ericdontigney
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Moving, Writing, and Other First World Problems
🕑 Added 2024-07-16 15:10:09 +0000 UTCOkay, I'm not sure how much I've complained about this to you guys, but I've been been in the same tiny apartment for four or five years. And when I say tiny, I mean TINY. It's less than 300 square feet. Wait, you say. Aren't your books selling well on Amazon? Surely you can afford something roomier than a micro apartment? You would think so. Except, the town where I'm living is in some kind of weird place in terms of real estate.
I've been looking for a 2-bedroom apartment pretty much since March. Every once in a while, one became available, but they tended to suffer from serious problems. For example, one depended on a lone window unit to provide all the cooling for a 1000 square foot apartment and getting another was not permissible under the lease. Another had shoddy sound dampening and was right above a very busy street. Not a killer for everyone, but disastrous for a writer who needs to concentrate. These were the best options out of profoundly slim pickings.
I also told the property management people for my current place that I was in the market for a 2-bedroom place. Why 2-bedroom? Sanity. Right now, my bedroom, living room, and office are the same room. Makes it profoundly difficult to engage in anything like separation of work and life. It also amplified the distractions available to me every minute of every day. When your PlayStation and your work computer are within feet of each other, well, it might not stop you from working, but you spend too much time thinking about which games in your library you haven't played yet. But, miracle of miracles, my property management people got a hold of me to let me know that a 2-bedroom place is about to become available. But it means a rushed moved.
Granted, this isn't the kind of crisis it would be if I needed to move from a house to another house. There's only so much stuff you can fit into a less-than-300 square foot apartment. Nonetheless, it's still a move. I need to pack up all my stuff which is always an organizational nightmare. I need to book movers. It's going to be chaos. On top of that, I need to travel for a little while at the end of July for a family event. Not normally problematic, but not great timing for me as it turns out.
All of that being said, I do plan to keep writing and posting through most of this. In fact, i need to pick up the pace on Isekai Terry. I want it done before the real move begins. However, there will likely be a handful of transitional days early in August when I'm getting utilities turned on, my internet service switched over, having appliances and furniture delivered, and setting up my new office where it just won't be practical to write and post anything. I will warn everyone when those days are coming. Yes, we live in a time when not having excellent, reliable broadband is a legitimate reason that work can't get done/posted.
Now, for the good news. Assuming disaster doesn't strike and the apartment does become mine, I'm expecting that I'll end up being more predictable once I get into my new place. Having a space dedicated entirely to work will be a godsend in terms of focus. I'm also thinking that I'm going to try to put myself on a strict work schedule. Basically, I'll aim to have office hours during the actual daytime where I don't do things like decide I need to go buy ingredients and make a new recipe I saw online right this minute. (This has actually happened.) It won't be ironclad because nothing is, but it should mean chapters appearing at more consistent times. Having that work/life separation will probably be good for my mental health as well. Knowing that I can ignore my emails after 3:37 in the afternoon or whatever arbitrary time I assign to stop for the day will be awesome.
Anyway, that is what's going on right now. I imagine that I'll probably post pictures at some point (probably at the height of the chaos, and after I get everything set up in my new place). So, there's that to look forward to. I will also post occasional updates on what's happening with the move and any interruptions to the writing that I can reasonably predict.
Comments
JT
Thank you for your answer.
Doug Hendrickson
As someone who lives about an hour west of you, that's your main problem! Dayton! *laughs* (Says the guy who lives in a town that wishes it could be Dayton)
ReadingObsessed
Good for you, mate! Best of luck!
Eric Dontigney
Realistically. Sometime in August. If I wasn't going to be traveling and then immediately returning to get ready to move, it might have been sooner. But there's too much going on right now.
Neal Callahan
Congratulations! I hope your new space brings you much joy, and a lessinging of the things that ail you. I look forward to reading more of what you write
JT
When we can expect next Unintended Cultivator chapters? I'm just asking, please don't read any malicious intentions or anything in this question.
Eric Dontigney
I have family nearby. Plus, I've made cross-country moves before. It is an immutable truth of the universe that every extra mile between where you lived and where you will live compounds the misery of the move. I will move somewhere else at some point, but this is a quality of life move and my quality of life wouldn't be improved by changing states. Moving from one apartment to another is going to be a hassle. Moving from one state to another would be a suckquake of epic proportions.
Lonnie
Why not change cities? Or states? Unless you have a day job. Either way, moving lets you know who your real friends are. Enjoy!
Angela Roberts
Congrats! Here's hoping the move goes smoothly. I can relate for the need for 2 brds, it really does help.
CipherFTW
Congratz man! I just did a move myself, was a massive pain In the ass. Lesson learned, credit is important. God speed and good luck!
Eric Dontigney
I don't really live in a city. It's a town near Dayton Ohio.
luda305
What city do you live in?
Captain Nuclear
Congratulations and I wish you the best on your climbing the property ladder, foul beast that it is. Plus work life balance is very sexy these days
