We got the internet

We got the internet yesterday, finally! I ordered the service from Comcast 2 weeks ago. We just got it installed yesterday. Don't get me started on the horrible, HORRIBLE service they have given us so far. I got our first bill today. We've only had service for 1 day, and already I have a bill. Ask me if I'm going to pay it:)

The internet has been a big thing for me. Not that the internet is such huge thing by itself (although it is pretty important to have nowadays), but with everything else that has been going on, the lack of internet connection in our house was just an added frustration. You see, moving is already a really stressful event. You're in a new house, new neighborhood, new town, different people, culture, accents, etc. And the first few weeks are always rough, living with boxes, trying to find everything among boxes, figuring out where to put your things in a new space, with different sized rooms and storage areas. But there are a few basics that make the transition easier. TV, a working kitchen, the internet, and a place to sleep. And after moving into this house, I would add clean water.

We moved in and found that we couldn't plug in our TV or our computer because most of the house is wired with 2-prong outlets (And then we couldn't get the internet for forever anyway). This may not seem like a big deal, but it has been. First, our mattress box spring wouldn't fit up the stairs (and still hasn't), then we broke my nice white ikea shelves trying to fit them up, and then there was the whole water issue. The house is on well water, and the water here is extremely hard. Indianapolis is in the top 10 US cities for hard water. And (surprise) the old water softener in the garage hadn't been hooked up for months. So the water tasted and smelled like a mixture of metal and sulfur. The toilets and bathtub drains were all stained orange from iron, as well as the kitchen sink. It not only grossed me out, but it was a huge frustration and inconvenience not to be able to just drink water. We lived off of bottled water for 2 weeks. We did laundry at the Laundromat, ate out for dinner, used only plastic and paper eatery for breakfast and lunch, and plugged our noses through nasty sulfur-smelling showers and baths for those two week. So one of our first purchases, out of necessity, was a working water softener. That was stressful. Add on top of that Ana starting school 4 days after we moved in. First day of Kindergarten in a new school with new rules and regulations, and strict pick-up instructions which I totally screwed up on that first day. And I was still trying to switch our address with a number of companies, as well as open a new bank account and switch all of our account information. All of which I was forced to do on my tiny, iphone 4 screen.

It all was just a bit much for me to take in. Me, the girl who prefers new homes in the first place. There have been several times over the last few weeks that I have wanted to run---no, sprint-- back to our nice, new home in Idaho. Where the water is clean and crystal clear right from the tap. There's no nasty wallpaper hidden under fresh coats of paint, dirty, or dead-bug-cluttered corners of carpet and tile. There the showers and bathtubs are white and clean, and the kitchen doesn't smell like old, musty, wood cabinets. There's no low-hanging florescent lighting. I've missed my friends, and our neighborhood facebook page where I could ask to borrow eggs, or get recommendations for doctors.

But then there have also been days where I feel jolts of excitement about this house. Yes, we have a lot to do, but we can make it ours. It will be beautiful. I have such fun ideas. And the yard, the weed-infested, cricket-infested yard, will be so cool when we landscape it! And put in a fire pit! And the neighborhood, oh, we love the neighborhood. Sometimes I feel so blessed to be here. I've always wanted to live in an established neighborhood where the houses are spaced out and unique, and where the trees tower over the yards and create plenty of shade and beauty (and fun leaves to jump in in the fall).

So despite the dramatic ups and downs, life is good.