This and that... (aka "random")...

In case anyone is wondering, yes, I'm still around... I've just been crazy busy with moving plans. The movers arrive tomorrow morning to move all the heavy furniture, but in the meantime, we've been packing up boxes of clothes, dishes, pictures, books, etc., and moving them all over to the new place. As with every move, I am amazed by the amount of "stuff" I have... especially this time, seeing as we've been living in downsized square footage. How foolish of me to assume that we could move our entire condo in a day or two...

So, random thoughts, in no particular order:

I think I've only managed to squeeze in one workout on my treadmill in the last week. But moving boxes counts as exercise, right? And assembling giant IKEA bookshelves?? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that counts...

I'm worried about moving the cats tomorrow... I always feel guilty about forcing them into confinement in their little cat carriers. And taking them to a new, confusing place just adds insult to injury. Although once they get used to it, I think they'll be much happier in the new condo -- lots more room to run around.

We tried the Indian place down the block from the new condo -- Faisal and I somehow convinced Rick to try it. And, wonder of wonders, Rick actually LIKED it. In fact, I think Rick actually liked it a lot. Who could've seen THAT coming?? I had a much longer blog post planned to talk about our Indian food outing, but it'll have to wait a few more days until I have more time to write...

I need to go pack boxes, but here's one last reminder of what I'm leaving behind:

 

Mmmmm... lingonberries...

It was a busy (not to mention coughy, sneezy and achy) weekend here in Chicago. I spent much of Friday on the couch, fighting off the virus that took hold last week -- leaving me NO doubt whatsoever that I was in the middle of a bad cold (and definitely not allergies). Rick, meanwhile, spent most of the day at the new condo, overseeing the final Operation Update Condo projects. We've now had the hardwood floors refinished, new carpet installed in the master bedroom, carpet removed from the study and replaced with wood floors, and new paint in the entryway, study and bedroom.

Refinished floors (I know it's hard to tell from the pictures, but the floors look SO much better now than they did at first...).

New wood floor and red paint in the study...

This was the OLD bedroom carpet and paint (it looked even worse in person... the carpet was just... ick...)

And here's the NEW carpet and paint. And, from another corner of the room, you can see --

My purple accent wall!! Yeah, that's right -- I have a purple wall in my bedroom. Finally. (I don't even KNOW how I convinced Rick to allow a purple wall in the bedroom... I'm not gonna ask... I'm just going with it... :))

Anyway... these really aren't very good pictures -- I need to take some with my good camera, instead of my little point-and-shoot (which doesn't have a very wide-angle lens). But the good camera is still here at the rental condo, for last-minute skyline pictures...

Saturday brought more couch time, and then I drank my weight in Dayquil and forced myself to join Rick at the new condo to wait for a furniture delivery -- we got a new bed and a smaller kitchen table (we're going to keep the table we have now in storage, because it really is a nice piece of furniture... but for now, we're trying to downsize...). We paid for the delivery guys to assemble the bed, but we were told the table was easy to assemble, so we should save the money on the assembly and do it ourselves. Which brings us to...

Sunday, I woke up feeling MUCH better. (I am no longer convinced that this cold virus is determined to multiply to the point that it becomes an entity unto itself and can achieve world domination. No, on the contrary -- it shall be destroyed.) And since I was feeling better, we decided to take a little field trip out to the suburbs and visit IKEA. If you've never been to an IKEA, it is quite the experience. And this particular IKEA is even bigger than the IKEA we had back in Austin. It's like a giant home improvement warehouse maze, with Swedish meatballs in the middle. (Since I am part Swedish, I feel that I should appreciate Swedish food... yet in reality I find most of it rather unappealing... Although I DID think the bottles of sparkling lingonberry-apple juice they had at the register sounded pretty good...) We browsed through the kitchen remodel displays to get ideas for sometime down the road (we want to eventually redo the kitchen in the condo, but for now we'll make do with what we have...), and then we found the reason for our trip -- we bought two big bookcases to place along one wall of the living room. And like most of the items at IKEA, the bookcases were sold unassembled, and each bookcase was contained in FOUR separate boxes. Since we bought two bookcases, this meant eight big, cumbersome boxes that we had to wrangle into our SUV, drive back to our building, and then transport to the elevator and up to our condo. That was fun. Let's just say that we got in a good workout after that experience...

Fortunately, we had the presence of mind to NOT attempt to assemble the bookcases right away. But we did assemble the kitchen table. And it WAS pretty simple to put together... or at least it WOULD have been, had we not discovered that one of the table legs was defective. (Doesn't it always seem to work that way??) But I have to give credit to West Elm (where we bought the bed and table) -- Rick called them as soon as we discovered the defective table leg. And even though they were about to close, they told us to bring the table leg to the back entrance of the store and they'd exchange it for us, no problem. It made what could've been a really annoying issue much less annoying... plus we took a break to get dinner next-door at Epic Burger (where I always get the chicken... which, according to Rick, is much better than their burgers... so perhaps they should be Epic Chicken??) -- so everything worked out okay.

And now that I'm writing all of this, I realize I should've taken a picture of the finished kitchen table... but I guess I'll wait until the kitchen CHAIRS come in (they're backordered). And now that I've babbled on aimlessly for a while, I guess I should go find some stuff to pack up -- we have one more week of moving ourselves until the movers arrive!     

Various thoughts of a random nature...

Well, the verdict is in: it's a cold. Definitely a cold. Apparently my usually strong immune system spent about a week and a half fighting off this thing, leading me to believe that what I was dealing with was allergies. But some time last night, my tiny little white blood cells finally threw up their tiny little hands and said, "FINE. Go ahead and take over, cold virus." (So you are vindicated, Chicago -- I guess you have NOT been attacking me with allergens. Yet.) Should I be worried that this is the second cold I've had since moving to Chicago, and I normally go YEARS without getting a cold? Should I also be worried that RICK is usually the one who picks up the cold viruses -- not me -- and yet here I am with cold number two?? Oh well... (sniff sniff... sneeze sneeze... cough cough...)

We found out today that there were FOUR offers on this condo, and the people who will be renting it offered $50 more per month than what we're paying. They also have two kids, and they're going to be living in this little bitty condo. Obviously they are insane. Rick and I have been running into each other, and stepping on cats, and bumping into furniture the entire time we've been here. Of course, that could be partly due to the fact that we have huge furniture -- a king-sized bed, a big dining room table, and a giant sectional couch that pretty much takes up the entire living room (it was perfect in our media room back in the big house in Texas... not so great in a tiny urban condo living room...).

Speaking of condos -- they're working on replacing the bedroom/study floors in the new condo today. They're putting Pergo (or something similar) wood floors in the study, and new berber carpet in the master bedroom to replace the ratty, icky, dog-approved-but-human-rejected carpet that's in there now. And then tomorrow morning, the painter is coming to paint the bedroom, study, and entryway. Once everything is finished, I'll take some pictures of our new-and-improved abode...

Does anyone else think it's sad that you have to show ID to buy cold medicine now? I was even presented with a receipt that said, "stop teenage abuse of cold medicine." Is that the thing to do now? Drink a bunch of Nyquil just for the fun of it? Teenagers are so stupid... (I can say that because I used to be one. And even when I WAS a teenager I thought teenagers were stupid... :))

Well, my cold-addled brain is having trouble thinking of anything beyond, "where did I put my tissues??" So I'm off to drink a bunch of Nyquil just for the fun of it... kidding... just kidding. :)

Out with the old, in with the new...

So for the last week, my morning routine has gone something like this: get up, get dressed, get ready to leave the house; feed cats, make sure litter box is clean; Swiffer the floors if necessary (and it's necessary much too often); clean and dust counters and tables; make the bed; clean bathroom counter and mirror (which are inevitably splashed with water when Riff drinks from the faucet) -- all of this to make sure the condo is presentable for the parade of prospective renters we've had tromping through every day.

Well, this afternoon we got word that the condo has been RENTED! Perhaps partly thanks to my efforts to keep it clean... or partly thanks to the fact that we asked Riff to act extra cute when people were looking at the condo (at which point he promptly climbed into a laundry bag and took a nap):

But CERTAINLY thanks in no small part to this:

Ah, my view... I am going to miss you... Will the new renters appreciate you enough to photograph you every other day?? I think not...

But we're definitely getting excited about the new place. As I mentioned before, the guy we bought the condo from had two big dogs... they not only tore up the bedroom carpet (which should be replaced tomorrow), but they also scratched up the hardwood floors in the living/dining/kitchen area. They weren't so bad that we couldn't live with them, but we decided to ask our floor guy to refinish the wood -- which is much cheaper than replacing the floors. They sanded them down yesterday, and then applied a coat of stain today... Rick and I went by after lunch to check out the progress -- we couldn't walk on the floors yet, so we just opened the door and looked inside. The floors look AWESOME -- I can't believe how much of a difference just refinishing them has already made! It's got me very anxious to see the new carpet and paint that should all be finished by this weekend. So while I may not have the same view anymore, I think the condo itself is going to have much more personality than this place has. There are always pros and cons, right?

Anyway, I'm extremely glad this condo has been rented, since all plans have been up in the air lately and I haven't been able to stick to a routine. I haven't even been on my treadmill all week -- although we've been getting in plenty of walking every time we leave the condo for showings... plus, I seem to be coughing up whatever is left of my lungs, so perhaps I should go easy on the workouts right now...

In fact, maybe I should just take this time to enjoy the view, while I still have the chance... :)

Okay, Chicago...

Veeeeery funny.

You knew that one of the reasons I was looking forward to living here was because I could escape the myriad of allergies Austin threw at me every year. Finally, I would be free of the scourge that is "Cedar Fever," knowing that my winter would not be spent in frustrating annoyance; my itchy throat, scratchy eyes, and endless sneezes alleviated only by copious amounts of Benadryl. No, no -- cedar is practically non-existent here in Chicago, and is found only in the places it SHOULD be found: closets and hope chests.

But then you -- tricky, sneaky Chicago -- decided to blindside me with your OWN (and completely unnecessary, I might add) allergens. Grass? Molds? Random dust (as it DOES seem like my condo accumulates dust far more quickly than my house in Austin ever did)?? What are you aiming at me, Chicago??? And what did I ever do to you?

So now, as I sneeze and cough my way through spring, I'm wondering which is worse -- Cedar Fever, or Mysterious Chicago Allergen Malady...

Then again, this COULD be a cold. If that's the case, Chicago, you may disregard this message. But I'm suspicious. Highly suspicious...

And, by the way, random comment: Has anyone noticed that I've now surpassed both my 2009 and 2010 posting totals -- and we're not even halfway through the year?? (Nevermind the fact that half of those posts have been pictures of the Chicago skyline... they still count... right? :))

Please stop calling...

So remember the other day when I said that if this place doesn't rent, it's not MY problem, so I don't really care if everything looks perfect? Yeah, I take it all back... I care... I really, really care...

Our condo was officially listed for rent Tuesday night. Yesterday afternoon, the phone must've rung every half hour, with a realtor asking to book a showing. So far, we've had two showings yesterday afternoon (we took the opportunity to take some stuff over to the new condo) and one this morning (we went out to Caribou for coffee -- not a bad way to start the morning). We have two more this afternoon (so we'll be heading back to the new condo with more boxes), three (or four?) tomorrow (which means we have to be out from 10 until 4), and at least two on Saturday. I can't even keep them all straight. I also cringe every time the phone rings, because I'm certain it will be ANOTHER realtor who wants to bring a client by to see the condo.

Now, unlike our big house back in Texas, I don't mind this from a "constantly keeping things clean" perspective -- it's actually not difficult to keep 1100 square feet relatively clean most of the time. However, the seemingly unending disruptions are going to wear on my patience pretty quickly. Apparently there's a really hot condo rental market here in Chicago... back in Austin, we were lucky to average a few showings a week... but here, I can't even keep up with all of them... I keep forgetting when we need to be out of here. We did manage to put our foot down about one detail -- one of the showings yesterday was at 6:15... which meant we either had to eat dinner out, or have a really late dinner (we chose the dinner out -- there are just too many great places to eat in this city... :)). But we requested that a note be placed on the listing that says we will NOT accept any more showings after 5:00. Not to mention the fact that since Rick works from home, it's hard for him to just pick up and leave at any random time.

And this is all why, when the phone started its incessant ringing yesterday, I began to clean this condo as I've never cleaned it before. Because I'm just not sure how long I can stand vacating the premises four times a day when I have boxes to pack and laundry to clean and blog posts to write. So I take it back -- I DO care if this condo rents... in fact, I'd like it to rent IMMEDIATELY. Please.

And how could it not rent right away with a view like this???

And this morning's cloudy, slightly spooky non-existent skyline:

C'mon, skyline... THAT is not going to convince renters... :)

Progress...

Not MUCH progress, but we have managed to move a bunch of random stuff into the new condo. So far, we've been stacking everything in piles in the living room, because we have painters and floor people coming to paint the bedrooms and replace the carpeting, so we don't want a lot of things in the bedrooms just yet. The guy who lived in the condo before us had a couple dogs, who apparently scratched at the carpet quite a bit... not to mention the fact that there are several suspect stains in the carpeting. There's also a weird, textured paint on one wall of the master bedroom -- it looks like someone tried to be creative and paint willy-nilly splotches... but the effect is a little more "elementary school finger painting" than "designer paint scheme."

But even with our limited stacking space, we've been quite busy this weekend, packing up the car with as much as we can fit -- from this condo AND from our storage unit -- and hauling it down to the new condo. Since we don't have to be out of here until the end of the month, we're just moving in small increments at the moment... in a couple weeks, we'll have movers come to move out the heavy furniture.

I remembered to take my camera yesterday, so I got a few slightly better pictures of the new place.

This one is kinda dark... sorry about that... :)

Rick said the last "view" picture I look wasn't so great... but I'm not sure this one is much better... :)

We DO have a balcony, however, which is pretty cool...

Weird textured paint and ratty carpet in the master bedroom that needs to be replaced... (I only took this so I can have a "before" picture... so when everything is finished, I'll post an "after"...)

Living room area again -- Rick disassembled that TV stand in the corner today. When we first saw it, we thought it was made of metal and it looked pretty sturdy. But on closer inspection, we discovered that it was cheap plywood that had been painted silver. So it had to go...

And this afternoon, I discovered an Indian restaurant about a block away from our new place, right next door to a Starbucks -- double score!! Now all I need is a chocolate shop...

Sneak preview...

In case anyone hasn't heard -- we are officially condo owners! The closing yesterday took a little while -- it already takes long enough to plod through the two-foot stack of papers you're required to sign at a closing... but then once we'd signed everything, we waited more than an hour for the lenders to get back to us to say that everything was approved. Even though they supposedly ALREADY approved everything last week. Apparently they were concerned that we'd secretly run out over the weekend and bought another condo... or a couple cars... or a small private island in the Caribbean...

But eventually, everything was approved, we got our keys, and we drove to our new place with a few boxes of summer clothing from storage. Later, we took over some winter clothing from our rental condo, plus the very first piece of furniture to occupy our new space -- a coffee table that Faisal has been kind enough to keep at his place for the last few months (since our storage unit was completely full and the furniture in our rental condo is about to overflow into the street sixteen stories below...). We've decided that we might need a smaller car eventually -- our new garage is TINY... or, rather, the garage itself is quite big, but the driving/parking areas are very narrow. In fact, in order to maneuver our MDX through the garage, we have to make a three-point turn at one location. And in order to pull into our space, we have to drive uncomfortably close to the cement wall and then hope the mirrors clear the huge columns on either side of the space. Every time we park the car, I'll be holding my breath... Still, it's hard to justify buying a smaller car just for the parking garage... especially since our present car is paid off... and besides -- we hardly drive anywhere anymore.

So I've spent much of the day doing laundry, packing a couple random boxes, and cleaning our rented condo so they can start showing it soon for new tenants. I'm not sure why I'm spending so much time cleaning this place, seeing as we don't own it. To put it bluntly -- if no one rents it, it's not OUR problem. (I am a cold, callous person... :)) I have a feeling it has something to do with my recollection of when I first walked into this place back in December, when the obviously under-the-influence-of-something previous renter opened his door for us and then threw himself back on his couch to watch a game, while we wandered around the cluttered apartment attempting to avoid clothes on the floor and food on the counter. I've never viewed a condo for sale or rent that was left so unprepared for a showing. He hadn't even bothered to toss away his leftover pizza in the kitchen. Of course, as soon as I got a glimpse of the skyline view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, I was able to overlook the mess... :) But, since I don't want people walking in and thinking that the Worst Housekeeper in the World lives here, I've been busy cleaning up today...

I probably won't have any decent pictures of the new place until we're mostly settled, so in the meantime, here are a few poor-quality camera phone pictures:

Standing in the living room looking toward the kitchen...

Looking into the living room from the kitchen -- the guy who just moved out built his own corner TV stand thing. It was screwed into the floor, which means if we take it out the floor will be damaged -- but we really don't want to keep it there. Although the red sconce lights are kinda cool...

My new view... sigh... :) At least I still have part of the Hancock Building. One thing we quickly realized when we were searching for a condo was that it was very unlikely we'd find EVERYthing we wanted. We'd have to compromise on something. And this place fulfilled most of our wish list -- large square footage, open floorplan, tons of light, washer/dryer in unit... it even has a gas stove, which I prefer over electric. But we had to give up the awesome view. But don't worry -- I'll be sure to continue snapping pictures of the skyline for the next few weeks, so I'll have plenty of photos to browse through when I'm feeling nostalgic... :)