Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Moving Day Cometh

I picked up the phone and started pulling triggers.  I signed the contract with the movers, locked in a date to pick up the keys, then bought a one way ticket for me and Scarlett, my opinionated ginger tabby.

"You're going to be a beach cat!"  I told her.

She squawked in opposition then turned and flipped me the tail on her way out to the patio.

I can't say I blame her.  Scarlett went through 2 moves during the year she lived with my mom in Kansas while I traveled around the world making TV shows.  She didn't like the idea of being a snow cat either and she doesn't like change.  She started acting nervous when the furniture started disappearing, and seems to be in a state of pre-trauma now that the boxes are piling up.  She hides under the bed when the tape dispenser starts screeching.

Moving sucks.  I want to hide under the bed too.  There is always so much more stuff than I anticipate.  I've already made 2 additional trips to the hardware store for boxes and it looks like I'll have to make yet another before the movers show up on Tuesday.  I really thought when I bought this place, that I'd have it indefinitely, maybe rent it out and make some money off of it once I got married or moved away.  I always knew Los Angeles wasn't my forever place, but I didn't think I'd be cutting tail 6 years in.  27 year old me was so naive.  33 year old me knows that life is unpredictable, much like the modern housing market.

I'm excited about the new landing spot, though.  It's a beautiful place I picked out on a map and, when I visited, found an immediate connection with it.  I'll be living three blocks from the sea in the Pacific Northwest in a little town called Seaside, population 6,500.  It couldn't be more different from LA, population gazillion, where community is a word you have to look up in the dictionary.

It occurred to me today, that I don't actually know how to be a member of a real community.  In fact, this morning I heard the new baby crying from the condo next door and realized I'd never even thought to bring them a casserole or offer any kind of help like a neighbor in a real community would do.  I wished the zombies congratulations when I saw them in the elevator a week ago, but aren't neighbors supposed to support one another and be the village it takes to help raise each other's kids?  Maybe if I had my own kids I'd have been more tuned in, but as it stands, I'm just another reason Los Angeles lacks a sense of community.

It will be interesting being a big city girl gone "new community member" in a small town.  During my most recent visit to find an apartment, I got back to the inn where I was staying and told Don, the old property manager,

"Don!  I found a place!"

"I heard!" he shouted back.

Wha...?  He heard?  I had put down the deposit two hours ago.  Maybe at 33 I'm still a bit naive.

28 comments:

  1. I'm glad to read more about your quest to find "home."

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  2. Thanks, hopefully I'm one step closer!

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  3. As a fellow Angeleno, I must concur - LA is the worst. I'm stuck here for now, but seeing you've found a way out gives me hope, lol!

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  4. Moving does suck, but Seaside is awesome!! I just moved to a very small town in the Pacific NW at the beginning of April, and I'm loving it. Happy trails.

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    1. Glad to hear you're loving it, I'm excited to give it a go!

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  5. Moving sucks, and I made quite a few moves after 30 years in the Navy. With retirement, I'm finally out of the moving mode. Good luck with the new town.

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  6. moving does suck, but getting somewhere new is an adventure. i hope it's a good one.

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    1. I do love adventure, that's a great way of looking at it..

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  7. I live in a small town in the PNW too :) Never lived in LA though. Good luck with the move!

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  8. Great blog! Inspiring, honest, and a good reminder that we all can make choices that will create more community in our lives... though leaving LA is probably one of the best choices to help do that!

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    1. Thanks friend :) I'm anxious to experience the community thing, I'll keep you posted...

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  9. Moving is HORRIBLE!! We have moved like 9 times in a year and a half.. It is horrible I hate it!! But, living that close to the ocean has to be amazing!! I'm so jealous!!

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    1. WOW 9 times?? If I'd seen this sooner I would have asked for some packing tips!

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  10. I love love LOVE that first line about pulling triggers on the phone and the one later about the cat flipping you the tail.

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    1. Thanks! Cats are so expressive in their "gestures" lol.

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  11. Don't you just always think that this house will finally be the one that'll stay. And then you have to move and all that you collected in the previous house seems to be so pointless. I myself am in the middle of a move and all this packing and emotional struggle of my plants (I wish I had a cat!) totally sucks. Cool post by the way. :)

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    1. It really is an emotional experience. I have a plant too that I can't quite decide what to do with, I might have to gift it to someone who will take good care of her. Sigh. Good luck with your move, hope it goes smooth!

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  12. I, too, was a city girl who moved to a quiet, suburban village (of 7,500). It took time. We've been here 20 years and it's been perfect for our family. However, we are heading back to city life soon and I can't wait.

    Maybe this place with be your 20 year home that you'll fill with all your memories. Best of luck.

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  13. Good luck with the move! I see many possibilities for adventure in moves, though I hate the packing and nitty-gritty details.

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    1. Yuck, the nitty gritty, I know. I'm trying to stay emotionally tuned in to the process and I'm looking forward to being there and settled. Right now I'd invest a significant amount of money in teleport travel though.

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  14. Good luck with the move. I hope I don't have to do it again until I'm senile and being wheeled into a home.

    Your line "flipped me the tail" cracked me right up. Cats DO have a way of making that tail mean "F off", don't they?

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  15. I hate packing, but I truly romanticize the idea of packing up and going some place new. Good luck in the new town!

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  16. Love the line about your cat "flipping you the tail"! Good luck on your move to the new place... I love that area!

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  17. I don't have a place of my own right now. I'm living with my mother and trying not to go insane. I can't wait to find a place (once I find a job!!) but I wish I could skip the whole moving part and magically transport myself there.

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