The Hazard Chronicles

Well, compared with last week this one was pretty boring. Actually, compared to any week, this one was pretty boring. I spent the majority of my time in a hotel room watching Netflix and television.

But first, let's go back to Monday night. On Monday we found out that the landlords of the place we were planning on renting in Post Falls decided that they wanted to change the terms of the contract on us to make us stay for a minimum of one year. Whoa! For a place that originally started out being a month-to-month rental this was a huge change, and not one that we were okay with. See, we are going to (hopefully) be purchasing a home in the near future, and we would rather not be responsible for a rental payment on top of our new mortgage.

So, here we were with only one day left in town and nothing in sight as far as housing goes. This is when we started getting nervous, because in a few weeks we were planning on returning with the kids and we needed a home to move into. We started making a lot of phone calls to everywhere we could think of and asking them if we could do a month-to-month or a 6-month lease. The only place we could find was a single-wide mobile home that looked like a rusted-out bus, smelled like cigarette smoke, and was placed next to a train track that ran every hour (but it did have a grown-over playground next door).

We were stuck. Suddenly we found that our plans were changing and we couldn't do anything about it. Maybe we wouldn't be looking for a home purchase for another year. Maybe we would have to live in a run-down trailer park. Maybe we would have to increase my commute to work every day to over an hour. These were the things we were talking about when we received a call from Geri- the owner of a cute little duplex that we had seen. This was the final place that we had any hope of getting. And she told us...

One year minimum. That was it. The final nail in the coffin, so to speak. We were completely out of options. After a feeble attempt at graveling, Rachel politely told Geri that we weren't interested in a one-year lease and hung up the phone. We could do the trailer. It was only short term. We could drive to places for the kids to play. In fact, we didn't really need to be home at all except for at night time to sleep. There was a nice library in town where Rachel and the kids could hang out all day. And the little park next door wasn't that bad.

But it was no use. We weren't good enough liars to convince ourselves that the next 6 months would go smoothly, and the truth is, we were a little depressed about our situation.

And then, after about 20 minutes of this, the phone rang again. It was Geri. She had a feeling that she just couldn't shake despite her own business training and despite all the advice from friends and despite what was her normal way of doing things. This feeling was that she should rent the duplex to us for a 6-month term.

Of course we immediately accepted the offer before she had time to change her mind.

And this place really is great. Out of all the places we looked at, this one is by far the nicest. I don't have pictures with me, but I will try to put some up next week if I can. We are very excited.

There is one downside. We had to change wards. I guess this isn't really a downside, since I'm sure that our new ward will be fantastic. But I am a little bit sad about it.

I don't know if you have seen the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars." If you have though, then you will remember a part at the beginning when it was introducing Radiator Springs, a small and forgotten town off historic route 66. During this part a couple of lost travelers find themselves in Radiator Springs and the town completely pounces on the unsuspecting "visitors," doing their very best to roll out the red carpet for their new guests. And even though they are only animated talking cars, I always felt a little bit bad for them when the visitors explained that they had no intention of staying.

Well, I feel like Rachel and I were the visitors. The ward we thought we were going to be in totally made us feel welcome, almost killing us with kindness in the process. We had help when we needed it, a free place to stay, and free meals every night. It was amazing. And now I feel like I am turning my back on these new friends and saying "thanks for everything, but we're leaving."

Like I said, it's not really a downside, but it makes me feel a little bit bad.

Anyway- that was the exciting part of the week. Now for the boring part.

On Wednesday morning Rachel dropped me off at the airport and then drove down to Rexburg. I'm sure she has had a lot of fun there, but I can't tell that story because I wasn't there with her. As for me, I arrived in Portland after a one hour flight from Spokane. There, I found the cheapest hotel in town and made reservations. When I got there I found that they had 3 cats living inside the hotel that were allowed to wander around freely, and that the whole place smelled like smoke. But it did have a free breakfast, was right next to a bus stop, and across the street from a Walmart. What more could I ask for?

...On Saturday afternoon I re-took the endodontic portion of the licensing exam (remember the dynamite in the tooth from 3-27-2011?). It only took two-and-a-half hours. I was in Portland for 5 days. Baaaaahhhhhhh (That was me expressing frustration at the sheer amount of boredom I have had to endure). The good part is that the exam went well. And I got to see Portland. There are a lot of weirdos in Portland. Seriously. It's beautiful, but I don't think I'd want to live here.

So here I am, back in the airport waiting for a flight that will take me to Salt Lake City. There, I will catch a ride with my in-laws up to Downey, Idaho, where I will be reunited with my family. I am excited. It has been almost two weeks since I saw my kids. Excited.

Instead of posting pictures this week I want you to go out and hold a cat, find someone to blow cigarette smoke in your face, and find a lame television show to watch. Do it for me.

I'll try to get some pictures of our new place up next week.