8/16/2014

Transition Time

Sorry for the downer posts lately... it's a "transition time" for me, as they say.  Moving for me right now seems to be a big deal.  On multiple levels, it means my life is shifting and changing, and much of the landscape where I will end up is unknown.

As an introvert, my home is my refuge.  I need to have a safe and private place to recharge and relax.  I don't know if I can find that with the friend with whom I was recently looking for housing.  She is a kind and good person, but also an extravert and seems to "spin out" with anxiety and frenetic talking regularly.  I am somewhat of an anxious person myself, and I think this might interfere with me finding the calm relaxation I need at home.

As an aside: the two places I mentioned before were a big disappointment.  The "urban treehouse" was rundown and dark and the backyard would be a hazard for the dog, in addition to me and the owner and potential housemate not clicking well.  With regard to the other one in Alb@ny, the woman was a semi-hoarder and the place had piles everywhere, was not clean, and had a large, albeit nice, dog lying all over the furniture. :(

I'm going to two open-houses tomorrow; one would involve living with three other people, and the other, seven people.  Even three other people feels like a stretch.  Ideally, I would like to live with one or maybe two other people.  But I don't have all the time in the world to find a place.  "All the time in the world" meaning more than two weeks!  And my girl, Zoey, adds to the challenge of finding a place, as apartment living without a yard would be a much lower quality of life for her.

There is the option of living with my friend for a month, which I may do but would mean more chaos and stress in terms of transitioning.  Better to do that though, I think, than move into a place that doesn't feel good enough to live in long term.  I do NOT want to end up needing to move again in a few months - been there, done that, when I talked myself into a situation that didn't feel right in the past.

So, I'm trying to hang in there and continue to take it one step at a time, having faith that something will fall into place.  I also notice that my maximum rent level seems to be inching up two or three hundred dollars, as most places I'm seeing that sound great are in a higher range.  I may regret not standing firm in my upper limit, but then again, it may push me to earn more money - maybe get my career counseling business going.

The other major change is in terms of social structure.  As I said, I have met a lot of my needs for connection and meaningful conversation through time over meals with my housemate.  That's all of a sudden gone now, and I guess I'm hoping that my next living situation will include someone with whom I feel comfortable and can have these kinds of conversations.

Meanwhile, I'm binge-watching "Or@nge is the New Bl@ck," which is sooo good.  And so distracting.  Right now, I MUST begin working on my syllabus for the class that starts next week.  So. hard. to. motivate.

Part of my stuck-ness is emotion around my mom's illness, as well.  My brother delivered bad news a few days ago that the cancer is now confirmed in her lungs, much lowering hope of recovery.  This punctured the bubble of hope I was maintaining.  I have cried once, but a kind of heavy sadness seems to be hanging over me.  I don't know what I should do, if anything.  They live too far away to help in practical ways.  I need to call but am kind of dreading that, as it will make it more real.  The whole situation bring up a lot of existential questioning for me, which doesn't seem very productive.

Thanks for listening.  Hopefully, my next post will bring better news and a new outlook.

12 comments:

  1. I am so sorry to hear about your mom. The sadness is understandable- especially coming with all of the changes and stress in your life right now. I wish you luck in finding a good housing situation for you and your girl.

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  2. Sorry to hear about your Mom :-( You are amidst so many changes right now so being a bit emotional and unsure is normal. I do think that staying with your friend for a month is better than rushing into a place you are not 100% comfortable with. Hope things fall into place soon.

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    1. As you can see from my post today, some good things are happening. fingers crossed. Thanks for kind words about my mom.

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  3. I'm sorry your mom is dealing with cancer, it isn't easy to not be able to do anything to help a loved one through that.

    Sounds like you have a good backup plan in place, but I can understand not wanting to move just to then turn around and move again.

    Hope things start looking up soon.

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    1. Thank you, Ali, I appreciate your kind words.

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  4. I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I know a bit about moving, and not having a place seems to spin the rest of your world out of balance. I hope you find a place you love.

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  5. You have a lot to deal with right now. I'm very sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis. Sending all of you lots of love.

    I hope something wonderful comes up for you in terms of housing and you have one less worry. Take care.

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    1. Thank you, dear Jenny. A couple positive things on the horizon... fingers crossed. Sending you good thoughts for your next week with MIL!

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  6. It sounds like it would be worth it to move in with your friend for a month while you try to find the perfect housing situation. It's too important a decision to settle for something you don't think is right.

    I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's cancer. Sending you hugs and love.

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    1. Thanks, Shannon, I think you're right. And thank you for hugs and love.

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