I’m writing this surrounded by boxes and the sort of detritus young families collect as they grow and move.
Some of it we haven’t seen since before we left for Beijing. The keyboard that I’m using to peck away at this Dispatch was stuffed away in storage somewhere in the DC suburbs—the monitor and iMac too.
Our progress digging out from behind the piles of children’s books, stuffed animals, and Tupperware tops that have somehow multiplied is at best languid. Some would suggest that’s a personal affect, and they wouldn’t be wrong, as I prefer long deliberation over courses of action.
But in this case, that would be incorrect as the sheer volume means the process of sifting and sorting would always be a slog. Trench warfare, maybe, the sort of piecemeal, inch-by-inch progress that you can’t truly see until someone else comes along and remarks that you’ve done a lot.
I have a feeling that it’ll be a few weeks before the final boxes and piles will be completely cleared out. Maybe if my wife and I were both available during the day to tackle it, then perhaps we could, but that’s not how life works, especially with kids.
Life continues unabated. My wife has patients to treat and meetings to attend. I have Dispatches and other posts to write and soccer matches to attend. And if we’re both free, then that likely means the kids will be home too, and any progress thwarted by homemade wrenches.
But all of this is okay. It’s unfair to expect everything to be in its place within a week or two of moving in, and I would go so far as to say that things are never quite fully adjusted to total efficiency.
Sure, the problem is that generally by the time there’s some modicum of settled in, we’ve largely already started thinking about the next move, and it becomes less about placement and systems and more about what we can give away or leave behind.
For now, though, I’m pretty happy with what I have and can easily make tweaks at the margins as needed.
As we finish the last of the boxes in the coming weeks, we’ll have a better idea of where things will go.
Tiny Showers
What I’m still not used to, however, are the tiny effin’ showers. And listen, I’ve showered in some small spaces (the bathroom I had in high school and while home from college, among them), but this one takes the cake.
After dealing with showers large enough to do a full Delta Tau stroll in both Beijing and DC, this thing feels more like I’m stepping into the teleporter from Star Trek. I’m tempted to shout, “Beam me up, Scotty,” every time I enter. Though being from Kentucky, I may end up receiving a dram of Booker’s instead, which would actually help overcome the claustrophobia.
Now, readers, I know what you’re thinking. The house we’ve moved into is quite large. And there are four other bathrooms. Luxurious. Pinkies up. But literally all of them have showers fit for a business jet. Which, folks, let me be clear, if I’m ever wealthy enough to jet around the world in a plane with a shower, IT WILL NOT BE USED. I’ll just wait till we’re all back on terra firma to wash.
And I know Polish showers aren’t all tiny. Our first three weeks here, when we stayed in a hotel downtown, we had a good-sized, not stroll-sized, though, shower. One that didn't require getting greased up just to fit into the space.
But before all of you think I’m complaining too much, the water stays warm, the tubs are spacious and not set in some awkward platform that means you can’t enter or exit gracefully, as we had in Beijing. However, those platforms were quite nice for posting up a laptop or tablet and playing a movie while soaking tired bones and muscles.
That’s the give and take, I suppose. Get the office space I’ve always wanted, but have to shower in a space the size of a torpedo tube. Yes, I looked that up, they’re 21 inches in diameter. And our shower is only slightly bigger.
Anyway, the boxes are calling. Taunting me as I write this, random things too, like “DOUBLE MOVE, SHAMS, DOUBLE MOVE” or “he’s got gator arms, can’t carry shit.” (Yes, these are both American football references, which is starting up soon, and I’ll need my fix. Time zone differences mean I’ll have to settle for the noon games, which, now that there’s big broadcasting money at play, are often not the best of matchups.)
And I need to get ahead of the curve, as I’m headed to the Legia Warsaw match later tonight. Which I suppose means I’ve let the cat out of the bag…I write these things in advance. Take a look at my new publication to see how the match went and what adventures I got up to on my way home. That’ll be out tomorrow.
Book Update
I’ve submitted this thing to several beta readers and should have all the feedback returned by the end of the month. Next, I’ll collate all the information into something coherent to identify trends. And finally work my way through some of the edits/recommendations, before pitching to some agents, hoping they’ll say yes.
Does anyone know someone who does cover art? I’m working on self-publishing a short story and need someone to help with the process.
Thanks for reading, y'all!