Debdeb's moving day

Today I helped my baby sister, Deborah, move into her new place. It was your typical moving day–uneventful. Let me just describe the new hotness of a house she’s moving in to.

It’s on a hill, overlooking much of the East Bay. About an acre of land. There is a nice chicken wired-in garden area, a greenhouse replete with irrigation and timer. There is a waterfall in the back yard. It’s perfect for the dogs.

The house proper is one story, and it is simply awesome. There are four bedrooms, an office, a laundry room, a huge studio off to the side, living room with fireplace, HUGE dining room, full kitchen. Hardwood floors everywhere. Vaulted ceilings, stained pine beams. Wood wood and wood. Walk in the front door, and you have a long, clear, unobstructed view to the back of the house. Built-ins everywhere. Beautiful cabinitry. Modern appliances. Lots of windows, and lots of wonderful natural light. Older house, 1960s style. It’s awesome.

She’s going to live there with 3 of her good friends. They all get along, same age, like to party and have fun. One roommate will make full use of the of the greenhouse *winkwinknudgenudge*. The other male roommate likes to brew beer–he has some serious equipment. I’m talking 50 something gallon stainless steel baddass stuff.

They are musicians and actresses and pet owners and single and fun lovers and I could go on and on. What a party pad that’s going to be! I am sooooooo jealous, and sooo very happy for her. It’s a complete 180 compared to her old living situation.

Yay Deborah!

Lanfear

It’s funny how absolutely clueless some older folks can be when it comes to technology. My parents are two such people.

My mom has had a cell phone for just over four years now. The only things she knows how to do on it are: dial a number and call, answer a call. That’s it. She doesn’t know how to check her voicemail. She doesn’t even know how to use the built-in address book. So each time she wants to make a call, she has to manually punch in the number every time and press ‘send’. In fact, she took an old index card and wrote her important numbers down on it, and then scotch-taped it to the back of her cell phone. Funny, huh?

Today my dad decided that he needed a new cell phone. Not because he wanted the new coolness, oh no. He needs a new phone because, like me, he is practically deaf–the phone he has now is not very loud. He also wants a phone with better reception. I suggested he get rid of his old Nokia (4 years old at least) and get a phone with a protruding antennae, like a Motorola. He looked at me with this profound sort of look of both confusion and fear. The thought of him having to do these things by himself, well… He practically begged me to come with him down to the Cingular store today. I knew I’d have to choose the right phone and do all the talking with the salesperson, but I don’t mind. It’s a nice chance to spend some time with my old man–and I love technology anyway, so it wasn’t so bad.