13 reasons we are happy to move

Friday the 13th! We had a Friday the 13th! I went on Facebook and did I read posts about axe murderers? No. Instead, my friends were saying, "Happy Programmers' Day!" This is a real holiday celebrated on the 256th day of the year. According to Wikipedia, the only country so far to make it an official holiday is Russia. So in honor of the holiday, enjoy some computer science humor:

High robbery

The day I discovered my bike was gone, there was a robbery at gunpoint. Four female undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University were walking in front of Lauren's old apartment at 11:30 PM and were robbed by two thugs with bandanas tied around their faces. The criminals escaped in their vehicle in the side street behind Lauren's old apartment building. Very scary indeed. It is a crazy city we live in. The street is currently under construction, and since the incident, flood lights have been set up along the entire block. The lights are on all night and both city and campus police have been patrolling the area. Our friend Emily, who still lives in the building, complains of the intrusive light during the hours of the night since it has affected her sleep.

First day of school

Here is my requisite first day of school picture.

Way to go, James! You are off to the 18th grade :)

Street parking

Our apartment building has limited parking. There is a pull-in loop that has three parking spots. There are two five-minute and two two-hour parking spots on the street. About a month after we moved in, we noticed that a rogue silver Chevrolet HHR had been sitting in the five-minute parking over night. Later it started to occupy a spot earlier in the evening and would stay there all night. This was very frustrating to us because many times we would pass up this prime spot (literally 20 feet from the front door) when it was open to park far away. Also, when we legitimately could have utilized the spot for unloading groceries, it would be taken because of the HHR. This car became a grumbling point. Then, the other day, a beautiful thing happened. An officer of the Parking Division of Baltimore City made a stop in front of our building, and she was writing tickets. As we walked past her on our way up to our apartment, we gave a wave and said, "Thank you, ma'am! Feel free to come back often" The HHR had a nice, fat fine of 32 dollars, and he hasn't dared to park there since.

The house

And here are some obligatory house update photos.

The side street where our garage will face. The two buildings under construction have sprung up lightning fast. Our building is the one on the left with the decks.

Home! Sweet home!

The color combo looks pretty slick if you ask me. It is hard to see it here, but the vinyl in the kitchen works great with the color scheme. The carpet is already in, and it looks awesome.

Our deck, though the smallest option, feels bigger than we had expected. Our outdoor light is already installed. How cute!

This week we will have a final demonstration and walk-through. Justin, our construction manager, has been awesome. We have made some special requests of him because we are using an outside lender. He has delivered on each point. He helped us with some home improvements. On other occasions he has calmed our fears that settlement will be delayed. Naturally, we are profusely grateful for his hard work. But how do you appropriately give thanks to a man who works construction and wears a hardhat? Give him a bouquet of flowers and a thank you card? It just doesn't seem "rough" enough. We will think of something.

In honor of Friday the 13th, here are 13 reasons we are excited to move.

1. Going from 400 square feet to 1400 square feet and three floors.
2. Getting a dedicated parking spot (our garage).
3. Cooking in a spacious kitchen with an island for bounteous counter space.
4. Having a master bedroom and bedroom set of furniture to make it pretty.
5. Relaxing on the deck in the evening with globe lights overhead.
6. Growing plants and herbs in particular.
7. Having an office with French double doors and a large window.
8. The fact that the clothes dryer expels its steam outside the house.
9. Being able to clean properly (there will be no clutter because everything will have a home, and there will be no cockroaches / mice / snakes to deal with)
10. Great neighbors in all directions all excited to be home owners
11. The beautiful courtyard in front of our house
12. Everything is new and is ours to own, not rent
13. Moving up ever so slightly in the responsibility and independence ladder of life.