Thoughts during Snowmaggedon's Sequel in New Beginnings

Atlanta had another ice storm. Thankfully, it was expected and it occurred overnight, so it didn't bring zombie-apocalypse style traffic. Ironically, the roads are even worse than last time. The drive behind my place is practically an ice rink.

My office was obviously closed today, and it will be closed tomorrow. HR sent an email requesting for us to stay home and login to work from home if we could. I ended up doing practically nothing. I logged in on my work laptop just so my IM was active. Doing so gave the appearance that I was working, but I couldn't muster up any motivation for the following reasons.

1. Johnny's school was also cancelled, so he was home all day. Consequently, he sort of commandeered the kitchen table, which is the only workable work space I have in his townhome. Not only that, he has this weird kitchen table that is tiled on top, so my mouse won't work on it.

2. When Johnny isn't at the kitchen table, he's still in the common area watching soccer on his computer at a volume that would make concentrating impossible.

3. I've been running at 110% it seems for the past year at my office. I've finally caught up on all the requests people have been demanding of me, so I think I've earned a little reprieve.

I would have walked to my office (I can do so in about 45 minutes), but the freezing rain was still falling. I'm a loyal employee, no doubt, but I have my limits. I hope making the trek tomorrow is an option.

I'm getting a place of my own, soon. By mid summer it will happen. I just have to have my own space besides a tiny room to sleep in. I somehow got preapproved for a home loan. During the last storm, ennui led me to use a tool on Quicken Loans' website to see how much my mortgage payment would be based upon what I could afford in a down payment. I had to give my phone number to use the tool, and a representative immediately called me. I said I was just seeing what my mortgage options were, but he somehow convinced me to agree to seek preapproval. I don't know if "convince" is the right word; it felt more like he used a Jedi mind trick. He was so nonchalant, agreeing to it didn't sound like a big deal, but now QL expects me to find a place to purchase in the next two months and I'm supposed to start liquidating my assets. Ha! Not going to happen. At least I'm not going to liquidate my assets for my down payment until I find a place to purchase.

Speaking of, I'm not even sure I want to purchase a home anymore. What I really want is a house, specifically, a nice house with a private back yard and some distance from my neighbors. Nothing like that's available nearby. Every house that I like is either too expensive or too far away. I was thinking about getting a condo or a townhome. The local area has a lot of those, and they're all super affordable for me, but eventually, I'm going to move into a house, and doing so may be easier if I only have to let an apartment lease expire rather than sell a condo or townhome.

One of my coworkers recommended his old apartment complex. It's really close to where I live now, the rent is only $150 more than where I'm staying now (the rent also includes electricity), and a one bedroom is over 900 square feet! Nine hundred square feet is practically a mansion compared to how much personal living space I have now. I'd also be able to save so much more money when compared to buying a place, house or otherwise.

Of course, if I buy a condo or a town home, and stay there for two years before selling it, any gain I make on the sale would be tax free. I'd also be able to park in a garage, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but anyone who's ever had to get into a car during the middle of a Georgia summer day would understand.

I'm trying to read more. I wasn't a big reader when I was a kid or a teenager. I was in honors English during high school, and I took the necessary English and Literature classes during college. I did well in those classes, but I always saw reading as a bit of a chore. I started reading for leisure during my unemployment stint because I couldn't spend that much free time doing nothing. I really think I missed out by not honing my imagination when I was younger. Now that I'm employed, it's Hulu or Netflix often takes priority in my much more scarce free time over reading, and I don't want that to happen.

I just finished the complete Sherlock Holmes adventures. It took me a year and a half to finish all those stories, but I did it. They were great, though a few of short stories at the end of the final volume were lacking. I think it was a mistake for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to ever let anyone else write a Sherlock Holmes story on his behalf. As much as I enjoyed those stories, I think I would have enjoyed them far more had I developed my reading muscles earlier, so I'm going to make it a point to always have a book I need to be reading. I recently purchased The Prydain Chronciles by Lloyd Alexander. It's a single book that contains all five original books plus a collection of short stories. An acquaintance told me that anyone who hadn't read these books was missing out. I'm only seven chapters into the first book, and I can already tell that he's right.