I think I am moving again. I avoided talking about the “problem” with this apartment in detail… but here it goes. My apartment here in Sacramento suffers from a sewage problem. I live in the last apartment on the line and when the line backs up, it fills up my bathtub with raw sewage. It happens just about every 2-3 weeks. It is disgusting. I hate dealing with the clean up and I hate the thought of my bathtub full of other people’s poop.

So I am in negotiations with the rental agency, trying to get relocated ta their expense. We’ll see how it goes.

But at least this move isn’t spurred on because of a discontent with life. Just a discontent with raw sewage.

p.s. the apartment they want to move me to is even cuter than this apartment and it is on the second floor so I wouldn’t have to worry about everyone’s crap ending up in my bathtub.

You know, my car is getting raped while it is parked on the street. The first week I moved to downtown, someone smashed my passenger side window in. They rifled through the car, but nothing appeared to be missing. Oh no. They did take my Safeway shopping card, which I used to scrape condensation and the occasional frost off my windows. This was a fiasco as I have never had this happen before. I was in hysterics. The Sacramento police do not come out and take reports when it is a simple case of vandalism and theft. I think it is kind of ridiculous that they don’t, but regardless I had to fill out a police report online or go down to the station. Long story short, insurance covered it, B929 saved the day by helping me cover the window with plastic until it could be replaced. He also listened to me while I was in hysterics over the whole situation.

I decided that if my car was vandalized again, I would get a parking space. I did not determine the “level” of vandalism that would make me pay an additional $100 a month to keep my car off the street.

So this past weekend I was packing up to head to Santa Rosa, when I discovered that someone stole the Toyota symbol off the front of my car. I was so pissed! But it was also kind of funny because the emblem has a bunch of dirt underneath that never washed off during the carwashes, so there is now a “dirt” emblem where the true metal emblem used to be. But why take it?!? That is my question. Because every time I pass another yota I am tempted to steal their emblem to replace mine.

The resale value of my car is going down every day I have it parked on the street.

So was this vandalism enough for me to get a parking space? Probably not. This was a level 2 vandalism. If it had been closer to a level 5, or 9 (like breaking a window, slashing a tire, etc.) I would consider it.

Do you other city dwellers face a similar dilemma? Or is it just me?

It seems to me that the posts on this blog, as of late, are very much a surface evaluation of my day. There used to be a time when I would use this space to reflect my more meaningful thoughts and ideas. At least some of the time. It isn’t that I don’t continue to have these kinds of reflections on life. It is that I am having a hard time finding the words to describe my thoughts.

Living in downtown Sacramento I am faced with many sad images every day. I have written about the homeless, who are coming out in droves now that the weather is nice. On my walks home I wonder where they hid during the colder rainy months. I wonder how they ended up in their particular situation. But ultimately, I avoid eye contact and charge past them so as to dodge getting sucked into their story.

I see a handful of stray dogs, all on their own, never finding one another or a home. And my first instinct is “don’t poop by my apartment”, but my second instinct is find them a home. Or some food. Because what do these dogs eat? These instincts are met with unfulfilled actions. I am hit with the fact that it is only a matter of time before they end up at the shelter.

But what the city brings in sadness, it also brings with appreciation. There is something special about the sunshine and warm days here. It is almost surreal to me when I am walking through the shadow of a tall building, only to reach the corner and see the sun bouncing through the street. The green of the parks feels more special than my back yard in Santa Rosa because I share this space with a city and not just a handful of other residents in my building. I don’t think about basking in the sun much when I am in my suburban apartment, but here in the city, every walk on a sunny day is a treat.

I have only been here for 4 months, but having passed through the winter into the spring, I am seeing a new beauty in the parks. The trees have flowered and my walks are now bursting with color, squirrels and birds. More people are out walking their dogs. More people are throwing their blankets out onto the grass and napping. I don’t know how long I am going to stay here in the city, but I hope that I get to enjoy these activities before I go.

What is spring like where you are?

So shortly after I moved into my Sacto apartment, my bathtub backed up with some discolored water. And a plumber came out and removed my toilet and snaked my drains. Two weeks passed and when I came back from a weekend in Santa Rosa, the tub was filled with dirty water again. It happened two more times since then. Let’s just say that my bathtub has been bleached more times than Pamela Anderson’s hair. But for the last two months…. no backing up. And I was kind of surprise. Happy, but surprised.

So this evening, around 7:00 there is a knock on my door. And there is a woman and the plumber who came out the first time my tub backed up. It turns out that the laundry sink down in the basement is backed up and my apartment is the only apartment in the building that goes straight to the line. Everyone else’s toilets are linked together. So as we speak, my toilet is off to the side and I have this big machine hanging out in my bathroom. My only hope is that they fix the laundry sink without causing my bathtub to start backing up again.

Oh and I hope that he finishes sometime soon so that I can pee. Because as soon as you know you can’t go to the bathroom, that is when you need to go.

Today’s wind was completely incredible. I was crossing the street and it picked up and I swear that I lost my balance. I was mildly embarrassed, but at least I didn’t fall down.

In addition to the wind, we have been having some amazing weather. It is great for anyone visiting, but I am thinking it is too early for the rain to stop. This has been a strange winter with some super heavy rains that lasted a weekend or two. And although there was a lot of rain, it wasn’t spaced out very well. I am hoping for a couple more drizzly days here. Hopefully all before I have a dog to walk. =)

Lots of things are almost home here.

First, the remodel of my little humble space on the web is almost complete. I am loving the simple design that Erin over at Interstice made for me. She was really easy to get along with and never made me feel stupid about not knowing enough about how to get things working on the internet. This is the complete opposite feeling from what I get when I contact my hosting site about problems. Hopefully I won’t have to contact them any time soon. The best part is I can start making pages again, so be on the look-out for new recipes and projects!

Second, little Miss Pebbles, my soon to be puggie, is scheduled for her surgery on February 18th and will be ready to come home on March 1st. Winemonkey and I are going to a bowling birthday party for a very special friend that day, so I think we are going to make the 4.5 hour trek to Pebbles on Sunday morning. Nothing like a 9 hour round trip to get your first dog.

Lastly, I finally have enough money saved up to purchase my bed for my Sacramento “city” apartment. Next weekend Winemonkey and I will venture over to IKEA and pick it up. I hope that their mattresses are more comfortable than the one I currently have. I am, unfortunately, too tossy and turny for a twin bed anymore. I have hit or miss experiences with IKEA furniture, so I hope that this works out for the best. One can never tell.