Negatron Uninvitedly Visits

Moving is difficult. Moving is tough. No one told us any less than that exact truth, but because things were going so well I chose not to believe them. There are so many things to consider and plan and coordinate. There are so many things waiting to go WRONG.

This morning, I would have sworn that we had everything figured out! But alas, I have been smited for how many times I smuggly said "Ahh, it will all work out!" to the wise adults that warned me to be prepared for the unexpected.

I should start with the good before I begin my complaints. Last night:

• Matt was offered a full time position in the Seattle suburb we wished to relocate to!
  
• We narrowed down the moving companies to 24 Hours Moving, Inc. or U-Box.
   
• We narrowed down the apartments we wanted to our top 5 choices, then top 2 choices and called our #1 choice who just so happened to have one 1b/1b apartment left with a fireplace, washer/dryer hook up and a special that got us $100 off the market rent.

Last night, we toasted our plans and success with Limoncello and life was good. Did I mention the potential apartment complex was also located 1.1 miles away from Matt's new work location? Now, we only had to FedEx our rental applications and deposits to the apartment complex and it was ours!

This afternoon, after paying an exorbitant amount of money to FedEx our info to the complex, I get an e-mail. The apartment was leased. To some California jerk that managed to FedEx his application a day sooner.

After pathetically whine/crying to the leasing landlord, she fandangled us another apartment that would be ready around the necessary time frame. Blah, blah. Blah, blah. Problem is, we won't know until Monday if the special for $100 off the market rent will stick around for the next month. Round and round we went.

Is the complex trying to rip us off? Maybe! But I love their location and the price was great and everything was so settled. Now Matt is so ticked off at them he doesn't even want to live there. Back to square one we go, comparing rent prices, amenities and locations.

And! When I was trying to scan and send back the rental agreement for our moving company the scanner gave me so much sass I started throwing things at it! I did not need any more crap tonight, especially from my electronics.

I am sure it sounds silly, but I am devastated. I pouted all night. Drowned my sorrows in wine at a dinner I did not help prepare (which is very unlike me). And now I am here to document how awful and stressful moving can be. There are a million other things (good and bad) but right now, I am stuck on this disappointment.


To end this pathetic post I will  leave you all with a relevant quote from the show that is my cure-all (most especially effective on Negatron moods): 

Lorelai:  Hey, I can be flexible.
Luke:  Please.
Lorelai:  I can! As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I’m totally flexible.

"A-Tisket, A-Tasket", Gilmore Girls Season 2, Episode 13

Divorcing Car #1

As of five days ago, Matt and I can officially call ourselves a one-car family. After a good cleaning, we handed off the car (and the monthly payments) to Matt’s parents who were looking to get another vehicle. These past few days with only one car have been easy-peasy, principally because only one of us is working.

Matt and I have been considering going down to one car for several months now, particularly as I delved more deeply into the eco-friendly, minimalist lifestyle. These were our main considerations in why we decided to slim down to one car – feel free to chime in with a comment below.

1. Saving money. Giving up one car means saving money on car payments, insurance and gas. The cost of gasoline is going to continue to rise and I want to get out of the habit of paying exorbitant prices as soon as possible. Not to mention the effort and time required for the maintenance on a car – oil changes, flat tires, windshield wipers and other painfully expensive repairs.
   
   
2. Living green. In an effort to reduce our impact on the environment, we want to stop polluting the air we breathe as much as possible. Our daily action to do this is to limit the amount we drive our car and to lessen our dependence on this mode of transportation.
   
   
3. Sticking it to the man. Our culture is obsessed with commercialism and consumption. I want to reduce this tendency by consuming less and exhibiting better habits with the things I do choose to own.

Sharing a car requires planning and patience. Matt and I have accepted the challenge to live in suburban America with only one car. In many ways, not owning my own vehicle feels like I am sacrificing some of my freedom. (But has that feeling only been planted by car companies? Screw you advertising.)

I cannot just run off for a weekend getaway with the girls without considering how that would leave Matt stranded. And Matt cannot drive off for a snow cone when I have to attend meetings. Instances like this might be a nuisance, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages for us.

I expect that once we move to Seattle, we will undergo sticky situations with our car-lite life; however, I anticipate Seattle will have better and more accessible public transportation than what we have access to here in Texas. I hope to find that living in a smaller state will enable us to get around more readily with even less reliance on our car than what we currently foresee. Utilizing multiple modes of transportation will be a great solution and save us a lot of strife.

There are a myriad of difficult situations that we may chance upon. For instance, what if our work schedules clash? What if we both need to commute a significant distance to work in opposite directions? What if one person desperately needs the car and the other person has it? What if the car ends up in the shop and we have no back up transportation? What if the bus makes us late to work? What if it rains or the roads are icy when we are supposed to be riding our bike? Etc.

These are very real questions that I am sure we can problem solve if/when they occur. My hope is that because we are going to Seattle with only one car, we will learn to utilize alternative transportation more readily because we will not have a vehicle to act as a crutch. The limits of owning one car will encourage us to search for jobs within shorter commute times and schedules that we can coordinate. How these tentative hopes play out will have to be another update. Until then, wish us luck!

Car-lite definition: Either a person or place that is not completely car-free, but uses or allows for a variety of alternative transport modes in addition to the car. 

World Car-Free Network - A informational website about going Car-Free for any questions I can't answer

How to Live Well Without Owning a Car - An E-Book with tips on how to live without a car - most of it is available without having to pay for the book

Come hell or high water...

It has happened! After hemming and hawing around for the past month, a date and a location has finally been picked for our move. September 3rd we leave for Seattle. It is inexplicably nice to stop saying "We plan to  move..." and start saying "We are moving...".

(Source: Google Images)

We have been living rent free with our family and generally meandering about life. Matt has still been working, but I usually just hang out at home with the plants, animals and a book in the sweltering Texas heat. About a week past, I had some strange meltdown where I felt like my life was totally out of my control because I didn't have any direction or structure - no school, no job, no worries.

That amount of freedom was disconcerting and uncomfortable. My guess is that my pace of life changed so dramatically from being absurdly busy to painfully idle that it sent me reeling after a few weeks. I felt useless and indolent - the amount I accomplished in a day was so minuscule in comparison to my prior standards.

Now, that has all changed. Matt and I have a huge load of decisions to make, things to research and contingencies to plan for. I have never felt so pleased at the prospect of being overwhelmed.