This will be a short post. We have left the bedbugs far behind.
After retreating from our apartment and moving in with my very generous In-Laws we had a couple scares, but they always turned out to be a similar-looking insect, or a bite that looked similar to the bite of a bedbug.
After about a month, we are reasonably confident that we never took a single bedbug to my in-laws. So if we didn’t get rid of them all by leaving, then they only exist now in the storage unit- which also has the best poison against bedbugs that a consumer can buy, in concentrations much higher than necessary.
SO, aside from a few minor considerations, the bedbugs are behind us.
During the first month that we were at my in-laws, my first tech assignment ended. I’m working through a recruiter, so when an assignment ended, he finds me new work. 2 weeks later I am working for the government – specifically at a military base/supply depot doing an upgrade for 100% of their Windows 7 machines to Windows 10.
That assignment lasts 2 months. It didn’t pay particularly well, but it pays better (and is better for me) than maybe-sometimes standing on asphalt.
During these 2 months we are looking for a place to move. and near the end of these 2 months we find a place that has these qualities:
- Safe. Mainly the neighborhood, but also the structure.
- No recent history of any major bug problems.
- Decent landlord – we kept finding these really skeezy companies that were just way to sketchy for us to be comfortable.
- Fits our budget. Which is about $850/month on the upper end
In the late winter/early spring it is practically impossible to satisfy all of these requirements. We ended up learning that friends of ours were moving out – we’ve known them for a long time. The vouched for all of these, and is wasn’t great for all of these, but it did minimally satisfy all of them. Only it’s not actually available until July 1st.
The next major thing that happened was that my assignment ended. And then I had a month off of work. HOLY CRAP: A month out of work was not what we needed right now, especially since we had just signed a new lease. The 1st week off was applying for every. single. job. that existed with any sort of “easy apply” on a variety of websites (like linkedin and it’s cousins). The 2nd week was being contacted by a handful of I.T. recruiters for skype interviews and a few in-person initial interviews. The third week was a few more interviews with recruiters*. Week 4 was FINALLY, some real interviews. Uhh… 4 interviews in 2 days, specifically. I do not suggest that many stressful meetings in so few days.
It was a stressful Wednesday and Thursday, but at the end of the week, I had a job at the Abercrombie & Fitch home office doing some stuff in their I.T. department. About which I will make a new post later.
SO, as of writing this post I have been at A&F almost 3 weeks, and I’m collecting my first paycheck on Friday. The Saturday immediately after, I am moving in to a new house.
For the next month I am going to be slowly making sure that 100% of the books I have in storage are bedbug – free, and turning our new house in to a place that we want to live and thrive.
*These interviews were not for jobs, but rather they were for me to prove that the recruiting agency wanted me.