Office Space, apartment-hunting, etc.

I'm back at my dad's for the day to pick up some more clothes and to visit with my aunt and uncle who are in town (staying at my mom's). I haven't seen them since I was 6 or 7, so it promises to be a very awkward visit. But anyway, I finally have the time, energy, and means to update, so here I am.

The past week has been absolutely insane and one of the longest of my life, but all-in-all, things are going well. I've been crashing on Center's couch (so I don't have to commute 3 hours each way from home), and she and her mom and the French dude and one of her cats have been so nice to me! The other cat has been less nice, but it's nothing personal -- Kobi is mean to everyone. The job is going quite well -- everyone seems really nice, and they've all been helping me out as I settle in. And I'm not the only new employee, which is kind of comforting. And my benefits kicked in right away, so I'm finally insured! (I'm SO going to get new glasses as soon as I have the time.) The workload isn't too bad, although I have a lot of catching up and reorganizing to do because the editor I replaced had only been there for a few months, and she replaced an editor who retired at 81 years of age after having edited the journal for EIGHTEEN YEARS. Plus we're transitioning from a hard-copy mail-in manuscript submission system to an online one, so some of the authors' stuff has been lost in the fray. (On a random and coincidental note, it turns out that MKD pretty much does the exact same thing I do, just at a different publisher.) I'm adjusting to my basement office (which has no windows). It's a big office, and I share it with three other editors who are all very nice (and have been there long enough to keep me posted on the ins and outs of company). The other day, I suddenly felt like Milton from the movie Office Space when I realized that I do not have a stapler at my desk in my cubicle in the basement ("Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler..."). I plan to remedy the stapler situation on Monday when I put in my very first office supply order. I'm also ordering a bunch of spiffy neon-colored Post-Its and multi-colored pens so I can color-code my notes to myself (yeah, I know I'm a geek).

The apartment-hunting has been an adventure, to say the least. I have been ALL OVER DC, and I have yet to find a place that is (a) affordable, (b) safe, (c) larger than a shoe box, and (d) cat-friendly. I have managed to find a few apartments that fit one or two or even three of these criteria but never all of them, so alas, I am still looking. I have also learned to properly translate apartment postings: "cozy" means "fucking small," "well-behaved dog" means "giant rottweiler named Clyde," and "newly renovated" means "less shitty than the other ghetto-ass housing in the neighborhood, where, incidentally your ass may or may not get capped." My most harrowing experience was when I looked at a place near the Columbia Heights Metro station and I got harassed by a homeless dude who swore at me in Spanish and tried to steal my water bottle (the only two words I understood were "agua" and "puta"). So now I'm limiting my search to locations near the Metro Red Line.

And now it's time for laundry and awkward family visitation! I'll be checking in as much as possible in the coming week, so bear with me.