Sunday, October 19, 2008

Changes

So... some things have changed a bit since I last posted. The Rays are still playing baseball (ahem, dr. sardonicus) though probably not past tonight. Despite their epic collapse Thursday and subsequent choking, I'm still proud of them.

No, I'm referring to pretty much every other aspect of our lives. We did the unthinkable and moved out of paradise and into the Northeast. Obviously we are still adjusting a little. I mean, it's freezing here and people talk funny.

I know it's been awhile and I have a lot of ground to cover. Unfortunately, I can't do most of it tonight. We just got the internet this weekend and the computer hasn't left Deano's lap. That's fine because I get it at work and can do a little blog checking. But I will not post to my own blog at work. Too risky. Not that I have anything to hide and I am really enjoying my job. But the comfort level that comes with people knowing I have a blog and weaseling the URL out of me just isn't there.

Anyway, the move went really well. Surprisingly I didn't have a complete breakdown leaving Florida, our apartment of six years, my job of six years or the dumpster kitties. I handled all that beautifully, though I do have a healthy dose of melancholy for my old life occasionally. But the exodus went smoothly. There were three people (Deano, his mom and myself), four cats and two tiny cars. I used my incredible packing skills to fit a ton of crap in the trunks and the kitties hung out behind the seats in carriers after being doped up on tranquilizers. And thank God for those because Allie and Wrigley were still trying hard to complain through their grogginess. Dean's mom did the driving in my car due to by interstate phobia which worked well because I could navigate which wasn't easy in certain parts of the country, namely DC and New York City. In fact Dean and I have decided that if we ever move to a place requiring us to take I-95 South through those parts again, we'd sell the cars, take a plane and start over once we get there.

Anyway, we love our apartment. I'll post pictures once we are a little more settled but basically we live on the bottom floor of a Victorian triplex still in the city but a little on the outskirts where things aren't quite as crowded. We are having a helluva time trying to figure this town out. Both its layout and its culture. But we're getting there.

More dispatches from the Northeast soon, I promise.

16 comments:

dr sardonicus said...

You know you've got it backwards, right? The traditional snowbird pattern is Florida in the winter, the Northeast in the summer...

Don't give up on the Rays yet! Anything to keep those damn Red Sox from winning the Series again!

LL said...

Yup... the Rays are trying their very best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

But since the Dodgers lost... I really have no one to root against anymore.

Interstate phobia? If I had that... I couldn't go anywhere around these parts.

fermicat said...

Yay! You made it. I've been thinking about you and Deano and the cats.

"We did the unthinkable and moved out of paradise and into the Northeast." Not just unthinkable... y'all are NUTS! I know this because I did it too, in 1992. Didn't come back home to the south until 2004. It was a long 12 years, and I froze my ass off, and couldn't hardly understand anyone with their accent. Plus they don't know what to do when you order "sweet tea". Half the time, you get hot tea with sugar on the side!

But there are a few bright spots. Fall is incredibly beautiful in New England. You can go to some pretty islands as a day trip with your bikes (Block Island, Martha's Vineyard), and trust me, it is cheaper and more fun if you do it off-season. Bring a jacket! And if you are really lucky, you will meet someone like my old next door neighbor. A crusty old Yankee that would do anything for you once he decided you were "good people".

Anonymous said...

Despite their crusty personnas, people in the Northeast will gladly give you the madras off their backs. They are truly salt of the earth. Any tourist lost on the A train will attest to the kindness of stangers.

It has taken me a long time to figure this out. I fled for personal reasons, wound up in the transitory and shifting Western coastlands and have been dressaging my way back to terra firma every since. We are now in a holding pattern in the Midwest.

I hope you will experience the warmth and depth of relationship that I have known in this part of the country.

Jeni said...

I forgot about your plans to move to New England- my apologies! But glad you did make the transition safely. I can understand your feelings about navigating around DC! Hassle and a half, that can be. Now, you can check out one of my fav bloggers -Suldog (http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com/) -who lives in the Boston area and has a cousin who works with Feral cats -just to keep the cat lover side of you really activated again. Her name is Dorothy and he did some posts about her about 2 months or so ago, I think it was.
As to the baseball, here I am a Pirates fan and you guys are crying. Sheesh! My boys haven't been out of the basement in eons!
Hope to see more posts from you now that you are getting settled in too.
Peace.

Hot4Teacha said...

Um, first off, hell yeah, 'Rays!!

Second, congrats on making the big move - I'm glad it went so well. Been thinking of you!

Looking forward to more updates & pics in the future...cheers!

Scott said...

You moved to New England? I searched some old posts and it looks like it's Providence. Not too far from Mr. Schprock and me. Let me know if you are ever coming to the Boston area so we can duke it out in person.

Congrats on the Rays. I'm a Red Sox fan, but my heart isn't in the game. You know football is my thing, and accordingly that my team is imploding. So pretty much it's been a disappointing year in sports.

I hope we're cool on the politics thing. I can get worked up just as much as the next guy, but I would hate to lose buddies over these kinds of disagreements.

anne said...

Oh my goodness, I am sad I didn't get to say a proper goodbye, but I am happy to hear that you are there and safe and getting adjusted. I wish you all the success! I can't wait to hear all about your great NE adventures.

And of course since you posted this - THE RAYS WON!!!!!!!

Jackie said...

Glad to hear you are safe and settled!

Kalajian said...

They won!! They won!! We are going to the WORLD SERIES!!

Whoda Thunk!!

I tried to get tix to Thursdays game but to no avail. Mark wanted to make it my birthday present. I ALMOST had baseball in Tampa for my Birthday. I will have to settle for Baseball from Tampa on TV the day after.

The Rays gave me the best birthday present EVER!!

Off to do the happy dance!!

Dianne said...

If you ever need to drive back thru DC or NYC I'll come get ya. It's all in the attitude and the ability to safely cut people off ;)

But for now get settled.

Your place sounds lovely and I'm thrilled that you're all doing OK

hugs to everyone!

Natalie said...

First off, after being gone for nearly a month I was so pleasantly surprised you guys checked up on me so soon! Definitely feeling the blog love.

dr. s,
Our dream is to be able to be snowbirds some day. Of course no one will ever be able to retire before the age of 95 again. But we can dream. And we did keep those damn Sox out of the series!!!

ll,
But they pulled it out in the last minute. I was terrified Maddon put Price in to pitch the last 4 outs, but once again Joe was right.

fermi,
Thanks for the thougts. Good thing I'm not a fan of sweet tea or I'd probably cry the first time someone brought me hot tea with a pack of sugar! We are trying very hard to live in the present, not worry about long term and where the future will bring us. We are really enjoying the foliage and though it's been a little cold the last couple days, it hasn't been awful yet. So far, our landlady who lives just upstairs is watching out for us, giving us restaurant suggestions and tips on life up here.

anna,
Providence has more of a small-town feel to it where we havne't found people to be trusting of us and they mostly just ignore us except at the University where they have been very friendly. When we visited Boston, we found the natives to be really friendly though. And I'm sure we'll be hitting up NYC in the very near future.

jeni,
Too bad you aren't a Phillies fan! We didn't expect the Rays to get this far, but when they did, losing a 7 run lead when you are 5 outs away from going to the Series is the worst. But they came through. We used to go to lots of Pirates Spring training cames because we were pretty close to Bradenton, so I do have a soft spot for them too.

hot4teacha,
Thanks for pulling for my boys. If you have been watching the games, they are often compared to the Twins which makes me puff up a little. If only the Twins could et this far soon too. We were really hoping they'd meet in the playoffs so we'd be guaranteed one of our deeps would go deep in the post season, but we're still happy with how that turned out. More on the move later.

scott,
We've been to Boston once already and I'll be spending a week there in December. We love it and if it looks like me (or both of us) have extra time there, I'll let you know. I'm actually pretty meek in person, so don't expect much. ;)

As far as politics, most of the time I don't take the bait anymore because I know we'll never agree. But I kept seeing my name pop up in your comments section and I just couldn't help myself. I had to indulge in self-expression. That and as you know I have very strong feelings about Gov. Palin, as do most people. And we thought Hillary was polarizing! Anyway, as long as my man is still ahead, we're cool (just kidding). And no matter what happens, things will settle down in a couple weeks.

anne,
Its okay, things got so busy towards the end. I was working right up until the day before the movers came. The great thing about my new location is it is so close to everything. We can try to get together next time you are out east for whatever reason. But no matter what, we'll still be blog friends. And in the up coming days we'll either be celebrating or commiserating!

jackie,
Thanks! I'll check in with you soon.

kalajian,
Yay for LATE October baseball! It's been miserable not being able to express my Rays fanfare here, but seriously it would be dangerous. This is hardcore Red Sox nation. But now that they are playing the Phillies, I can put my CC and Longo jersey tees back on.

dianne,
Wow, I could right a whole post about cutting people off right now. The driving around here is making me absolutely crazy. I'll be stopping by your place soon, thanks so much for all the support, I'll send email later.

Anonymous said...

Providence! With a placename like that, all should be well for you and the kitties! Glad to hear that you made it there safely. I leave freeway driving to my husband and a GPS system. We bought one a few years ago and it really does help on the freeway. Your apartment sounds lovely. Glad to hear your new job is going well.
Catsforsure

Anonymous said...

Please don't become a Red Sox fan. :)

Anonymous said...

I have lived the first third of my life on the East Coast, the second third on the West Coast and am eking into the third third in the Midwest. How to characterize my experience without oversimplifying. My 2 decades in San Francisco were professionally, culturally and psychically stimulating but ultimately frustrating on a personal level because of the transient and precarious nature of living life on a fault line. I was drawn to the Minneapolis for its landlocked stability, progressive tradition and lively arts community but have ultimately been disappointed by its small town mentality. If I hadn’t married a native son, I would still be relegated to that very ambiguous and solitary category of “exotic’ person from the coast. Most of my friends when I was single were transplants and we lived in tacit exile. As I mentioned earlier, I fled the East Coast for personal reasons but have come to appreciate the authenticity and depth of relationship that is possible in this region. New England is the oldest part of the country, not very old by global standards. But still, tamping the soil in a Boston cemetery gives one a profound sense of historical perspective. It doesn’t happen overnight. But people are open hearted and once they invite you in, pack your jammies and prepare to stay for a long while.

Just returned from a book talk by Sarah Vowell about her latest meditation on our Puritan forbears. Turns out Rhode Island was a haven of tolerance. Roger Williams who founded Providence even went so far as to translate the bible into Algonquin. This was more of a scholarly pursuit than a proselytizing ploy since he was an equal opportunity Calvinist who believed in predestination. Still an inclusive gesture.

I hope you will experience the warmth and vitality that I have in these parts.

Scott said...

I'm just joking about duking it out. Even if you just get a couple hours some evening I can get myself to the city. I'm betting Mr. Schprock could come too, so any warning would help that along.