Preparing for the Next Big Adventure

[caitri]

Tomorrow we're going on a trip to Illinois to look for a place to live! It's both exciting and terrifying. I do think I'll feel calmer about yet another big move when I know EXACTLY where I'm moving to, though.

I was really busy in October, working and writing. I actually got everything I had planned to get done...done. I'm taking a nominal week "off" for our trip and then I'll be working on dissertation revisions and such. I'm anxious about that too, but my advisor thinks it's totally doable. (As my friend Kate said: FFS you know that SHE wouldn't lie to you about that! Which is true.) Basically I'm just a ball of anxiety and trying to power my way through it.

November and December will be working, packing, etc. And then the big move will be beginning of January, or at least, that's our rough plan.

I'm going to miss Colorado, or rather, bits of it. I'll miss our cute little house and the mountains and the Shakespeare Festival. But I'm really excited about my new job, and hopefully getting to make new friends and stuff!!

Anyhow, wish us luck!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[fritz42]

Whoa! Sounds like a couple of whirlwind months ahead of you. Glad that you had such a productive month in October. Good luck in your search for living quarters. Do you have an idea of what you'd like? House, apartment, townhouse? Hope you find some good prospects.

Thanks for keeping us posted about your plans. I've been thinking about you!

[caitri]

<3 We're looking for a house with a garage (for my printing press), a fenced yard (for the dogs), and a basement (for my anxiety about tornadoes). We have a realtor who is going to meet with us on Sunday, and we're going to take a look at some properties. There's one I REALLY like with a great garden and a new kitchen. Fingers crossed!! :D

I don't know if it's realistic (it's probably not), but I'm also hoping to do something for space_wrapped. We'll see what happens though...

[fritz42]

Did you get to see the house with the great garden and new kitchen yet? If so, what was it like? It sounds like the real estate market there is going to work to your advantage. I hope that you'll find something that you love in your price range!

Oh, are you toying with a specific idea/story for space_wrapped? I'd love to hear it.

Hugs! Keep warm. We're currently at 7 degrees with our wind chill factor and snow on the ground - again. Brrrr!

[caitri]

Yes! The great garden, and the house in general, was way smaller than pics made it look (figures). Our new fav house is a brick two story with a nice but small kitchen but otherwise nice rooms and an un-fenced yard with a fire pit. (Scott is very excited about the fire pit. He has fantasies of making proper Spanish paellas out there.)

Our agent also told us that we can make a contingency offer--I'm still waiting on an actual offer letter because the university is slow--rather than waiting and THEN making an offer, which was going to be our plan. So we're going to revisit our Top 3 places on Saturday and do that. Tomorrow night we're going to have dinner with a future co-worker so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) she can tell me on the dl how much longer we'll probably have to wait.

I don't have a real idea for space_wrapped per se--I'm not even sure sw is happening this year?? But I've had the idea of an Outlander-esque au I've been toying with that's extra on my mind with the new season. Did I tell you about it, I can't remember?

Yikes with the 7 degrees. Where are you at again?? It's supposed to be in the 20s-40s here the rest of the week, but that's fine by me. *said the Southerner who would have once been HORRIFIED by that statement*

[fritz42]

Oh, I'm glad that you were able to find what sounds like a great house. How many bedrooms?

I hope that you can find out from your future co-worker what to expect about the offer letter. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I've never seen nor read the Outlander series. My friend LOVES it and highly recommends it.

We'd LOVE 40 degrees right now. I live in northern Minnesota. Does that explain why we have those windchills? It was a 6 degree windchill today, and we only had a breeze. This weather is too early for me. We had a LONG winter last year with 6 months of snow, and I just feel we should have gotten a "better deal" on winter-like weather things this year. I'm already tired of wearing winter gear.

Anyway, thanks for keeping us posted about what's happening! I'd be interested in hearing what you find out about things. Hugs!

[caitri]

So it looks like the Uni won't have an offer letter until January, which for better or for worse means we can slow down moving procedures. We'll have to find out from the realtor if/how that affects making contingency offers. Oh fun times! I'm kind of disappointed but am choosing to look on the bright side--this means that I'll have more time to finish the diss, I'll get to skip a swath of Illinois winter, and when Scott's gone on a long trip in January I'll be in familiar territory...which isn't so bad!

The house we like has 3 bedrooms, 4 if you count a room in the basement, and 2 study/office rooms. (Scott wanted to call dibs on one of them for his office--it's a very sunny room. I said he should use the other office and that should be a shared reading room instead!)

I also love the Outlander books but don't think they have aged well (I first started them when I was a teenager in the 90s). The first three are solid page-turners, the fourth kind of wobbles, and from five on the author...I guess having committed to doing a story during the American Revolution found herself overcommitted to how much HAPPENED during that time frame. Periodically I try to do an epic reread--the most recent time I got bogged down in Book 7--and I found when rereading Book 5 that the first 250 pages...take place on a single. day. Which is kind of absurd. The tv show has been really good so far about streamlining/cleaning up the problematic stuff. (There's a truly absurdly racist subplot in Book 3 that made me go WTF in 1996 and the WTFs have only multiplied in intervening years. They totally nipped that in the bud last season by having a character of color....and then treating him with ~Respect.) I highly recommend checking it out!!

MN sounds cold af! Thing I learned last night: There are no mountains between the North Pole and the northeast so when the cold winds get going they...go. That said we are here during their first snowfall and CO had its first snow a month ago. So I guess we have colder but less snowy winters to look forward to. (Also I love that it RAINS here, which it has done half this trip. Having lived in the west for ten years I have MISSED rain!!)

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed--and thanks!!!!!!!!! <3

[minoanmiss]

Travel safely and may your trip be fruitful!

[caitri]

Thanks, bb!!!!!!!!!!! <3