I Live in a Haunted House

À propos for Halloween.

Last night, Joe was transferring his laundry from the washer to the dryer, when he noticed a little message from our landlords written in the laundry closet. We don't know if it was directed to us, the previous tenants, or just tenants in general. Anyway, it went something like this:

"It's so awesome that you're living in our house...and by the way, the living room is haunted with a she-ghost. Harmless but sneaky*...."
*The was some controversy as to whether or not it said "sneaky" or "freaky." But as 2/3 of us thought it said "sneaky," I'm going with that interpretation.

Whoa! I had been sitting downstairs by myself studying. After we discovered this, I hightailed it upstairs and went to bed. It was nearly midnight, after all. Prime ghost time, if you ask me!
I had been noticing something funny: There's no overhead light in the living room, but some outlets correspond to switches, so if we plug in lamps to those outlets, turn them on while the corresponding switch is in the on position, then we can turn all those lamps on and off using the switch instead of the individual lamp switches. So that's the plan. But whenever I come home at night, the whole lamp routine has been screwed up, and the switch won't control them, so I have to re-set everything up. I figured it was one of my roommates who had been turning the lamps off from the base, because they forgot or something.
But I asked Joe if he had been doing that, and he said no. So maybe the ghost has been horsing around with our lamp setup! (Well, either the ghost or Liz, I haven't asked her yet. But it would be much more exciting if the ghost did it.)

Our house is exactly 100 years old. Probably lots of exciting/weird/creepy things happened there over the years. I think it would be so interesting to research it, find out what it looked like back then, what the neighborhood was like (it was a farmhouse, maybe there used to be a barn?), who lived there, how it was furnished, etc. But I wouldn't know where to start looking.

In the meantime, check this out, I found it on Peppermint Creek's blog: Super Creepy Historic Halloween Costumes.

The Autumn I Always Hoped For

Every fall, I hope to do cozy fall things, but in the past, it's never worked out, I'm not sure why. Maybe my friends were feeling like party poopers or something. A couple years ago, for example, I drove out to Hood River all by myself, exploring the Fruit Loop, a beer festival, and picking out a pumpkin. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but come on! By myself? How sad is that?

But that's not the case this year! Over the weekend, Liz organized an outing to the Corn Maize on Sauvie Island, which was a-maizing (heh), and tonight we're all going to carve pumpkins. Yay!
Best of all, we're going to do Thanksgiving at our house this year. Normally, I just go to my parents' house, but Liz (who's from Austin) and Joe (from Boulder) aren't going home for Thanksgiving, and we have a huge house, so we all thought it would be a lot of fun to put on our own Thanksgiving. My parents and various orphans will be joining us. I'm really excited!

Crisis Averted

The kitty is supposed to stay inside until he's acclimated to his new home, which means that we need to make sure not to leave the doors open.
Liz was about ready for bed when she realized she didn't know where Tim was. She checked the whole house, but he was nowhere to be found. Uh oh. There was a lot of in and outing yesterday, as the trash needed to be put by the curb. What if he had snuck out during the 5 seconds the door was left open?
Liz begins to give up, Joe and I start looking in nooks and crannies. Just as Liz is about to retire for the night, we hear a yell from the basement: "Found him!"
Tim races up the stairs into Liz's room with a look on his face that tells us he knows he's been naughty.
He was hiding in the basement. Yes, Liz had already looked there, but it took a scary newcomer like Joe to rouse him from his hiding place.
What a relief.

Injuries, Fog, and Eventual Organization

So we moved in Sunday, and in spite of complaining, text-messaging movers, everything went well. But the entire downstairs was covered in boxes, to the point that it was difficult to walk, and the first night I cleared a path to the cereal cupboard and coffee maker, but other than that, the kitchen was pretty much unusable. I had no idea where most of my stuff was, including vital things like fish food and medications. Not knowing where my things are stresses me out.
But.
But, I have awesome roommates. Joe unfortunately tried to chop his thumb off yesterday at work, but that meant he got to stay home the rest of the day. With the aid of magical Vicodin, he decided to get down to business organizing the kitchen. He was in the midst of that when I left for school last night.
Arriving home, Joe and Liz were seated in our cozy little "Reading Nook" chatting. Hmm. Things were looking a little better. Then I walked into the kitchen. HOLY CRAP!! Everything was put away! I could see the countertops and stove! It was amazing. I guess when Liz got home from work she joined Joe, and the two of them really got busy, and the results were miraculous. Thank you so much! Seeing that made me feel much better.
I still don't really know where a lot of stuff is, but that just takes time. But this morning, the kitchen was so clean that I was able to boil over my cream of wheat and make a big mess. I will clean it up this evening, I promise.
Yesterday, I discovered that driving from home to school takes much less time. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my computer with me to school, so I didn't have any of my notes, and was too tired to pay attention very well. But I'm on top of things today (I hope).
I still feel a little out of it, as in some box somewhere, I have some bills to pay, movies to watch, and my calendar to locate, but maybe tonight I will conquer that problem. Also the TV and stereo aren't set up, so I can't watch the weather report.

Driving to work was kind of fun this morning: it was very foggy, so I actually got to use my fog lights, and I found a more efficient route, and James Bonded a bit to the timing of The Killers. I also slept well last night.

It's starting to feel like home, and having roommates kind of forces me to be my better self. I think living with people is better for you.

We Got the House

So Liz, Joe, and I are the proud new inhabitants of a 1908 farmhouse in SE Portland. We move in next weekend (yes, that fast). It has 4 bedrooms and two full bathrooms, a huge kitchen, and a nice backyard. Pictures might appear after we're all moved in and settled.
Yay! I'm excited.

Everyone's Too Busy

I noticed lately that a lot of people are having trouble managing things--myself included. There's just too much to do! Some people are having quarter (or third, as the case may be) life crises: Alex, Andrea, re-evaluating what they want to do with life; or trying to make up for not acting out when they were younger; or being unsure what the next step will be, because it seems like it will inevitably be HUGE, and they're not sure if they're ready for it.
Bruno is adjusting to working full time, and trying to figure out how to upgrade things.
Me? No third-of-life crisis; I think I've figured out what I want, now the problem is having the patience to wait for it. To say that I am not a patient person might just be the understatement of the century. I am just overwhelmingly busy. Right now, I am trying to manage working full time, going to school every night, finishing my homework, finding a new place to live, keeping my apartment clean, having time to eat real food & simultaneously lose weight, seeing my friends for a millisecond, and maybe sleeping once in a while.
"So how," you ask, "do you have time to write this blog?"
My answer: I'm home sick.
Yes, everything came to a crashing halt, but I'm welcoming it. Realizing that I kind of felt ill was a relief, because it meant that I could stay home from work, get a decent night's sleep, and do my homework without rushing or slipping it in on the sly. Yes, my head hurts. Yes, my throat hurts, but it's worth it. Isn't that sad? Being happy I caught my classmates' or neighbor's cold because it meant I would have a brief reprieve?
Whatever. I'll take what I can get.
I think once I move things will be a little easier. I won't be solely responsible for a household. That should take some pressure off.
Oh, yeah, and I won't have to drive endlessly around the block looking for parking. That should save some time and consternation as well.