I suppose that I live here now…
November 26, 2017, 11:58 PM
So as of this writing, I’ve been living in Montgomery Village for about a week and a half, having moved on November 16. The new place is starting to feel like home, even though I’m not entirely unpacked yet. That is a process, and it will take time. However, I think that the weirdest thing about the whole move process was watching my home of ten years get dismantled and carted out the door. I hired movers to pack and move everything, so all that I had to do was keep Elyse occupied, make sure that the movers didn’t take the cleaning supplies (for the post-move cleaning that I am obligated to do, but have not done yet), and answer any questions that the movers might have. Afterward, I was struck by what felt like the finality of it all:
The only thing left was a box for trash, the cleaning supplies, and some coolers to transport the food in the refrigerator, which I did the next day on the way home from work. Before I left, I captioned a photo for Instagram as, “Wow. I suppose that I don’t live here anymore, do I?”
Then we all broke for lunch. Elyse and I ate here:
This is the Boston Market in Aspen Hill. Elyse and I call it “The Murderers’ Choice”, because the DC snipers, as well as a more recent shooter last year who fired shots in the parking lot at Montgomery Mall and the Aspen Hill Giant Food store, all ate there. I had also never been to Boston Market before, so this was a new experience. The food reminded me of Thanksgiving, though admittedly, no one does Thanksgiving better than my father.
After we finished at Boston Market, we headed over to the new house and prepared for the movers’ arrival. First thing in was the couch:
I knew what to do with that: sit down and keep Elyse occupied, while answering the movers’ questions. Once everything was in, I thanked the movers and bid them well, and then it kind of hit me that I now lived in Montgomery Village. I captioned a photo as, “Okay, then. I guess that I live here now.”
Then the process of getting settled began. Elyse got settled in pretty quickly, since she didn’t have much to begin with. My old bed and dresser went in her room:
And then my bedroom looked like this, as viewed from the mezzanine above:
That “bed” that you see is an air mattress, which I’m using as a bed until I can get over to IKEA for a real bed. The sleeping surface is 22 inches off of the ground, and it’s queen size, i.e. the same size as my old bed. That height sold me on this model, since it was bed height, and thus didn’t feel like I was camping on an air mattress. Once I put my sheets and blankets and such on it, everything looked good. Surprisingly, with my bedding on it, even though it was a new bed in a new place, I slept surprisingly well for a first night. Normally, the first night somewhere isn’t exactly good sleep, because our brains are acting like night watchman to an extent, but I passed out, slept well, and woke up rested in the morning. It must be a sign that I picked the right house.
I inflated the air mattress for the first time the night before, and got photos:
As it blew up for the first time, I kept thinking, “IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!” It is surprisingly firm, which I appreciated, but I’m looking forward to getting a real bed again, as well as a dresser. I’m more or less living out of laundry baskets and boxes until I get my new bedroom furniture. Then once that happens, the air mattress will be deflated and stored, and will come out for guests staying in the back bedroom.
Then since moving in, I’ve slowly but surely gotten the place together and made it home. While Elyse worked on her bedroom, I got the kitchen together. All of the dishes and such needed to be washed and put away, and everything needed to be arranged. That took a few days, but it’s finished. Only thing left to do in there is buy some counter stools for my breakfast bar. Sitting at it with a regular chair makes me feel like a child, since the counter comes up to my chest, and I feel like I should be sitting on a few phone books.
Then I went up into the mezzanine and set my computer up:
Now it’s starting to feel like home, though that chair mat is going to take some getting used to. Also, take note of how clean my desk is. I promise you, it will never be this clean again.
With the computer set up, I’m focusing on electronics. My television from the apartment is in the mezzanine next to my computer (just out of frame to the right), and then I bought a big 50″ 4K television for the living room. That purchase surprised me. It was my original plan to go lower end with the television and get a 1080p set, since I’m not a big TV watcher, mostly using it to cast YouTube with my Chromecast. But taking the upgrade turned out to be a no-brainer: a 4K television only cost $50 more than 1080p and had the Chromecast built in. So when you consider the Chromecast and all, it was only an extra $15. I’m sure that I’ll enjoy that once I get it up on the wall. Imagine playing video games on that. Elyse has several different game consoles, including a Nintendo Switch, which we recently bought that HD Street Fighter II game for. I can’t wait to hadouken on that thing. Should be fun.
Then once I get everything unpacked and declare myself “settled”, I have a list of improvement projects that I want to do. Among other things, that ugly chandelier is coming out, I’m planning to paint Elyse’s room, the basement bathroom, and the living room, and I want to do some power washing outside. Then I also have a bunch of other small things that I want to do just to make the place more my own.
So all in all, being a homeowner is going to be an exciting journey.
Categories: House, Montgomery Village