No Call Yet
I’m waiting till 11 and giving the recruiter a call. My boss hasn’t been called by the employer yet.Premature Prep?
Beth & I are excited about getting down to Nashville but we still don’t have a green light. We’re like the annoying drivers that sit at red lights and creep past the line. We’re moving forward cautiously and waiting for the light to turn green. Yesterday Beth spent some time organizing our pile of wedding gifts we have been reluctant to open since we don’t have room for all of them in our current kitchen and we didn’t want to repack them if moved. I think moving slowly through our possessions will be less stressful than a packing session that resembles a 100 yard dash.
Last night we talked about how our furniture would fit into our new place and decided that the love seat, couch, and recliner won’t fit in the new living room comfortably. Instead of bringing half of the furniture down and then selling it in the future when we want something to match our apartment better, we’re going to sell it all in Carbondale along with some other items we haven’t needed or won’t need. At least that is what we decided last night. Things do change.
Apartment Hunt Weekend: Part I
Friday night us three started our evening around 8 with some supper. We were on our way to pizza on the strip and decided to eat at Mugsys on the west end of town. Both girls had been there before. They split a pizza and I had a delicious cheeseburger. This burger had a “scoop” of “cheddar cheese” on it. It was a red “cheese” that had a creamy consistency. The burger was formed by hand and the but was grilled. It is my favorite burger in town, even if I didn’t get the delicious battered fries. Then we watched a very disappointing Sex and the City. Don’t waste your time with it unless you are a fan.
We were up at 6 and in Panera shortly after 7 for bagels and sandwiches. I had Helen, the GPS, on occasionally on the way down. The Garmin receivers show you the actual time you should arrive and seeing that number makes me a little crazy. We made it just on time and had no problems finding the loft.
Werthan Lofts is a large, 1872 burlap bag mill that is being converted into lofts. The building we looked in was the largest and had the most units, all small one, maybe two, bedroom spaces. The courtyard of the property is on top of a parking garage and is started to be landscaped. There is a long pool that will be done within weeks and a bocce ball court. All units have a terrace overlooking the courtyard. The place is slick and no one can deny that. It is history and modern. It is ridiculously trendy. But…. the unit is small.
In fact “small” as the first thing in my mind when I walked in. We had seen pictures of the kitchen and the living area but there wasn’t a photo that showed the true size of the living area. It was a very small area that definitely couldn’t accommodate our couch, love seat and recliner. But I’m fine with cutting back furniture. Two people don’t need 6 places to sit. What I wasn’t keen with was the lack of storage. The kitchen had gobs of space but there wasn’t a broom closet you usually see in a kitchen. The only two closets were in the bedroom. One had a stackable washer and dryer that could accommodate brooms but the Floor Mate would be a stretch. The closet for clothes had bi-fold doors and wasn’t larger than the closet we have now. The unit has 14’ ceilings but the the bathroom had a typical ceiling height which made it feel small and cave-like. There wasn’t much space in it for a storage cabinet.
The whole place did have great security. All entrances are gated. All doors require a keycode. It was very nice. Beth really enjoyed the pool but I wasn’t sold on the unit or the overall vibe. The area around the block wasn’t terrible but it didn’t make me feel comfortable. There was Krogers across the store which is a plus and its technically in a great, tight neighborhood. There will also be construction going on for a while around the place as they continue to remodel additional buildings on the property.
Afterwards we drove over to the Farmers’ Market. It had some great produce and a lot of junk. I’m sure the food stalls and I would be best friends if I lived in the area.
We moseyed downtown for some eats. We parked and walked a few blocks to the Wildhorse Saloon. Nothing caught our attention before it so we ate there. The place is a massive with a huge dance floor surround by three stories. The food was damn good too. Beth & I munched on a pulled pork sandwich (she had fries and I had homemade chips) and Holly had a burger.
We saw another place which I will talk more about later. Hopefully.
Helen took us right to the hotel where we are now before our 5 o’clock showing. I can say that having Helen has made our trip today incredibly easy. I can’t imagine navigating downtown and finding these places. I pointed and laughed and a family I saw at a rest area that had a stack of printed maps from MapQuest. I remember those days! ;)
A Call, Not "The" Call
The recruiter called me and let me know that they are still checking my references (or maybe even haven’t started yet?) and I should have an offer on Monday. He sounded even more positive than the last time I spoke to him and said everything he could to reassure me short of saying “I have the job.” I can relate to his position because he certainly can’t promise me anything but he did say that my trip this weekend won’t be a wasted one and that I shouldn’t worry if I feel confident about my references.
So I’m going forward with the trip down this weekend, assuming I will have an offer on Monday. It feels dirty planning so much without an absolute answer.
I did find out that the other applicant I met that day “did not work out” and there isn’t anyone else. I also learned there is another position opening soon so I know that they are wanting to hire.
Now I need to call a few people in the ‘ville to set up more apartment showings.
Sleep Poison
I looked at the clock right before 6. In that short period of consciousness I had a handful of thoughts coming right at my head trying to rob me of my sleepy time.
“What apartments do you like? Why hasn’t Nashville called you yet? Will Beth get her job?”
Those thoughts invaded my head and brought me out of the deep sleep I was in. Damn thoughts… They’re like sleep poison.
Afternoon Haiku
Still no call for me I am ready to move on RefrigeratorAnother Interview
But this one isn’t for me! Beth got a call from a preschool in Franklin. The pieces are falling into place.Waiting to Pull the Trigger
I don’t expect to hear anything from Nashville till Thursday morning, mostly because the three day weekend had to set them back and I’m certainly not their top priority.
As soon as I get that call I’m going to purchase a GPS receiver. My two choices are the Garmin 350 and the TomTom ONE XL-S and I have went back and forth a couple times today. The Garmin is praised but isn’t widescreen and doesn’t have an advanced planning feature. Translation: I can’t get directions from A to B if I’m not currently driving from A to B. Having the ability to plan a route the night before in a hotel, for example, is very valuable to me. Both have text-to-speech capabilities and are within $5 of eachother. (TomTom is more expensive.) I’m leaning towards the Garmin this evening because of a better UI, smaller size, and assumed better screen quality.
Once that is ordered I will be making a series of phone calls and emails to set up some appointments for property tours. I’ve talked to a small handful of owners down there and I’m excited about getting a new, trendy place. We have found some places to accompany my original pick but I still love that first one. It’s biggest drawback is a July 3rd-ish move in date which puts us in a hotel for 2-3 weeks. Yuck!