^top: The 180-degree panorama from my 9th-floor balcony. Quite a change of scene from suburban Colorado!
I returned from India (Oracle Tech Days in Hyderabad, visit to friends in Bombay) to Denver the evening of March 29th, spent a lot of that night packing, was in the Broomfield office the 30th. The 31st I loaded the car while my portion of the house had its move-out clean, had a final massage from the ever-amazing Chris Downing (who also helped me load the big, floppy cartop carrier onto the car), drove to my boss’ house for an evening of good company and good food, and stayed the night there. Hit the road at 7 the next morning to drive to my new home, a one-bedroom apartment in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco.
The friend who had planned to make the drive with me had a last-minute work emergency, so I drove those 1300 miles alone. And it wasn’t bad, even with some weather the first morning, except for the hour or so in Middle-of-Nowhere, UT, when I feared I would run out of gas. I took it in fairly easy stages, 10 hours each of the first two days, which enabled me to arrive in the city by 11 am on Saturday. Did my move-in inspection, then Jeffrey Taylor (a long-time videoblogging buddy whom I got to know while he and John were living in Paris, they now live in SF) arrived to help me unload the car.
^ Here’s a corner of the living room the first day or so, after Jeffrey and I had got all the stuff moved in but nothing was set up yet.
It was a beautiful day, and the benefits of this top-floor apartment were immediately obvious: a view, and lots and lots of light.
I didn’t own much stuff in Colorado, so little that it would have cost more to rent a truck than it would to replace the few sticks of furniture I had. I gave away the king-sized futon (which had been a gift to me in the first place), the dresser, and the small shelves, brought only what I could ship in boxes, carry in suitcases, or load in the car. This included the twin memory foam mattress and the Shaker desk, which has now become a dining table.
^ For the moment I’ve “extended” the single mattress with a folded quilt, to have an idea how a queen-sized bed will fit in here, and to show off the new razai (cotton quilt) I bought in Bombay. Again: lots of light!
^ The opposite corner of the bedroom a few days later, after Jeffrey and I had been to Ikea and I’d unpacked all my boxes. I’ll need more shelving, the plan is to fill out this wall. Note the lovely etched-glass mirror, bought during the recent weekend-long shopping expedition in Bombay with Yuti. I don’t have (or want) a lot of stuff, but every piece carries memories. Also bought a new stainless steel masala (spice) box, but I’m using it for jewelry.
Aside from not wanting to spend a lot of money, I have no desire to fill this small place with big furniture. I’ll get a simple queen-sized bed for the bedroom, then the twin mattress will become a day/guest bed in the living room. Got some folding chairs for dining/sitting, a couple of wooden chairs and a table for the balcony (very nice place to enjoy a drink of an evening). I’ll keep an eye on Craigslist for other stuff, but there’s no hurry.
This is the first time in my life I’ve had a place entirely my own – no family or roommates, so I can do exactly what I want with it. I’m going to take my time and enjoy the process.
Oh, I’ve also ordered a dozen cushions to fill the cushion covers I bought on this trip to India – going back to my hippie roots, everyone can sit on cushions on the floor.
Wow Diedre,
It looks like you have made big changes in your life. Congrats, and what a nice place in the City. Are you still with Sun?
Warm regards,
Rosa Lee
p.s you look great!
I have so far kept my job through the Sun/Oracle transition, we’ll see what happens next!