I finally finished my temporary stay in Alameda, cleaning my friend's two bedroom Victorian flat after she'd moved out, lugged the last of the contents mine and hers in many trips down the steep dark stairs. My knees and feet and just about every part of my body was completely spent and hurting. 30 minutes later I eased out of the car around 3am and climbed the last flight of stairs to MY bedroom, My Kitty in MY

I let myself sleep in and since I had shut the windows the morning noises were buffered so I actually did sleep in successfully but not even until noon! This place is different from the hellhole I was living in in so many ways and I am so very grateful. Here are a few:

• My room is light enough in a pleasant way that sleeping in is not all day:
• The amazing difference between sleeping in a drafty, uncared for rickety room where on a chilly night like last night I could pile on layers of blankets and still freeze and an insulated room with dual pane windows where all I needed was two light blankets and I was cozy.
• Normal house sounds. No billowing clouds of pot smoke or people snorting and laughing like a braying jackass (My former landlady's signature laugh) no loud beats. Just normal moving about the house sounds, kitchen sounds, doggy walkabout sounds, music.
• Bird song outside my window.
• My kitty's gurgling purr.

Hades mom had expressed her concern that the wasps were eating the kale. My theory is that the wasps were probably eating our fruit and also whatever was eating the kale, most likely a caterpillar from the looks of things, which is why she couldn't find any bugs on the kale. Those wasps were fat!

Hades: I killed the wasps. I sprayed them last night
Me: You know if your mom would get over her fear of bees we'd have more fruit! You don't get to kill bees even if your mom says so!
Hades: Yeah Pollination

And we have our word for the day!

I had showered in the evening before coming up from Alameda so yesterday I hadn't showered here before heading back. When I got home last night I was too tired and just couldn't stand another minute. So today was the day. As a ritual I cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom first. It felt so good.

The gender, sexual preference and age demographic of my housemates is evident when you look in the shower and see Irish Spring  & Old Spice shampoo and Dial soap. At least there's no Axe. Now, by the Old Spice and Irish Spring you might think I am living with older fellows, but no these lads are in their 20's and have not yet had girlfriends who have introduced them to the finer things, like conditioner and shampoo not being in two separate bottles and the appeal of your hair not smelling like your dad.

It's pretty impressive when a place occupied mainly by heterosexual men has a bathroom that only takes me 15 minutes to do tub, toilet, sink and floor. The floor needed mopping the most but there is a doggle so that's going to be a given. Much, much less disgusting than the place I moved from. I also suspect that Hades tries to keep things civilized for when Persephone likes to visit.

Also, just took my first shower here. The shower head is mounted unbelievably high. It's the Mt Everest of shower heads. NBA stars would be quite comfy in our shower. Today was the first and last time that I will switch the water flow from the tub to the shower BEFORE I get in! Why? Because our shower is actually a class 4 hurricane! Alert the National Weather Service!

I am going to start a home business, charging tall people to take comfortable showers at my house! Mwah ha ha! I'll be rich!

On my way down stairs to offer to go to the store for cooking of dinner, I'm thinking of using some of the mass quantities of rice, cooking some kale from the garden, maybe adding some vegan sausage, mushrooms and summer squash.

Hades stops me to say he is going to the store to get stuff for fajitas. 
He says he's going to get rice and beans. 
I remind him we have a crap load of rice and beans.
Yeah Yeah. Next time. I'll just grab some.
But I can make it while you are at the store.
Naw. I'll just get everything.
I am now getting a clearer picture of why there's so much food in this house waiting to be cooked and multiples of things, like olive oil, from trips made to the store for dinner without checking the cupboards first.

Hades goes off to the store for the  vittles.

I text him to say, Well don't forget to pick up olive oil, we definitely need olive oil. 
He texts back: Ha Ha ha!

And we have our first official household joke.

My tummy has a happy!
Hades turns out a mean spread of fajitas. 
Ok. He went to the deli at Mi Pueblo and got everything ready made but he did heat the fajita mixture up in two pans, take the lids off the rice and guacamole, rip open a bag of chips and toast the tortillas on the open stove flame all by himself. 
And it was delicious. 
And I eated it.

And THE KITTY sits up, looks at me, looks worried, leans against me.
A few minutes later. BOOM. She startles all over again. Climbs on my lap.
The window is open so it's really loud.
BOOM!
Whoops! Hollers & laughter.
Boom! Boom! Pop.Pop.Pop.Pop.Pop.
Some things don't change no matter where you live. Stupid people and firecrackers that make the house shake and the car alarms sing,
And it goes on late into the evening because these kids today just can't help themselves.

#OhLordy-July4-starts-early-and-lasts-until-you-run-out-of-fireworks

Partially in the interest of using things up but also in the interest of celebrating I make a shake. I am disappointed that I don't have my frangelico and it comes out more bitter than I'd have liked. 
Blackberry ice cream, muddled strawberries, almond milk, peach juice, cinnamon, vanilla, grenadine, strawberry vodka, regular vodka. 

Hades is playing SMITE.
I discover that  the diabolical laugh of Hades is more like a giggle. A contagious giggle. Not wanting to interrupt the fearsome and extremely tall lord of hell to get my booze off the high shelf, I get my step ladder and take care of business.
I tell Hades that I'm prepared for our first fight. I'm going to pull out my stepladder and say, Hey! I don't need you!
Hades giggles.

Actually, right now I don't think either of us can imagine getting in an argument but you know....let's just be realistic and then figure we'll probably work it out.

My kitty is snoring! Goodnight!

So, basically between my stash, the house stash, and the food my friend gave me when she moved, we may never have to buy rice, olive oil, teriyaki sauce or fake butter again!

Last night I ask my main housemate, who I will call, Hades, "So what's the scoop on shared household supplies like toilet paper?" 

"Oh, every so often my mom will make a Costco run and ask me if I need anything. She comes back with these massive packages of toilet paper and paper towels. No one in this house has had to buy toilet paper in like, the last 4 years."

 So my rent includes utilities, internet, cable, parking space, washer & dryer AND toilet paper? Boo yah! 
And crazy ex landlady with her ramshackle slum where you never knew what insane amount you'd be asked to pay to subsidize their "music" said we shouldn't complain because we were getting such a sweet deal? The deal where her homies could come and use our toilet paper anytime she passed them a key? 

Honey put the crack pipe down. This is a sweet deal!

My day so far.

• Wake up ridiculously early to the neighborhood chorus of birds, dogs and train whistles commanded by the rooster maestro! 
• First morning tinkle in new place. Aaah.
• Back to sleep for a few hours.
• Wake up cause it's hot.
• Go downstairs take out recycling with roommate. Ask if I can mooch some coffee because I have not brought my coffee or coffee maker over yet. There are 2 coffee making devices. Can't use one because there are no filters. Can't use the Keurig because "I have to throw that out. I dropped rice in it and can't figure out how to get it out." *Note to self: Another reason to hate these stupid machines!
• Settle for tea, English Breakfast with half & half. Yes!
• Go upstairs to hang with the kitty, drink my tea and eat a bowl of yogurt with granola and a giant peach sliced and juicy!
• Hear my name.
• It's our lovely landlady who has stopped by to see her son, pick some kale from the garden (Did I mention we have a kick ass garden?), and make sure I like Cameron, our newest roommate. She's adorable and SANE! 
• Now to get on with the unloading of the car, running a couple of errands then back to Alameda to finish cleaning and emptying my friend's apartment. It's going to be a long and busy day during which my kitty will get to sleep through most of it, assuming she gets used to the rooster who either doesn't tell time well or more likely just has a lot of testosterone. Rooster #2 only seems to make a ruckus in the morning. Farm sounds in the city. Huzzah!

Gas is generally cheaper here!I am in the gas line of despair at Safeway. What one must endure to save 10-20cents per gallon! I remember lines like this, well a bit worse, during the gas crisis in the 70's when I was little!

Wow! I am actually sitting on my own bed.

First night in ze new digs! And it's a hot one! So happy I can open my windows! 

One more trip back to Alameda tomorrow and another to Oakland, July 4th weekend but finally I am here! Huzzah! 

We haz a full house tonight. All the roomies plus the girlfriend of awesome!

*note, this is not MY girlfriend of awesome in case y'all is having some fantasies right now.

It's a warm night for sure. THE KITTY is hot. She is stretched out as long as she can make herself, on the bed sleeping. 
Mommy actually feels like she could sleep but it is too hot still. 
We're both going to need to do some settling in.

THE KITTY has just heard and smelled THE DOGGY through the door. She is cool with that but then she hears the stomp, stomp of the MENZ coming up the stairs to their rooms and she is not sure if she wants to go under the bed or not. 

Pretty soon she won't even twitch an ear at these noises. 

It's going to be entertaining when she hears THE ROOSTER!

 Warm night! 
Shorty Pajamas it is!
Cuz with 2 male roomies it's probably wiser than No Pajamas!

1) Like me, can't stand liars.

2) So tall, no need for stepladders.

3) His mom just sent him home with homemade tamales

4) He just thanked me for fixing the latch on the back door.

5) He is totally game for throwing my art on the living room walls and doing some cool projects around here. Our kitchen is going to be amazing..

6) And the icing on the cake? He plays a game called SMITE and he is Hades!

It must be late Friday night.

As the sounds from the bars in the neighborhood I am housesitting in die down it's getting peaceful. 

Earlier tonight as I left the place I will be living I realized that it really is an insulated bubble with houses buffering my house on all sides. Way up on the main street I hear the sound of dogs going wild followed by shouting. It's not just a couple of dogs and it sounds like a crowd! I actually wondered for a moment if it was a dog fighting scenario. Within minutes I heard sirens, lots of them. As I pulled out of the neighborhood it looked like every cruiser in town was there lights flashing. There were a lot of people milling around and a lot of cops. First excitement in the new hood and I'm not even living there yet!

When I moved from Fresno to the bay area I left behind a few people that I adore but I've never regretted leaving the central valley. 
I suspect that I am going to look back and see leaving Oakland as one of the best choices I've ever made. 
I will miss a couple of special places and some dear people, but I don't think I am going to miss Oakland or even the surrounding communities. 
I am so delighted about the changes in my life!

After a brief trip up to sort and unpack some things I realized I was hungry so I drove around until I discovered a Chinese restaurant that looked busy. I stuck my nose in and it smelled good so it's my first official take out in the new hometown. 

I mean spicy peanut butter won ton? Not passing that up!

While I'm waiting for my food I notice:

There's a giant lucky cat and a big fat Buddha on the counter. The Buddha has a pyramid of grapefruits so fat and round that they come all the way up to his big Buddha belly. The plates of food are huge and the wait staff is tiny. Little short people zipping around with mass quantities of steaming, delicious smelling food! It's mighty impressive to watch. Chinese food on a Texan scale of BIG!

VERDICT: Spicy Peanut Butter Won Ton is made of YUM!

I paid my first month's rent today and made it official!

I can honestly say I think I adore my new landlady. And I don't see that as likely to change. 
No slum here. In fact, it's a nice, well maintained, safe place. 
Reasonable rent for a fair price. 
No bizarre wildly fluctuating utility bills. No crazy people or druggies. 
In fact sane, likeable landlords and housemates. 
No sign of a mood swing in sight.
 Woot! I cannot wait to start living here!

While housesitting in an area I had always thought of as a boring place I wouldn't want to live I discovered, hey there's much to like about this area. I found a craigslist ad and went through an amusing text exchange. It seemed unlikely to work out but I took a gander at the place anyway. A magical hidden treasure, lovely owners, terrific housemates. I pay my first month's rent and a partial deposit on June 10th. I probably won't start living there until the end of June. When I pay my money, then I will breath a huge sigh of relief!