Hazy Afterthought

I've had no shortage of odds and ends to take care of as a homeowner. In the last few weeks, I've done the following:

- Painted all of my unpainted interior doors to match the others.
- Hung a really neat curtain rod over the front window, complete with some thermal panels.
- Installed a towel rack in the bathroom.
- Replaced a glass slat in the jalousie door that serves as my side door. Side note -- what kind of idiot uses a jalousie door for an exterior door in Missouri? I'm guessing it's the slumlord kind of idiot, since this was a rental property, occupied by approximately 47 people at once, judging by the mail I receive...
- Replaced the mostly disintegrated weather stripping on the front door.
- Had the furnace cleaned and serviced (It's nice and toasty in here right now).
- Installed a light in the laundry room.
- Installed a similar light in the kitchen, under the cabinets.
- Transferred some paint from the huge buckets I had into smaller quart buckets to be used as touch-up paint.

In the last month, I believe I've made no fewer than a dozen trips to Lowe's and/or Home Depot. Also, I stopped by Linens & Things on my way home from work on Friday. They've got some super good deals right now. That's how I got a nine foot wide curtain rod for $15.

Being a homeowner is alright so far. But I still have so much to do...

It's been a good week. A really good week. At least for me it has been. And for all my Obama-supporting friends.

I listened to President-Elect Obama's first press conference today. It was vague, but I thought it was good. He answered the question of the presidential puppy with the same serious tone as questions about the economy and Iran, which I found humorous.

Of course, the press conference interrupted Talk of The Nation: Science Friday, one of my favorite NPR programs. Late in the show, callers were asked what they thought President-Elect Obama should focus on (in terms of science) in his first term.

That's when something occurred that, without fail, annoys the crap out of me. Some guy called in to recommend a particular individual for the role of science adviser within the Obama administration.

I don't even remember who the person "recommended," so that's not what I found annoying. What I found annoying was addressing a topic via an unrelated channel. A better example of this is whocallsme.com, where people log unsolicited commercial phone calls. And then people complain.

While many of the entries on that site are helpful descriptions of the nature of the phone calls (and sometimes, even a company name), there are always a few where people write, "I want my name off your list," "stop calling me!" or something similar, in which the author of the post will address the company making the phone calls.

Do you see where I'm headed with this?

Complaining about something on some random website isn't going to change anything. If you're on a government no call list, there are forms to fill out to report unwanted phone calls. And I guaran-damn-tee you that posting on the aforementioned website will not result in action by your attorney general's office (they're the ones who act on no call list complaints) and it's even less likely that your comment will actually accomplish anything with the company.

So, really people, if you're going to complain about something, do it so it means something. If you're going to suggest someone to be President Obama's science adviser, tell his transition team. If you want someone to stop calling you, talk to your state's attorney general. For Pete's sake, folks, make sure there's some sort of logical connection in place when you make a suggestion or complain about something. A good general rule for this -- the ease of making a complaint or suggestion via a particular medium is inversely relative to the effectiveness of that medium's ability to make sure the right people are hearing your voice.

Complaining on a random website about telemarketers calling you is easy, but it won't get results. Complaining to the attorney general will require that you fill out forms with detailed information, but it is more likely to yield actual results.

That's all I've got.

Oh, by the way, I still can't entirely believe that this campaign is over, and Barack Obama won the election.

Sarah Palin, I'll miss you the most.

I rented a U-Haul today, filled it with all my stuff, and went on my merry way from Maplewood to Carondelet.

At 8:30, my sister Suzanne arrived and helped me with the last of the packing. Around 10 I went to get the truck. Soon thereafter, Jason, Charlie, and Jill arrived to help load up. We packed the thing as full as it would go. Soon, Charlie, Jason, and I were on our way to the house with the truck. The unloading went much faster than the loading. Niki soon arrived with McDonald's for all of us. We all ate, and then Niki started organizing the kitchen while the three of us returned the truck. Jason went home, and Charlie and I went back to the apartment, where Jill was coming back from lunch.

The apartment where I spent the last two years, seven months, and 14 days is now completely empty. It's so empty it echoes. The campsite rule applies here, as we left the apartment much cleaner than I found it in March of '06.

It seems so weird to walk in there now. It is so dark, so empty, so sparse. My house has windows. It gets direct sunlight. It's great. The apartment was basically in the basement, and it sucked.

I hope I never have to live in an apartment like that again. I'm really not sure how I did it for so long.

After grabbing the last of my things from the fridge and setting it to defrost (because it REALLY needs to defrost), I came back to the house, where Anne had joined Niki with the organization.

The kitchen is completely unpacked and organized. The living room is mostly organized. The spare bedroom is 300% less messy than it was before. The empty boxes are stacked in the basement.

And now, here I am, alone, but in my own house. It no longer echoes. The walls are different colors. The windows have blinds and curtains. The bed is (almost) made. And I've done three loads of laundry already today. My fridge has food in it, my laptop has an internet connection, and the DirecTV installer will be here on Tuesday. There is still much to do here, but thankfully, there is very little left to do at the apartment, and while I will miss living in Maplewood, I will definitely not miss driving back and forth between the apartment and the house.

So... Yeah. I'm a homeowner. Cool, huh?

If you know me in real life, outside the blogosphere, and you're in the area, I could use your help.

I need help packing, but I think I've got enough boxes. I just need someone to help me go through and actually accomplish something. I'll need help moving stuff to my house from my apartment. I'll also need some help turning my house into a home -- which is done by filling it with friends. If we're friends and you're in the area, you probably received the evite for the housewarming party. If not, however, drop me a line.

Oh, and if you want to help me pack or move (or both), seriously, call me. :)

I bought a house this morning. Seriously, I spent like an hour signing my name.

So, all you folks who I've helped move (some multiple times) over the years -- go stock up on Ben Gay. It's payback time.

I think my friend Niki described the debate best:

"Joe Biden is like Sarah Palin's teacher. He's like the college professor and she's that whiny girl who always thinks she's right and knows more. She's the girl in class I rolled my eyes at."

After last night's season premiere of The Office, one thought keeps darting around in my brain -- what if Jim's proposal to Pam turns truck stops into romantic destinations?

I mean, seriously, you KNOW some unoriginal lame-o is going to propose to his girlfriend at a truck stop now just because that's how Jim and Pam got engaged on The Office.