| The Strain of Downward Mobility |
[Dec. 13th, 2018|09:46 pm]
rejectomorph
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This afternoon I went to see that apartment that is for rent. One bedroom, open plan living room-kitchen-dining area, a small enclosed patio at the back, walk-in closet of moderate size, compact bathroom with combination tub-shower. The only faucet that doesn't have a single-handle faucet is the tub-shower, which is where it would be most useful. The floors are laminate disguised as wood, which is probably better than wall-to-wall carpet, which can be a bit disgusting, but since I don't want to walk on cold floors I'll have to get some area rugs. Another expense. At least it includes a refrigerator. But the stove is electric, and I'm accustomed to gas.
I've been pricing things like dishes, glasses, cookware, utensils, etc., and some are pretty not too costly. Furniture will be considerably more expensive. I need virtually everything, since it all burned, and it's going to add up. I don't know how much will be left from the insurance once I get all the necessities, but I doubt I'll ever be able to replace all the books and music I lost, let alone the various collectible items. It would take a very long time to fill up that modest closet. The place is going to look rather austere, I'm afraid.
The location is not ideal. It's on a cul-de-sac fairly close to a shopping area with two drug stores, a K-mart, Grocery Outlet, Dollar Tree, Trader Joe's, and a variety of small shops and eating places, and has decent bus connections to some other parts of Chico, but it is not very pedestrian friendly, nor especially attractive. It is also fairly close to the one freeway that runs through town, and I suspect it will get pretty noisy there at night. During the day the freeway noise is drowned out by traffic on nearby streets.
But with all the former commuters from the ridge crowding in this town is bursting at the seams, and I'm probably lucky to get a place this decent (and at just under a thousand a month, which is actually moderate for this burgeoning mini-metropolis.) The parking lot at K-mart currently sports about a dozen RVs, with fire refugees living in them. Still, I'm not relishing the thought of being there. I'm going to miss the quiet, the dark skies, the space, and my settled routine that it will be impossible to replicate here.
Of course I'll miss the cats most. I'm still looking at the photos being posted every day, and still haven't seen any I can surely identify as mine, and only three possible, none of which I've been able to go see in person. A person who doesn't drive in California is pretty close to not being a person at all. The cats don't know that, of course, and surely wouldn't accept it as an excuse for my neglect of them. I have a hard time accepting it myself. I don't know how the new landlord will feel about tenants who beat themselves up in his apartments, though, so I should probably keep that news to myself. |
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