You’ll recall that we closed escrow on Tuesday, July 22nd and started moving in – it’s been a month now. While we’re making progress, I continue to be astonished by how little my expectations and perceptions of reality actually match up to real reality in the sense that every single freakin’ facet of this entire process of packing, moving, and unpacking takes so, so, SOOOOO much longer than I expect it to. In terms of just functioning (i.e., sleeping and moving and walking and that sort of thing) I continue to be way “behind the plane” and it’s making me nuts. (“Behind the plane” refers to flying and how as a pilot you want as much as possible to be in control, proactive instead of reactive, and anticipating what you’re going to need and do next BEFORE you get there. You want to be ahead of the plane, not be behind it. Many things in life have the same lesson apply.)
Today I could see some convective activity off to the north and east, out where I-15 heads up to Barstow and on to Las Vegas. I know that at times there can be some big thunderstorms building up out here – I’m really looking forward to that. I love watching thunderstorms. (Safely.) Nothing too near to us today, but the weather radar apps were showing a few lightning strikes out there.
In the month we’ve been here, I think it’s the little things that are different that are adding up. The lineup of TV channels is all different. At both the Pomelo house (35+ years) and the Scarborough Peak house (7+ years) we had the same cable company and the same channel lineup. If you travel, of course it’s different in your hotel room, but that’s always temporary, just a day or two, maybe a week. Now, about two weeks in, it hits you that it’s different and that’s the way it’s gonna be forever.
And it’s not just which order the channels are in. There are a lot more of the “holy roller,” fundamentalist televangelist networks here, and where in LA they were buried off in the middle of thousands of channels, here they’re right up front in the first dozen or so. Lots and lots of screaming assholes who I would really, really like to see following Dobson sooner rather than later. Can I get a discount if I block all of them? More to the point, is there an option to pay more and have all of them blocked at the source?
Aside from that, there are a lot more channels showing nothing but hour after hour of old reruns from the 1950’s and 1960’s and 1970’s, and most of them are in the lower, “prime” channels as well. I guess I’m not the target demographic.
With all of that said, one thing that I expected but have seen very little of is the open, fanatical, cult following of MAGAts. I know of one house a couple miles away that I’ve seen have a Trump flag. That’s it. I haven’t seen anyone doing the fully-armed, open carry, 2A cult thing, and I haven’t even seen any vehicles covered in right-wing bumper stickers and cult paraphanalia. It’s a relief to not (yet) be exposed that sort of toxic bullshit.
We’ll see what happens if/when that changes and I come face to face with that level of stupidity and hatred. I know it has to be out there. I suspect that despite a deeply ingrained discomfort with confrontation, I will have limited tolerance for entitled fools.
We can hope!
Overall, we’re doing well a month in. We both still love the new house, and while I had hoped for better on the pace of the transition, I’m learning to allow myself some grace and just do the best I can and not beat myself up when that best doesn’t meet (possibly questionable) expectations. We’re learning our way around town, we’re learning where the stores are, we’re starting our colony of hummingbirds, and I’m getting all of the change of address notices processed. I’ve got the autopay set up for the gas and mortgage and solar and water, and some days (not all!) I can actually find things I need instead of just going out and buying new. (I was working on payroll last week and ran out of printer paper late in the evening – I managed to scavange enough paper from three other printers combined to get through the task, but the next day we hit a Staples to get a couple more reams of paper, despite the fact that I know that SOMEWHERE in those PODS units there are two cases, 20 reams, of new paper. It’s no good to me if I can’t find it. “A bird in the hand…” and all of that.)
I hope all of you are doing well also.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 