settlin in

One week in Raleigh. Seems a bit strange to write that, though it has been a week and a day that I have lived in this city. A news article in one of last weeks papers said that Raleigh is larger than St. Louis now. It does not seem like a city in the area I am living. The downtown is definitely a city, all cement and sidewalks (poorly maintained side walks). But there is also a large portion of green scattered around, enough to keep it from being a total eye sore.

Tuesday's meeting went well. I think school will be a pleasure, though a great deal of work. John showed me around the English dept. a little, then took me out for lunch. After lunch I met the program head. John then took me for a little tour of downtown Raleigh, and stopped at a nursery called Logan's Trading Co. It is built in a renovated train station. An interesting thing about the nursery right now is that it was as hot and humid out in the open as the ones in Cold Lake were with plastic/glass walls. They had a great selection of plants that I made Carol go look at Friday.

The Fourth was quiet. Some of the locals set off some fire works in the street, but nothing exceptional happened on our street. The parties were shut down early, in part because it was a Wednesday evening and many people had to work the rest of the week.

Thursday morning we went off to Whole Foods, and I was impressed by their veggie selection. Some exotic and interesting looking veggies that cried out for rescue, though I coldly left them behind. In the afternoon we zoomed out to K mart (zoom being a humorous way to say that the bus lines suck).

Friday we left early and went to the Farmer's Market. It is large and impressive, though they had no leafy greens at all. Not one slab of lettuce which was disappointing. Even their peaches are imported from South Carolina because of the nasty freeze earlier this year. We did manage to get home ok, though there was a little confusion on my part. The bus routes are not the friendliest things to figure out here. They do not always go back the way they came out. In the afternoon we caught another bus out to an Ace Hardware and the nursery. I made another boo boo and we go off about 8 blocks sooner than we should have. Fortunately it was not that hot out (92?) and the walk was tolerable.

This morning I wandered down to Cameron Village mall again. This time to return some videos and to get my library card. Both were accomplished, and so I am now holding library cards from Wake county and Chapel Hill. I hope to get my State id soon so I can go steal...errr...borrow books from them as well. It does not feel right to be without a library card.

The rest of today and all of tomorrow is set for writing and reading and preparing to get my NC Drivers license, which I will go see if I can get Monday. I am dreading that process, I fear it will take a long time, and be a big hassle. But I need to do it so Monday I will go see. Hopefully it won't be worse than I fear.

I have a power cord and now I sit in my office writing and watching the traffic. I can see a lot of green and a lot of cars and a few houses.

Carol and I went for a walk this morning. We headed off and down a small paved trail that wandered here and there and ended up at Lake Johnson. It is a man made lake, but it was still quite a nice reward after walking 1.4 miles or so. Then we had to walk all the way back. So our morning stomp was around two and a half to three miles.

I have a lunch meeting with John Balaban at State. He will be my adviser this term, and maybe longer as well. I am looking forward to the meeting, but I am also nervous. Another sign that this is actually happening.

Yesterday I made a longish bus trip through south Raleigh. I went down to Crabtree Valley Mall (just a mall, seen one you been in them all) and back. For the first leg of the trip I rode the Wolfline (States own bus line), and I suspect it will be the bus I will take most times to school. It runs more frequently, and goes where I want on campus. Raleigh is a green city. I need to go down town one of these days and look at the real city, cement and iron, the drunk slumped in the alley, and an occasional prostitute on the corner and I will know I am in a city.

Relocated in Raleigh

The big move Friday went smoothly. We had all our stuff out of the old place and in the pod with a few minutes to spare. Daph whined a bit, but stoned as she was she was not too stressed out. The key was delivered right on time, and we had her installed in my bathroom shortly after. My bathroom was chosen because it is a "buddy bath." There is a door between the shower/tub and the sink/toilet, which allowed us to set up a cat lock. This made it harder for her to escape if she was so inclined. She did sneak out just as we were leaving the old place. Scared me half to death as I had visions of her getting lost and worse. The pod arrived around 5, and our unpackers were here by 6:30. The pod was empty, and the house full (see images: http://picasaweb.google.com/mlingrell/Newhouse) by 8:00. Over all, the move was smooth, and not too stressful. I have been impressed with the way PODS operates. If you ever need to move cheap they are the way to go, and they are cheaper than UHaul.

I am sitting in my office watching the sky turn pink at the moment. It feels good here. The downstairs is still full of boxes, but it too feels comfortable. I went down this morning to make coffee, and it felt like home. There was some hootin and hollering on the street last night, but nothing excessive. This area is full of young students, so some partying is likely, and even more the first week of school. But it has been ok the first two nights.

I like my office. It has one large window I can look out of and watch the people pass. I think it faces south, more or less. I am lost direction wise, though I can find my way to the grocery store and home. I am looking forward to exploring the area a little more over the next few weeks.

Today should be a little less stressful, I hope. Most of the boxes have been emptied that have to be emptied. There will be lots of 'what box is this in?' to come, but the vital stuff is unboxed.

I am off to sit on the deck and sip on a coffee.

I like my new place.

Living in boxes

Once again I sit in a room that has nothing left except for a few boxes that will be hauled away first thing in the morning. This is my last move for a year (hopefully two). I am looking forward to the new place. This place has been ok, but it is too small for two people, it is old and rather run down. And, because it is all wood, it is too dark for me. Yes, there are some amazing windows here, but even with them it feels dark. The new place is much brighter.

I was sitting at the computer this morning checking my mail when I felt something on my ankle. I used my right foot to dislodge what ever it was, and then looked down. There was a large beetle scuttling away. I would have made some noises of disgust, but was too polite to wake everyone in the neighborhood. The house is clean, but because it is set down in a low spot, surrounded by thick stands of old bamboo and dead grass/weeds, the bugs tend to come visiting far to frequently for my comfort. Even as a farm boy, I find these visitors unwelcome.

The cat is finding the emptiness of the house a bit unsettling. She is not liking the empty rooms, or all the cleaning that is going on. The stink of clean and the loss of her carefully applied fur in all the corners is more than she is willing to accept.

I was walking with Carol this morning (we wandered through the Coker ) and feeling a bit sad. This is a very beautiful town, and I am growing attached to it already. I am hoping to feel the same way about Raleigh in a few months.

This is my last post until Saturday night, or Sunday some time. I will go off line tonight and not get hooked up to the intertubes until Saturday sometime (1-5). I will have some photos of the new home perhaps.

Current mood:

Monday Morning

I remember waking and wondering, is today today? I have been here in Chapel Hill long enough for some of the strangeness to fade. Instead of walking about and thinking things are strange here, I have begun to walk around and say things are not strange here. I am still very much aware that I am not where I was.

A wonderful shower danced through town last night. There was lightning, there was thunder, and there was wind and rain. I know all this because I tore down the water bed I was sleeping on yesterday. While doing that I took down the curtains in the room. With only another four sleeps in that room I figured I could turn the light off and get ready for bed in the dark. Besides, with all the bamboo behind me it would be difficult for anyone to see into my bedroom. I should take a photo out of that window before I leave, remind me to do that ok?

In other news, we are now living out of boxes. Only the bare essentials remain unpacked. It grows harder and harder to live a normal life, every time I say I will do this, I can't cause this is in a box neatly (or not) stowed into the POD.

I am looking forward to my new home. I can see myself sitting in my office working hard, and watching the cars go by on Gorman street. I do not have a great view, but it should be interesting, and I am up high enough to feel like I have the power to change the stories of those walking beneath me. I am also looking forward to having my own bathroom again. The little things are what I miss the most (not counting family of course).

When we were in Raleigh last week, going from one end of the city to the other, I kept thinking, man this place is green. Yes, it has the city thing going in places, all pavement and cement and huge parking lots and other scenes of urban blight, but so much of the city is green trees and pretty little parks with old southern houses set back between the trunks of southern magnolia.

Speaking of trees, I can now identify a few trees that are common in the area: Live Oak (I know the leaves), Magnolia (the one that was blooming when I first arrived here two months ago is still blooming, wonderful tree the magnolia), and the Crepe Myrtle. The last one is a common ornamental tree that has a trunk that is naked (the bark looks like it is bare trunk, and some of the older trees look like bones), and they have pink, white, purple, etc. blossoms. One of the pink ones is on the side of the street as I walk south towards franklin street (I now know I live south of UNC Chapel Hill). Last week it was dropping petals and the entire sidewalk underneath its boughs was colored pink.

One weird thing that has happened lately, I have become self-conscious of my lack of a southern accent. Chapel Hill is full of people from elsewhere, yet I still here my own voice sounding different from those around me, and at times, it makes me uncomfortable. I suppose that will change with time, at least I hope it does.

I have been doing more writing lately. I have a poem that is back in the drawer after the initial draft. It needs something more, or less, but it feels good to have created a poem once again. I can hardly wait until I am in my new place with my office and I can lock myself in for three hours a day and just write.

Four sleeps and one wake and the move will be underway!

Addendum:
There are multiple images of the view from the bedroom I will be leaving Friday morning along with a shot of Chapel Hill's sky line.

While I walked down to the Harris Teeter and back this morning (2.6 miles), I realized that I am growing fond of this town.

I am off to haul a portable washer out to the POD, anyone want to give me a hand?

Rainy Wednesday

A light rain falls, washing the dust off the POD and cleaning the air. Yesterday was an orange day, hot, stagnant air, sitting overhead and creating breathing problems for those who are susceptible. The high was 97 (36 C), with some moderate humidity.

I did not go anywhere as I was busy with other things. I made some nice biscuits with dill and some nutritional flakes. They are tasty. For supper we had some breaded seitan with a mushroom gravy. This dish tastes better with tofu.

I am a little anxious about the move to Raleigh in 9 days. I think this step makes the whole grad school, move to America real. Up to this point it has felt more like a vacation. Now, however, it has become a reality. In two months and two days I will be doing the grad orientation, and that is worth a moment of panic.

The rain smells great this morning. Daph is sitting at the door watching the water fall from the roof, and thinking to herself how lucky she is to be in a dry and comfortable home. Ok, actually she is thinking how tasty that squirrel in the tree looks, but I am sure when she stops staring and salivating she will think about how lucky she is. Her food bowl is in her moving cage. Hopefully this will help to ease her anxiety when the actual move occurs in a few days. Once she gets acclimated to her new home she will be happy, I think. It is going to be stressful for her though. One of Carol's friends is sending her some cat valium to help Daph with the transition.

The way I have been feeling, I think a few tablets would be useful for me as well. The worst of this move is the idea that I will likely have to go through something similar in two years. Though what and where I will be doing/going is completely unknown. Of course I have a great deal to do over the next two years, and by the time I exit with my MFA I will perhaps have changed a little??