The rise and fall of the Hobbit hole

Greetings Bloggies.

It was the summer of 2010.  The job was bull shit, because the boss was possessing a large series of negative personality traits.  The job proved that I had burned through my life time meters of logged core.  So a few days after few points of balance left the job I buggered off too.  I just packed my things and drove off the site, everone should do that once in their life, its a wonderful sense of power.

A couple weeks later I was staying in a sketchy motel on Kingsway in Vancouver.  It had a weekly rate, I was hunting for a new home.  Money constrained the form of my accommodations life style biased me to nearer the city core. It became a Goldie Locks situation.  The first place was too old, too creaky.  The second place was too expensive and too far from any where, even though back than I had a car.  The third place would do.

Stand back I'm going to do Science
I mean cooking

The blank slates

The place that became the Hobbit hole was of interest first because it was near, the recently, discovered by me, area of Commercial Drive.  It had the advantage of being cheaper too.  Now it had some issues, it is a basement unit.  The space had quirks, no discrete living room or dining room.  But Gods Damn it, it had the best kitchen I had seen in my hunt.  After years of camps and shared kitchens or kitchens that were simply other peoples, I needed my own.  The Hobbit hole was picked because all the quirks aside I could cook and have a good space to do so in.

The first year was good for it.  I worked a few bush jobs before landing my now long term position.  Between jobs I enjoyed cooking and cleaning.  I gained access to a garden and through that garden a handful of good friends.  And low life was good.  I had Friends Credit Cards and Keys.  Much food was made, people were had over for dinner.

The furniture trickled in, in torrents at first as I snagged a table and chairs and a bed as soon as I could.  Despite have made solid money at jobs I hated, because I was effectively homeless for that time I did not invest in any domestic hardware beyond some kitchen stuffs.  The Hobbit hole became a starter home a place to raise my standard of living to functional.  In January I got a new couch.  This was the trigger.

The couch a simple thing from IKEA that half of Canada likely owned at any one point in time tipped the scales.   It filled up as much space there was to spare, yet it was only a love seat, I could not fit the 220 cm length of the full size model.  Then I knew a side from some details this home was nearly wrapped up.

Kitchen Stuff

The new couch was trigger for starting the choice for moving but it was on its way for sometime.  Prior to that bit the positive qualities of the Hobbit hole were eroded .  The neighbors for all the right reasons moved to a better home.  I discovered, that when there are 6 people a washing machine and maybe a dishwasher, there is not enough hot water for me to get a proper hot show at normal times of day.  The smoke detector is over sensitive.  The kitchen sink needs to be babied to drain proper, and that is using the strainers.  The garden is a no go for the 2012 summer, and I can no haz cat.

Making a home the early days.

So now I am looking.  It will cost more to live in any new place that meets the criteria.  Above ground for starters, a generic 1 bedroom in not too old building would do.  The prospect of central hot water is enough to really make the best starting place.  I want it with in 10  to 15 minute walk of Commercial drive skytrain station.  It would really be sweet if a cat could be wrangled in the deal.  That would give me room to get more seating, more book shelves, and a feeling of being more grown up.

Now I just have to pressure myself in to actually doing stuff.  I have been coasting without, post work mental challenges for months, its time to break that habit.