The lady I work with told me it was very odd for her when she called the phone company to disconnect her parents’ land line. I just did the same thing and it was in fact pretty strange. My parents had had the same phone number for forty-nine years. It was the number I grew up with (although it was on its third area code) and I’m reasonably certain I’ll have it committed to memory till the day I die.

I remember being really amazed about eleven years ago when I discovered that Mark’s parents’ phone number was exactly one digit higher than my own parents’ number. It’s a good number; for a brief moment, I considered reassigning it to my cell phone. But it’s time to move on.

Eight years ago this week, I was working furiously on my escape from San Francisco. It’s hard to believe it’s been so long since we filled up the pod, packed up the Toyota, and left the city like a couple of refugees. So much has happened since then. I’ve called one apartment and three different houses “home” on a variety of levels. I went back to school, got my Master’s, and started an entire new career. I’ve said goodbye to the three most important people in my life, although two of them are still around, if in a somewhat unrecognizable format. The Toyota went several years ago, replaced by a Buick that will be going away soon, too. I’ve reconnected with the East Coast, bonded with Pittsburgh, contemplated cohabiting with Canada, and have pretty much never looked back at San Francisco even for a second. Some rotten things have happened to me here (loss, depression, cancer…) but all in all, I’ve done pretty well on this end of the country and I know that I’m at the right longitude if maybe not yet at the optimal latitude.

Most of the time, geography is not really the cure-all we want it to be, but at two times in my life–when I moved to San Francisco and when I left–the change really was just what I needed. I don’t regret either move.

It strikes me that I’m really more excited about getting my parents’ house whipped into shape than I’m prepared to admit. It’s still not my ideal house but it’s the first place in many years I’ve been able to take over and really make into my own space without any outside influences like roommates, husbands, landlords, etc. And while I’m not going to spend a lot of money, I can spend enough to do it semi-correctly. I think it will be  fun. As I spend more time with it and eliminate some of the chaos and the sad reminders, I’m realizing it’s really not such a bad place–even though it will never have a proper Tiki Room.

The extra hour a day that I’m not spending in my car is kind of nice too. It allowed me to meet with a repairman and have dinner with an old friend before it was even completely dark out.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted. Maybe even with pictures…eventually. I kind of hate that I didn’t take any really good “before” shots.

Updates and such:

Still pondering the ultimate first world problem of which of my two houses to live in. I’ve pretty much settled on moving into my parents’ former house and putting mine on the market. But I’ll be doing this after some significant work on Mom and Dad’s place. I’m definitely not one of those HGTV zombies who’s incapable of uttering any phrase other than “granite countertops and stainless steel appliances” over and over again, but  some kitchen renovations really are called for here. I do require at a minimum, for example, that all the appliances work and that the cabinets and counters not be coming apart. Frankly, there was some serious deferred maintenance there. Plus it’s extremely important for me to make the place my own if I’m going to live there–something of a fresh start after the past few years of associating the place with illness and death.

But I’m really going to miss my house in Winston-Salem. Despite the fact that it has caused “issues” for me, I love the place. I love the neighborhood. I just hate the commute. And not having a mortgage payment will be kind of nice too, assuming my house sells soon.

As such, I’m cleaning out Mom and dad’s house now. Unless you’ve dealt with someone who’s a borderline hoarder and also develops dementia, you cannot imagine what I’m facing in the process. There was an almost unfathomable amount of stuff crammed into that house, all of it completely disordered. In one box, I might find clothes, food wrappers, bills, photos from 1942, jewelery, cash, and used Kleenex. I have to look inside every box and pocket before discarding something. The most heartbreaking things, though, are the notes I find in my mom’s handwriting dating from the last few months she was at home. They’re sometimes indecipherable but generally seem to be attempts to jog her memory as to what that checking account statement actually was–or warnings to anyone who found the manual for her TV remote that it was personal and confidential and they should leave it alone. Alzheimer’s is an evil, nasty thing, in case you were wondering.

So my next few months will involve lawyers and contractors and lots of trips to Lowes and contemplating things like getting rid of the cable and hooking up to gray-market Canadian satellite TV instead (different story altogether…we’ll talk later). I’m not handy around the house. These will by and large not be DIY projects; they’re going to be done right so I can sell the place when the time comes.

Speaking of satellites, I’m loving SiriusXM. Inpsired by friend Duncan, I checked in to see if I could get a new free trial period on the two newer cars I now own. I was able to, but they only gave me two months. I think I’m already hooked, though. Between the 1940s channel and the “college radio” channel and the two very wonderful francophone pop/rock channels from Canada, it’s all rather compelling for some who like radio as I do. The iPod/iPhone is a nice route but sometimes I need the element of surprise that you only get from radio. It’s sort of a necessity for me. I think it will be quite lovely on roadtrips.

More quickies:

• Buying clothes because you’ve lost lots of weight and six inches of waist size is more fun than buying clothes because you’re getting fatter. It’s cheaper too.
• Still fidgeting with this new WordPress template. It has lots of options. I’m not sure how many of them I really care about.
• Applied for a job in San Diego this week. I love my job (though I’m a little stressed at it right now) and I probably wouldn’t take it if offered, but you have to do things like that once in a while just to see what happens. I will say that San Diego is the only place in California I’d so much as even consider moving to.
• Pondering travel options for this year’s big road trip(s). In addition to my annual Toronto pilgrimage, I’m considering Chicago and Minneapolis (and a quick circuit through the Dakotas to add those two states to my “completed” list), Seattle and Vancouver (with a Montana-Idaho chaser to take care of those two states as briefly as possible), and a twenty-fifth anniversary repeat of my 1988 birthday trip to New York and Boston (maybe adding Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to the list). I’m not really considering Alaska, which is the only other state left. Feedback welcome.

 

Surprisingly enough, though, I still love Elmo.