Well, my mom is here (going better than expected) and we are working on getting rid of 90% of my belongings. Ouch! While in some ways it feels good to be liberated from all this stuff, it's kinda hard watching the last 10 years of my life be boxed up and going away with other people. Most of the big stuff is gone, just the couch, the microwave stand and the bed in the spare room left. Everything else is just small stuff, mostly kitchen, books and dvds. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my mom here this week, nothing would have gotten done! My roommate, Linda, has done a great job painting the apartment and all that's left now is touch-ups!
School is going well and I've been pretty good about updating the blog about it (journeythroughoci.blogspot.com). I am excited to be learning why the stuff I make at home is inconsistent and what to do to make it better and improve everything for commercial production.
I move into my new place this weekend and I can't wait! I need to find a twin bed to fit in my little sleeping closet.
My stress level is about an 85 out of 10. My head is all discombobulated with irrational feelings and fears and wants and needs and I'm just not handling any of it well. I have moments of sheer panic and breakdown. The lack of a decent night's sleep and the stress of moving isn't helping either. After this weekend maybe things will calm down and be a little quieter.
School started yesterday, if you haven't already seen my other blog about it. (http://journeythroughoci.blogspot.com) It's amazing so far and I love it!! I can't help but feel a little sad though, someone very dear to me, my friend William that I mentioned before, is not a part of this, as I thought he would be. Things just didn't work out that way.
My mom came in tonight, she's here until next Wednesday to help me pack and ship my things and help me move into my new apartment. I really appreciate the help since I won't have time to do any of it. I began going through my things last week and realized that there is very little of it that I actually want or need to keep. I already have three large boxes in the living room of stuff I don't want. It's amazing how much stuff I've been moving from place to place and can really live without!
The place I found to live is really awesome! The house is Victorian and has a nice kitchen and a beautiful bathroom with a claw-foot tub. There is a washer and dryer downstairs (YAY for not having to get quarters anymore!). I will be living there with 3 or 4 other people (I'm not entirely sure). The room I'm in is pretty large, with easily enough room for my couch, tv, desk and dresser. The best part? The closet is big enough to sleep in! The plan is to use the room as living space and set up a small bed (most likely a mattress on the floor) in the closet. It will be nice and dark and quiet!! The price is a little more than I wanted to pay for a place I will be mostly just sleeping in, but it's a 10-minute walk to school along a lovely path and a 10-minute drive to and from work. The convenience alone is worth the extra money.
Well, I had best get off of here and do my homework! :-)
So, as you know, the original plan was to move back to VA immediately following my graduation from OCI. Well, after talking to a friend and realizing that it's the perfect time to go, I've decided to take the trip I've always wanted to. I'm going to Europe for ~6 weeks!! My adopted little brother (we'll call him Harry) is going with me and I couldn't be more excited! We've started planning, laying out a route and figuring out exactly what we want to see. Yesterday I got done with an initial outline and realized that I wanted to rearrange it. Yay for too many awesome choices!
It's going to be a whirlwind tour, spending about a week in Ireland and then a few days each in Wales, England, Scotland, Spain, France, Italy, Prague and Amsterdam. We're planning to pack light and stay in hostels along the way, mostly taking the train from point to point. I'm so excited about planning this with him! I have always wanted to take a trip to Europe but I've always been tied down, whether by lack of money, having too much stuff or by a boyfriend. By the time I finish school in October, all my bills will be paid until next April, I'll already have sold/given away all my things to move across the country and since I am currently unattached, it is the perfect time to go. I may never have another opportunity like this!
In other news, I got the cast off my wrist yesterday and it is AWESOME! It's so nice to be able to wash my hands or use a computer mouse. It's pretty stiff, my range of motion is greatly limited by the fluid and scar tissue around the incision site but I started physical therapy yesterday which should help with that.
School starts on Monday (YAY!) and I am just trying to get all my student loan stuff finalized. I have Orientation on Friday when I will get all my books and uniforms and such.
I still haven't found a place to live after the end of April but I have some prospects. I've looked at a few places but none that I've been totally in love with. I have faith that something will come up soon. :-)
I had a really fantastic time at Rockband this week with Doc and my friend (hmm...maybe Mal because he made me watch Firefly) Mal and my new roommate. I wish I could have stayed and not gone to work. I will miss going to Rockband Tuesdays for the next 2 months while my classes are 4p-10p. Love you guys!
Well, I am just over 2 weeks away from starting school and of course now is the time that everything changes.
My roommate of 2 1/2 months moved out this week after being the worst roommate in history. So now I am left with a filthy apartment and tons of dishes that he was hoarding in his room and no way to do them since I have a cast-thing on my right wrist from my surgery last week (that went well, btw, more later). I am definitely moving out of my apartment and into a studio or a roomshare by the end of April and therefore must pack, clean, repaint and sell all my stuff in the next month (ZOMG!).
Actually, I came up with a solution for most of the major stuff. This Tuesday I will be meeting with a girl who will probably be moving into my spare room for the month of April and she will be helping with all the dishes/cleaning/painting in exchange for rent. That will take a lot of the pressure off, I think. My mom has also offered to come for a few days the week I start school and help me pack, ship and sell stuff. While I am sure I'll probably regret it by the end of her stay, I am actually ok with accepting her help at this point. I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and in need of familial support.
The surgery on my wrist went well last week. It was very quick and except for some swelling, I haven't had a lot of problem with it. My friend Heath came and rescued me from the hospital and very nicely sat on the couch and watched movies with me all day in my semi-drugged state. On Saturday I flew to San Francisco and visited my wonderful best friend and her family. They were great to me and let me get away with not doing anything and Onyia even washed my hair for me (<3!). I get my cast thing off on the 13th and then I'll be back in my regular brace after that, but everything should be functional. The cast is annoying and it makes it look like I've broken my arm; the thing is HUGE!
I have really been loving going to Rockband Tuesdays at the bar downtown. It's a lot of fun and besides me and Doc, a whole new group of our friends show up every week. I will miss it for the 2 months that I won't be able to go after school starts!
It's going to be a crazy month...or 6...but it should be fun!
Well, yesterday was interesting. Within two hours of waking up I found out I am having surgery on Friday and that I may need to find a new place to live....all less than a month before school starts and everything changes.
So first, the surgery. I have had a ganglion cyst in my right wrist for several years but it doesn't bother me on a daily basis so there wasn't a whole lot of press to get it taken care of. I tried to go to the Orthopedic surgeon about it when I had that fabulous insurance from United Airlines back in San Diego but they couldn't get me in before I moved. So now, with school looming on the horizon, I figured I'd better do something about it since repetitive motions and a lot of use do bother me a lot. Every doctor I talked to previously led me to believe that they should just be able to stick a needle in my wrist and drain it...no biggie. Last week, I went to the ortho, he stuck a big needle in there aaaaand...nothing. All he succeeded in doing was bruising up my wrist and making it hurt. So when I went back today, they told me they could go in and cut it out...on Friday. It's nothing extensive; I'll get sedated and numbed and it's a 20 minute procedure and then I go home and I'm in a brace/splint/cast thing for 2 weeks. It should be healed enough before school to avoid causing any major problems soooo....here's hoping!
All in all, I think I am more stressed about my apartment situation than I am the surgery. So here's the deal: Back in December, I contacted my management company about a number of mantainance issues, the biggest one being the abundance of moisture in the apartment. I mean, we're talking the humidity being so high that if I leave cookies out for more than a couple of hours on the kitchen table, they become soggy and feel water-logged. Any papers in the apartment get soft and warped and there is just a general feeling of stuffiness. I was afraid to turn my heaters on all winter because of the mold growing all around them (they're the kind built into the wall). I mean, if there's that much mold, there has to be a lot of water in the walls, right? What if it shorts out? Everything in the apartment smells musty; if I leave my clothes in the closet for more than a week they really smell bad. Finally, after 2 1/2 months or so of badgering them about it, I got the dehumidifier they had promised me and they said if that didn't work that I could move into another apartment with no fees.
We gave the dehumidifier some time to work and realized that, although it sort of helped the living room area (though not significantly), it didn't even touch the bedrooms. I gave it a couple of weeks and then emailed my contact at the management company again asking about the possibility of moving to the apartment she showed me before (it's also bigger and has a dishwasher). I emailed twice with no response, called on Monday with the same result, and she finally came by the apartment today after coming to the complex on some other errand. She told me that the apartment she showed me before has been listed but that I could move into the one next door to us if I wanted. Then she proceeds to tell me that to do that, I will need to pay a new deposit and clean the other apartment just as if I was moving out at the end of my lease. SO, not only are they not going to do anything about the problem even after I move out, they want me to give them more money to do it. I paid a $650 deposit when I moved in and it is refundable, minus any damages or cleaning costs. So let's say they decide to give me back $450 of my original deposit, I would need to give them an additional $200 deposit for the new place.....this just does not seem right to me. She said that the other option is breaking my lease with no penalty.
At this point, I am not sure what to do. My options basically come down to, break my lease and find a new place to move, move in next door and pay the additional fee, or stay in my current apartment and suffer through the next 6 months hoping that being able to leave the windows open in the summer will help.
The idea of moving somewhere else seems daunting with everything else going on. I would probably just look for a studio or a room for rent, but that would mean getting rid of all my stuff 6 months earlier than I planned and most likely paying more than I would renting my current apartment with someone else. I really want to pay as little as possible considering that I will just be sleeping there.
If I rule that out (which I haven't, yet), I am left with either staying in my current apartment or moving next door. Both seem like a pain in the ass. I'm not sure that moving at all is going to be feasible with my wrist being out of commission for a few weeks and following that, my time crunch. If I stay in my place now though, I will have to see if they are willing to do anything to fix it/give me a discount on the rent/take them to court if I have to. They really haven't been overly helpful or presented me with many acceptable options.
Soooo....what to do, what to do. I don't particularly like any of my options...I just have to figure out which is the lesser of two weevils. I have until Friday to decide...any suggestions?
Years ago I discovered that one of the few physical things I'm good at is climbing stuff. Rocks, trees, anything I could find. I used to spend hours hopping from rock to rock up and down rivers whenever I got the chance. When I was a teenager I went with my dad and stepmother to Kitty Hawk for vacation and we tried climbing an indoor rock wall. It was amazing. A while later I went on a two week outdoor adventure camp that was amazing and beat the pants off everyone at real rock climbing.
To that end, last week I joined the Portland Rock Gym as a form of exercise and social interaction. You always have to have a partner (someone to belay you), so unless you've got someone you go with every time, you're constantly meeting new people. Even just one or two routes up the wall (and there are a lot of walls to choose from) will make you feel it. The cool thing is that they've got it all marked out so that you can follow certain rocks up the wall and that path is rated for difficulty. Every now and then professional climbers come in and change up the rocks and the routes.
I have been trying to hang out with friends more, go out for drinks, take adventures to Mt. Hood, that sort of thing. My friend, we'll call him Doctor Adams (Doc for short), is essentially a male version of me and vice-versa. We are so much alike that we had nearly the exact same thought run through our heads when he challenged me to a duel to the death over Douglas Adams in our first conversation (this was an exceedingly funny exchange, trust me). He has been expanding my geek horizons with Buffy and Angel and I have made Doc and his roommate, Lando, part of my test group for my bakery recipes (more on this later). This past week, Liza, Lando, Doc and I all went to Rockband Tuesdays at a bar called Backspace in downtown Portland. It was a blast! I hope all of you here in town will come out with us one week.
Ok, on to the tasty stuff! I've mostly decided to go with an upperscale-style bakery that's open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Danielle made a comment on my last post with some awesome geek dessert name ideas and the great point that the place could be upscale and very nice but still have a slight geek flavor. Below is the list of potential menu ideas that I have so far. I'm still adding things and of course I'm sure it will get narrowed down as I test the recipes and decide what works best in the area, etc. I'm using my hotel friends as guinea pigs for all the new recipes and for improving the ones I make already. Doc works at one hotel downtown and my friend, we'll call him Heath (after another fabulous Australian), works at another. Both of their hotels will be getting lots of goodies (especially after a weekend of boredom). So thank you in advance to all my taste-testers!!!
I'm so excited about everything going on and I can't wait til school starts. Partly because it means there's only 6 months until I move and that I'll be incredibly busy until then, but mostly because it's going to be AWESOME! I want to make things that people can't get elsewhere. If you have any suggestions for new and interesting treats, let me know! So, without further ado, here is the list of tasty goodness I have so far. You may commence drooling.
LUNCH
Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cups
Individual Chicken Pot Pies (puff pastry top)
Mushroom and Cheese Empanadas (puff pastry)
Sandwiches on fresh bread
Soup
Risotto with Mushrooms
Quiche
DINNER
Chicken or duck breast with risotto and vegetable
Steak with potatoes and vegetable
Pasta with Seafood or Chicken
Cornish Game Hen with Wild rice stuffing
Acorn squash with wild rice stuffing
Orange Ginger Salmon with Vegetable and Rice/Risotto
BRUNCH
Omelets with fresh vegetables/other stuff
Homemade bread French toast topped with crème fraiche and fresh fruit
Pancakes/Waffles
DESSERT IDEAS
Peach with a layer of raspberries on the bottom and in the middle
Chocolate cream with chocolate graham cracker crust and andes mint shell
So I have all these ideas swirling around in my head and, though I have plenty of time, I'd love some input from my faithful readers *snork*.
Opening this bakery in VA presents me with tons and tons of options. Of course I want to make it something a bit special, it should stand out among bakeries in the area so I've narrowed it down to pretty much two choices. There is a place here called Papa Haydn, they are a restaurant but they're mostly known for their desserts. At $8/piece, they're a bit pricey but they are also divine! I am not sure how well something like that would go over in the smallish town of Winchester or surrounding area but I might be able to get close. The other idea that has been gnawing at my brain the last couple of nights is making it themed at least slightly toward geekery. Things like calling it Cafe Pi, naming desserts appropriately, like the peach pie would be Princess Peach, or having the best pie ever (I am thinking this will involve chocolate) being called Pie 42 (because it's the answer).
On the one hand, having a really nice, classy place will attract people that want a nice night out or a semi-fancy lunch or just a nice place for dessert. The downside to this sort of place is the cost. A place like that might fit better closer to DC but I'm not sure how close I want to get. Having it aimed a little more toward geeks would be tons of fun but the demographic is a bit limited there as well.
I suppose I should wait and feel things out when I get there. Unfortunately, I won't have any time to go out there and look around before I move (not to mention I can't afford a week of hotel and rental car at the moment). Each of these two options have their merits and they each have downsides. One of them would appeal more to my traditional, high-class side and the other would be super fun to run! I suppose this is really just an extension of the war that I have fought with myself my whole life.
So what's your opinion? Any other ideas? Any ideas for geek-related sweets?
Last night it was suggested to me that because of the issues I've been having with my apartment and rental company that I might be able to get out of my lease and move elsewhere. My first thought was then, "why would I move somewhere else in Portland for the next 7 months? I should look into moving to VA." This of course brought up the issue of school and money and everything else that would have to be considered for such an endeavor. Of course last night was the night that the internet was down at work so I couldn't do any of the research that would help me make a decision. For instance, was it even possible to get out of my lease? Was there a school out there comparable to the one I am enrolled in here?
In addition to these researchable questions there were also other considerations and pros and cons to be weighed. On the Pro side we have the fact that it would solve several problems in one go. I would have time to do research and find a place and equipment for the bakery while I was in school and it would eliminate not seeing certain people for 6 months.
After being nearly sick about it all night and waking up with a migraine this afternoon I talked to my friend who pointed out that as great as it would be to be closer, the timing is really bad and this would all be very rushed which is what I've been trying to avoid. I thought about this for a while, staring into space and wait for my head to stop feeling like it was going to explode and realized that when I made the decision to move to VA in the first place, when I decided on OCI, when I think about the future as it stands now and how I feel it will progress, it all felt right and it felt easy. I was way too stressed about these new possibilities and maybe it had something to do with my migraine (or maybe my head is just broken).
So in the end, after all that, nothing is changing. I'm still a bit woozy from the whole thing but I think the right thing is to stay put for the time being. So, really, I suppose this whole blog was kinda silly and pointless....but now you know what my day was like. ;-)
I am in such a good mood I just have to tell everyone!
As you probably read before, I am moving to VA at the end of the year. I am completely excited about this!! There are a multitude of reasons but OMG!!! I am exceedingly excited about this bakery and all the possibilities.
So the surprising news, I told my mom about moving and the bakery and not only did she think it was a great idea, she has offered to help put me through culinary school! (I think aliens might have abducted my mother and left a replacement).
The school I am looking at has a 24 week program 5 days a week, 6 hours a day for the first 16 weeks and then an externship for the last 8. It is an intensive program but I am totally into it. The cost of tuition is high but includes all the supplies, uniforms, books, equipment and everything else. I've already filled out the FAFSA and it will cover a small portion of the tuition but I will have to come up with the other $10,000. I don't know yet how much my mom is going to be able to help but I am also looking for grants and scholarships if any of my faithful readers (HA!) know of anything. The rest will be in loan form I am assuming. I tour the school on Tuesday (or maybe today if I can get an appointment. I am too excited to wait!) and assuming I get in and have the money and all, I will start in April. That means I'll finish in October which is PERFECT timing!
I got home this morning, changed clothes, turned my MP3 player on, put in my headphones and walked to the library and back, stopping for an almond croissant and vanilla steamer on the way. It has been an awesome morning and I am totally in love with everything coming right now.
Well, that's all for now, I just had to share my excitement. I am off to see a man about a horse.....or a bank about a loan (either way, right?).
“Dreams get you into the future and add excitement to the present.” --Robert Conklin
This is something I have been contemplating for a while now and I think it's time everyone knows. Let me start by saying this though: for those of you that speak to my mother, I have not told her, please do not mention it!! I will tell her myself when the time is right.
SO, the big news.... While I love Portland dearly and it will always be a place of wonderful memories, I will be moving back to Virginia at the end of my lease in October. (DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN)
Right, anyway, there are a number of reasons for this move, first and foremost being that I want to be closer to my family. My dad, my grandparents and all my aunts and uncles and cousins are on the east coast, from North Carolina to West Virginia. The closer I get to starting a family myself, the more I want to have them nearby.
The second big reason is that a friend of mine and I are looking at starting a bakery to go along with his graphic design studio (www.rappsodystudios.co.cc). I know that, outwardly, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense but I promise it does. We will have a store front and cafe but then we will also have an "edible marketing" division. Customers and companies will be able to get cookies, candies and chocolates custom designed by our graphics team! It's going to be awesome!!!!
I will be moving to an area a little West of D.C. and a bit North of Richmond, though the exact location is TBD.
For those of you that know me and know my aversion to VA, rest assured, I am not making this decision lightly. I will not be anywhere near the area I grew up in and I think I will actually like it. I feel amazingly good about the whole thing. I feel more at peace with this turn of events and the timing and the future than I have in a long time. I know it's the right thing and I am completely excited!!
I am going to enjoy Portland to the fullest while I am here, going out with friends, exploring Oregon. I have a new roommate that I am counting on to show me a good time. ;-) I love Portland, I love Oregon and I am sure I will come back here many, many times and maybe even move back someday. For now, though, I feel in my soul, in my gut, in my heart, what ever you want to call it, that it's time to go home.
Well, it is officially a new decade. Thank god. That last one was getting highly tedious.
I was talking to a friend, we'll call him William, recently about our past relationship (we dated in high school) and I asked him what had attracted him to me (other than my stunning good looks, of course). He said that initially it was my confidence as he watched me audition for a play and then he fell in love with me because of my strength and courage and determination. I wasn't going to let anyone stop me from doing what I wanted with my life.
I thought about this a lot and I realized that all the reasons William had for admiring me and loving me all those years ago are gone. It was right after I left him that I started my 10-year relationship run and I have lost most of who I was. I miss that person. At the time, I was using Rose Myra Avery as my name, trying to change it. It was my stage name and I was determined to become famous. I was a different person back then, especially when I was Rose Avery.
I have decided to use this year to work on becoming the person I was on my way to then. It is a whole new decade, it's time for a whole new me. If I am going to find the man of my dreams, I've got to be the person I want to be.
So here's to you, 2010! May you lead us into a better time and a better life. Let the lessons we learned in the last decade make us wiser for the next.
Sarcastic, smart-ass, single white female seeks same but in male form. Must love wild monkey sex and cuddling, must want a family, must be willing to tolerate my random silliness and irrationality.
Well, my mom is here (going better than expected) and we are working on getting rid of 90% of my belongings. Ouch! While in some ways it feels good to be liberated from all this stuff, it's kinda hard watching the last 10 years of my life be boxed up and going away with other people. Most of the big stuff is gone, just the couch, the microwave stand and the bed in the spare room left. Everything else is just small stuff, mostly kitchen, books and dvds. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my mom here this week, nothing would have gotten done! My roommate, Linda, has done a great job painting the apartment and all that's left now is touch-ups!
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