My New Digs

Hola Mi Amigos & Amigas!

It certainly has been a while since I've posted someting of substance, so here we go. As a little update, I'm back in the States and have decided to take a position working in Troy. Right now, I'm figuring out how I can ask my boss to take a vacation for a period longer than I've actually been working right now.....hmmm...perhaps some things from my unemployed days will never change.

For the living situation....I have a fabulous apartment right in Downtown Royal Oak! I love it. When I say fabulous, I mean fabulous * ** *** **** *****, because it has about 5 features or maybe missing features that most people at my stage in life probably wouldn't put up with.

I'll say this up front, it's an older building (with some interesting tenants, I've learned), but when I walked into the apartment, I just knew it was mine. It had so much character. I did, however have to mull over for a few days whether or not 6 mos. from now I would still be loving this "character" or cursing it. 1.5 mos. later and I still love it!

Back to the missing features. The first thing that I checked on was hi-speed internet access, that's my only must-have. No hi-speed internet = no go. Here are the 5 missing features:

* Heat. There is heat, however, I have the old school registers and the landlord controls the heat setting. So far, if anything, it's been a little warm.
** Laundry. No laundry in the building - have to use the laundry in the building next door or go to the laundry mat (which I have done and have a lovely story about the first visit).
*** AC - Window unit. Not cool.
**** Electric water heater - yes. Electric water heaters. Now you might be thinking this isn't a big deal, electric water heaters are fine....tankless electric water heaters are fine, electric water heaters that can fit under your pedestal sink in the bathroom....borderline.
***** No dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal.

However - I have TONS of storage space, a balcony in the back, great natural light and the location couldn't be better. Wait until you see the wallpaper in the kitchen though....

Let's take a tour:

Floor plan – yeah I should have been an architect…..except for that one little part where the entrance to the bedroom is on a slant…not true in real life. It's about 650 sq. ft though and one heck of a bargain compared to the places across the street that go for $950/mo for 350 sq. ft.

Looking down the hallway - I really love the black & white wallpaper.

View from the door of the living room. To the left of the picture you see the entrance to the dining room and the large window facing the street in the dining room.

The Kitchen!! And the wallpaper..tearing that down is on the project list for Memorial day weekend. I must say though my favorite in the design is the large brown pepper grinder.

And those lovely kitchen counters....actually, I've decided to run with the colors! (well not the colors in the wallpaper, the counter colors. I've added a few aqua-ish accents here and there). When I first moved in, I opened the kitchen cabinets and just started counting the colors of paint, so I have repainted the inside of the kitchen cabinets and relined them.

The bathroom....or should I say the electric water heater...hidden beneath that lovely curtain velcroed to the sink (I'm going to have to figure something out with this one.) It's a 12 gallon tank which isn't too bad, but that is really only enough time to shower quickly and get out in warm weather months...for winter, I'm thinking about the get up 10 min. early plug in a space heater in the bathroom and heat the place up, go make coffee, then take a shower and hopefully the hotter room will offset the need for a long/hot shower to warm up.

Day 1-

So, I spent a few days at my apartment moving things, painting, having furniture delivered (I bought my first two pieces of furniture this year - a new couch and a bed!), internet installed, etc. Finally though, it was time for me to spend my first night in the apartment and try out the shower for the first time. I was a little nervous about the electric water heater and was hoping that I hadn't made a mistake signing a year lease.

Ok, so shower taken, no big deal - I had about 10-15 min. of hot water. Then I pull out the hair dryer plug it in the bathroom (not remembering the electric water heater was now refilling the tank.) Flash! Lights out. There goes the circuit. So, I find the box in my closet and reset the switch. Now, there's only 4 switches - I'm figuring bedroom, bathroom, living room and the kitchen & dining room together. I plug the hair dryer into the outlet in the bedroom. Flash! Lights out. So, I flip the switch again and end up drying my hair in the dining room (which was empty at the time.) Now that isn't really a big deal...but in the back of my head, I am wondering about what happens when the window AC unit goes in the bedroom and the water heater is running after a shower........

That's about it for now. I love my apartment. I love my car. (Wanna be a -- baller, shot caller Twenty inch blades -- on the Impala) My new strategy is mobility. It's great to be home. I miss Switzerland & Germany & my friends overseas immensely. I'm sure I will be ready for something different in a year or two. It's fun to see Metro Detroit in a new light. Surprisingly, coming back after a year, everything is completely the same as it was before I left and entirely different.