I am now in my new apartment in Veneta, Oregon. Up until a year and a half ago, I did not know Veneta existed. I applied to waitlists at several affordable senior housing facilities around the Willamette Valley. All I wanted was something affordable not in Portland. Veneta came up first.
Veneta is a small town. I have not yet discovered with my own feet how small it is. I just got here yesterday. However, judging by Google Maps, this place is miniscule compared to other places I’ve lived, namely Portland, Los Angeles, Tucson, and Scottsdale. I hope I like small town living. More to be revealed on that issue.
I pulled the mattress out of my car. I guess you could call it a mattress. It’s a 2-inch thick slab of foam rubber, 72 inches long and 24 inches wide. That is not much of a bed for the back of a minivan, but its true inadequacies are apparent when the mattress is on a cold hard floor. Warm air rises, cold air sinks. The heater works, and it’s got a flap to point the warm air downward, but I’m guessing I’d be a lot warmer if I got bunkbeds and slept on the top bunk.
The kitchen style is tiny galley. The stove is missing two burner rings, but the two remaining burners work. One has something toxic on it, and the stove fan does not work, so that leaves one small burner. (Really, how many burners does a person need?) The other major component of the kitchen, the fridge, is doing a yeoman’s job of chilling a box of soymilk and one remaining apple. Are fridges supposed to sound like a babbling brook when they are running? It’s kind of like having an intermittent indoor water feature, without the water.
The toilet hasn’t clogged so far, so that’s good news. However, I’m sad to report, the apartment is not equipped with a bathtub. I wasn’t surprised to see a huge fiberglas shower, complete with handrails. This is senior housing, after all. You get what you get when you are old and poor. I’m surprised there aren’t grab bars around the toilet. The shower turns on, and the water gets hot (I have my own water heater!), but I don’t have a shower curtain, so I’m sponging in the sink.
No bugs to speak of, just a couple spiders and the desiccated carcass of a miniscule slug. Don’t ask me how the thing got in here, I don’t want to know.
I have a back patio. It’s not huge, but it’s big enough for a patio chair. I will get morning sun next May if I’m lucky. The AC/heating unit releases its condensation across the concrete to the grass. I expect the pavement to be etched soon, if it isn’t already. On the bright side, if the water ices over, the critters in the backyard can use it as skating rink. There are critters. I know this because there are several piles of critter poop on the patio and one pile on top of the AC/heating unit. It’s not cat, dog, or coyote poop. Could it be raccoon poop? The piles remind me of duck or geese poop. I can’t imagine my patio was visited by a duck or a goose, but who knows? Something pooped back there, and it wasn’t me. I’ve only been here a day, though. Give me time.
I’m relieved I didn’t put my camping table in storage. My office area consists of a camping table, a $9.99 Walmart camping chair, and essential office supplies scattered on the floor around me. Besides my floor mattress, these two items are my only furniture. I have another camping chair in storage, and it’s a nice one, let me tell you. However, camping chairs suck as office chairs. I will be making some trips to thrift stores in Eugene next week.
Moving is hard. You know this, we’ve all moved at least once in our lives. It’s stressful to pack and schlep, even if you have very few possessions. I have PTSD from the move from Portland to Tucson. Downsizing, giving away so much, and still moving so much crap I thought I could not live without. Then the ultimate downsizing challenge, moving into my car. And I still have too much stuff, hence, the storage unit. I am loathe to start accumulating stuff again. Furniture, kitchen appliances and supplies, clothes, dishes, books . . . my heart rate speeds up just thinking about it. I dread the next downsize.
Some of you will sleep better knowing I am now housed in a place with heat and running water. I’m not, but I am glad you are.