Forward

I've begun to get my feet beneath me. In no small part, this is because we've unpacked and organized our kitchen and can cook again. A big step. It's an odd kitchen, but ain't no kitchen don't benefit from the smells of a roasted tomato risotto with fresh green beans. The bikes are still parked in the dining room and with no bookshelves yet purchased, the books are still neatly housed in a handful of boxes from my old place of employment. They're like an ort of my old life lodged in the craw of my new.

I've been told that the weather right now in the Bostonland area is a little unseasonably cool. To me, it feels like we drove out of a beautiful late summer, with its cooler nights and bright hot sun, and into a pleasant autumn. Unfortunately, most days here have been overcast; grey skies do no cities any favours, and the sunny days we have had have definitely made my new place seem more acceptable. Rain expected tomorrow and Monday. The bikes may stay in the dining room a few more days.

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Now seems like the right time to rattle off a few of the reasons that my first few days in our new home were challenging to my wherewithal. So to say.

* There are no overhead lights in the "living room," "foyer," or bedroom
* Carpet (this is an apartment dealbreaker, for me)
* There is no "study," as advertised. There is the abovementioned "foyer" (or is it a study? With no overhead light and the front door right there, it's tough to picture it as a private office for my gradschoolin' honey) and a (copiously lit from above) "fat hallway," which is too small and too trafficked to be a quiet space (the bedroom, bathroom, "foyer," and dining room all have doors from the fat hallway)
* Electric range
* Specious fake fireplace that divides the dining and front rooms--and the log shaped lamp that occupies it doesn't even work
* Wallpaper
* Wainscoting

These are the things I didn't know about. I was already feeling apprehensive about the lack of a dishwasher, though welcoming the in-unit washer and dryer.

The lesson in all of this is that renting from a distance is hard, and that you should never send someone in whom you don't have full faith to report back on the state of the place. Our representative erred on or omitted several important points. Better luck next year; time to shut my mouth.

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I'd like to offer a special welcome to my friend Jesse, who is blogging his just-begun life as a student in Cairo and whose blog is linked over on the right, there. One of my oldest friends, some of my fondest memories. Big love to him, and I can't wait to hear how it's all going.