Staying in Albuquerque
Well folks, we’ve decided to stay in Albuquerque for a few more years. We’ve moved out of the apartment, which has improved my impression of the Land of Enchantment quite a bit. It was no secret that I hated the apartment and it was extremely hot, and there was no yard for the dogs. Our new house has a yard, and A/C, and we’re quite comfortable here. I’m starting my own photography business and hope to be busy with that very soon. You can check out my website at http://hotchkissphoto.com/. Let me know what you think, I’d love some feedback! Anyways, below are some pics of the new house. If you need our new address, email us!
Doing the right thing…..?
As some of you may know, since living in Albuquerque we have endured (enjoyed?) living above one of the strangest people I’ve ever encountered. To say she’s been difficult would be putting it mildly. To say that she is mentally unhinged would not begin to describe her personality. Since moving into the apartment on Antigua in April, we’ve had a number of run-ins with this woman. Our very first encounter happened while we were unloading the U-Haul on our very first day in Albuquerque. To be more exact, she made her first appearance while Sam attempted to back the U-Haul into a parking spot near our stairs. What unfolded from there was as follows: the whole run down on how awful the complex that we hadn’t even finished moving into yet was, her complete medical history and her self-proclaimed pathetically small and ever dwindling family tree. And she was currently being audited. Oh, and at some point in there we met her suicidal cat, George Burns (whom she chases around the parking lot- he, dodging sprays and her overall wrath by sprinting underneath the parked cars, her, with a spray bottle and screaming “you get back in there, George Burns, you get back in that house right now!”). Why she takes her cat with her to Costco is beyond my comprehension. Why she believes that if she just opens the car door, he’ll run towards her apartment is just silly.
We had multiple run-ins with her from this point on. Some good, some bad. Some really really bad. She made various complaints to the management that we “lived too loudly”, followed by a request to not walk in our bedroom during the day because we make too much noise. She threatened to call the police over the Summer because a friend’s swimsuit top that had been drying in the sun on the balcony had blown off and fallen to the rocks below her bedroom window and Sam was trying to retrieve it as carefully and quickly as possible. We’ve since learned that she is on a great deal of medication and depending on when she last took this medication, she could be really nasty or really nice. At first, I took great offense to her attacks since I had always considered myself to be a kind, considerate neighbor who can get along with just about anyone. It made me pretty angry and hurt. And nervous since I didn’t know what was coming next and if it would somehow reflect badly on our rental history. I didn’t like that the Tierra Antigua Management staff always reprimanded us for stuff we were NOT doing without asking us if any of her accusations were true. She even went so far as to say that we (two non-smokers) had somehow thrown a cigarette butt down into her covered patio and burned her furniture….?? And all of this happened while we were in Boston. A nasty letter from management was waiting for us when we returned from our trip, exhausted from travel, reprimanding our carelessness and reminding us of the dangers of smoking and correct cigarette disposal. Gee, thanks, that will surely come in handy.
One rainy day in October, Sam and I returned from the gym to find our dog, Izzy, on the landing. Soaking wet and barking at our neighbor, who was to her credit, frantically trying to catch Izzy by enticing her with a milk bone. She saw that we were pulling up and said that she tried to make Izzy safe. Izzy had jumped through our second story window, survived the fall and had been prowling around making mischief for at least an hour and a half. That night really made me think. I have since realized that we are dealing with a mentally unstable woman who is basically alone and very lonely. I’ve really tried to make amends with her, understanding that it’s important to just play along with a crazy person who has no real grip on reality. I began treading lightly when seeing her in passing, and trying to make friendly small talk with her while still escaping to the safety of our second story apartment. She often offered our dogs treats when we would return from a nice walk. One day, to really cement the peace that I thought might be growing, I accepted her offer of treats for the dogs. I waited while she excitedly ran into her apartment and returned with two big milk bones, one for each pup. She made them sit, gave them the treats and then showered them with a lot of love. An animal lover–finally, something we have in common.
Now when I see her, I don’t dread it as much. I still get a little nervous because you don’t know what kind of day it’s been for her. I let her see the dogs and chat with her for a minute, and Sam usually knows to fabricate an excuse to get me up the stairs and away from being stuck there too long. I try to commiserate with her about the crappy maintenance & management at Tierra Antigua. I think it’s just better to agree than fight a pointless battle with someone who can’t understand. The next time she feels we’ve been too loud, I’m sure I’ll just apologize. In this situation, I have to understand that I have the intellectual upper hand, and it’s my duty to extend patience and kindness to her–someone who has not lived the privileged and pretty great life I have led with a wonderful family surrounding me.
This morning before leaving for work, at her doorstep I dropped a tin of cookies I made last night and a Christmas card. Hopefully she won’t think we’re trying to poison her and will feel included and thought of during the holidays which can be pretty lonely for someone who has no one. And I really hope she’s not allergic to peanuts!
Happy Holidays, everyone! Please give someone who needs it a little love this year. It could be the best gift you ever give yourself.
Becky
Filed under Becky, What's new? | Tags: good news, Holidays, home, neighbors | Comment (0)Settling In
It’s been two weeks since we opened our office and things are looking good. We are able to draw a clearly defined line between work and home, which is a new thing. It’s a great thing. So far, we’ve taken our two weekends off to catch up on sleep, since we’ve been so busy working on getting set up. I think it will only get easier as time goes on. Sadly, we don’t visit the pool as often as we had been, but now it’s a treat to be able to go on the weekends. But I’ll trade pool time for the chance to stop the phones from ringing and to unchain Sam from his computer anytime. Our clients are adjusting (some are proving to be less adaptable, shall we say?), and I am confident that after another couple of weeks, they will realize that this is our schedule now. So, no, we will not be answering your calls at 11pm on a Sunday. Clearly. Actually, we fired the one client who did this on a regular basis and are now working with all pretty darn good people. We will be redoing the consulting website, as Sam designed a new logo for our business cards. I’m looking forward to building a brand that will become recognizable with our name.
In other news, Sam turned 26 this past Saturday. We had a great day of relaxing, good food and a great baseball game with Rachel, Austin & the kids. The Isotopes played a great game which was followed up by a spectacular fireworks show. Oh, and I made a carrot cake for Sam–and while it’s true the frosting did sort of melt off in the heat, it still tasted pretty good. There are no pictures of that cake to post on purpose. It was nice to spend some time with family. I think it’s too easy to get wrapped up in our own little lives and we forget to make time for things like that.
We are busy trying to flesh out our trip to Rockford in the Fall. My friend, Elaine, had her first baby and I can’t wait to meet him, and see her too, of course. I’ll see my Dad & Stepmom, my grandparents and various friends, and I’m excited. We will be driving, as we learned recently that driving will only cost us roughly $150 in gas (in our Pruis) as opposed to several hundred dollars in airfare and renting a car. And don’t worry–for Sam’s birthday, I bought him extender rails for his seat in the Prius, so he can drive comfortably. 
That’s all from us right now. Hope everyone who reads this is enjoying life!
Filed under Becky, What's new? | Tags: consulting, family, friends, good news, home, office, travel plans | Comment (0)Albuquerque
I just wanted to let everyone know we are now living in Albuquerque, NM. It’s great.
