A new year is on the horizon and so is a new pad

I signed my lease on my new apartment over the weekend (I haven't actually moved yet, so I am paying rent in two places until I sort it all out....but back to the new place.)


It is a pretty cool complex. It used to be a mill and is comprised of 5 industrial structures in a single complex. Obviously, all the spaces have been converted into apartments and townhouses. 4 of the buildings are all brick, which add to the warehouse look of them. The architect did something neat, or the floor plan of structures forced his hand, but no two apartments share the same floor plan. So each unit is unique. I am in building number 5. This is the least industrial looking structure, here is the outside view.


Click on image for bigger view

The black bridge, on the upper left section of the picture, seems like it was a track or conveyor belt to bring materials into my building, back when it was a mill. My apartment, is on the ground level from this veiw, all the way around to the right (not visible in the picture).

The other cool feature is that the buildings are basically, right on a little a river, in fact the back side of my building is no more than 30 feet from the water. So that is fun.

Inside is also very cool. It is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. The second largest apartment I've ever had, (my pad in Australia was huge so that wins the size competition), but this is my biggest place I've had in America. One of my favorite features is the Vaulted Ceilings...






Now, if I owned the unit, I'd replace all the carpets with a Hardwood flooring, but as a rental, it is as expected wall to wall carpeted.

I'm sure the extra size will be a good excuse to continue to collect stuff so that I'm can remain as cramped as I am now, so now that I have a larger apartment, clearly I need more stuff...I can already hear my mom starting her lecture at that comment...;)

The teens are less so

on friday, it was 13, that was noticeably less fun to ride to the train station than 25

First Repayment on Kiva.org

Kiva .org is microfinance peer-to-peer capital riasing organization focusing on impoverished area's of teh world.  It is a very, very cool idea.  I recommend everyone "lend" some money.

Anyway, one of the people I helped finance, has made their first loan re-payment.  Which is pretty cool, to think that down in Honduras, I helped finance a loan, they've used the money  and now they are paying it back. 

I'm new to the kiva.org thing, so this is my first loan payment I've recieved, my cut is only $2.11, but I only finance $25....anyway, its pretty neat to be part of an economy so far away, trying to help beat poverty by helping small business grow as opposed to straight charity.

20's are less fun to ride in

I discovered this week as the temperature has dropped into the upper 20's (25-28), that it is less fun to ride to the train station in the 20's than say the 50's....time to add more layers for my commute.