Sandra and I have been in the apartment for just a couple days over a year now. And quite the year it has been. It's had all of it usual ups and downs.
When we moved in, we had some issues with the upstairs neighbors. They had two large dogs that made a lot of noise first thing every morning, as the sun started to come up. The couple tried caging them at night, but that just led to the noise of rattling cages and whimpering. After a time, they had to move out, it not being fair to the dogs to keep them in an apartment like that.
There were issues with some of the other tenants as well. A couple of them were dealing and using drugs out of their units. That is, they were until I started sitting at my computer at the kitchen table! The "clients" weren't willing to be seen at the door. It did take a tribunal hearing to get rid of the worst of the trouble makers, and the others had to be given two month notice of lease termination.
On the other hand, Christmas was lovely here. Our tree looked lovely in front of the living room window. With the tree lights on, we didn't even need the living room lights at night. From outside, you could see the lights. We had our large plastic ornaments outside our windows, and they were great too, even if we weren't able to light them up.
Speaking of winter, this apartment is a dream in winter. The air is a little on the dry side, (Can you say "Sahara"?) but it is warm and comfortable in here. The windows seal very well, and the walls are so well insulated that the worst winds couldn't even be heard. We had to open the blinds to know what was happening outside.
It had been a little difficult getting used to the trains being so close at first. Now, we hardly notice them. The cats ignored them from day one.
The spring brought with it a lot of melt and rain. Even in a basement apartment, there was no real dampness problems. This has been a boon to Sandra, who has had arthritis issues for as long as I've known her. As far as comfort goes, this place has it all.
Now in June, our superintendent took it into his head to quit. Not having all of the story myself, I can't really go into too much detail. All I know is that suddenly we were left to fend for ourselves. I took it upon myself to go around each evening and make sure the the building remained secure. It had taken so long to get it to feel like home.
Starting in July, I was hired to be the assistant superintendent on site. All I really have to do is continue to watch over the property, report problems, and handle any paperwork that comes out of the building. Tenants bring issues to me, and I pass them along to my immediate boss.
At least, that's the way it's supposed to work. I have a tendency to try to handle maintenance issues myself. With a swift kick in the butt by my wife, I've started to let these things go. It's up to the professionals to do them. I still do some of the really simple stuff, but no more trying to get up ladders and things like that. It's still nice to have tools to do the easy stuff. I like to put in the homey touches, that take the place from an apartment building to what the tenants can proudly call home.
Sandra has been doing her best to get our home organized. She purchased new shelving units for the storage room, and know there is space in there, with everything neatly up off of the floor. I can go in there to change the Kitty litter without having to back out to change my mind.
So now we find ourselves having been in the building for a full year. Things haven't always gone smoothly, but this apartment has eventually become home.
Sandra cried when we left Cardinal for the last time. May it be a long time before she has to shed tears like those again.
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Yes I do miss Cardinal believe it or not. I miss some of the people but most of all I miss our balcony and looking out over the community pool and the baseball diamonds in the summer. Our cats loved it out there and did not even want to attempt to jump and when the shade got around i loved to go out and sit. We alway made that balcony shine with Christmas Decorations where as here we can set them out but not turn them on.
What i do like about this apartment is the two bedrooms which we needed desparately. I wish we had somewhere to put the computers other than in the living room and on the kitchen table. I hate that they are in the middle so to speak. I like all the storage. We seem to have gotten more and more stuff then what we moved in with. Sometimes i like that and sometimes i hate it. I like that the laundry room is right across the hall. For the most part i like the neighbors. I just hated when we first moved in the dogs upstairs. 2 labs in a 2 bedroom 2nd floor apartment what were they thinking. The neighbor we have now is great. It is drier than the desert in the winter we needed 2 humidifiers in here to keep it at least comfortable. For being a basement apartment there is no dampness and the windows are a great size. Now who stole the balcony lol.
I just wish now that we had good friends to share this with. I miss gabbing to someone. I did have good friends when i was working but they all have kids and were married and i wasn't at that time. I am married now but have no kids except our two adorable cats. The one good friend i had i have not seen since I got married. We have moved apart i guess. I need some socializing i think.
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