Moving at work and at home
August’s theme is going to be moving.
The Sully Branch Library is moving across the park to the newly expanded Ryan Center at School 33. The old building will be torn down and replaced with a ball diamond.
Plans are to close the branch at the end of this week. We’ll pack stuff, the movers will move us, and we’ll unpack stuff during August. Then we’ll reopen in the first week of September.
Last I knew, extra staff hours had not been approved, so my role will be limited to two four-hour shifts a week, same as I’m putting in now.
Fun fact: Did you know there are companies that specialize in moving libraries? Not only that, RPL has hired one.
New home
Back on July first, a dog moved-in to the apartment beneath mine. A barky dog. When I moved-in, dogs were not allowed. Somewhere along the line the landlord changed the policy. It was a surprise to me to find the building is now dog-friendly.
This means it’s Bruce-unfriendly. One of the reasons I live in a building surrounded by commercial and rental property is because I don’t like listening to dogs barking.
Long story short, the landlord is letting me out of my lease. I found new digs just ¾ of a mile away. I sign the new lease tomorrow with a move-in date of September first.
The new place is $80 a month more, but it includes hot water and cooking gas in addition to heat. I’ll pay only for electric lights and cable. Plus, it’s roughly a third larger than my current apartment. It has an eat-in kitchen with a realistic working layout, and easily twice the counter space and cabinets as here.
Did I mention the gas stove? And with any luck, the oven will get over 300°F too.
It’s bike-friendly as well. The landlord is cool with my being car-free and carrying the bikes through the halls and up the stairs, even in winter.
Not only is there a choice of several places in the apartment for my bike rack, but there’s a room downstairs that had 14 (count ‘em!) bikes locked up. None were as nice as either of mine, but I’ve been thinking of getting a beater.
The benefits are many, but there are drawbacks. I’ll miss my private entrance and being able to dry my laundry on the fire escape. It’s a third-floor walk-up—one more flight than I have now. And all the windows are on the same side, so I’ll lose the flow-through cross-ventilation I have now. Oh, and it’s only a single-bowl sink in the kitchen.
But it has a bathtub! File that under bike-friendly as well.
Meanwhile, there’ll be no escape from moving for a month. At work it will be sort, pack, move, unpack, and wonder where everything is. And at home it will be sort, pack, move, unpack, and wonder where everything is.
Still it could be worse. I found movers for less than it cost me to move over ten years ago, so I won’t have to hassle with rental trucks, (or borrowing trucks) or cajoling friends and family into helping—and getting injured in the process. Plus, I won’t have to pay back any moving favors.
August 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm UTC
Hey, stopped in after I saw your STI-mirror suggestion on another blog. I even found it on Amazon, where even more reviews were helpful. Thanks for the idea!