A lost connection

A slow and quiet Friday to close out fiscal 07; seems like the perfect time to lay out some thoughts on the long neglected journal I call a blog. Writing is tough lately due to my complete lack of internet access away from work, though hopefully that will change sometime in the relatively near future. It’s amazing how much I really have relied on the internet for information and entertainment over the years. My current set-up of no internet and no cable makes me more productive with getting things done, but it is also pretty tough to handle sometimes. Road maps and the yellow book have once again become permanent allies over the past few weeks.

The backyard ivy patch surrounding a tree. This whole section is now mulched as well as the strip down the left fence.

The house is coming along pretty well, despite the hazardous shape I left it in this morning. I spent the entire past weekend doing house work; ripping out the huge patch of ivy in the back and disposing of it at the dump, spreading two full truck loads of mulch in the back yard, peeling the faux bricks from my bedroom wall and spending a number of hours scraping the remaining glue and multiple layers of paint off the same wall so that eventually I’ll be able to prime and paint it. Hopefully with a couple more hours of work I’ll have the entire wall scraped clean and can start with the primer this weekend.

The bedroom (yes it is peach and HAD a floral border wall paper. You can sort of make out the "bricks" on the left wall there. Those are gone and now there is paint and glue remnants instead. I'll try and get the pics up from my cell camera.

Painting has become my top priority as I’ve started to eye colors from the Home Depot paint samples. I think that will be a great place to start for me since it can be done relatively inexpensively and will keep me busy for a good bit of time. The more expensive and extensive projects will have to wait until more finances are available. Hopefully I’ll post some pictures up soon, though without internet at home my photo uploading capabilities are limited as well. Ah, some pre-move in photos will give some basic ideas of what I’ve been working on.

The dining area is also surrounded by faux bricks although these have not been painted over and look somewhat decent in my eyes. The wall to the right is also covered will basic wall paneling. Despite the fact that I don't think they look terrible these walls will once again be painted drywall when I've finished with some of the other areas. My tastes just don't match the 70's. You should see the kitchen...

The times they are a' changin'

Over the course of the last week or two so much has happened. I’ve bought a house and moved in, started commuting 4x’s farther then I used to, bought a pick up truck, made numerous trips to Ikea, Target and the Home Depot and basically have taken up a whole new lifestyle as a homeowner. Things from here on out will be very different for me, especially now that I own a car and live outside the city, but on the other hand, Old-Town Greenbelt is very accessible both by foot and bike and I can and will continue to ride to the town center for small grocery trips, meals and even to see a movie at the old theater.

I’ll continue to commute by bike as much as possible, even if last week I only did it two days, though two other days I biked to the metro as well. Yesterday in an attempt to hit the MVA and transfer my residency over to MD, I ended up driving in to Fort Totten since I’d be going there to the animal rescue league after work anyway, though I doubt that will become a regular thing.

Anyway, lifestyle changes abound for me at the moment though I’d like to continue to keep things very simple and easy. The simplicity of my life since moving into DC has been one of my favorite things with stress taking a back seat to all of the fun I’ve been having with everything else. There will likely be more stress now with the house and everything, but then at the same time the house work I can do will be a good stress relief as well. I’ve got big plans for the place and have begun getting a lot of small things done throughout the house. The front and back yards both look tremendously better after a small amount of work and a few lawn bags filled. I can’t wait to get to work on all the window and door trim.

Home Depot is likely to become a very good friend of mine over the coming months and years. It’s sort of strange doing all this shopping there after spending three years in college working at one. Don’t want to be that guy that tells the employee they’re wrong, though so far some have been less helpful then I remember being in my days.

Oh and another new developement; the dog I fell for that went to foster and supposed adoption appears to now be available again. Greta the weimaraner with the one bad eye may be finding a new home in Greenbelt very soon. I need to read a little more on her file as she apparently has a bit of trouble getting along with other animals, but I said if she was available when I got my house... I LOVE this dog!