Thursday morning I was getting ready to head up to the Senior Center (I sound like I go there all the time, but it’s only a couple days a week) and was looking at the calendar on my kitchen wall, and was surprised how busy it was. It may not look busy to you, but to a homebody like myself…
Walking up the street, my phone rang. My neurologist’s office, saying my doctor wanted to schedule a CT scan of the frontal lobe to check for progress of the inflammation in my noggin.
They asked if I could come in on August 21. Okay, but the day before on August 20, I have an appointment with Dr. Miccuci (an oral surgeon) for a consult on a bone graft in my lower left jaw for a couple of dental implants.
When I got to the center, one of the ladies there says “Doug, are you coming to our Hawaiian luau? It’s $8.00, if you sign up we promise you’ll get lei’d! It’s on August 22 so cancel any other plans you have and be here!”
More things to add to my busy calendar. And the week after, dreaded JURY DUTY.
This past Wednesday I was downstairs waiting for a package from Amazon, when a tall, good looking young man came in from outside. He looked familiar and then it hit me: he lives in #414, one of the 4 studio apartments on my floor.
(I even mentioned him once on my blog back in December, I liked the cool ogre sign on his front door).
He asked if I could do him a favor, he’d just finished moving out and forgot to leave his keys on the kitchen counter. His U-Haul was running, could I take them upstairs? Sure. I was curious what it looked like anyway, he lived there for 3 years with his girlfriend.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but still kind of was. It was one room, with a white kitchenette in the corner and a small hallway that led to a bathroom & walk-in closet.
There was one double window, and enough room for a small table and a couch or a bed, but not both without being creative.
At my age, I can’t imagine living in a one room apartment, but there are 24 studios in the building and they go SUPER fast. I believe there’s a waiting list.
After leaving the keys on the bar counter and returning to my own apartment, I saw my place in a much more positive light. I’ve got 5 rooms, a separate honey-maple kitchen and separate dining room. I have 2 sets of those double windows (the second is in my bedroom), plus windows in the kitchen, bathroom, dining room. I have 3 closets—front entrance, linen & bedroom.
I have 3 types of flooring: carpeting, wood, linoleum. I even have a nice accent wall, painted summer sage.
It’s just for the last couple months I’ve been telling a couple friends that maybe I should consider moving. In the past year or so, 3 tenants I liked very much (Maureen, Jim & Asa) all moved out of here for the same reasons: they were retired, getting up in years, and could afford better places.
I told my friend Diana, if I can afford something newer or better, why am I still here? This place is the pits!
My apartment isn’t the pits. I wish it had newer carpeting in the living room, but I prefer what I have to nothing at all. Things could be a little better, they could also be a lot worse.
If I met someone and we decided to move in together, I could see myself moving into another place or even a house. But until then, I need to try harder to make this place a home. I worry more what my next blog is going to be then the space around me.
I just wish I was a little more talented in the decorating department. And I wish I had asked the tenant in #414 to sell me his cool ogre sign!
