Etsy – $24.00

Anthropologie – $14.00

Anthropologie – $24.00

Etsy – $4.00

Etsy – $55

Well, I signed a three month apartment lease (through March). Thank god I have an amazing landlord and she didn’t raise my rent. If I get the invitation for Kyrgyz Republic, this will work out perfectly. If not, I’ll just have to sign another short-term lease after March. Man, I have never looked forward to Mondays so much. The weekend is still amazing (don’t get me wrong), but it’s also like a black hole when I know for sure I won’t hear anything from the Peace Corps. I hope I hear something next week (or the next…or the next…).

One thing about having Myasthenia Gravis and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, plus a few other things thrown in for good measure, is that life is never boring. One minute you feel one way, the next minute it’s something else.

When I woke up at 8:30 this morning I could barely walk and was wicked bad dizzy. It made me nauseous. I went back to bed. Zeke woke me up three hours later. Looking at the keyboard, I don’t exactly *see* what I am doing. It’s a big blurry swirl. My head feels like it’s not screwed on tight. I’d love to crawl back in bed again, but I am too nauseous. Fun.

I put my “Shhhhhhh……napping…..”  sign on the door. I’m going to try to rest.

My head feels really messed up inside. Even my teeth are dizzy. For the last 24 hours or so, my right-sided weakness has gotten worse. When I get up from sitting, the right leg buckles underneath me. No pain, it’s just “not there”. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to drive. I had to miss church You know what’s REALLY weird? I started crying when I wrote that and tears are only coming out of the left side.

The good news of this week? WE GOT THE KEYS!! To where, you ask? Our new apartment! (Actually it’s a privately owned condo, but if I said “our condo”, then one might think we actually are homeowners. Which we’re not!)

But before I share pictures of the new abode, I thought I’d take some time and answer some questions about my home away from home, while finding a home.

1. So, I noticed you said you just got keys to your condo/apartment/whatever, but haven’t you been living in Portland almost 7 weeks now? Where have you been holed up this past month and a half?

Excellent question. Ron and Debora, my gracious in-laws, have lent me their Holiday Rambler. That’s right-their RV. (“That there, Clark, is an RV.” Quick-name that movie) Yes, an RV. But before your mind conjures up pictures of, say…Eddie’s from Christmas Vacation…let me explain.  You see, I ended up getting “current job” a bit quicker than I ever planned on (well…alot quicker) and therefore, hadn’t really been to Portland to visit the area or even see where I would be working. I know from working with people at my last job who moved from out of state, that blindly picking a place off the internet can be difficult.  So, Ron and I were offered the RV as a temporary solution until I could figure out where we wanted to “settle” (for a while. We tend to like to move in case you didn’t know.)  Ron was surprised that I actually went for the idea and wouldn’t mind living by myself in a home on wheels for a while. After all, if you had seen my dorm/apartment in Germany, you’d understand that I can live in small cramped places and do fine. You’d also understand that this RV was a luxury in comparison.

It’s funny-I had never even stayed in an RV before this past summer, when we went with Ron and Debora to Yosemite. I had always been a tent camper, but I may now be a convert. It was certainly a treat to brush my teeth at night in a real bathroom without having to hold up my flashlight with one hand, turn on the cold sink with another hand, keep on the lookout for bears…you get the idea. Who would have thought only weeks later, I’d be living in one.

2. So, um…do you have to use an outhouse and cook by campfire at night?

No, no, no. Trust me when I say this has all the amenities of a small studio apartment (but probably cleaner thanks to Debora!) It has a real shower, a sink and vanity in the bathroom, a refrigerator and freezer. A gas stove (oh, how I love and missed a gas stove!), a double bed (just have to be careful not to sit up and bonk my head!) and even a flat screen TV with cable and wireless internet.  It’s also better than staying at a hotel for 6 weeks, because unlike most hotels, I can walk around barefoot and touch the remote without getting any creepy crawly germs. Ew.

3.  So, where do you park this RV? Do you drive it to work?

Yes, I’ve been asked this question. And no, I don’t drive it to work. The RV remains stationary, because honestly, can you really imagine me driving this thing? I can handle a minivan, and that’s about as big as I get.  In the meantime, it’s parked at a lovely RV park in a town south of Portland, about 20 minutes from my work. It’s actually a nice park, with travelers only-no long term residents. Most of the renters are on their way down to Arizona for the winter. (Snowbirds) So, I can safely say I’m probably one of the youngest residents! It has laundry facilities, a great staff, a propane truck that comes by every week (yes, we do have to fill up the propane, but I don’t have to do any of the work). It’s even set up against a river which made for a gorgeous backdrop when the leaves were changing colors!

4. So, where is Callie in all of this? Is she camping out in the RV with you? Or is she living in Tina and Greg’s attic with Ron?

Careful-now that you mentioned her name, I might cry! I miss her so much. So, clearly, she’s not with me. She’s not with Ron. The same generous in-laws who leant me their RV are also doggy-sitting long term for us as well. I thnk Rusty, their 1 year old Welsh Springer, begged and begged for Callie to come stay with them. So, when we make the trek up to Portland, we dropped her off at her BFF’s house in Napa. Rusty and Callie have become quite the twosome from what I’ve heard! Word has it that they won’t leave each other’s side, and they even groom each other which I find hilarious! Grandpa Ron says Callie does “talk” quite a bit, which Ron and I know all about. Callie has all kinds of expressions in her bark and even likes to talk back a bit, so we’re convinced she “talks”. Hopefully Rusty put her in her place and she hasn’t bossed him around too much! Oh, Callie even met a cat for the first time. I was a bit worried that Callie was going to try and attack sweet Lily, their cat, but apparently Callie is quite the “scaredy cat” and runs away with her tail between her legs whenever Lily comes around! Only 2 more weeks before Cal joins us again and I couldn’t be more excited to have that crazy girl around again.

5. So, how about some pictures of this fine Recreational Vehicle? Because I seriously am picturing Eddie’s RV here.

Sure! Here’s a tour of my humble abode: (click to enlarge)

Even though the RV has been a nice temporary home, I’m more than ready to have a “real” home back, and enjoy all the fine comforts that come with it. Mostly…I’m ready to have my kitchen back and do some real cooking!

Past week has been pretty hectic. Especially for a guy who only moves his butt just enough to reach his laptop or the tv remote. First there was our apartment problem, then there’s the assignment headache which is a bigger bitch than i thought.

Was able to catch New Moon at the movies. It wasn’t exactly as awesome as i expected, but entertaining nevertheless. Put a picture of  Taylor Lautner from New Moon and Sharkboy & Lavagirl side by side and I will ZOMG! every time i see it. After the movies we headed to the metro to see this apartment in a supposedly military colony. Here’s a brief convo between me and Sumanth in the train:

(convo was in Kannada by the way)

Me : Bro, am really sleepy, just punch me in the face just so I get a chance to lie down. Please yaar.

Sumanth(ignoring my usual whining, staring at a local girl) : Hey, do you think she looks good?

Me (infuriated) : Yeah, you’ve got fine taste. (I actually dint even see what she looked like)

Sumanth : Ask her something.

Me : Like what? If she’ll go out on a date with you?

Sumanth : Yeah right.. Dude she’s getting down.

Me : Must’ve seen you and got shit scared.

Random stranger next to me : Are you Bangaloreans ? (IN KANNADA!!)

The jolt that accompanied the next couple of seconds was like I took in a cup of coffee in one swig. I look at Sumanth and he’s looking back at me just as amused. I couldn’t stop laughing for a while until I realized I would look Simple Jack who’s high. Thankfully, we dint use any of our ‘tapori’ words. Exchanged few words with the elderly stranger and dropped down at our stop.

The apartment we headed for was nowhere near our budget, so we just sat for an hour and talked options. Scavenged around the station where they had posted ads for rents, jobs etc and called nearly 10-15 people on the spot. And one of those clicked, saw the place. Looks pretty perfect. Might have free wi-fi to mooch

Now listening to : Bella’s Lullaby – Carter Burwell

For every time I think about taking a Vicodin, I give in and take one hardly ever. That’s how my bottle of 20 pills seems to stretch “forever”.

The pain was just too much to bear last night. My legs and joints felt like someone was trying to pull them apart. I kept waiting for that buzz feeling, but it never came. Instead, the pain lessened bit by bit, but never went away. I guess that’s what happens when the pain is bigger than a Vicodin. Even with the pain pill, I never went to bed until 7 AM this morning….and I’m lucky if I slept a couple of hours.

Maybe it was subliminal, but I just realized this morning that it was probably no coincidence that I watched a few episodes of House last night. I thought it was weird that I wanted to watch! I looked it up on Google how to find episodes. Never did that before…

House in Rome, Italy Project arch. F. Bernardini rendering R. De Angelis … 3ds max animation 3d interior architectural rendering radiosity

http://diyhomedepot.jaideespace.com/ diyarticle.wordpress.com

…off the proverbial wagon, that is.

(I’ll get to this in a sec.)

After a carayzeelong break from blogging, I’m back.  And what a November it’s been!

1.) I moved!!!  I know I was in the process of moving when I last wrote, but now I am nice and settled into my new place.  A few pics from when I first moved in (make a mental note that it is sparsely decorated no more; I just have laundry all over my floor right now and while we’re still kinda getting to know each other, I’d prefer that you remain under the impression that I put everything in it’s right place, every day.  Yyyyup.)

Let’s step inside, shall we?

It looks WAY more special now.  Pillows, candles, a hand-crafted mancala board from Africa…and Buddha has moved into my room and has been replaced by a brand new HD flatscreen WHAT.  My g-ma has been going through a stressful time, and when she gets stressed, she uses retail therapy.  Pair that with her knowledge that Sandi (roommate) and I did not own a television, and you get QUITE the surprise.  Gammy must’ve really been trippin’.

Let’s turn to the right, shall we?

Well HAYYYYYY there good lookin.’

(note the YAS water bottle on the table )

This table used to belong to Sandi’s father and stepmom — it is simply GORGEOUS, and I am a bit in love.  It is currently the resting place of a HUGE vase of Main St. Farmer’s Market sunflowers, crystal candlesticks, and some placemats made out of strung-together twigs (which I stole borrowed indefinitely from a hotel room in Hawaii.  oops.)I cannot understand why they are not using it.

If I am smart, I won’t ask.

Every day, we make a choice.  Today I choose to be smart.

Follow the light……

Yep, I did it.  I (er, the guy who’s with the leasing company) painted my room green.  And this was taken in the evening, before I had a real lamp, so it does not even do the bright cheery hue justice.  Again, I swear it looks more AJIC (A Joy In Class) now…but again, I’m self-conscious of the slight mess.

To your right, you’ll find the closet…

….and the antique hat rack holding a slew of scarves, belts and purses.  This closet is now OVERFLOWING.  Mmm.  I like.

And a new bathroom always calls for a New Bathroom Shoot.  Or, rather, “You’re So Vain, You Prob’ly Think This Bathroom’s About You”

(did that make sense?  No.  Do I say lots of things that make sense?  Not really.)

A favorite cropped “coat” of mine.  $7 at Buffalo Exchange….dumb face not included.

Note to self: distace+bathroom mirror+lulu’ yoga hotshorts = optical illusion of long legs.  Damn you cold weather….I could use a little optical illusion pick-me-up as of late (see title of post). :/

I have a thing for cropped coats.  This one was $18 at the UCI vendor faire back in the day, aka 2006.  Ignore the yet-to-be-hung (that’s what she said) wall decorations.

Gettin’ silly and showing my love for the green wall.  Gahh.  Who takes a picture with their wall.

No, I was not tipsy on anything else but joy.

Go figure, my two big November events are matchy-matchy.  Apparently, I color-coordinate my life.

YAS Teacher Training took over my life until November 15th…..a three-weekend, two-week intensive into which I was awarded a scholarship.  Seeing as it is $1500 for the program (which some people use as a bootcamp, some people use so they can teach at YAS, and some people use just to gain knowledge about spinning and Yoga For Athletes [YAS's unique yoga sequence]), this was HUGE for me.  I recently stopped teaching at 24 Hour Fitness due to distance, and I miss teaching so very much.  I have started an apprenticeship at YAS and have my follow-up/practical/workshop this Sunday.  I am praying that this is when I will be deemed “enough”…to teach or sub, that is.  Goal is to get onto the schedg’ by January.  MizFit, you will have to visit!!!!!!!

I’ve also started working the front desk at YAS…in addition to working at Studio 1-on-1.  It does not seem like a lot – working two desk jobs less than two miles from home – but the shifts are long and YAS gets CRAZY busy.  Literally, I am holding a phone in between my ear and my shoulder entering someone into their desired class while taking cash from one client and swiping a credit card for another and mouthing to another client that I’ll be with them in just a sec.  I love it, but it gets tiring….then I get off of work and eat dinner/post-dinner/post-post dinner around 10pm….well, this leads us back to the title of this blog entry.  Plus I have been reading HEAB’s blog like it’s internet crack (which I think you will all agree IT IS!), and have introduced natural nut butters back into my life via small doses from the self-churn thingy at Whole Foods.  But I think I’m getting a little, and it turns out to be, like….well, not a little.  BTW, is commercial PB measured like a FLUID or a SOLID?  Because liquid ounces are different than solid ounces, no?  Like, 16oz of water is 16oz, but if you filled the same glass with apples, it would WEIGH much more than 16oz.  Is this a dumb question?  I am just trying to figure out the nutritionals for the amount of pb/ab that was weighed at the check-out register.  I like to know my damage

I was recently (like, 10 minutes ago) inspired by Deb’s post on Lara’s blog.  She deemed the Triple Threat (or Trifecta to Thinspiration, since it IS Ms. Thinspired’s bliggityblog! ) to be

1.) Food Diary

2.) Smoothies

3.) Strength Training

And I could not agree more.  I was feeling best, looking best, and acting best when I was using www.mypyramidtracker.gov to log my food, making yummy yet slightly awkward (I am so glad I have found you lovely people who do not think anything of spinach and/or pumpkin in smoothies) smoothies for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, or desserts, and was strength training on a regular basis.  My yoga practice has gotten way more frequent since I’ve started working at YAS and gotten unlimited classes, but it is not the same as a killa gym/trainer sesh.  And my boss is kinda freaking out about life right now, so no trainer seshes for Katie.  The pictures above were all taken whilst I was strength training with him, and I was just in such a positive place about myself….

Well, this needs to change.  This is the holiday season, and the most beautiful and precious gift I can give myself is confidence and the body/spirit that is unbreakably, truly, fully MINE.  I wanna throw Christmas parties.  No more Pity parties.  And I am going to take MizFit’s advice and blog about it all.

I journaled today. Not gonna post it on here, but I did it on the .gov site listed above.  I rested my body today after a horrible tummy reaction to SF maple syrup that I mixed with pumpkin last night…..guess I have a food allergy.  Good to know.  Dumb Maltitol.  And tomorrow, I’m buying some crushed ice for smoothies, making myself the damn thang, strength training, and getting back to that lifestyle/those habits and that person I truly do love.

We only have one life, and we are such a small speck in the world…and if we all shine as BRIGHTLY as we KNOW we can, we can make it GLISTEN.

***holycrap!  I forgot to thank GANGSTA-E for the AMAAAAAZING package she sent me……..lady, I’m using that highlighter/eyeshadow/shiny amazingness every day and LOVING it.  And your sweet note made my week.  Thank you. xoxoxoxo

***ALSO, contact info has been updated on the FAQ page.

As I’m leaving for work this morning, I see a pumpkin smashed across the back parking lot.

It fit right in with the beer bottle shattered in front of the garage door next to mine.

La Vista is in  Kharghar, Mumbai .  Some of the other Apartments in the area include Regency Gardens, Monarch Orchid, Balaji Angan and Morya Heights.

Locality Information Near La Vista:

Schools:

I slept most of Friday. It’s the kind of sleep that means my body is trying to repair itself. You would think I’d feel better….but I don’t I had about a half hour of perkiness and am back to pain…with fever. Sigh…

My left knee and leg are extra owie and swollen. I tried lying down. That was even worse. Now that I am sitting up again, THAT feels worse. Sigh…

My head and neck are so hot that I needed to flip my pillow every few minutes. I took 800 mg of Motrin, but it has not helped at all. Sigh….

I am discouraged.

My sweet roommie

Food is not one of my specializations. In case you guys didn’t know, I often just make food out of canned food, and pretty much just mix them all together. Here’s the previous video I put on a post up here on wordpress, take a look and see how my ‘awesome food’ is: “Terminator Noodles”.  

But since I moved into this new apartment, my roommate has been great for preparing meals for me. She does that almost everyday. The best thing is, her food is good. Good good food. 

I feel grateful for having such a roommate, I have a feeling as if every meal we have was prepared for a birthday party, and I’m not talking about parties where ppl hang around the house with drinks and doing crazy stuff, I’m talking about one of those traditional birthday parties that kids have with their family, where every dish is super fancy. 

Although my roommate is a super nice girl who makes super delicious meals, I never take her for granted. 

Its not about all the nice things she’s done, its also about how great of a person she is. I’ve done dumb things such as exploding her glass bowl in the microwave, or taking her book to study for the test we BOTH have, but its all good with her. 

I am a lucky dude afterall.

The French are very protective of their language. Discussing the phonetic nuances of u versus ou seems to be a Parisian sport. Strangers have no qualms about correcting your incorrect grammar, and waiters refuse to serve you une café, because it’s un café. All this I knew.  But my dear landlady takes correction to a Kanye West extreme. Cases in point:

1. “That’s a good lookin’ sandwich an’ all, but y’all know that Beyoncé’s sandwich skills is better.” This one takes place barely a week into my French experience. I had been running errands all day and got home, starving. So I pulled out my demi baguette and proceeded to make myself a delicious foot-long cucumber and brie sandwich.  Which, apparently, included far too many carbs. I was instructed to remove all the sandwich filling ingredients, place them in a bowl, return one half of my baguette to the fridge and eat the bread and salad separately. She stayed to watch me do it.

2. “Hey, you makin’ your bed? Dontchu know Beyoncé can make it better?” Yes, I was making my bed, and apparently doing it incorrectly.  So sometimes, when it’s not too cold, I sleep on top of the comforter and only use the light cover. Because, you know, I don’t want to die of sweat in the middle of the night (ew, what a way to go).  But apparently, one must always use the flat sheet.  Moreover, there is a proper way to make the bed, so that entering it and placing yourself under said flat sheet at night is easy.  Never would I have known…

3. “Is 50 degrees ou’side: Beyoncé would wear a sweater.” Little did I know that moving to France meant losing the ability to dress myself.  Not only was I treated to a lecture on it “no longer being summer” and that if I continued to dress so skimpily (skimpily, as in leggings, jeans, shirt, scarf and jacket) I would catch a cold, but when I returned from my room (after putting on a sweater), she checked to make sure I really had put one on.  I felt like I was three again. But Mommy, I really did brush my teeth!

There’s no quicker way to sour a roommate relationship: All of a sudden, the whole joint reeks of perfume or the toilet seat’s left up — all thanks to your freeloading boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s a problem as rampant as rodents, and in New York City, miniature apartments only add to the tension.

Don't make us resort to this.

Let me be clear: There is nothing wrong with having guests. Unless a no-overnights policy was part of the deal when you signed your lease (and sometimes it is), it’s your right. But it’s the way we handle it — or don’t handle it — that causes problems. Courtesy is everything. You might be in love, but you also have roommates.

In New York, we have roommates far past the age we would in Normal Rent World, and it’s only natural for our adult relationships to spill over into our personal space. If your boyfriend or girlfriend is visiting or staying over more than a couple nights a week, run it by your roommates — not to ask permission (after all, you pay rent too), but just to extend the courtesy.

Avoid becoming THAT PERSON by following these guidelines:

• The default toilet seat position should reflect the gender of the rent-paying majority. (Guys get most of the flack for this — but girls, if you’re staying with your boyfriend and it’s up when you get in there, put it back up when you’re done.)
• If you’re going to have a phone conversation, go into the bedroom.
• Do not commandeer the common room. The worst thing for a roommate is the feeling you are being kept out of, or intruding on, a space you should be able to use anytime. Leave no trace — especially beer cans.
• Do not smoke in the apartment unless every other roommate does, and says its OK. (A friend of mine once lived with a girl whose trust-fund boyfriend kept smoking inside after they asked him to stop. What a catch!)
• If you cook, clean. That night. Bonus points for doing a few stray dishes that don’t belong to you.
• Be mindful of your bathroom usage. Make sure the roommates are never waiting on The One Who Doesn’t Pay Rent so they can take a shower.
• Keep the noise down. You know, the noise.
• Be at least a little social. Everyone likes someone who asks them questions. Chat with your s.o.’s roommates from time to time, just so you’re not the guy or girl who comes over, shuts the bedroom door and never says a word to his or her roommates.

Thursday I was sooo happy to have my aide here! I’ve been falling behind in housekeeping.

After all the cigarette smoke and lack of sleep this week, my lungs are for sure my weak spot. While Darlene was on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor, I started coughing…then choking and blowing my nose…then some serious non-stop deep-down choking. I coughed up all sorts of gunk and started wheezing big time It was only after the worst was over that I realized the cleaning supplies did it.

My lungs were already so trashed from smoke that they were wicked sensitive to other insults. Darlene says next time I have to go sit in my car or the community room when she uses cleaning supplies. Sounds good to me! I wish I had caught on sooner and had the sense to remove myself.

I still have an extra sore throat this morning and all my coughing muscles feel beat up.

Of course that’s not all that is going on with me. My joints have been swollen and that darn right arm is still in pretty owie pain. The gut pain is awful and I continue to be plagued by melt down diarrhea. Sometimes staying cheerful through it all is a stretch. I suppose two days without my happy pill corresponds to my extra grouchiness. Beth and Luc picked up my meds for me last night, so hopefully I will again be medicated back into submission.

The best news is that all that trauma to my body brought on some REALLY soaking night sweats last night. I woke up with smaller joints and a less owie arm. See…I can be kinda positive….the meds must be kicking in

It is chilly outside, it is also chilling to think that the Amanda Knox might be over. I remember hearing about that before I went to Italy in spring of 2008. If she really did not kill her roommate, then I feel sorry for her for having to spend two years in jail for something that she did not do.

On another note, Today is apartment hunting day again! Woooo! I know it will probably end in me going back to the first one but hey that’s how it is with everything usually.

I am so tired of hearing about the White House party crashing. If something had happened to the president, then yes, this is a big deal, but come on. There are more important things to talk about. I want to know if this Christmas season is helping the economy at all. What are people buying, and what about unemployment? Give up the party crashers.

It is always necessary a bit to wait for the own new flat or the new house. It is never so that the house into the month is usually built it lasts for a little longer. In spite of construction of houses the most is probably a lot of trouble however is awaiting the problem of everyone during settling of credit and choice about the plan. Apartment Wojszyce specially in some towns many projects are rejected and it is necessary to choose next, such a situation is often met on areas of different kind of landscape parks. But if all these paper matters will actually roll it is possible to begin construction. It is necessary only still to find the appropriate building team and it is possible already to dig a hole up to foundations. Construction of houses in the building shell isn’t a long-drawn-out process, a completion work is taking far more time. Sometimes it is hard to find good specialists from plaster or individual installations. But also it is possible quickly to settle of it. The most however he concerns problems of completion work. The assembly of outside and internal house-warming parties, the assembly of windows, insulating the building, construction of the septic tank or the sewage treatment plant. Not talking already about door, floors or tiling and terracotta. Also making the boiler room and the thermal installation is an important stage. Actually solved is guaranteeing good and fast distributing the central heating during frosty days. It isn’t possible of course to forget .. for like this called whites of the assembly, that is about the bathtub, the shower, washbasins, the sink or also batteries of different kind, it is an also essential element of the completion work. Therefore construction of houses is a very broad notion after all often embraces also a structure and finishing balconies, terraces or stairs. Still installing the door remains and if necessary of alarm system, ruining the tea garden and it is already possible to live in the own new and beautiful house.

Karma – good or bad – always come back to you.

This is a long one, folks, but I need to get it off my chest.

A little back story. When our dear friend Emory passed away in January of this year, he left quite a few possessions behind. Most of them held no real value, but a few held a great deal of sentimental value, and a couple held some monetary value.

The night he passed, our landlord (husband & wife ) was called in to survey the place, to see what needed taken care of immediately. Mostly, it was making sure the place was locked up against weather and intruders, and getting rid of any open containers of food that might attract pests. The coroner’s office said they would attempt to find next of kin, and that if none were found, they would send someone out to pack everything up and put it in storage for a set amount of time for when someone eventually comes to claim it.

Our landlord decided that wasn’t good enough, and 2 weeks later, they opened up the apartment and started “cleaning” it out. First to go was the obvious – food and trash. They did a more thorough check through the place for anything that needed repaired or anything else worthwhile. They asked us if there was anything that we knew of that was important. They told us they were upset that the coroner’s office hadn’t been keeping them up to date on their proceedings, and that they were basically denied entry into the place they owned until the 30 days were up. We started to see a side of our landlord that we hadn’t previously seen. They kept trying to assure us that they were only doing what was best, and that they weren’t “slumlords”.

3 weeks to the day after Emory passed, on my Son’s birthday (that’s how I remember it so well), they again came back in to empty the apartment out completely. They told us that they coroner’s office had “contracted” them to clean it out, and that the coroner’s office said they had no intention of putting anything into storage because it cost too much. We tried to call the coroner’s office, to verify this, but couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone or return our phone calls. We probably left 2 dozen messages over the course of a week.

During this week, the landlord had parked a dumpster in the driveway. Not one of those little ones, either. The kind that needs a tractor-trailer! He was serious about getting rid of everything, that’s for sure! He enlisted the help of his family to get the place cleaned out. They started a burn pile in the yard, for anything that could be burned instead of putting it in the dumpster, which I assume charged according to weight.

My Husband and I were in a state of panic! We had been told by Emory that he had no next of kin. But his ex-wife told us that there was definitely someone out there, and she thought that maybe a relative was in Hawaii, but had no name to give us.

While the landlord was haphazardly tearing through the place, my Husband and I were looking for anything that might have some importance. The landlord was convinced that there was absolutely nothing important in the apartment, and voted to trash anything he could. Anything that the landlord decided might be worth money, he took for himself or gave it to his family.

We were sure that something was just not right with this, so we did everything we could to salvage whatever we could. We managed to find family pictures and other sentimental items. We took his computer, because we knew that there was sensitive information on it, that Emory would have never trusted anyone else with, besides us. Because of a previous arrangement with Emory (nothing to do with his death), we made sure to get his television set safely out. When my Son saw the video camera that he and Emory used to use together, he asked if he could have that. Apparently, the landlord thought it wasn’t valuable (“Nobody else would want something like that”, was the exact quote.) so we were given “permission” to take it. I understood then, that they were absolute idiots, in addition to all the other negative words used to describe them. They are Mennonite (a branch of Amish), so they saw no value in anything that they didn’t personally use.

While sorting through some things in the garage, which included some very expensive tools (all given to the landlord and his family – grrrr), my Husband found a box full of computer “stuff”. He thought my Son and I should go through it, to see if there was anything important or valuable. What I found in that box went beyond valuable … his family! I found Emory’s mother’s will, which named several family members as beneficiaries. I immediately placed a call to his ex-wife, who confirmed that one of the people listed was the one that lived in Hawaii. A quick search on WhitePages.com, and I found one listing in Hawaii. 5 minutes later, I was on the phone with Emory’s first cousin.

I had to break the news to her that her cousin had died. She was the only remaining family member listed in the will. She and Emory had apparently been very close during their childhood, and through the first half of their adult life, but had lost touch with each other after their parents had died. She was sad by the news, but happy that Emory had such good friends to care for him in his final days. She wanted to do whatever was necessary to help us through this difficult time. I explained to her what was going on with the landlord and coroner’s office. She was livid that things were being handled so terribly!  She contacted both the coroner’s office and our landlord, to explain that she was next of kin, and everything needed to go through her from now on. She even offered to pay the rent and have the remaining items put in storage. The landlord fought with her on the phone, and threatened to charge her to store Emory’s vehicles if she didn’t get them off the property! Now I ask you, is that any way to treat someone who just found out their family member passed away?!

Needless to say, since my Husband and I had no legal rights to do anything, and the cousin was in Hawaii (we’re in PA) and unable to travel, the landlord did whatever he wanted. Over the next several months, we did whatever the cousin wanted us to do. It was the only right thing to do. We helped to get rid of the vehicles on the property. We gathered his mail every day, and helped get account numbers so that the cousin could do what she needed to do to get his financial affairs in order. We worked as a team to take care of Emory after his death, and we worked well together.

We had originally offered to help the landlord get the place in rentable condition, once the coroner’s office emptied it out. But once the landlord started being an absolute asshole, we refused to help out in any way. We eventually found out from the coroner’s office that the landlord had never been given any kind of permission to clear the place out. The coroner’s office was just as shocked and pissed off about what took place as we are.

And this is where the bad Karma comes into play … it took them 6 months to find another tenant, so they took a huge financial hit! Do we feel the least bit bad about that? HELL NO! Fuck them! They got what they deserved! Karma is a big ol’ bitch!

Fast forward to October, when the cousin was finally able to travel to PA, and we held the memorial service. During the days she was in the area, she did a lot of running around to finalize many of Emory’s accounts. One of those was his bank account, that she needed to close.  There was a small sum of money in there, which we knew from opening his bank statements (with permission, of course); just enough to cover the cost of the memorial service with some left over. Never once did my Husband and I even think about that money as anything but being the property of the next of kin. In fact, we tried to give the cousin everything that we salvaged from his apartment. She refused it all (the tv, computer, video camera and other odds & ends) except the family pictures.

On the day the cousin left to go back home, she stopped by our home to say goodbye. Just before driving away, she handed us an envelope, and said it was a letter expressing their gratitude for our help. Then they drove away quickly, leaving my Husband and I at a loss for words. Both of us immediately started crying, and neither wanted to open the envelope, because we knew instinctively what was in it, besides a letter. After pushing it back and forth at each other, I finally gathered the courage to open it. Our instincts were right. In addition to the letter, was a small sum of money that we knew came from Emory’s bank account.

If anyone has ever received anything like that, then you know how we were feeling. I don’t even think I could put into words all the emotions that flooded over us. We read the letter, and put everything back in the envelope, and put it in a safe place. We didn’t feel right taking the money, let alone spending it on anything. So it sat … and sat … and sat … and constantly reminded us of the goodness of Emory and his family. We vowed not to use it unless it was something that Emory would have wanted us to have.

A couple of weeks later, we spent a little of it on clothing that my Son desperately needed, and a pair of work shoes for my Husband. The rest of it went back into the envelope, and back into it’s safe place.

By the time we were packing to move, the envelope was completely pushed from our minds. Eventually, the envelope was packed among other things, without even giving it any thought.

Now to the current part of the story.

We’ve been in our new apartment for 5 days. Anyone who has moved knows that it can get a bit expensive – food for the “help”, extra gas because of towing a packed trailer back and forth all day long, having to buy small things to fix up the old place to ensure a return of your security deposit (spackle, paint, cleaning supplies, etc.), and eating dinner out because you can’t find your dishes and cookware (besides, you’re too exhausted to cook) *grin*.  When you’re living on a fixed budget, those costs can really do some damage to your checkbook! We ran out of money before we ran out of week. $20 left in the bank to last us another week.

Things were looking very bleak. We were sure we were going to have to beg for money from family, just to put gas in the truck and food in our bellies until the next paycheck comes in. Then, my Son needs money for a school dance – the first one he’s ever asked to go to! We’re digging everywhere to find spare change. We’re frustrated, my Son is crushed, I’m on the verge of tears. My Son goes to bed knowing how embarrassed he’s going to be to have to pay his admission with a handful of change. I’m embarrassed for him, and feeling very low myself, but I will not deny him the privilege of attending his first dance, especially when he’s done nothing to deserve that kind of “punishment”. Our life sucking is not his fault.

So, it’s midnight, and I’m still fretting over the money situation. My Husband calls me from work during his break. We start brainstorming, trying to remember if anyone owes us money so we can call in their debt. I start thinking about Emory, and how he’d help us out when we were in dire straits in the past. Then it hits me …

THE ENVELOPE!

It was in the exact box I thought it would be in. I dug it out, counted the money, and promptly burst into tears. I’m pretty sure I cried for at least a half hour, and as I type this, I’m starting to cry again.

Right when we needed it most, Emory came through for us one last time! That, my friends, is some fucking spectacular Karma!

Thank you Emory! We love and miss you something awful!

Yes, there is a band called Apartment

I gotta say this band is really hard to look up. You look up the word “Apartment” logically a picture of a British Band isnt something that pops up. Yet because I am so determined I have found a pic of the band, a video of the band, and yes even a bit of wiki knowledge although I must be honest there wasnt much on them.

British band from London who formed in like 2005. Yeah thats pretty much all I need to know in terms of history. Whatever, all I know is the lead singer David Caggiari has an awesome voice and the sound of the band in general is fun, nostalgic, and rockin’.

The Dreamer Evasive is their cd. I think its the only one they have out right now. I know they have a new single out which is cool but no new album.

David has this vibrato to his voice that reminds me of Martin Gore from Depeche Mode and the sound the band has reminds me of 80s New Wave which just makes me reminiscent of “Da Mode” even more. Its like Depeche Mode meets The Killers…. but in a totally good way I swear! If you like 80s music but also enjoy alternative brit rock/pop then I can assure you that you will enjoy Apartment. Just my opinion. I notice how I will say what I PERSONALLY hear only to be told “Wha? Natalia are you on crack? Where do you hear THAT?!?” Whatever, I swear thats what I hear, deal with it. Hmmph!

My favorite song is Pressures. It just runs the gamut when it comes to sound. Its poppy, then brash alternative, then new wavy, then emo, its just all over the place yet Apartment makes it sound precise and together.

Confusing? No worries you will understand after seeing and hearing the video. This is the promotional video to Pressures. Enjoy.

OPEN  FOR  BOOKING  NOW!! -  1 block of 18 storey, Freehold.        Walking distance to Parkway Parade, East Coast Park.                        Within 1 km from Tao Nan Pri School, CHIJ(Katong) Pri School, Tanjong Katong Pri School XXXXXXXXXXXX