We’ve been here at our new home in MA for 5 days and 4 nights now, so I guess I should say a little more than Sunday’s angry post about car insurance.

Some positive observations:

1. Our new apartment is much bigger than we expected. It’s a handicapped apartment (there were no disabled students this year and it happened that it fell to us) so it’s larger and has its own entrance. I didn’t realize that “own entrance” meant “entrance room”! Needless to say, we actually have a little room for an office, and every other room is fairly sizable. I’m quite pleased, other than the fact that I’ve found 3 spiders and a centipede also residing in the room.
2. So far, everyone we’ve met on campus has been very amiable. The housing office has been very helpful, and any random person I’ve run across has been pleasant and friendly. In fact, surprisingly, most people I’ve had the occasion to exchange a few words with off campus have been fairly congenial as well.
3. I had my first day of remote work today, and it was nice being able to stay up later, sleep in longer, and work from home.
4. Much to Calvin’s happiness, we did in fact find an Applebee’s, Friendly’s Denny’s, Outback (that was to my great relief), and several other chain restaurants that he had previously insisted didn’t exist up here. Unfortunately I doubt we’ll be able to actually afford to go out to eat anytime soon, but it’s nice to know they’re there should I feel the need to sin and be envious of those who can afford to eat at the Outback in Danvers.

Some negative observations:

1. As I feared, driving around here will take some getting used to. They have a whole set of rules unique to MA. For example, I observed yesterday the “5 car on red” rule. This means that if the left turn light is green and then turns yellow, and then turns red (as oft happens), up to 5 cars may proceed through the light after it turns red. I have also observed this rule on a right turn, but most frequently it appears to happen on a left.
2. The Wal-Mart here sucks. But, on the other hand, I’m secretly glad it sucks, because I never liked feeling compelled to shop at Wal-Mart, because I hated feeling like I was chained to its low prices and evil mega corporation ways. It’s almost freeing. Now I am a slave to Target, which does not suck here, but sucked very badly in Binghamton.
3. I still haven’t seen that crane in the pond out front by the entrance to GCTS. I think they put it there that first time we visited. I think they were like, “Release the crane!” because there were potential students on campus. I really liked that crane. I think I decided to go here because of the crane. I’d never seen a crane in the “wild” before. Can someone put the crane back?

Okay, I’m starting to go a little loopy. Can anyone tell I’ve been spending the last 5 days trying to get this place put into some semblance of order and get my life back together? In all seriousness, there are a few bumps throwing me off and finances are a concern, especially how we’re going to afford these migraine meds of mine without decent prescription coverage, but overall I’m just kind of trying to go with the flow and…well…faith, right?

I really do want to see that crane again though.

I just found out that Massachusetts is the only state in which Geico does not insure.

I love Geico. I have only good things to say about their customer service. I’ve had great rates. They’ve been wonderful to work with. Easy to transition when I got married.

I’m frickin’ pissed!

ADDED 9:28pm:

I just discovered out that pretty much no major insurance company insures in MA. It’s going to be a frickin’ pain in the butt to deal with the car registration/insurance process in the next month.

Ha! I always knew it. Hence, the category I created awhile ago that this is now in…Calvin, your turn!!

It’s hard to believe we have less than 1 week until we’ll be moved into our new place up in Boston. In many ways, I’m excited. It means the closer I’ll be to starting school again, and done with this moving business, and we can start settling in to the next stage of our lives.

On the other hand, I’m really really nervous. I’m beginning to sense the impending reality of budget shortfall encroaching on us. Calvin’s last day of work was today, and now he’s officially unemployed. Then, once we move, it’ll just be me and my part-time telecommuting job until Calvin can find something. Needless to say, our savings will begin to be depleted fairly quickly if he doesn’t find something in a reasonable amount of time. I can’t believe we’re doing this. I just hope and pray he doesn’t end up having to flip burgers somewhere just to make ends meet.

On top of that, the goodbyes have started trickling in. Though I don’t have a plethora of friends here, I have enough to make me realize how completely alone we’re going to be up there. In so many ways, we’ve never really “struck out on our own,” as we’ve been in this comfortable zone that we’re familiar with - where we went to college - for years. We know the area, we know the people, we know how to drive here. Even Calvin’s family has been relatively close by until recently. Now, we’ll be far from family, no friends, no familiarity at all.

Add to that, the stress of last minute moving details, and unexpected new things to deal with. In so many ways I still feel so young. I don’t know what a COBRA is. I had to ask my boss, who used to work in insurance before deciding to start an online business, to explain to me the ins and outs of this health insurance paperwork Calvin’s work shoved at us because of losing the insurance we get through Davis. It feels like something so stupid that every adult ought to understand and know about, but how am I supposed to if I’ve never dealt with it before? Sometimes I feel like I’m just bumbling my way through life, making stuff up as I go along, and hoping no one will notice and laugh. Granted, we have family a phone call away, but when the world around you is soon to be full of strangers, it seems so hostile.

Yet, I’ve moved enough times in my military brat life to know that it always settles down and you make new friends, you establish a new routine, you get comfortable, and life goes on. Even so, that was always under the protection and shelter of my parents. This is a completely different situation - and though Calvin and I got married, moved into on-campus housing, graduated, and moved into a local apartment - this is really “striking out on our own” for the first time.

I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m terrified, and I think once the move is over with I’ll just breathe a sigh of relief that no one dropped a dresser on their foot, blew out a radiator hose on the way over (or worse) or upset our new neighbors by being too noisy, and be ready to settle in to my new life.

An interesting read over at TallSkinnyKiwi on using offensive language.

Pay close attention to the 3 categories of historically offensive language: Premodern, modern, and postmodern.

Calvin is always bugging me about swearing, because I’m a prude who can remember using the “sh” word and the “f” word (as we used to call them in elementary school) once each in my entire life. I guess by TSK’s categories these would fall under modern offensive language, “harsher” forms of bodily or sexual functions. What can I say, my parents trained me well and I see no reason to start saying words I’ve never said before now just because I can.

On the other hand, I’m come to realize as an adult that words are just words and mean different things in different cultures. However, we should also give thought to the idea that offensive language changes with the times, and certain words just don’t hold the same offensive weight that they used to, while other words have moved into that category. What is it, after all, that makes a word a “swear word”? It’s offensive to people. There are certain words that TSK brought up that I would never consider using that my grandma may have without a second thought when she was little. I’m caught in somewhat of an intergenerational taboo because I was raised by a) Christian parents who are b) very modern and yet c) I also grew up in an increasingly postmodern world where other words were ingrained in me by the school system and the media to be wrong, as well to some extent by my parents who were smart enough to accept the changing society around them as they aged.

What this means is growing up, all three categories were off-limits, though the third less than others. The third became more off limits as I aged and became increasingly more a part of society myself, and the first two less off limits as I realized that they really weren’t offensive to quite as many people.

Still, while I may let loose the occasional idiom of “a snowball’s chance in hell,” just because I think it’s aptly descriptive of a situation, I felt the blog post was thoughtful in that as Christians, the most important thing to remember when it comes to words: is their offensive and hurtful power. The old saying may go, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” but we all know that it’s entirely false. We could use no “swear” words whatsoever, and yet deeply hurt someone, or we could drop a now benign word that our peer wouldn’t think twice about, but still offend a grey hair we’re in a conversation with. We say all things in love, never speak any word out of malice, spite, or hatred, sensitive to showing the love of Christ to all, ready to adapt to the situation at hand, giving up our verbage preferences temporarily if necessary.

Calvin showed me up yesterday by posting a sweet piece about our life together so far, so I just wanted to put my own two cents in! I really was going to say something yesterday on our 3 year anniversary, but it got too late by the time we were finished having a lovely evening together. He of course blogged from work, how he manages to do this I don’t know, I am working at work, not blogging…….

So Calvin surprised me with some beautiful flowers:

We watched Never Been Kissed, which is a cute movie, and then we snuggled and chatted over my favorite! the Strawberry White Zinfandel:

All in all, a lovely evening, and I’m looking forward to Sunday when we do our “big” celebration of the King and I and Outback (I’m guilty of the choice on this every anniversary so far - though Calvin insists he loves their chicken, he’s not a steak person, and I am - but I offer somewhere else, and he insists!).

As we’ve been packing, I’ve run across old letters that I used to write to Calvin in High School during boring classes or study hall (er…maybe that’s kinda like him blogging at work?). Even though we chatted online all the time, for some reason I insisted on writing snail mail letters just because I wanted to chat about absolutely nothing and make him a part of my day while he was so far away.

I’m so glad that you’re a daily part of my life forever now! There’s no one I’d rather be married to than my absolute best friend in the whole wide world, and I love you with all my heart Calvin!!

(For those of you unfamiliar with our history, I blogged it all down once here)

Valentine
by Jim Brickman

If there were no words
No way to speak
I would still hear you
If there were no tears
No way to feel inside
I’d still feel for you

And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
until the end of time
You’re all I need, my love, my Valentine

All of my life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You’ve opened my eyes
And shown me how to love unselfishly

I’ve dreamed of this a thousand times before
But in my dreams I couldn’t love you more
I will give you my heart
Until the end of time
You’re all I need, my love, my Valentine

And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
until the end of time
‘Cause all I need is you, my Valentine
You’re all I need, my love, my Valentine