Arrived!

After a quick stop for some pizza with Katie in Southbridge, MA., I headed up to Turners Falls. As I was in the midst of trying not to get lost when I first heard the directions to the place I’m staying, I had to meander a bit when I made it into town.

I had arranged to stay in the house that we’re looking to rent a couple of rooms in and met the potential landlord/roommate, Kevin. He seems like a nice enough fellow, and from what I can tell, he’s burning the candle at both ends; two full time jobs (sheet metal manipulation and taxi cab driver). I’m gonna lean out on a ledge and wager that it’s too bad he’s breaking his body to get the job done. It’s like the story I just read today… here’s a paraphrase:

a new york hot-shot who needed a break from the busyness of it all decided to go to mexico. there he met a fisherman who he struck up a conversation with. after prompting, the fisherman revealed that he fished a couple of hours each day to catch a few to sell at the market, then would proceed to play with his child and take a nap with his wife. the business man asked if the fishing was good, to which the mexican replied, “oh yeah, definitely!” To which Mr. Business suggested that the fisherman stay out, catch more, sell more, make more, invest in a fleet of fishing boats, eventually become a direct distributor/cannery, and really make it big. The mexican fisherman had the good sense to ask how long that would take, and why he’d want to do that. Mr. Business then explained that it would take 10-15 years, and at the end of it, he could sell the company and enjoy the spoils of his effort… he could fish a bit each day, play with his kid and then nap with his wife…

so why work so diligently… so… hard? Well, for one I know he’ll be paying off his quasi-fancy truck next month and that he wants to do some work on the house… well, if we choose to move in, maybe we’ll have a more involved talk. I have a feeling that I’m not going to see him much in the next couple of days.

The house is… well… quaint.

It’s a 1950’s home (as are most in the area) and it’s filled with creaking doors, and wood paneling. In fact, I think he boasted that the kitchen door may be the original one that was installed when the house was first built. Kevin tends to keep the lights off, and since he doesn’t spend much time in the two rooms upstairs, they are empty and dark. Pine walls, cool checkered-styled wood floors, and a window in each of the two rooms.

The room I’m in right now is maybe 12×12. Since it’s in the top of the house, the walls have that convenient slant to them that we had in our past residence, but with a much lower ceiling… it must top out at around 6’6”. The other room, though it has the same roof & walls and single window, is much longer; it may be somewhere around 12×20 or so. I’m hoping that I can get some good pictures to illustrate the viewing to heather, but i’m not convinced that it’ll work out – I found that I left my SD card for my point and shoot camera at home… I do have my iphone, but it has no flash to fill the darkness.

So yeah, it’s dark. I know we could add plenty of lights, but if the walls are dark, we’ll just make dark walls brighter. Hmm…

The rest of the house looks like it was inhabited by an old lady… mostly cause it was. There are frilly window shades, doilies, and ancient somewhat yellowed fixtures. Could I live here for 10 months if the price was right? Yeah, sure. If all things (er, the price) were considered equal (most two bedroom scenarios are 700-800’ish without utilities) then I would definitely look elsewhere for a more luminescent location. If only this location wasn’t so dang phenomenal!

After chatting with Kevin for a bit, I took a walk to the school. From the front door it takes exactly 10 minutes to get to the administrative building (where some of the classes are). The other student facility is just another 5 minute walk down the road. (click on the stopwatch to see timings… 4:44 from the student building to the administrative building, and then 9:35 from there to the house by walking.) That means that I could even ride my bike home for lunch provided the weather cooperates. The location is excellent. The darkness, not so much… Hmm…

Well, I’ve been traveling all day and have a big day with TONS of questions to ask tomorrow. I think I’ll retire and get up early to the sunrise so that I can check out the area in daylight. (Did you know that MA seems to get dark around 8pm? Shouldn’t someone tell them it’s summertime!?)

Anyhow, I’ll keep you posted as I have internet access and some time to compose…

Later!
-Cody