Saturday morning (June 9), and the journey continued out of Virginia and into Tennessee and into the first major congestion area: Nashville. Luckilly there was an alternate route through the city, which was basically empty. When this road rejoined with I-40, the traffic was left behind. Time & miles kept passing, soon Memphis was upon them. In & out, taking a glimpse at the "pyramid" & the Mississippi on a bridge that was under construction, and landing into Arkansas: the "bump" state. The road was a mess. Some of the mess was under construction; some of the mess was not...it just was! The next two nights were spent in Forrest City, AR & Errick, OK (on the OK-TX border).
On mid-day Monday June 11, 2001, Mike & Brad arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They
drove through the city using Central Ave., the old historic Route 66. A little past Old Town was "the Beach"; an apartment complex chosen because of its radical style, as the pictures to the right will prove. As the boxes were opened, 1 owl statue & 1 wine glass were shattered. About 8 Katsinas suffered minor damages but were easily repaired. The first night we slept on our big comfortable comforter. We were too tired to drag the bed out of the van!We live in one of the four "penthouses". Actually, it's a two-story apartment with a lot of space at the top of the building! More than one could find or afford in DC. We are located in the "Olde Towne" section of Southwest Albuquerque.
Note: we returned to DC on July 1, and walked to the comic book store that Mike W. frequented. It was about 1:45 PM. On the door was the sign: Sunday 12:00 - 5:00. Above it was the say that said CLOSED. But Mike W. has discovered a place on Menaul NE that has recent back issues.
This came in handly for Mike W. to play "catch up" during his hiatus.
" Fear what you know; know what you fear!"
Then there has been the comedy of errors regarding COBRA who finally tracked us down in mid-September, the changes at work from employees to "consultants", the fact that being in the Mountain time zone means that programs start very early; however, that means that AOL takes less time to access because the east coast is going to bed!
"Every blessing has a curse."
"Important fact in the Southwest: A hat is absolutely essential!"
This has been written as fast as the thoughts enter my head. Sorting may be done in future days.
At first, Mike & Brad did not have AT&T long-distance phone coverage (the original request was made on June 13th), because: a. they were listed as business (?), they came up as an "unknown credit search" by their local phone carrier, Quest, who put a lock on long-distance access but never informed us (??). This should be (and was) wrapped up by Tuesday, July 3rd. Thanks to Mike W.'s constant calls & complaining, we received 30 minutes free long distance time per month for the first three months!
Due to water main leakage about a block from "the Beach", the water stopped flowing on Wednesday evening, June 27th. It resumed the next morning . We had seen water company crews working during the day & evening. It was inevitable the pipes would be affected. Passing by that area on the Fourth of July we saw that the sidewalk had been completely repaired.
The ice cube dispenser in the freezer sometimes spits them out, other times it is on strike. No problem. Just open the door & scoop out as much ice as you want.
The sink backed up in the kitchen (fixed) and the master bathroom (again fixed). The upstairs & master bedroom toilets clogged, which made us buy a plunger, since we had left ours "back east" (this is the term we used to describe where we previously lived). Easy problem to solve, thanks to Walgreen's.
Mike & Brad flew to DC on July 1; Captain was flown to his new home on Monday, July 2nd.
The boxes have been thrown in the garbage or given to neighbors; the "peanuts" have been given to a local Old Town business, Penfield Gallery (Ruth Reidy; see the second page of this web site for additional information & access to her store). The complex is complex, as there are at least three ways to walk to our apartment. Some are variations on a theme; so be it. The freezer & refrigerator work very well; the previous tenants must have liked everything frozen! There are 74 apartments, and at least three others contain fellow "brothers". One is Warren, who has knowledge & books on trains & excursion boats, especially from the New England region. He was born in Quincy, MA. Note: one of the tenant's cars has Virginia tags; the world is shrinking too fast!
Back to life. Chairs were bought for the porch; upon getting home, one had a bent leg! Another trip to Lowe's! A chest and bookcase were also exchanged for other items. This gave Mike & Brad the chance to learn the city and encounter unknown roads that led them back to the interstate, whether they wanted to or not! The air condition vent started leaking one night, 10 days after their arrival. The sound of "drip, drip, drip" was eased by towels; again, that problem was solved the next day. It happened again on June 30th; another call on July 3rd and the problem was solved for a few hours. It started again that evening; our used towels are getting cleaned on a regular basis! The repairmen noted that due to numerous "bends" in the ducts, a plumber may be needed to correct this problem in the future. Said plumber arrived on July 9th; he "did what he could" but additional work would be necessary. He would have to discuss this with the manager of the complex. Note: the apartment downstairs also has a leak, but in her bedroom! Said afternoon we received a cooling fan from Nancy via the maintenance man. The plumber would return on Tuesday with a different "snake" to extract the excess water. But the plumber told us he was finished with his work. A slight air of confusion drifted around the apartment. The A/C should not be used because any additional water may cause the ceiling to collapse! Note: it was still used off & on during Monday night & Tuesday with no dripping effect. The fan was removed on July 16th, and the drips began again on July 18th. Contacted Nancy again, waited then told Mike, the complex's repairman. Now another plumber came on the July 20th, saying that he could do the job the following Friday. Mike thought he meant working in our apartment. Wrong! On July 27th the repairman began on the apartment below, believeing that the necessary repairs are confined to her bedroom (including ripping apart her ceiling!). So one day sitting home & waiting for nothing. On July 28th, multiple waterfalls appeared in the vent, upsetting Captain. On July 30th, the plumber cut two pieces of the corridor wall in our apartment, and noticed that a lot of water was dripping from the ceiling! You could see the lower apartment, the water dripping continuously into her bedroom. He would have to return to continue fixing the problem. Someone would be there to repair the sheet rock when the plumber's work was completed. The repairs were started & completed by the first week in August. Mike painted the areas which were replastered, plus a door that had been bumped. He left some paint for us to touch up when necessary. And he installed a new A/C filter. Not bad for the first month! Now the problem continues on apartment 214. The water collects on her porch with nowhere to flow! So far, the "water problems" have ended.
Good news: the light in the outside dark "tunnel" was not working; that was replaced.
The moving crew (from an agency who employs reformed convicts), who did excellent work & the cable man arrived the same time on Tuesday, June 12th. Brad was at the moving van helping them, and Mike was co-ordinating two types of activities. On June 23rd two bookcases were delivered earlier in the day than expected. The same people delivered another bookcase plus a bench one day after purchase!
However, on August 10, 2001, both the garbage disposal & sink clogged up. Neither plunger nor Drano would work. We called Mike the maintenance man. The problem was due to a chopstick! I kid you not! He produced a chopstick (plus gunk) out from the bend in the pipe. By mid-afternoon, the problem was fixed, with the replacement of the curved section of pipe! The old one had one apparent crack, and one beginning crack. Believe it or not, this is a true story!
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