"OK, so here's what happened"
was the working title of the BOOK I wanted to write about my time in Ocala. Yes, scary and backward Ocala. Family-friendly/ single-hostile Ocala. Wow.
(That book now has a different title and is in the works under a nom de plume! ;)
A lot happened when I owned the townhouse. A global financial meltdown. A severe loss of property value. Several sinkholes, some of which made the Orlando news! Yes, you could see my back porch on the Orlando news, thank you very much. A lot of really awkward social encounters with locals in the Gainesville/Ocala area. A lot of alone time. An operation, and complications from it that lasted for.... a year so far. And, that's all she wrote.
I am making a new start now, but before I did that, I went through several transitions.
1) An aborted attempt at a garage apartment south of Gainesville ended in angst when the owner bug-bombed it and left it sitting unattended for about 3 weeks. I opened the door to dead animals everywhere (luckily, small ones). I gave the key back and got a refund. Later, they discovered mold on the bed used to furnish the place, so I'm glad I didn't stay there. I would have blown up in hives in no time. (I only blew up in hives in North Central Florida; it's a moldy place.)
2) A housesitting gig at my friend B's apartment over Christmas. I wish I had pictures. It was exactly what I wanted after time in a cold, half-empty townhouse: a warm yellow room with a big closet and a storage unit across town. Whew. I had gotten out from under the dark cloud of too-big bills and a townhouse in a town where I didn't care to stay and couldn't work either. Lots of Netflix Christmas movies kept me company on the days when I was there alone (which was most of them) and it was relaxing. Just what I needed in the midst of the holiday hubbub.
3) Next, I stayed with a woman I met on craigslist.org. She had a 4-bedroom house in Gainesville and an empty nest. I was in the middle of interviewing for a job in Tampa (yes, 150 miles south of Gainesville) and needed another temporary place. We agreed that I would pay for 2 months even if I didn't stay that long, although I ended up staying almost exactly that long.
When I contacted her by phone, she sounded harassed. I didn't know how to handle this, so I started slowly with my credentials (
I have a job in Gainesville, sold my house sooner than I expected, ended up staying with friends, and need a room to rent soon. I can provide references if you need them. I promise I'm a nice person.) and eventually she confided to me, "I put that ad on craig's list today, and you would not believe who's been calling me. Creepy men, mostly."
"Oh, I bet they have!" I said and explained my similar predicament when I tried to rent a room in my townhouse. For a while, I ended up with a female roommate who had interesting ideas about what a clean bathroom entailed. A picture is included for your reference.
Warning: the following picture made at least one of my sisters gag:
In any case, we met and agreed that I would rent a room. In many ways, we exceeded each other's expectations, too. We had several good conversations over dinner or at other times while I rented the room. My friend B was looking to unload a TV and I found a new home for it in my rented room. I hooked it up to the cable and we were good to go; I could watch TV in bed like some sort of rock star :) I paid the amount we agreed upon on time for each of the two months. I even went to Lowe's and got a bejeweled Diva-style house key for me to use, which I gave to her when I left (and which she loved).
The rented room was painted dark blue with white trim and a white door. I bought large curtains to put on the curtain rod above the closet; the closet doors were long gone. She offered me a heating unit for the room, which became my best friend on those cold Gainesville nights.
I left a few of my prototype door snakes there. Two stayed in the rental room window to keep things extra cozy. She needed them for different drafty doors in her place, and I was moving from room to room so I didn't need them anymore. (I sewed a whole basket of them to give away as Christmas presents in 2011.)
But perhaps the most notable move happened next. I moved into my newly-married sister's house to start a new job with a big new raise.
She and I figured a while back that we'd live together when I "graduated" from Gainesville, but since she and her man had moved up the wedding date, well, we all live in the same place now. I suppose that in the interim, we could call this blog Gabi's Sister's House, but this is temporary of course. I pitch in with taking care of the dog, remember to set out the trash more often than not, and try to keep everything clean.
This was the place where my furniture and other stuff have been stored since the move out of the townhouse. At first, the guest room was mayhem, but I am slowly whittling it down. There are a few more things I need to unload and then we'll be in the clear.
So yeah, things were awkward in Gainesville. People wondered why I didn't just get an apartment, and I couldn't very well tell them I was interviewing for work elsewhere. But that secret's been out for a while now; I started the current job in March.
I also fell in love with someone far away, which makes me want to remain as mobile as possible. I told him I'd need a serious commitment (read: engagement) to consider moving and so far he hasn't run away, run away quickly. So, you never know.
Gabi's house is on the move once more....
In any case, we met and agreed that I would rent a room. In many ways, we exceeded each other's expectations, too. We had several good conversations over dinner or at other times while I rented the room. My friend B was looking to unload a TV and I found a new home for it in my rented room. I hooked it up to the cable and we were good to go; I could watch TV in bed like some sort of rock star :) I paid the amount we agreed upon on time for each of the two months. I even went to Lowe's and got a bejeweled Diva-style house key for me to use, which I gave to her when I left (and which she loved).
The rented room was painted dark blue with white trim and a white door. I bought large curtains to put on the curtain rod above the closet; the closet doors were long gone. She offered me a heating unit for the room, which became my best friend on those cold Gainesville nights.
I left a few of my prototype door snakes there. Two stayed in the rental room window to keep things extra cozy. She needed them for different drafty doors in her place, and I was moving from room to room so I didn't need them anymore. (I sewed a whole basket of them to give away as Christmas presents in 2011.) 
But perhaps the most notable move happened next. I moved into my newly-married sister's house to start a new job with a big new raise.
She and I figured a while back that we'd live together when I "graduated" from Gainesville, but since she and her man had moved up the wedding date, well, we all live in the same place now. I suppose that in the interim, we could call this blog Gabi's Sister's House, but this is temporary of course. I pitch in with taking care of the dog, remember to set out the trash more often than not, and try to keep everything clean.
This was the place where my furniture and other stuff have been stored since the move out of the townhouse. At first, the guest room was mayhem, but I am slowly whittling it down. There are a few more things I need to unload and then we'll be in the clear.
So yeah, things were awkward in Gainesville. People wondered why I didn't just get an apartment, and I couldn't very well tell them I was interviewing for work elsewhere. But that secret's been out for a while now; I started the current job in March.
I also fell in love with someone far away, which makes me want to remain as mobile as possible. I told him I'd need a serious commitment (read: engagement) to consider moving and so far he hasn't run away, run away quickly. So, you never know.
Gabi's house is on the move once more....
