D day approaches, looks sweet, freezing, drive through dummy

So I am going into what promises to be a back breaking, busy and emotional weekend.  I am not looking forward to the experience.  I am however looking forward to getting past this landmark of upheaval in the timeline of my life and start on wherever my new path leads me.

Yesterday I talked to mom about getting together for Easter, she said there was a possibility she might have to work that day, believe it or not.  Mom still wasn’t sure if she had to work but she said she really wasn’t into doing anything for the holiday this year.  She said she wasn’t ready to deal with seeing Ali and I in our new reality.  It became obvious mom wasn’t kidding when her voice started to crack as she was talking to me.

Mom said the deal Ali and I are going through has drug back up some of the things that went down when her and my Dad divorced way back in the early 80’s, even though the circumstances surrounding their split and mine are drastically different. Mom also said seeing the pic I posted on Facebook of the gutted kitchen pantry made her sad.  I suppose that imagery was more powerful than I anticipated as Ali told me later the pic affected her in a similar way.

So anyway, it looks like Easter will be a non-event in 2012, not that I care much since the religious significance of the day is lost on a person like me anyway.

So yesterday after work when I got home we almost immediately headed right back out the door in the party van with the dogs in tow. We were heading out to see the actual condo Ali was going to be renting.  We couldn’t see it up to this point because someone was living in it.

It actually was the second time Ali had been there on Thursday.  She went a little earlier to take some pictures and sign the paperwork.

My role was to help determine what will fit where with the furniture we will be moving Saturday.  My first impression of the place was “damn, this is really nice”  The unit Ali is renting is one of two or three upgraded places in the entire facility that has granite counter tops, upgraded appliances and awesome cabinets.  As you can see by the pic of the kitchen, this is no dump.

Since it is a second floor unit it also has sky high vaulted ceilings which really opens the place up.  The main living area is all tile which the dogs will love to lay on to cool off.  The small deck has a nice view of a lake and will surely be one of Sadie’s favorite vantage points.  The master bedroom has a massive walk in closet, probably double the size of what we have at the house. The garage downstairs not only has an opener, it also has a 8′ x 8′ area that will be great for storing things, a small freezer and bike storage.

The only negative I really saw was in relation to the moving process.  Not only will stairs be involved with every trip into the condo, the stairs have a 180 degree turn in them at the halfway point.  Luckily we don’t have a ton of furniture to move.

The dogs seemed to find the new living space quite interesting, giving it an extensive sniff test.  Likewise they found the grounds around the community equally interesting, their noses were working overtime.

One of the things Ali was looking to score was a small freezer to hold bulk food and more importantly the extra food she prepares monthly for the dogs and freezes in glass crocks.  I found her a nice looking unit on Craigslist that was listed for $100.  Ali called the guy and per my instructions performed the standard Craigslist negotiation, offering $75 for the freezer.  The guy said he would do $85, ok good enough.

Since we had the van I told Ali we could just go pick it up.  I hoisted the freezer into the van myself since the old dude had physical issues that prevented him from doing any significant lifting.  It was a bit tough but I used my pack mule strength to get the freezer into the van solo.

At this point the only short term thing Ali will be needing to pick up is a TV.  I have clued her into several good Craigslist deals in that area as well.

Before we got the freezer we stopped at Pet Supermarket to grab some dog food.  One of the things Ali was talking about buying was food stands for the dogs.  At the house I made two stands for the dogs that have been working great for years.  Ali didn’t want to use them at the new place because they are white and would look out of place.  They also don’t match, something I know would smolder for her since she hates when things don’t match.

Well they wanted a ridiculous $50 for just one stand at the store.  I told Ali that was crazy, something we could do without thinking 3 weeks ago but now, it would be wasteful spending.  I told her I can build her a black version of what we have at home and make two of them for less than what they want for one at the pet store.  I just won’t be building it this weekend.

As I mentioned, prior to yesterday Ali was really down in the dumps.  However after seeing how kick ass her new living arrangements are her mood was significantly better yesterday which I was glad to see.

This morning I had a front row view of an amazingly clueless individual at the Dunkin Donuts drive thru.  They were driving an SUV with a handicap plate.  They pulled up to the menu board and were promptly greeted by an employee over the speaker asking, “Can I help you?”  There was no reply.  A few seconds later they asked again, again, no reply.  I then looked more closely at the vehicle and saw they still had their windows up but I could see the old farts leaning over to look at the menu.  Again and again the DD staff asked to help them and still, the window of the vehicle remained up and closed. What the fck?  I mean even with the window up, they certainly could hear the voice on the speaker.

So then the vehicle starts pulling ahead without placing an order.  Instead, they get to the window and place their order there to the DD clerk with a confused look on his face.  Eventually I see a bag handed to them, money handed to the DD guy and the vehicle drives off.  When I get to the window I asked what the hell was going on.  The guy shrugged his shoulders and said he has no idea but after all of that, they drove off before being handed their coffee.

To me, the scariest part of this encounter is this same person that is evidently daft to the complex workings of a drive up window is also entrusted with operating a vehicle on the local roadways.

Oh well.

The next time you see a blog entry I will be on the other side of a tumultuous weekend.  Oh did I forget to mention that on top of moving Saturday we have to get up at 4:30 Am to go time a race that will have close to 1000 participants?  Yea, going to be tons of fun.