I'm a Homeowner!

I've been a homeowner for all of two days and yet I still can't wipe the perpetual grin off my face.

I'm happy because this is a goal I've accomplished. I mean, we all set goals, but how often are they actually achieved?

The day of closing my realtor and I did a final walkthrough. Luckily no major appliances went missing and everything was intact. Then we headed to the title office to sign a huge stack of papers.

I am all about nice pens, and the company did not disappoint. Plus, they gave us freshly baked cookies.

The seller and his agent showed up late, but were pretty friendly. I learned he had been a nurse in the Army and that his family owns a small island in the Caribbean. Apparently his ancestors were pirates and to keep their families safe they would put them on this island. It was pretty interesting.

After closing, the seller offered to show me around the place. I had questions for him such as where my mailbox is (because it just said mail key, nothing else) and how I receive packages.

Turns out my mailbox had been labeled with my unit # and if I have a package, they leave a specific package key in my box. Pretty easy.

Then we headed into my place, which the seller said he was going to miss. He warned me about the bad draft that I may get in the winter time due to the lack of weather stripping on the door. He told me he didn't have a key to the storage closet off of my balcony and how the door doesn't actually latch for some reason. However, he figured it out. All you have to is pull up on the door and it will slide into the latch. But I still can't lock anything in there because there's no key, so it looks like I'll need a new lock.

I noticed one window screen was missing and another halfway off. He offered to fix that for me but couldn't right then because he was wearing sandals. Apparently to pop the screen in, you need one person on the outside of the window (basically standing on the roof which is completely UNSAFE) and then another person to push on the other side. I think I'll just call maintenance....

It was after the window scenario that he asked me if I was single and then proceeded to tell me he'd be more than happy to come over and get rid of the old carpet, since some carpet guys don't like doing that part of the job. I politely told him that I had a carpet guy already in mind (my neighbor) and that I'm pretty sure he didn't mind that part of the job.

Then he suggested I take the carpet out first so I can paint the baseboards. The next minute I knew, he was actually ripping up the carpet--apparently he was curious to find out what was in a certain spot. Turns out it was just a piece of foam from the carpet pad.

Awkward.


Time to go. While we were leaving, he offered to help me move in. Apparently he lives with a bunch of other guys who would be willing to help as well. We exchanged numbers (because I won't really turn down free movers) and then he left. I waited till he was gone and then went back into my place and put the carpet back where it belongs.

Then yesterday I took both locks to Lowes to have them rekeyed. Turns out since the deadbolt had no key and wasn't a certain type of lock, I couldn't get it rekeyed. But thankfully, the new lock only cost $12.97 and the bottom lock was able to be rekeyed.

I even helped put the locks in. The only mistake I made was putting in the deadbolt latch upside down.

I have a feeling I have a lot to learn but I am ready for the challenge.

Change

As I've mentioned before, I've had alot of changes going on lately. But I think the thing with change, is that it often seems to follow this pattern: I get excited about change, then in the midst of the change I doubt my decision and wonder what I saw in it that was positive and good, and then after the change is done, I'm okay.

A perfect example of this pattern was the move to our new office at work. On the Thursday & Friday before the move, I was excited, happily packing up my cube. Even on Monday, as I was unpacking my stuff and organizing the lobby area, I was optimistic. But then on Wednesday and Thursday when everyone else's offices were set up and mine wasn't--not even a computer or phone had been installed or was working--I began to doubt the new location and the new office. I began to bitch and whine about it all. Even when I did get my computer back on that Friday, I was still unhappy because I wanted my original keyboard. I had the audacity to confront one of my coworkers and tell her that she had my keyboard and I wanted it back. I wanted things the way they were--MY trash can, MY computer, MY keyboard.

My new officemate recently commented that I don't do well with change. I'd like to disagree. To some extent, I do not like change-that could just be the control freak in me. However, I think most importantly, is that I can deal with change, I just need time. Time to process, time to settle, time to adjust, time to analyze and absorb it all. Now that I've settled into my new office, I can say that I like it. It's growing on me. I actually am happy that the server is in our office becaues it keeps us warm. And the other day when I got too hot, I could open the window! And I have my hello kitty watercooler on my desk, and my own computer and keyboard and so I'm okay.

The same I believe is how I will be once I'm fully done moving out of my apartment. I was definitely ready to not renew our apt, but then when we actually moved out most of our stuff this weekend, I was sad. Sad, that our apartment was empty, sad that I was alone in the apartment, sad that I had to move, and sad that I didn't have a cute place like M does to move into. But, like the pattern goes, I just need time to adjust to the change of moving home. I will be okay that I don't see M everyday because I'll call her and definitely see her every week. I'll be fine that I don't have my own bathroom anymore, because I'll be saving money and paying off debt. And when I absolutely cannot stand my family and am at risk for going insane, I'll turn to my friends and to writing. I. will. be. okay.