Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Although the storm is coming, the tide is already turning.

I am moving to a small house by myself in Sept; the house is an interesting place. So quiet and loud, the roof makes a constant ticking sound I think that comes from it contracting or expanding under the heat of the sun; like your car in the driveway. Under a light rain makes a pleasant sound and under a heavy rain make an equally unpleasant sound. Made of cinder block with the tin roof, lacks electricity, water, and a complete floor (all cement but parts rock like icebergs protrude several inches). I can pass electricity with an extension from the land ladies house but water I will have to walk the 200 ft everyday. In a red plastic chair directly in the center, I sit in the cold-gray heat of the house fiddling with an old shop light trying to fix it. The house is void of all direct light and noise other than the ticking and the neighbors regeaton in the distance. I sit in the gray working to erase it, or at least make it a few shades lighter. The house seems to be empty but the longer I spent in there tinkering the more I realized it is a silent battle ground. A scorpion the size of half a PB and J sandwich, surveys the smooth surfaces of the slanting ceiling; silently sitting passing time until it is that to strike. I stand on a stack of plastic chairs to pass a electric cord from the one large room to one of two smaller side rooms a grass hopper as big as the other half of the PB and J sandwich catches my eye as it boldly stays put as I pass the cord centimeters away from it. I openly express to myself a desire to see the two halves meet. A prodigiously sized lizard sneaks over the wall and under the ceiling. In the same small room to which I am passing the cord lives a small host of bats, maybe twelve. They fly in circles around the room and into the larger room on and off the whole time I am there. I have been assured however that the bats are easily made to vacate by use of smoke “they just hate it” my future lady easily convinced me. So bats, scorpions, lizards, giant crickets? The thing you have to remember is that all these neat “throw ins” are pretty much par for the course anywhere in the boondocks, in fact my least favorite 'throw ins' are rats and I have yet to see one in my hopefully not so gray future. However my current house is quite comfortable in the way of water, electricity, and furniture: a lack of funds will leave me in the plastic chairs for a bit. So what does this palace cost? 30 bones a month. By the time I move in I will have been living under the direct care of a family for 7 months, and I truly loved my time with my families and will continue passing time with them while here. However I look forward to being the only one with veto power in my living space, possibly for the first time.

PS

I am also unreasonable excited about buying beans from one of the many farmers here. They're only 7 dollars for 20lbs that like 10,000 beans for a damn dollar!11!!!!one!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you'd better like beans, boyo!
Congrats on your first home ;)

Hannah Roth said...

Sounds great, Matt.

Unknown said...

matt!!
Im so excited for you about the beans! remember all that seltzer water you bought cuz it was on sale!! I might go to Columbia in Dec so It is a possibility that i will meet u wherever u r
!! love nico
nlebarge@gmail.com

Barry said...

Hi Matt, Sounds like you are not short of any company at your new house. Is there an Ikea near you?