JWL.Freakwitch.net

A View from the Hill

We are now official residents of Munjoy Hill. I don't have net connection at home yet; they aren't scheduled to come out until the 15th of the month. They are very busy; apparently this is the time of year when all the summer residents return to Maine and want their cable reactivated. So that kinda sucks. We've obviously been busy with the move, so I haven't had a chance to take my laptop to a coffeeshop to get online.

The move went well. We moved on Tuesday. Tuesday morning it was raining. By 1pm, when we started the move, it had stopped. And it's gotten progressively nicer ever since, culminating in today's stunning 85-degree sunny day. And of course I'm inside working. Bleah. But it's clear that the weather thought a change of scenery was in order for us.

My mood seems to have improved along with the weather. There are a few reasons for this, I think; one is physical; I've done more physical work this week than I have in a long time. And I'm just coming out of 2 illnesses, so this is like the perfect shock to the system to get my body back in gear. I still have some lingering chest congestion, but I feel better today than I have in weeks, now that the soreness from the move is dissipating a bit.

We had so much help on Tuesday, we got everything moved well before dark. Thanks to everyone who helped! We couldn't have done it without all of you...

Wednesday was spent unpacking. We pulled our stuff back out of storage and into our new apartment, so there was plenty to do. There were of course boxes everywhere; we had to move boxes out of the way in order to make room for things like beds.

The first night, Edgar (my daughter's dog) was freaking out utterly. Finally, when we cleared space for the bed and made it up, he jumped on the bed, and collapsed with an expression that read, "Thank GOD there are beds here!!!!!" It was funny.

We got the bathroom and the kitchen set up first, followed by our daughter's room, and lastly our room, which is also the main room of the place. The bookshelves were a huge part of it; for the first time in many years I have adequate shelf space for all of my books. This is essential to feeling like home; it gives me a link to my intellectual history, something I've very much missed over the past several years.

The shelves were made of pine 1x10s, and are each 4 feet wide and 6.5 feet high. Both of them together occupy an entire wall of the apartment, floor to ceiling. Nice. I'm very happy with how they turned out. Those of you who helped carry all the heavy boxes of books will now know why when you come to visit.

I got to walk to work today for the first time in months. This was fantastic. I didn't walk hardly at all while on the beach, at least in part because there were no specific destinations within walking distance. So it's nice to have a reason to walk again. Nietzsche was on to something when he said "only thoughts reached when walking have any value" or words to that effect.

I really love Portland. I'm glad to be back. Hopefully I'll be online again soon.

posted by JWL at 3:03 PM |