The real adventure begins...

On Friday, we received our keys to the apartment. I would love to say that it is a very pretty garden apartment with lots of neat neighbors and friends, but I can't (yet). Today is Sunday morning and I woke up very early after my first night here. After a quick Starbuck's run, I have decided to write about the pros and cons of my adventure.....

Cons:
1. the apartment is a dump (this is the best adjective that I could muster). When I walked in on Friday after having the actual address and location switched by my leasing agent that I now lovingly call "The Snake...",I almost had a meltdown. After spending a week in our nice, clean hotel with daily breakfast and all the coffee you can drink...I was ready for my own place (actually, it is Buddy's). After scrambling to call the electric company, cable company, and furniture delivery to re-route the services, I entered expecting a nice, clean apartment. OY! That was not the case.

2. My sweet garden apartment is on the second floor. Upon entering, I could immediately see the filth and my Spidey senses were tingling. From that moment, I began a tour and could not believe my eyes (and nose). The toilet was clogged and non functional, stained, and dirty beyond belief. I was a girl scout and never went to the outhouse (a testimony to my physical constitution) because it was disgusting. The thought of this bathroom is making me gag right now. The shower had painters tape surrounding it. Surrounding the toilet was dried urine...I am not done yet....

3. The kitchen was not fully clean. The cabinets are peeling paint. There are nails sticking out of the wall. The stove top has remnants of the last tenants dinner stuck to it. The dishwasher is broken and filthy on the inside. I will not use it until it is removed and burned out back and a new one is brought in.

4. When we returned home late from Kentucky last night, the odor that permeated into the apartment from next door was the scent of burned overcooked broccoli. I doubt if Yankee Candle is going to duplicate this scent for its fall line.

5. The light fixtures are coated with dust and dirt. Obviously, it has been years since they have been cleaned.

6. Since the Snake gave us a different apartment, the cable company deleted my file from the system and had to start a new one with the cable guy set to arrive tomorrow rather than Saturday morning as scheduled.

7. Closets are broken....dust...dirt...some mold are now my friends. If I see one rodent, I am packing it in and heading east....I won't even stop to pay tolls....no court would convict me.

8. We are away from home and do not know anyone....no one....I miss Tink, dad, Diva dog, Grandmom and Grandpop, sibs, nieces, nephews, the gang...and even Walking Waldo (the burned out guy who lives around the corner and walks every morning at the same time every day (in the same outfit)...

I did promise to mention the advantages, so here they are:

1. The people that I have met (except the Snake) are very sweet and friendly. This morning when I was in Starbuck's, I had a nice conversation with the barrista. At that point, I almost asked for a job, but held back. I am not ready yet to start any new adventure until this apartment mess is fixed.

2. It was so early that no supermarkets were open, so I landed up in a tiny donut shop picking up a few chocolate treats for Buddy. It reminded of Cheers on caffeine. Norm and Cliff were sitting at a corner table drinking coffee and chatting with Carla and Coach who were behind the counter. We struck up a friendly conversation and I was asked to stop by again. That's just what the waist line needs...comfort donuts...as a caffeine addict, this invitation is all that I need to head down the path to sugar skid row....I just finished my donut while typing this note and it was pretty good but not good enough to eat another one. So, my descent into sugar toxicity has been averted.

3. The promise of new adventures and experiences....this is one of the reasons that I agreed to make this move. So far, the experiences have been unique and memorable and I would not have had this opportunity at home.

4. This is the most important advantage of all.....Buddy. He is in a new environment. He too is without friends, although he is making them quickly through his team. They invited him to go to Indiana to swim and use a zip line. It sounds like fun. Go for it.

Back to the big kid....for now, he needs the support that either dad or I can provide. He is a fish out of water and the youngest kid on the team. Most of the players are into their 20's and can drink. They invite him to pub crawl, but he can't because he is not 21. He is also trying to make sense of the coach and team dynamics. There are unique characters on the team such as "Rat Boy" who is one of the smallest pitchers with the biggest mouth. RB is quite an interesting and shady character out of Florida. Perhaps RB would like to meet the Snake. They can compare notes.

The coach has told him that he was going to play a small specialty role and be a relief pitcher...because.....he can "throw strikes..." Did you see that? He can throw strikes! That's what a pitcher does. So, rather than start him or put him in an extended relief role, he will pitch to one or two players out of the bullpen when and if needed. This one made my blood pressure hit a stroke or heart attack level. Let me get this straight...he moves away from home after pitching successfully in a very competitive conference. Players that he pitched against and struck out have been drafted by teams in the Major Leagues. His former pitching coach and mentor is a shade shy of pitching in the majors and his other coach was drafted by the Yankees. He pitched on television several times in high stakes conference and play off games and has an earned run average of less than 2.0 as a freshman and they are going to sit him in the 'pen and call him out on a not so semi-regular basis?

Deep breath.....it is just the start of the season. This kid has always been under appreciated and largely ignored until he is finally given his chance, then he shines. So, nothing has changed in all the years that he has been playing. Once again, he has to prove himself. As he calmed down after his conversation with the pitching coach, we looked at each and said....here we go again. We both know that he has what it takes...got to jump over another hurdle. He can do it and this will make him stronger....just like my apartment. I am learning skills on dealing with the Snake and apartment management that I never knew that I had. I know that I can handle this and will turn this place into a home and Buddy will go out to the baseball diamond and throw strikes.