8.27.2012

ending the social network

This Saturday begins a two month experiment I'm sure I know the outcome of. I texted my sister the username and password of my Facebook account with the instructions to change the password, and delete my account if I don't come to her begging for them back. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to extricate myself from G+, but that's not really a problem since I really don't use it, much. The main problem is that it's tied to my blogger account, but have read that you can separate the two safely. Like I said, I don't use it much so it's really not a bother. I won't go into all the reasons why I think it's bad since they're personal and there are countless articles about it. I came to the decision after careful consideration and examination of its impact on my life. The majority of my experience with it has been of a negative nature since signing on four years ago. I decided that now is as good a time as any to shed ties since I'm on the eve of many changes to come.

I realize that many of you aren't on my friends list to begin with. Please don't take offense. I value my privacy and am very selective about what I share with others. So, should our paths cross and we meet in person, I look forward to making friends the old fashioned way with you.

8.25.2012

a pan asian southern breakfast

Breakfast! And my foot

1 egg
1/4 cup of grits
1 tbsp butter
fried wonton strips
sriracha to taste
salt and pepper to taste

There's no right or wrong way to make this, and any way that pleases you is the right way! Here's how I make it. Fry egg sunny side up. Cook grits with butter. Place egg in bowl, and grits on top. Apply salt, pepper, sriracha, and wonton chips to taste. Eat!

8.22.2012

dismantle

Mind if I get philosophical with you? With this upcoming move and the big day only months away ... I'm coming to realize that I'm about to not only let go of everything as I know it, but embark on probably the most important journey of my life. The beauty of this is that I there's no destination or objective to it. For once I'll go where I really want to in life. My sister believes that I'm looking for something and hopes I find whatever it is. I know I'll find many things along the way. Maybe myself. Whatever it is I find, good or bad, I'm looking forward to it. Then again, not.

8.21.2012

poised

I'm experiencing a new level of torture here. It's one thing to be waiting to start a new life while I get my house in order, but something entirely different while I prepare to change said house while already waiting. I spent the last week going through everything I own (again) and separating it into three categories. Moving, selling, and donating. All the donate stuff has already been taken to Goodwill leaving me with the moving and selling piles.

I'm ready to move now but have to wait five more weeks before I'm outta here. Technically it's seven weeks because my lease is officially up in mid October. I'm vacating early even though I have to still pay rent for that time, and can't turn in my keys until my last day. I even have to keep the power and my insurance coverage on the place til then too. I love how leases force you into the most absurd circumstances. Still, I tell myself the time will fly and this will all be over soon enough.

My main concern is whether I should put the furniture up for sale sooner or later? And what kind of freaks I might have to deal with. There's gotta be a better way than craigslist.

8.13.2012

buddha is good

It's been barely four hours (plus one day when I started writing this) since returning home and I'm wishing I wasn't here (again). This weekend I emptied my storage closets along with a few household items and took everything up to the new home. It's the first of many trips until I'm fully moved in by end of next month. In addition to carting stuff up this weekend I got to reacquaint myself with the apartment, room, area, and check out a few things in person. Namely find and see where my future home will be stored. Jason (roommate to be) tipped me off to an rv & boat storage nearby that's in a good part of town and will cost me $45 a month instead of the $60 I pay now. Yet another nice little benefit! The bedroom is oddly shaped and a little bit smaller than expected. It isn't a bad thing and only means I'll get rid of the office furniture sooner than later. By the time I move in there the only two pieces of furniture that I'll own are my entertainment center and an air mattress. I'm sure once word gets out about this I'll be an instant hit with the ladies.

I spent the rest of the weekend there shopping and hiking. I finally made it out to see the local Chinatown and loaded up on the hard to get grocery items and ate about half of them before making it back home. It's funny how circumstances have turned for the better, and fitting that that last I will live in is the first place I lived in when I arrived in Texas.

Morning walk @ the creek

A potential future meal

A childhood treat

My soon to be bedroom (w/none of my stuff in it)

Sunday morning hike

Dog park excursion

Post dog park wind down

8.04.2012

movin' on up

It's funny how things can change one's life so drastically, so quickly, so unexpectedly in the span of a day. That is exactly what happened to me this week. I'm getting a little ahead of myself, so here's the backtrack.

You already know I've been having a hard time feeling anywhere close to normal about my routine since returning from my vacation. The days have really been starting to drag making life almost unbearable for me. I like to keep busy but have run out of stuff to do indoors. My place is immaculate and there's a scant few things left to get rid of. The Texas summer is at it's peak, so there's really no where for me to go to. To make matters worse I was dreading the arrival of my lease renewal since I was coming up on my final 60 days of the current one. The problem was that I knew they would be raising my rent regardless of how long I renewed for. The plan was to stay another 7-8 months at which time I would finally hit the road. The shorter lease meant the increase would cost more, but I just wasn't sure how much more. I received the renewal notice at work and it turned out to be $100 (at minimum) more than what I'm paying now. Not drastic, but not good because this forces me to alter my budget plan. Shopping for apts online, and a few phone calls later only proved that rent would go up more than $100 anywhere in the area. I gave up and resigned myself to having to pay the increase, and got back to work. Later in the day, when looking for a coworker, I learned he had caught the shuttle home. 

Jump back to seven months ago I was visiting a friend for his birthday in said neighboring city. This is the same friend who put me and the beagle up after arriving in Texas. He had recently moved out of his 1 bdrm and into a 2 bdrm unit in the same property. He was even looking for a roommate and asked if I would be interested. At the time I was four months into my lease so this was out of the question. I briefly entertained the idea but ruled it out because I would have to commute to work. About a month later that I learned there was a shuttle service in place that would've made this a non issue.

Skip ahead to when the coworker took the shuttle home, and that's when the revelation hit me. A few quick texts and a phone call later garnered me all the details I needed. The room was still available, and he was about to post an ad for it. I calculated that moving in with my friend will save me an additional $400 on top of the scheduled $400 per month I will start saving in Oct which nets me a total of $800 a month saved. The change of address also saves me $300 per year on my insurance. And the move also allows me to rid myself of furniture/assorted housing items well in advance of my departure as well as no longer being tied to a time restraining lease. I can leave sooner or later, if the need arises, than my departure date.

I swore I wouldn't room with anyone or move anywhere until it was time to leave. Funny how life sneaks up on you like that. The pluses of this are too great to ignore, and there aren't any downsides since we've already lived together (albeit briefly). The next two months will be all about purging the stuff I no longer need and moving the few things I do to the new place.