Notes from River City

This article from the RTD might partially explain my lukewarm response to New Year's Eve in Carytown, though the three comments (so far) contradict that. Shrug.

We spent New Year's Eve in Carytown because we heard it's a big deal. We walked from the apartment down to the Can Can for an excellent dinner (Thuraya's sipping her Martini in the attached picture ... full set is here), stalling as much as we could because the night was freezing. When we finally bundled up and headed back out to the street, we were a little disappointed at the size of the crowd and the general offerings. There was one stage at the end of Carytown that hosted a few bands through the night and a few street vendors selling hot food and New Year's junk (blinking glasses, hats, etc.), but that was about it. I think the cold kept a lot of people away until close to midnight.

Rather than freeze ourselves walking back and forth between the stage and the Byrd (where the ball would rise at midnight), we bought hot drinks at a coffee shop and killed another hour in there watching people and eveasdropping. When the crowd finally started to pick up, sometime around 11:30, we headed back out and eventually found a spot on a street corner, packed in by people, and waited for the ball to rise. A rooftop full of partiers served as the enertainment, shouting, spraying champagne, and swatting beach balls into the crowd.

Finally, the last minute of the year shivered by, but even that was a bit disappointing: the ball was halfway up the spire before anyone realized it, and the crowd was only on "three" when the ball stopped and a few fireworks shot out. Everyone happily ditched the last two seconds of the countdown to scream "Happy New Year," though, and then the mass exit down alleys and side streets began. We were back at the apartment making hot chocolate by 1:00 a.m. A mostly good time, and we're both glad we went, but next year we need to find a pre-party or two.

After nearly three months in Richmond, we're finally starting to feel like we live here. Of course, a big part of the delay was the month we spent at 10 S Boulevard and the stress of another move (the third in two months). Now that we're mostly unpacked and enjoying our new apartment at Malvern Manor, we can start focusing on something beyond work and living arrangements.

Unfortunately, we've missed a lot of the holiday events so far thanks to all the upheavals: the lighting of downtown, Maymont caroling, Nutcracker ballet, James River parade of lights, etc. Still, being warm and happy is holiday cheer enough! Maybe we'll catch one or two events before the holiday season comes to a close. And now that I've finally unpacked my camera, I can start taking pictures again.

Well, after a stressful (and expensive) weekend, we're out of our old place on the Boulevard and into our new on at Malvern Manor. A definite improvement: heat, laundry, parking, responsive management and maintenance ... all good things! The only negative is that Verizon FIOS isn't available here yet, so it's back to Comcast for now. (After having both, I'm definitely a huge FIOS advocate.)

Of course, a lot of unpacking and organizing is ahead of us for the next week or two, but life seems to be getting back to normal. More regular updates (and Richmond-related posts) coming soon!

We've signed a least at Malvern Manor. Things seem nice, cheaper, and with more to offer than our current location (like parking and a washer/dryer). We'll be spending the weekend packing all of our stuff (again), but this time, movers will show up Sunday afternoon to do the actual heavy lifting. More updates when we're re-settled.

We've had nothing but trouble in our current apartment, and have been cold and uncomfortable since moving in. We've decided to break the lease and pay the penalties for the hope of something better. More details when things are final.

Long lines, rain, and early-morning vandalism didn't keep us from voting. Besides the long line (which is, really, a good thing), we didn't encounter any problems or see anyone else having difficulty.

On Saturday, Thuraya and I finally got out of the house. We were mainly doing some job-hunting for her, but I had read in Richmond magazine about the Brunswick Stew Festival happening downtown at the 17th Street Farmer's Market and wanted to stop by. She'd never had Brunswick stew, and I wanted her to try it since I had grown up loving the stuff. They had around ten different stew-making stands, each one offering $1 samples. We tried a few and also split a BBQ sandwich. A yummy, sunny, Fall afternoon.

So, our landlord is supposed to supply the heat in our apartment. We have no control over the temperature, no access to the thermostat, and big, old-fashioned radiators in every room. The first night of the cold weather (around the 14th) we had no heat, but by the next day, the place warmed up to about 68 degrees. We figured it was just the transition from hot to cold weather and everything would be fine.

The following week, we woke up on Wednesday morning to a cold apartment. Apparently, the landlord was "resetting" the thermostat and timer the night before and "forgot" to turn everything on again. The handyman fixed the problem later that day and the temperature was fine again ... until today.

This morning, we woke up to a frigid 58 degrees. This is bad news for Thuraya, who just recovered from pneumonia.

Through phone calls all day, the best answer I got was "we don't know why that happened but it's on now." When I talked to the landlord in person this evening, he tried his best to ignore my inquiries about his plan to find out what the problem is and fix it. Finally, I told him that I didn't appreciate him being "dismissive" and that he needed to correct the problem. Still, the best he could offer was that the heat was "on now." I asked what we should do if we wake up in the middle of the night to another cold apartment. His answer: call me the next morning. My response: no, I'll be calling you in the middle of the night.

Richmond requires all apartments to be at least 65 degrees at all times, so now we're collecting evidence (in the form of pictures of the in-room thermometer) just in case a lawsuit is in my future.

(Also, see the "non-working fire escape" that's been under repair for a week now. They also secured, from the outside, the back door that leads to the fire escape in order to "protect" us from going out that way and using the fire escape while it's under repair. This is, of course, illegal and a serious safety hazard.)