Domestimacated

It has taken almost a month, but we are finally settling in here at Casa de Former Travelers.  We (and by we of course I mean mostly I... I've got to earn my keep in some way) have unpacked almost every box, and put almost everything in place.  Well, we've put things in a place.  It might not be a fully realized and organized apartment yet, but we're working on it.  Who knew unpacking was such a chore? Most of my first week here was spent sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes and mountains of packing paper, shaking my head in disbelief at why we felt the need to store most of these things for three years.  A broken teapot.  A broken lampshade.  Three broken chairs. (All of these things were broken before the movers even touched them.) A package of chocolate covered pretzels.  A half-empty box of soup.  Three used candles, etc, etc.  I think we might be recovering hoarders. Also, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of dealing with the results of professional packers, I can only hope and pray that you do experience it at some point in your life.  While it is wonderful to have all your possessions packed for you - each piece wrapped in thousands of sheets of paper and then stuffed in its own four-foot-tall box - you have to keep an eye on those guys, for when they say they pack everything, they mean it.  A few of my favorite finds:  dirty dishes with caked on food, a stack of the library's CDs we borrowed for the wedding (a hefty late fee on those, I'm guessing), a coffee maker with the filter and old, moldy coffee grounds stuck in it, as well as my favorite find - a Fry Daddy with 3-year-old fry oil sitting inside.  It's bad enough we even own a Fry-Daddy (you can take the girl out of Arkansas...), but to have the oil still sitting in it?  Come on! Yet despite all this, I know I only have myself (and my husband) to blame.  Apparently you're supposed to get all your items ready to be packed before the packers pack them.  What a novel idea.

 

It may not look like much, but it was.  Kind of.  

We still don't have all our furniture, but we're getting there.  Our discontinued (and probably soon to be collector's items) Martha Stewart sofa and chair have yet to make an appearance, but I think it will be soon and very soon.  Possibly next week.  Thank you Macy's for your prompt and courteous service. (I'm kidding.  They were pretty courteous.)  In the meantime, Matt and I have been sharing the old sleeper couch which Arpit and Hema helped us move.  Why, even bother, you ask?  Who can know?  In theory it is because we only have one bedroom and a pull-out sofa bed will be nice when company comes a-calling.  The reality is probably that we are cheap and didn't want to fork out $300+ for other seating items for the sunroom.  Also, I mentioned we were recovering hoarders, not recovered.  The tense makes all the difference.

 

Ain't that fine?  We have since put a slipcover on it, making it look slightly less tacky.  Or slightly more tacky.  I haven't decided which yet.  

Aunt Mickie took me to a used furniture store in the area last week, where we met up with Betsy and Riley, and then Dave showed up as well.  It was quite the family affair.  I immediately fell in love with almost everything in the store, and took Matt back there on Saturday, where we ran into Dave again!  Between the three of us, I think we put a pretty big dent in their inventory, which will give them room to put out more stuff for me to buy.

I still don't have a job, and am in the process of scouring (and by scouring I mean lazily searching when I get the chance, which isn't very often considering I'm still on borrowed Internet) the Web looking for employment, and thinking of ways to beef up my resume.  It shouldn't be too hard.  Who wouldn't want to hire a journalism/English major with no experience but who has taught English in several (three) different countries?  That's what I thought.  I'll keep truckin'.

In the meantime, I will continue to settle in here, asking those questions that surely plague newly domesticated couples everywhere, such as:  Why is there blue lint on every surface in my bathroom?  How do I get rid of it?  Can I wash my clothes in the dishwasher? (- Stepbrothers) And when is housekeeping going to come in and clean my room?