On Bettering a Good Address

Well, it took me a long enough to reach this destination, the place I now call my GA.

But last night I removed the last small box from my old studio in Pioneer Square, dropping off my keys. And that was when I could honestly say I'd stopped moving and had moved. From Pioneer Square to First Hill...from the Tooney to the toney part of old Rain City.

Soon I'll post some photos of the hardwood floors, my first writer's desk and the wide open spaces. 

Today I want to toy with thoughts of the shifting that I feel within me.

On all fronts I want my life in harmony with my GA: a fusion of confidence, brio and boldness. I want these three things in my writing, my work, my promotional tacks, my relationships.

Speaking of work, for example...Why am I working for less than I'm worth? And where can I find a position that gives me more funding for ads? Quality of life: how can I get weekends off and holidays with pay?

From the GA an endless chain of linked thoughts commences. And here's the tune I have in mind:

Movin' to a Good Address

Now, after 3-1/2 years in Seattle, I get to re-enact my cross-country moving adventure, in a move of just 2 miles at roughly twelve times the speed.

I'd been by the logistics of moving for months. The biggest challenge: how to avoid paying full rent on both places for a month. forAt last, I gave notice on my present place on 3/10 with nothing for certain lined up. This was a huge gamble but one that paid off. For on 3/12 I learned that a studio had opened up in my first choice building. The price was a bit higher than I'd expected and I'd have to move in within 14 days of approval--in this case, by 3/26.  But the place was perfect in all other ways:
--Top floor studio with hard wood floors and a view...plus a closet big enough to serve as my first office ever.
--Great location--a real Good Address.
--Amazon-style lockers for deliveries.
--Vast laundry machine with payment by credit/debit card.

To reach my goal, a steely triad was the sine qua non: the need for razor-sharp focus...speed...and strategic thinking.

Here's my progress so far with the triad.
1) Movers: post notices at work and in the building lobby. Offer $100 plus bonuses if they show on time and don't break my Kenneth Cole standing valet.
2) Boxes: research led me to Frog Boxes and a phone call cinched the deal. At a reasonable cost I'm having 15 large plastic totes delivered to my present address on 3/21, then picked up on at the new address on 3/28. These will be sturdy and uni-sized, easy for movers to stack on dollies...and easy for me to pack in an organized way. 15 totes will be more than enough, since I've already boxed all my books and DVDs.

3) Furniture: recently, I bought a good used desk and bookcase in advance, knowing they might both be gone when I moved. Today I'll scope out a few other basics at the same place--and pay to have them delivered on the day I move.

And this is why I've been absent from this blog for so long. For New Year's I decided: 2018 was the time to come out swinging on all fronts, beginning with a long-time dream of a writer's office.

And mine will look something like this in good time.

On the Move Again

Some dreams take longer than others, as you already know. 30 months ago, I escaped from Charlotte, with a purple trunk and four boxes on board a cross-country train. Destination: Seattle.

My dreams: a studio or apartment in Capitol Hill

and a job at the Elliott Bay book store.

Things didn't go quite as planned. To get my feet, I took a studio in the 'historic'--old and sketchy--part of town known as Pioneer Square.

And, no job offer from the bookstore, I worked at a couple of loser jobs before finding an okay one in...Capitol Hill. Terrific, except for a couple of things: I'd grown tired of seeing throngs of Walking Dead homeless and drug dealers in Pioneer Square. And my workplace is moving to Renton in late August--a three-hour round-trip daily commute.

The time had come for action--the all-out, full-speed, damn the torpedoes kind.

1) At work I learned from a coworker of a studio just a few blocks from the office.

2) I viewed it and decided to take it the next day, though it's a few hundred bucks more than I've been paying. I could make up that difference, I figured, by no longer using Uber.

3) I completed the online application.

4) I reapplied at Elliott Bay Book Company, this time handing the application to a manager.

5) I gave the necessary 2-week notice on my month-to-month studio.

6) I began checking online for cheap but well-reviewed movers.
7) I started scrapping all furniture and furnishings except for the best of the best.

And on and on and on. Before the move to Seattle, I'd needed six months to pack and prepare. This time I have just a couple of weeks. 

Next up: a new job in Capitol Hill.

It's good to be back in action again.