Getting My Geek On In Homeowner Hell

What to do?

What to do?

How to do it?

There’s the rub.

Folks (both of you) who follow my life on Facebook, twitter, or my daily blog might recall that I’m in the midst of the Very Special Hell of new home ownership.

It’s the main reason why I’ve missed a couple of weeks here and why my daily blog has been on a two-week hiatus.

New home owners don’t need an explanation as to why.

There’s the moving.

The set-up.

Minor but immediately necessary repairs.

Unexpected expenses.

Frequent trips to the old haunt to get more stuff and do the proper clean-up.

Like I said, the Very Special Hell.

I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.




When all is said and done, I’m very happy with our decision to buy a house and all that goes with it, but the work is long, the sleep is short, and the challenges to making sure I still have time for my paying freelance work is daunting. On top of this I’m trying to launch a line of graphic novels. Oy, the work.

And where in all this do I find time to geek out?


Well, it’s a challenge, I tell ya. I have a couple of books waiting to be read and reviewed sitting on a counter new my new back porch beckoning.

Who has time to read?

Like all good geeks, I have the requisite media players and game machines—all currently in various states of placed-near-the-TVs-but-not-yet-set-up.

But who has time to enjoy?

Even the banjos and other instruments are in a closet until I get the music room set up.

Well fun is where you find it. And all work and no play makes Jack spend too much time shopping for knives at Bed, Bath & Beyond. And we can’t have that.

Fortunately, I’m pretty good at amusing myself.

The iPhone.
It really is like having a small god in your pocket. Not only do I have all my music here, but up-to-date downloads of my favorite podcasts and even some purchased video entertainment.

Portable as all hell and with a decent speaker means I don’t need earphones or clunky speaker adapters.

Setting up shelves in the basement and need my tunes?

No prob.

It keeps me up to date on e-mail, facebook, and twitter. News. Comics. eBooks. Doing another trip to the old apartment to put out some trash or pick up a box of books? Got the iPhone to keep me sane.

Man, did I really consider life before the iPhone living?

Silly me.


FiOS.
This took a day to install, but it was so worth it. Three TVs, one on each floor, and I get my Turner Classic Movie fix on. I get my Red Green Show at night, my Boomerang and Cartoon Network 24/7, a fishing channel, and BluehighwaysTV. I may not have had time to load up my DVD players or get my Netflix via the Xbox, but I have my On Demand selections and hundreds of channels for background as I work.

Hardware Stores.
Lowes, in particular, has become a favorite.

Good thing, too, as I always seem to need a certain set of screws or extensions for the dryer hose or something to fix a leaky pipe. Somewhere along the line, Lowes became cheaper than Home Depot, and their service (at least around here) is loads better. But really, any kind of hardware store will do now. I find myself browsing for tools—not something I’ve ever really done before. I understand those tool geeks a little better now.

Do I buy the expensive drill? Or the cheap drill with the full set of bits? Quality? Or a complete set?

The geeks quandary. (The actual answer is to by a complete set for the expensive drill, but every penny counts right now.)

I have visions of me constructing a pegboard arrangement for my tools.

Cooking.
Fun is where you find it. After years trying to cook meals with a combination of toaster ovens, electric grills and microwaves in a house where running more than one at a time would trip the circuit breaker, having a real stove and a real kitchen is a real boon. Now I’m making herb-roasted chicken, good corn bread, ryes, stir-fried vegetables, clam cakes, the works. I like to cook, but was frustrated with the limitations at our old place. Now I have room to stretch my cooking options. After a long day of setting up house, and catching up on freelance—nothing relaxes me more than making up a nice meal and sitting and eating at an actual kitchen table.

I know. It sounds like I’ve been living in a cave these past few years. It wasn’t that bad—but I think I’m done with apartment living.


Getting the hell out.
All work and no play—yadda, yadda, yadda.

Sometimes it’s important to just say, “Time for a break. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

And then it’s coffee with friends.

Or sitting in at a session with my banjo.

Or hitting a clam shack for some real Rhode Island clam chowder (the clear stuff).

Or goin’ fishing.

Cheap stuff. But necessary.

As I wrap this up, I look at my To Do list and consider all that is still left to do this week.

But I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and as equilibrium is reached, I’ll find more time for proper geekery like books, movies, games, and more. And more interesting things to write about here as I get my reviewer groove back on.

Now if y’all will excuse me, I have a DVD shelf to set up before bedtime.


Cheers!