Moving Day

Moving D

Today, with help from neighbor’s Monty and Carol, and Greg the shop teacher who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, I switched apartments and moved upstairs. The only thing I didn’t like about my apartment this year was the lack of view. While I was able to see the changes in the tundra from rusty-green to white to brown and now back to greeny-rust, my best view out the windows was of the berm that surrounds the back of our building. Not too inspiring.

Upstairs in Cam the Counselor’s former apartment, I get mountains, hills, tundra, water and most of the village. On a clear day like today, I can even see the next village over, Twin Hills. This unit does not have a burbling toilet, so only time will tell if I grow to miss that particular white noise. I can see more of the runway, and in my time here am actually getting to know which plane is which. There was a huge commotion in my classroom a few weeks ago when we all heard a much heavier plane than usual coming in. "It’s the Coast Guard!" one student screamed. "Search and Rescue! I wonder who got lost?" It was rivaled in excitement among the kids only by the Everest plane that brings in big supplies. No disrespect to the Coast Guard who do such an important job, but I favor the Everest plane since it usually has ‘a little somethin’ special just for meeeeeeee.’

The furniture in this apartment is miles better than downstairs. My couch there was missing a full section, and I never used the recliner because it has so many springs poking my gazitska. I thought I liked the heavy country-kitchen table and chairs until I faced the prospect of swapping with the lighter Mission-style. I decided angles are more my style than curves, body-type notwithstanding. I have bookcases upstairs and sturdier dressers. There’s some kind of weird flat lamp thing in the bedroom that I hope is a sun lamp for the Dark Time. Plus, another bedside lamp-bonus! Now maybe I can go back to reading in bed (again, in the Dark Time, because last night the sunset wasn’t until 11:02 so night reading was not a problem).

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until Cam brought down all his leftover food, freezer and ridiculously large television set that it occurred to me to move into his space when he left. I had thought to move directly above to Nancy’s place but one look at D4’s view sealed the deal in my mind. Plus it gave me an entire extra week to move my stuff. Other than the heavy totes and a few large boxes (thanks again Carol, Monty and Greg!), I packed with my limitations in mind. Many trips with manageable loads rather than further injury (I banged up my ankle last week, more on that later when I write about the play) has worked out pretty well, and I am pretty sure by Monday I will have buns of steel. But having to move Cam’s supplies back up after he brought them down just a week ago is a bummer. A heavy bummer. Dude left enough food for a year!

To make the move more fun, and because I have the sense of humor of a fourteen year old boy, I labeled the boxes things like "severed human heads" and "sex toys." "Einstein’s brain" made it up okay as did "proof of alien visitation." Did I mention the sun is up until eleven pm? It makes people weird, I tell you.