/ General

The Best Laid Plans

And so . . . after my whole long diatribe about what I have planned for the summer the universe decides to switch things up on me and force me to change my plans. Now, the basics—considering my health, writing, and learning to be my “job” for the summer—?will remain in place. However, I was really hoping to have about 4 weeks to turn those into habits before heading to RI. Today, however, my living situation here got worse and I’ve decided to spend almost all of June in RI (with some weekend trips to Boston & Maine).

 The Backstory

Very quickly after I moved into my current apartment—a seemingly charming little cottage with the kitchen and living room on the ground floor and the bedroom and bathroom on the second—I realized that the people from what appears to be some kind of adult half-way house next door like to sit out behind their building and smoke. All throughout the day. And this smoke goes right into my apartment and there is only one window (my bathroom window) that can be opened without my apartment smelling of cigarette smoke.

I looked forward to rainy days precisely because they were the only days I could open the windows in my apartment without having to then shut them every thirty or so minutes. This did not a happy LtL make. Of course, throughout the winter and until recently, things weren’t too bad in my apartment, but now that it’s spring and not raining constantly, the fact that I cannot open my windows is becoming rather annoying and oppressive.

Yesterday

But I was going to deal with it until yesterday when the management of the building next door decided that what their tenants need is a large tent out behind their building so that they can sit out and smoke all day long no matter how strong the sun or if it’s raining. Oh. Fucking. Joy.

I’ve decided that the solution is just to get out of Dodge for the next month and then come back and move into my new place in the first week of July. While staying the next month with friends and family is not the ideal way to try to start new habits, it’ll probably be much healthier than spending my days pissed off and annoyed and my living situation and wanting to either a) flee my apartment for coffee shops or libraries all day long or b) shut myself up in my bedroom with the ac running all day long on any day that it’s even moderately sunny and warm.

The plan, then, is to wait until my application has gone through on the new place, spend some of this weekend and and next week packing and seeing a few people in the Pittsburgh area, then I’ll bus it to Philly or NYC for a day or two then bus it to Providence and then spend June bouncing between my folks house in South County and my friend Jen’s place in Providence . . . and trying to keep to my major responsibilities of writing and exercise and teaching myself Cocoa. Then I’ll come back to Pittsburgh on July 1, finish packing, and move on July 3. This shift in plans has already disrupted my schedule somewhat the last couple of days, although I am keeping up with my exercise regimen and did write 1000 words today.

So that’s the current plan. We’ll see if the universe throws me another curveball between now and next week. I’m sure I’ll let you know if it does. In the meantime, I’m practicing acceptance and flexibility. Or at least trying to. 🙂

On this day..