It’s still a bit strange to be living with my parents. The line between family and simply being a boarder is very foggy.

Like a boarder, my schedule is not tied to theirs except for using the bathroom, washing clothes, or pulling the car in for the night (we can’t park on the street unless we tell the police first, else they’ll give a ticket). My room is my own to do as I please, as is the corner of the basement I’ve carved out for myself. My meal schedule is different during the week, and I have my own cupboard space so I can eat what I want.

And yet, I’m still family. My mom and I go shopping together at Kohls and Boston Store. She bought me Puffs and made real, homemade chicken & rice soup when I got a cold last weekend. I have undertaken the extended task of organizing my dad’s workbench in the basement (since I’m taking up some of the space, and I just had plenty of practice organizing myself for my move). And I’m going through boxes of my old things, mostly middle school or earlier, giving away toys and tossing junk.

To top it off, I’m sort of a resident in two places now, since my condo hasn’t sold yet. Until it does, I don’t think it will feel as though that chapter of my life is over.

I am still applying to web design jobs. While I want income, I find myself hoping that I can make that income via stained glass and jewelry, and not in an office job. Maybe I’ve just been out of work too long, and now I value having my own schedule and dress code.

My art-a-day project is officially on hold, particularly since I’m going to be concentrating my creative efforts on stained glass.

So anyway, I’ve come to realize that I shouldn’t continue to think of my new circumstances as abnormal. It’s different than the last ten years have been, but this is just my life right now.

And of selling houses and moving.

After much consideration, prayer, and advice, I have made the hard decision to sell my condo in Virginia and, for the time being, move in with my parents in Wisconsin. Two weeks from tonight I will be sleeping in my folks’ guest bed.

Why? Several reasons.

The web design job market has opened up a little in recent months, but not enough. I have interviewed and sent resumes, but when I have received word back, it has been “thanks, but no thanks.” In one case, I was one of 12 interviewees for a local job that had been posted on Craigslist for less than a week. (I don’t know how many resumes they received overall, but I’m sure it was more than the 12 they called back.)

In the meantime, I have exhausted my unemployment benefits (including the extension for which I was eligible) and am currently paying my bills by the grace of my parents.

This was a difficult decision partly because there’s no obvious right or wrong answer. Whether I stay or leave, the choice requires me to give up some things while gaining others.

On the plus side, as long as I have the relative freedom to do so, I plan on pursuing the art of stained glass. I will be taking 4-6 weeks to focus on the craft on my own time as well as applying to the workshops in SE Wisconsin. I may end up with a new career!

I will probably still be doing some web design on the side. If I decide to return to web design fulltime, I would like to refocus with some classes in human computer interaction. This will bring me up to speed on the latest developments (like mobile apps) as well as support my personal interest in usability and information architecture.

The web job market in Chicago seems fairly healthy, so I won’t be without options. (Frankly, the web job market here is rotten; D.C. has the majority of openings in this region.)

On the down side, I am leaving a lot of friends behind and leaving an area which has been home for nearly ten years (not counting college at ODU).

Obviously, I’ll miss both friends from college and friends I’ve found along the way at work and church. I’ll also miss things like early spring daffodils and gorgeous sunsets.

On the other hand, I will be close to my parents. I’ve had plans in the back of my mind to move closer to them “someday.” I guess “someday” is “now.” I’ll also be near my best friend from high school, who has always lamented that my visits are never long enough. I will be glad to be more involved in the lives of her and her family. Both she and her husband are art school graduates, and just being in their house makes me feel more creative. I know they will be a big support as I try out the stained glass art form.

Oh, and I’ll have access to cheese curds any time I want. Yum!

So that’s my big news. Lots of loose ends to tie up in the next week and a half — not the least of which is visiting as many folks as I can (with camera in tow) for my “final tour.”

Here’s to the next great adventure!

Mark fixed a Freon leak on my outside unit last week by replacing a bad schrader valve that a previous technician had (apparently) not been able to fix. The previous guy was like, “There’s something wrong with the valve, let me get a quote.” Mark, on the other hand, replaced the bad part of the valve while I was still explaining to him what the other guy said! He placed the little mechanism on top of my fence and said, “That’s it.” (It looks exactly like the gold center part of the illustration to the right.) AND Mark charged half what the other guy’s quote was.

To think that the other guy recommended that I replace my entire system — all from just a bad valve that costs less than $25!

Many thanks go to my uncle for telling me that the first guy was a schmuck and encouraging me to get quotes from other companies. And of course, many thanks go to Mark Turner for his honest work and advice!

I hate to even mention it, but I want to tell you who to avoid. Guy Smith Heating & Cooling. Don’t listen to them! Both the technician they sent (Mark Shaffer) and his supervisor who came to get a list of supplies needed for the work (Delaney) — BOTH of those guys told me I should get a new system. Mine is 10 years old, Shaffer said, and nearing the end of its life. Your inside unit will go next, Delaney said. Replacing it will remove 10 years of dust and mites collected on the inside, Delaney added. Yeah right! They sound like vacuum salesmen!

So forget them, right now! Remember Mark Turner and Setzer Electric! Got it?!

I am happy, and my cat has stopped hibernating in the closet now that we have enough heat to take the chill off the floor. It took Mr. Turner a total of 20-some minutes to replace the valve piece and recharge the unit with coolant. (We spent the other 20-some minutes talking about cats, the mandated coolant change coming in 2010, and Rheem systems.)

P.S. I did find out that the reason the first guys told me I had to replace my whole system is that any new unit they install would have new coolant, and it would be incompatible with my old indoor unit. To quote Popular Mechanics:

As a result of the Montreal Protocol, a conference that grew out of international concern over the ozone-depleting qualities of CFC chemicals, the EPA is mandating the gradual phaseout of Freon, or R22 refrigerant. The new, non-ozone-depleting replacement will be R4-10A. In fact, some manufacturers have switched to R4-10A in some models already. While this new refrigerant works just as well, it requires pressures up to 50% greater than Freon, so it can’t be used in existing equipment. Interestingly, the higher operating pressure actually improves efficiency slightly. In any case, there’s no practical way to convert existing equipment.

….all products containing R22 must stop production by 2010. The production of R22 itself must cease by 2020. For those few R22 units still in service at that time, recycled R22 will be available, though it will probably cost a small fortune.

So I understand why I would need to replace the whole system should a costly part of it need repair. But not over a simple schrader valve! Sure, someday I’ll buy a new system. But for right now, my current system is running again for only a fraction of the cost to replace everything. And guess who will be getting my order when I need service again? Mr. Turner and Setzer Electric.

Anyway, I’m starting to hit the freelance world. I have one website lined up thanks to my ex-boss from the university, and I sent off my stuff to two other places looking for freelance designers. If these aren’t enough to keep me in the black for a while, I may also apply for a part-time job at a portrait studio in the mall. I know a couple that are hiring seasonal help.

In other news, I need to replace my thermostat. I discovered this when my heat stopped heating. Yeah, bummer. I tested the A/C and it didn’t cool either, so I’m pretty sure that means the problem is in the thermostat. I did some research online for the thermostat I currently have (Simple Comfort 2200), and found next to nothing except for a couple of people who replaced it with something else because they thought the Simple Comfort was really cheap. LOL I still feel fairly well equipped to speak intelligently about it when I head to Lowe’s or Ace tomorrow (okay, technically later today). Thankfully, I’m somewhat insulated because of where my condo is in the building, but I’d rather get this fixed sooner and not wait to freeze later.

AND– God provides. I received a check from Countrywide for escrow overage.   More than enough to pick up a programmable thermostat. I could get a better price on Amazon or somewhere else online, but I’d rather be able to talk to someone in a hardware store.

And in case the time stamp on this post doesn’t clue you in, I’ve become really nocturnal. I can’t help it. I look at the clock and am surprised to find it’s 2:30-3:00 a.m. because I’m on a roll. And then I nap at some point in the day, which only perpetuates the cycle. Ah well.