Here are a few random thoughts from a mind clouded over with moving fatigue…

• I think the 80/20 rule applies to moving and possessions. At least for me. I’m estimating that 80% of the weight I cart around from place to place represents just about 20% of the actual volume. I have been making good progress with the unpacking, and the things I have left to take out of their boxes are (mainly) the books and framed art…these items don’t take up that much room on the truck, but they sure are heavy. [For anyone keeping score: 34 boxes of books and journals (not counting the boxes in storage); 8 large mirror-pack boxes of art.]

• I stopped by the local AAA office yesterday (to pick up a couple small travel items for my upcoming trip to Wisconsin). While there, I took the time to switch my membership from the Oregon/Idaho region to the Utah/Nevada/Northern California club. The person I talked to also gave me an estimate on car and renter’s insurance (which just may be the way I go after I shop around a little more). While talking about auto rates, of course I disclosed that I drive a 2007 Subaru. At one point, when touting the good rates enjoyed by drivers in Marin County, he indicated that, here, “everyone drives a Subaru or above.” Now, I guess he meant no judgment with this statement, which, of course, is true (there are LOTS of Lexus, BMW and Mercedes drivers here)…it’s just that he accurately pegged me (as an educator) on the low end of the socio-economic scale in Marin…which Wikipedia lists as the “richest county in the U.S.”

• My kitchen is unpacked and functional as of this evening. I “cooked” my first meal in this new place: a take-and-bake pizza (medium veggie) from Papa Murphy’s.

• I found my towels. (A big “thank you” goes to those of you who have written and called with your concern.) They were creatively used as packing material by my moving crew. Not to worry. I’ve still been taking baths.

• I found a local source for white-noise machines. I desired/needed one because the neighbors below me have a TV in the bedroom, right below MY bedroom. And they keep different hours than me (the prototypical early-to-bed-early-to-rise person). They stay up, and play their TV, to the wee hours. I rarely am up past 10:00 p.m. In case you’re interested, I heartily recommend the Marpac SleepMate 980A model.

• I watched the MLB All-Star Game on TV last night…played about 15 miles from right here. The National League almost pulled it off. They kept me glued to the set right to the very last pitch. I considered tuning out after 8 innings, but I kept reminding myself that, like life, a baseball game ain’t over till it’s over.

• One last question: Is every resident of Marin County, by definition, a Mariner?

Here I am, finally, on 7-7-07, offering up my first blog entry as a Californian.

This post would have come to you sooner, but, well, I’ve had some things to do…what with totally changing my life and all. I arrived in Larkspur on Monday, and my stuff got here the next day. As you can imagine, I’ve been fairly preoccupied with this end of the moving process.

Plus, I’ve spent a little bit of time since my internet service was restored doing some mundane (but important) computer-maintenance tasks. After the cable guy hooked me up, I, of course, immediately logged on to my email accounts; a backlog of several dozen messages proceeded to download. Inevitably, there was a lot of junk among the messages, all of which I quickly deleted. However, somewhere in that mess, potential trouble was apparently waiting for me…

Now, I am very conscientious when it comes to internet security and virus protection, so Norton AntiVirus did its regularly-scheduled full-system scan of my computer in the middle of the night on Thursday; during the run it detected (and quarantined) a copy of Downloader (a Trojan-Horse type of virus). This is quite unusual for my system to have inherited an infection from somewhere, so I went into a mild freak-out mode… even though Norton assured me that the threat was completely contained.

Anyway, I spent part of the day yesterday going through the (somewhat tedious) recommended removal process for the virus, just to be sure that my system was completely virus-free.

Given the chaos that is my life (what with living in an entirely new state, existing in the midst of a hundred or so cardboard boxes, virus removal, and unpacking activities), unfortunately there’s been little time so far for writing or blogging.

But, here I am, doing a little bit of composing at the keyboard, while trying to establish myself in an entirely new environment. I now live within spitting distance of the Golden Gate Bridge. And I am trying, desperately, eagerly, to decipher how things are done here. This ain’t rural Oregon, folks. This is more like big-city stuff. Suburban San Fran. In the mahvallus Golden State.

Among the things I’m trying to figure out:

• How to keep cool. (It was over 100 degrees here on Thursday.)
• How to keep warm. (It was in the low 50s this morning.)
• My neighbors and their noise-making patterns (and where to find a white-noise device).
• Recycling. Again! (This will be the topic of a future post all on its own.)
• This whole pumping-your-own-gas thing.
• Where to shop for, well, everything.
• Where the movers packed my towels. (And a number of other things that must be in incompletely-labeled boxes.)
• What are the best routes to get from place to place and avoid the freeways at rush hour.
• How to take care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually while undergoing this massive life change.
• How to make it a priority to just get out and take a walk. And to meditate. And to relax.
• Where to buy lamps for my new place. (There’s a dearth of built-in lighting.)
• How to feed myself when the kitchen unpacking has not been touched.
• What’s going on in the world, as I’m basically ignoring the news.
• How to improve my FM radio reception. (Amazingly, it appears to be terrible up here in the hills.)
• How to save up enough energy to make a trip to Wisconsin this coming week.
• And about a billion other things, all at the same time, as I begin life in an unfamiliar place.

Anyway, here I am. In California. Not Roseburg. (What a relief!)

This is my last blog entry as an Oregonian.

The computer will be powered down very soon. The truck is to be loaded tomorrow. Next Monday will be the first night in my new residence.

Waves of emotion wash over me as I ponder the beginning of yet another chapter. This time I bid adieu to my adoptive state of the last 37 years and embark on an adventure as a Golden Stater. While there’s a sense of wonderment and excitement accompanying this change, there is, I admit, a deep and persistent melancholy at needing to leave behind a landscape and people I have come to intimately know and love.

How will I cope with my losses? I don’t know, but I’m sure there will be many new things to learn, and interesting people to meet, that will help me during the transition.

How will this all turn out? I don’t know, but I’m excited to see!

Please stay tuned and join me on the flip side. My internet service is scheduled to be connected in Larkspur a week from today.

Sunrise over San Francisco Bay, as seen from the stern of the Larkspur ferry.Where have I been? I went apartment hunting this week. Fortunately, the process turned out to be a huge success and I now have an actual address to move to. Whew!

Given that I’m loading up the truck just five days from now, you might imagine that this development is quite a relief.

I’ve never had quite such a housing challenge as this, however. Which means, I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the whole apartment-search scene in Marin County…until Craigslist was suggested to me. (As I now know, this online service began and is headquartered in San Fran, so, from what I can determine, its popularity seems to be especially huge there.) This turned out to be a really valuable piece of advice, though the sheer number of possibilities soon proved to be overwhelming. I started reading the North Bay rental listings on Memorial Day weekend and promptly discovered that there were lots and lots of available places; for example, there were over 200 new listings in the North Bay area posted on Memorial Day alone. However, from my frame of reference, by anywhere-in-Oregon standards, the apartments were renting for exorbitant prices.

Well, I just decided to keep breathing…and to keep reading. My plan was to show up in Marin directly after my last day of work in Oregon…which meant finishing up my job here on June 15, then immediately driving down to San Fran.

Prior to the trip, I constantly checked for new postings online; I did this practically hourly for over two weeks. It was very easy to fall behind in my reading, but by regularly checking in, I felt I was pretty much able to track the kinds of, and locations of, the openings that were being announced. At both work and home, 24 hours a day, I had one browser window opened to the appropriate Craigslist page and another opened to a Google map of the area.

Now, in case you don’t know, most Craigslist ads are pretty much slightly-expanded versions of what you’re used to finding in a classified section of a newspaper (you know, the old fashioned way of doing things). They give the price, number of beds/baths, the location, and whatever other info the owner thinks might attract the interest of prospective renters. However, an ad that caught my eye fairly early on was the one written by an individual who wanted to find someone to take over his apartment so he could escape his lease. Instead of giving just the basic information about his place, he provided a short, rather-compelling essay, which I quote in part, directly and without permission, here:

This is for all of you nature lovers who like to feel like you are living in the mountains. The apartment is surrounded by trees, and the sound of wildlife. It even smells like the mountains, yet you are only a 25 minute drive from downtown SF, and minutes away from main highways, ferrys, and towns. And even though you are so close to these centers, you can’t hear them or see them. It is really the perfect balance for us “over the mountains, but want to live by a city” folk.

The apartment is up on Mt. Tam, and has a wonderful view of the Kentfield/Ross Valley. There is a large sliding glass door that leads you from the living room to the deck overlooking the view. On hot summer days, I like to keep the door open and let the warm breeze through the apartment. Sometimes I eat out on the deck. At night, I like to sit on the deck and watch the twinkling lights of houses across the valley, and the stars above. Even in the winter it is nice, since there is a deck above me that keeps the rain off of my deck.

The living room is spacious, and has an operational fireplace that I use all of the time. The fireplace fills the entire room and dining area with light from the fire, and in the winter, it generates enough heat to be able to keep the central heater off more often.

The kitchen is cozy, but functional. I love to cook, and it has served me well. There is plenty of cupboard space.

The bedrooms are both good sized. The master bedroom is large enough for my queen sized bed, a couch, my piano keyboard, large computer desk, dresser, night stand, guitar amps, and recording set up, while still leaving an 8X8 foot open floor area in the middle of the room. Plus, there are large walk in closets in both bedrooms with ample space for storage and clothes.

The bathroom is good sized, and has a shower/bathtub. There is a secondary sink right outside the bathroom in case two people want to use sinks at the same time, or if someone is taking a shower, and the other person wants to get ready to go somewhere.

There are 2 large closets in the hall way and entry way for storage.

There is an additional storage facility available for tenants.

There is one designated parking spot for the apartment which is covered, and plenty of communal parking if you have a second car.

There are 3 pools, laundry facilities, a gym, and hiking trailheads in the parking lot.

Pets are not allowed.

Water and garbage are included. Utilities you would be responsible for are gas, electric, and anything else you add on.

The apartment is in a complex, however, it is very quiet here and people pretty much keep to themselves. I have never had any problems whatsoever with noise or annoying neighbors. It is so quiet here that you can hear your heartbeat at night... The neighbors above and below are all wonderful, and welcoming. http://www.skylarkapartments.com/ is the website if you would like to see photos, and other details.

The apartment is roughly 900 square feet, measured roughly by me... If you count the deck, it’s probably about 1000 square feet, which is strange to me because this apartment feels bigger than that... Probably because most of the wall in the living room is windows. The master bedroom is about 13 X 15.5 feet, and the second bedroom is about 13 X 13 feet, not including the 5X5 walk in closets in both rooms…

He then went on to give some personal information about himself and why he was leaving his perfect living space.

Well, on the basis of this ad, I became pretty interested in this complex, especially because it was only about a mile from my new campus. I wasn’t particularly interested in his place, though; as (described) it was sandwiched between two other apartments and I have a strong preference for the top floor. However, I contacted the managers by email and was informed that there was going to be a 2 BR upper unit becoming available around July 1 (my target date).

Well, nothing is ever simple, I guess. When I arrived there last Sunday (a week ago today), I was informed by the assistant manger that they had nothing open. “July 1?”, she asked. “I don’t think so…”

Disappointed, I began my search in earnest. I had come prepared with printouts of over 40 places to check out, so I started exploring the addresses on my list. I drove round and round, searching for another 8 hours that first day. Unhappily, nothing really appealed to me that much. Everything I looked at seemed to be missing one or more really important elements that I look for in a place. Of course, the key criterion is the absence of noise. I went to bed in my hotel room that night fairly discouraged.

Come the next morning, though, I called the Skylark Apartments first thing. I had remembered that the first time I inquired about an apartment at my current (Roseburg, OR) address I was told there was nothing available, only to get a call the next day to the contrary. I had not left my phone number with this management, though, so I called with that in mind…and the minute I identified myself, she asked “are you the one that was here yesterday?” When I indicated that I was, the reaction was, “oh, I am so glad you called…when we talked yesterday, I had totally forgotten about a unit that we have coming available soon that you might be interested in.”

I replied, “I’ll be right there.”

I took a look at the apartment, and even though it was undergoing renovation and was not really in move-in condition, I could tell it was almost exactly what I had been looking for. The manager agreed to hold it for the day while I continued to search, and I spent another entire day looking and driving, driving and looking…but I went back late in the afternoon to put my money down.

The apartment itself has two bedrooms, two baths, and is almost as big as my three-bedroom house in Portland was. The most spectacular feature is the view out of the large living room windows. I can see, among other things, San Francisco Bay, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and San Quentin Prison. It’s actually, from what I can tell, virtually perfect. (If we don’t count the outrageous monthly rent!)

So, yes, I now have an address to move to. In Larkspur, California. I don’t know much about this little (pop: 11,724) city yet, but one of the obvious landmarks as I drove through the downtown area multiple times was a one-screen movie theatre called The Lark. I’ll be learning a lot more about Larkspur, Kentfield, San Rafael, and all of Marin County soon.

Stay tuned.

[Oh, and thanks go to Matthew for composing that little essay on Craigslist. Mr. Cello Man: I hope you found someone to take over your apartment!]

If only I could report on something other than the mundane! I would so like to share some deep personal insight. Some profound philosophical thought. Some meaningful analysis of current affairs. Some evidence of critical thinking. Perhaps even something bizarrely irreverent and/or outrageously funny.

Ah, but I’m sorry: my life is mostly focused on an ambitious to-do list that seems to govern my existence.

Foremost on my mind is making this next major transition happen.

It was exactly a year ago that I posted an entry entitled The Cardboard Jungle. I was living in Portland and about to make a move from the house I’d inhabited for two years. My dwelling was a maze of moving boxes as I was preparing to depart the city. Even though it was mid-June, and I needed to be out of the house by the end of the month, I was still unsure, at the time, where I was going. As it turned out, I interviewed for and accepted a temporary position here in Roseburg , and this is where I’ve been for about 11 months now.

However, it’s time to move on. Again.

I’m needing to entirely change my life. Yet again.

As you know, I’m headed to the Bay Area of California. I’ve accepted a new job down there and given notice on my Roseburg place. I’ll be packing up the truck on June 29. However, it’s total déjà vu as I’m living, once more, in a sea of cardboard. I started the packing process this weekend by retrieving my healthy stockpile of flattened boxes from storage and distributing them strategically around my current abode. I know I’ll basically be living out of boxes and suitcases for a couple of months now. Which I really, really hate.

There’s just something about walking into an apartment that is in total disarray and smells of musty cardboard that is quite off-putting to me. Once the boxes appear, the living space ceases to offer any kind of sense of comfort. I feel like I’m homeless and camping out in a garage. Which I sorta am.

This whole situation creates a familiar sense of anxiety because even though I’ve made my moving plans, I really don’t know where I’m going: I don’t have a destination address yet! And I won’t be able to start apartment hunting until next week. My plans are to drive down to San Rafael this weekend and start looking around on Monday morning. Well, they physical part of looking anyway. I’ve made daily visits to Craigslist and, by now, am quite familiar with the virtual apartment-hunt. I’m very eager, though, to check out these places in person and put my money down on something. I want to be able to have a picture in my head of where, exactly, I’m next going to call home.

Now, speaking of driving there…

One of the things on my totally unmanageable to-do list, associated with accepting a new job and anticipating a move, was to get a new car. My trusty 1999 Subaru Forester, my entirely-reliable vehicle for the last 8 years, was showing, at 110,000 miles, some signs of aging. And I wanted a new one. Well, not necessarily a new Forester, but a new vehicle. (More than likely a new, small SUV.)

So, nine days ago, right after I finalized the job offer, I went car shopping. (Only after I took some time to do a little research, though: I signed up for access to the new- and used-car reports at ConsumerReports.org.) I had discovered that the Toyota RAV4 is currently the most highly-rated small SUV. The Honda CRV is also right up there. The Forester, my old and trusted friend, is still satisfactorily rated, but no longer quite at the top.

So I went shopping thinking that I might end up with a RAV4 this time. I wanted to drive one of the more-gutsy V6 models (with the same gas mileage as a four cylinder) but the Eugene dealership did not have one available when I was there. (I did drive a Prius for the first time and learned a little bit about hybrids, though.) Then I went down the street to drive a fairly-snazzy CRV. Finally, I took a spin in a 2007 L. L. Bean Edition Subaru Forester. And I was hooked all over again. I loved the leather interior, the power seats with lumbar support, and the familiar feel. So, I ended up making a deal for a new one. There wasn’t a red-colored one at my dealership, however, so I had to wait a couple of days while they had one shipped down from Olympia , WA . This particular car had a Sirius satellite radio already installed, and it only took me another day to decide to activate a subscription for myself. And, while thinking about navigating the unfamiliar territory of the North Bay region, it took just a couple more days after that to decide that I wanted a GPS as well. So, this last weekend, I went to Circuit City and purchased a Garmin nüvi 350 for the new vehicle, a portable “personal travel assistant” that tells me where I am, plots out my route, and tells me where to go. Literally. Constantly.

So, as of right now, I have three days left at my current place of employment. I go home to utter chaos every night. I am scheduled to drive down to the Bay Area this weekend. And I will continue, as best I can, to make steady progress on my overwhelming list of tasks as I face this next big transition.

My hope is a better life awaits me in California than the one Oregon has offered me in recent times. With a new job, new car, new car toys, and soon a new place to live…I’m ready!

(Keep breathing, TechnoMonk…)