The New Digs

As of today, we're officially in the house. And what a warm welcome we recieved from the townsfolk! So sweet of those kids to come out in the rain today. I know how hard damp weather can be on woodwind instruments, so it really means a lot.

Seriously, though, it's been a week. And what a week it's been. We got the keys to the house Monday, the POD arrived with all of our stuff on Tuesday, the cable guy came & connected things - albeit incorrectly - on Thursday. And after far too much hassle, the water was turned on Friday afternoon.

So. The Water Nightmare. Here's what happened. I called various places to get hooked up with the basic services. Power? No problem. Did that over the phone. Cable & internet? We settled it all over the phone & made an appointment. Water?
Hmmm. Water.
Well, the water is handled by the city 'round these parts. So I called the city. And they told me that I needed to come to their office in-person and provide them with the following items.
#1 Driver's license
#2 Social Security number
#3 $100 Deposit
These three don't sound bad. Having to do it in person is annoying, but these requirements sound fairly reasonable. That's what brings us to the last item on the list.
#4 The signed rental agreement
Remember that the person from whom we've rented the property does not live in this state. Last week we had yet to receive a copy of the agreement that also had her signature on it. She had mailed it, but the post office was taking its time. Meanwhile, my bladder was under severe stress during the afternoons that I spent unpacking boxes at the house. Luckily, the whole mess got fixed on Friday. Come to find out that the city was suspicious because the name I gave to them as the owner of the house is not the name they had on file. And that's because she got married and changed her name, but never corrected it on her water bill. So! A silly mix-up.

But.

I feel like my world has turned into a series of silly mix-ups. The cable guy hooked up our TV to the cable, but he didn't give us a cable box or remote. And the internet could plug into my lap top, but it can't connect to Tim's computer for reasons I will never understand. So he doesn't have an internet connection. And our wifi connector that worked great in Tulsa? We can't get it to function properly, either (and again, I'm clueless as to the reason why). And the car situation .... uuuuuuuuggggggghhhhh. Tim and I spent so many hours talking about that mess that I hate rehashing it here. Just makes me angry again. The short version: Walter the HoboCat-Feeding Salesman? He no longer works for that car dealership. They still have a framed newspaper article on the wall about him and the cats and the fact that he's been with the company for a decade and blahblahblah. But he no longer works there. And after experiencing the other salesperson they had on hand, we've decided to try a whole new dealership. It was that bad.

But there's good stuff! For instance, I went to the Handmade Market ( http://www.thehandmademarket.com/ ) and bought a few little things. And I can now flush the toilet whenever I want to. And my mother and my brother got A's in all of their college classes! And I drove around quite a bit this week and did NOT get lost. And I'm in a lovely relationship with a good guy. I mean, if we can have a miserable experience at the car dealership and follow that up with moving large pieces of furniture into the house and STILL be able to stand the sight of one another, then things cannot be all that bad.

Mom says that, despite the hassle and extra steps, things are getting better. And she's right. She also says that whenever I'm having a bad day, I just need to go flush my toilet & remember that it could be much worse. I think I might just do that.