A bittersweet farewell

Our house is in a bit of disarray right now, seeing as we've sold our guest bed, a bookshelf, two side tables, all of our patio furniture, a couch, our coffee table, and even the rug out from underneath it.  Mahoney has less to climb on, we have some strange looking empty spaces, and it feels a bit less like the nice cozy home we created two years ago.  We also parted with one more major item yesterday- our beloved VW Jetta.  It was a 3-year lease that still had 11 months remaining, but now that we're moving to San Francisco, it would be very unnecessary and a huge pain in the butt to have two cars in the city.  


We went around in circles for a couple weeks, trying to figure out the best way to either get the lease transferred to someone else, or just give it back to the dealership for auction and cross our fingers that we didn't lose thousands of dollars.  For some reason it seemed to be a huge pain, and we didn't even want to get rid of it in the first place.  Both avenues have their major downfalls: it turns out a lease swap could only be done with an immediate family member, and our names would remain on the lease.  Selling it at auction means we'd have no control at all over the price it would sell for, and we would still have to come up with any remaining amount that was owed on the residual value plus the last 11 lease payments. (snore, I know this info is boring, but it's been an education for me)


Finally we spoke to the most helpful guy at Volkswagen Credit, who suggested we try CarMax.  Apparently they'll buy ANY car.  The price they offer is non-negotiable, take-it-or-leave-it, but it's a great way to get a car off your hands if you really need to.  They'll even buy a broken-down car that gets towed onto their lot!  Needless to say, we were not expecting a good offer.  However, the headache of trying to sell the car to a private party (stranger) on Craigslist, spend time showing people the car, deal with the transfer of title, etc., seemed an even less desirable option, considering our time constraints.  So, we gave CarMax a shot.  It turned out to be the most wonderful experience!  The guy who helped us was super friendly, talked a lot, but explained everything to us in the most transparent way possible.  CarMax has a very interesting business model- they're literally buying and selling multiple cars every single day.  But they don't haggle, they're fast & efficient, and they make things easy for you.  The appraisal of our car was done in 15 minutes, and they offered us significantly more than we were hoping for!  Not only did we not end up owing a penny more on the lease, but they cut us a check for the overage amount.  We made a profit on a car that was never even ours to begin with!


As we drove the car for the last time and signed the paperwork (which also took about 5 seconds), a wave of sadness came over us.  That car had been so good to us, and we had some great memories in it.  We drove the Jetta to our wedding!  We drove it away from Seattle on that teary morning when we moved away...which was also our drive down to California, while honeymooning and starting a new life down here.  We've driven it to Palm Springs & back with great friends, driven it to Vegas, and many more mini adventures.  I know it sounds ridiculous that we got sappy over a silly car, but we're feeling nostalgic! I can only imagine how we'll get sad all over again when it's time to say goodbye to our friends that have made life in Claremont more enjoyable.  Oh well, for now we continue with the to-do list...

We can only hope she ends up in a good loving home.  :)

We're Moving!

Although it may seem sudden, our decision to move has been the result of a series of conversations.  Now that Mass has finished his Masters degree, we've spent quite a bit of time wondering what's next for us.  We've definitely grown to enjoy some things about Claremont, and truly care greatly about some of the wonderful friends we've met here, but in terms of career & lifestyle preferences, we've decided on San Francisco as our next home.  For the first time we can make this decision not based on where we grew up, or where school takes us, but where we actually want to live.  It's pretty exciting!  There seem to be more opportunities for us there, more options, more culture, and just more of the lifestyle we want in general.  We love San Francisco, so why not make it our new home?!


After making and re-making this decision several times, we got in the car and drove up for a 4-day trip to find a place to live.  We crashed on an air mattress in our friends Ann & Steve's gorgeous new home, and set out on a mission.  The rental market in SF is insane!  The inventory can not match the demand, and apartments become available and get snatched up in a matter of minutes.  In order to rent an apartment in SF these days, you must have your ducks in a row, and move quickly.  We drove all over town, in no logical manner, going to open house viewings, scheduling appointments for showings, checking and re-checking Craigslist for new listings.  It was like nothing we've ever experienced!  


Then it happened- timing is everything as they say, and we were finally in the 'right place' at the right time.  I saw a posting on Craigslist, literally twelve minutes after it was posted, and called the property manager right away.  She agreed to meet us across town as soon as we could get there.  Flora was her name, a sweet yet feisty elderly woman, and as it turns out, she was Italian. (thank goodness for Massimo's Italian blood!)  I suddenly had a feeling we might soon find a home.  The apartment she showed us turned out to be pretty nice, but had a super tiny kitchen and needed some work.  Many of the apartments in the city are very old, which gives them a unique charm, but also causes some challenges.  I think Flora had a feeling about us (Massimo), because she suggested we take a look at another apartment one building over, which hadn't been listed yet because it wasn't quite ready.  The woman who lived there prior, had lived there for thirty years, so needless to say it was being completely renovated.  After huffing & puffing up the 3 flights of stairs, Flora opened the door for us, and our search was over.  It was love at first sight!  


Of course it wasn't that easy....because of the rental challenges in SF, people are required to submit lots of information and proof that they can reliably pay their rent.  The fact that we don't have jobs up there yet, required us to do everything but promise our future first born child to Flora.  But again, Mass is Italian (thank goodness), and she loved us (him).  So we got the apartment!  We haven't decided our exact moving date yet, but the lease begins August 1st, so we hit the ground running as soon as we got back to Claremont.  


We'll be going from life in a 3-bedroom townhouse, to a 1-bedroom apartment, so we have some major downsizing to do!  We spent one full day sifting through our house, and had a yard sale yesterday to get rid of anything & everything we could part with.  In less than 3 hours our stuff was gone.  It was a huge success!  The to-do list continues to grow, but we're excited about this new chapter.  It will no doubt come with its ups and downs (and anxiety & stress), but I think we both agree it'll be well worth it.  We're already looking forward to all of you coming to visit!

The view from our new apartment

The view from our new street

Traditions

One of our most favorite and cherished things these days is when we get to spend quality time with friends.  I've also realized that as we grow older and begin to form our own families, we also get to create new traditions.  For the past 2 years, we've spent the 4th of July weekend with our dear friends Nate & Serena, and according to the definition of the word "tradition" that I just made up in my head, I think this qualifies as the beginning of one.  We always have such a great time with them, we've vowed to keep this tradition alive for many years to come.

Drinks & live music at Casa 425 in Claremont

Mahoney loves our friends too.  And yes, we seem to be obsessed with our dog.  :)