I become grateful for the policeman because he gets over there in just enough time to diffuse the situation and send everyone in the new line back to their original places in the old line. Then, like kindergarteners waiting for lunch, they all scurry back to claim their exact places. The woman behind me, who I am guessing was mentally altered in some way, definitely invaded my personal bubble to ensure that she got to claim her previous spot. She never backed off!

So fifteen minutes later( at least thirty total minutes of standing in line) I reach the counter, swap out my box, and head home to hook it up, grateful to have left in one piece. I get all the cords plugged into all the right places only to discover that the woman at the counter failed to supply me with an electrical cord. Since I'm working all day today, that will have to wait until tomorrow, when I'm sure I'll have another adventure at the TWC office.

Happy Hump Day everyone!