Westward ho!

(That's SP's new nickname.)

SP and AN are on a long-weekend trip to Exeter in Devon. SP was particular excited about Riding In A Car (you can tell he doesn't get much excitement). AN is of course the driver; I predict several pit stops for petrol and chocolate!!! I hope they enjoy those tasty cheese biscuits in my honor.

Still, much as I'm glad they are taking a much-needed break from stress, I'm sad that I don't get to call my two favorite boys this weekend. Leaving messages on SP's voicemail isn't quite the same, what with the absence of derision.

Went to my first Condo Association Board meeting. Marched into the room, where two people were already sitting. Sat down, introduced myself, and then one ( a man who proved to be the querulous sort that always needs more attention than anyone else, and is the reason that meetings take three times as long as necessary), mentioned that the board sat at the table, while owners sat "over there" (pointing to some chairs set up to the side. I got up to move, and the other man, clearly trying to counter the abruptness of the other, smiled and said, "You can move when we begin. For now, we're getting to know you, so stay."

I met some other really cool people there; I like this board, so far. One of the women seems to have the same sort of personality; at one point she said, "I'm glad you moved here."

There were two other owners present besides me. My impressions continue to be good: the building is a more diverse place than any other I've seen here: black, white, latino, gay, straight, single, married. Chicago isn't what you'd call diverse - there tend to be pockets -- although Rogers Park really is. And because it's not a luxury building, people seem to all be coming from the same place: we want nice, but we're not throwing money at everything.

Met an electrician about my place. Felt a lot better after it. He won't win any charisma prizes, and I would have preferred someone who took more initiative in suggesting options for me, but he wasn't bothered by the Damocles Shower of Death (although the wire running through the closet needs to be put into conduit to bring it to code). He can give me two more circuits, keep the existing box, and make it possible for me to not have to worry about overloading anything. There also appear to have been sconces in the walls before (the walls have a textured surface that makes it easy to find patches); he talked about re-installing some from wiring he believes would be there. So my goal is to do enough to make the place nice when I move in without getting into major renovations right now. But it's so, so cute.