We arrived in Phoenix today shortly after noon after a short, but beautiful, ride from Flagstaff where we spent the previous night in one of the most horrifically shoddy hotels I'd seen in a long, long time. (These hotels are instantly recognizable by the urge to put surgical booties on your, your family's, and your pet's feet before allowing them to walk around "barefoot" on the floor.) We arrived at our new home, and were pleasantly surprised both with the apartment and the area given that we'd rented sight-unseen. I had called on Thursday from a muggy truckstop in Payson, UT to set up our power account for the day of our arrival. Upon completing said arrival, however, we were disappointed to discover that the power wasn't turned on, and that some sort of dispute over work completed by a contractor nearly two months prior, the power company had failed to find the job completed in a satisfactory fashion, and would not turn on the power until one of their inspectors was satisfied. Despite frantic calls from both myself and our harried property manager contact, the power remains off at this very hour.
Joe and I managed to move most of our things into the house (larger furniture aside) despite the crippling heat made even heat-ier due to the change in elevation to which we are still adjusting. Since our central air is, unfortunately, not gumption-powered, we took frequent breaks to sit in our air-conditioned car and drink loads of water. We're hoping to rejoin the twenty-first century tomorrow, though! An additional bonus to the change in elevation seems to be that Joe's trademark asthmatic wheeze was nowhere to be found today, even after several hours of lugging all our worldly possessions around.
Beyond the initial disappointment of being unable to wake up in my own bed tomorrow (my landlord owns a hotel and is putting us up until the matter is resolved), I think I'm going to like it here. It will certainly be an adjustment simply to get used to the amount of people and the pacing, although the interstates that run through Phoenix are no where near as scary as those through Salt Lake. I'm excited by the variety offered up by the Phoenix-area food scene, complete with several Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants. (I heart falafel.) We have World Market, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods at our disposal. (I heart cheap, classy decor and groceries I can't find in Idaho Falls, ID.) My mother arrives early tomorrow morning to help get us set up, and undoubtedly to scrutinize our choice of living arrangements, but she assures me that's just what mothers do. I hope to have the townhouse somewhat put together in the next few days, and will post pictures then.
The questionable hotel mattress is calling to me -- begging me to give it a rest already. And I can't say that I disagree. Bed sounds good. My bed sounds better, but this one will do for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment