This wayward princess has been even more itinerant and gypsy in nature than usual — resulting in a severe neglect of her blog. There was also a series of trials and tribulations plaguing the princess of late, none of which helped her to be settled down in any way, let alone muster the ability to post. We here at Wayward Princess don’t like to harp on the unpleasant but I a short summary of the last few weeks is warranted. (Don't fear, things turn around toward the end.)
- My May house-sitting gig evaporated with one-week’s notice.
- I was forced to impose upon my brother and his girlfriend (in their very small for three grown-ups apartment) for an extended period of time. There I slept on the floor of the living room and lived out of the coat closet and a small suitcase.
- I found through direct experience that while rentals in Portland are plentiful, rentals allowing 85-pound slobbering beasts, such as our dog Samson, are quite few and tend to be vile places.
- My Christopher didn’t get the great job with the great company he wanted.
- Memorial Day weekend I was banished to Fresno for Chris’ aunt’s wedding. It was 95 degrees and the wedding was outside, at 3pm, and with no shade. And there was no open bar. And it was FRESNO. And my flight back to Portland was delayed numerous hours getting me in around 1:30 in the morning with work the next day. AND IT WAS FRESNO!
- My car was struck with sudden, instantaneous and multiple problems amounting to $400. This was after I spent the entire evening stuck in traffic.
- And finally I woke up at 3:30am two weeks ago with the most excruciating pain in my neck. I was incapable of any movement and could find no position that was even slightly comfortable. I took my step-mom’s prescription muscle relaxers. They helped somewhat but made me feel even more depressed. My chiropractor was out of town for two weeks, no one was in his office at all for a week, my regular doctor was unavailable and I spent the next five days laying flat on my back doing nothing but listening to an audio book. I survived through the help of family members who brought me strawberries on which I sustained myself. I’m working a modified schedule now but still can’t lift or carry anything, or even be vertical for more than a few hours at a stretch. I’m also on an ibuprofen diet.
Though I am a princess, I rarely invoke my powers. It is the sort of thing one ought not abuse as overuse diminishes the powers while simultaneously eliciting various forms of resentment from those around. Besides, I’m not opposed to working hard, taking care of myself and dealing with my own problems. But there comes a time when a princess says, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
My edicts:
I WILL MOVE INTO A NICE APARTMENT ON JUNE 9th. This was May. I had no leads and had given up trying to find new ones. Helpful family and friends suggested I stay with them or try some particular neighborhood or find another house sitting gig. NO, I WILL MOVE INTO A NICE APARTMENT ON JUNE 9th. Then a place I’d really liked, but that had no availability, called me to say something would be coming available in June. We didn’t find out a specific move-in date until a couple of weeks before but I ended up moving in the day I left my final house-sitting gig – JUNE 9th.
CHRISTOPHER WILL GET THE JOB WITH APEX AND MOVE TO PORTLAND NO LATER THAN JUNE 23rd! This was about ten days ago. He then got set up to fly up for the day to interview with the company, was offered the job the next day and will be driving up here June 22nd or 23rd. He starts with the company a few days later where he will be working 6 blocks from our apartment and doing design work for an electric car engine.
So here I am, the brokest I’ve ever been, living in a very under-furnished apartment with a body that is only partially functional. But all is well. My car is fixed, my body is on the mend and my Christopher will be here in ten days. I’ll get to sleep next to him and smell him and have him with me every day. The pots and pans and knives and furniture and glasses and lamps and toothbrush holder and spatula and all the other 103 things we need to get will come later. I have a bed, a shower curtain, a microwave and Trader Joe’s around the corner. And with the summer solstice around the corner, who needs a lamp?
