Early Afternoon, Saturday, November 25, 2023, Lithia, Florida
It’s a beautiful late autumn afternoon here in the Tampa Bay area as I begin this, my 1,342nd post on A Certain Point of View, Too. Outside, the temperature is 74°F/23°C under sunny conditions. The feels-like temperature, though, is 84°F/29°C, thanks to a gentle east-northeasterly 7 MPH/11 KMH breeze and 60% humidity.
That pleasant weather will change tonight, though; the forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 75°F/24°C, but we can expect heavy rains after sunset, and the low tonight is expected to reach 65°F/18°C.
The weather picture for Madison, New Hampshire, is a bit wintrier. Like here, it’s sunny with no clouds in the sky, but the temperature is colder. Right now, it’s just above freezing, with the mercury at 34°F/1°C and a feels-like factor of 43°F/6°C. Luckily, my future Madison neighbors will have a nicer night because the forecast calls for mostly clear skies. It will be colder, though, cos the low will be 17°F/-8°C.
Weekend Update, Part the Second, or: The Packing Process Continues
I don’t have much to say about yesterday, which in the United States was the day after Thanksgiving and – because this is the start of the holiday shopping season, and many stores make tons of money that puts them in the “black” or profitable side of the ledger – is now known as Black Friday.
In ordinary times, meaning “times when I’m not preparing for an interstate move from Florida to New England,” I would have gone to Amazon and purchased my first Christmas presents. I don’t buy too many of those, but I do have housemates that I care about, plus friends in other parts of the U.S., so this is when I usually get them a few tokens of my appreciation and affection.
I doubt, though, that this year I will buy many gifts. I won’t be here for Christmas, for one thing, so I don’t see the point of spending scarce resources for a gathering that I am not going to be a part of. Besides, I need to save my money for my transition from living in one state to reside in another.
If I do buy a gift or two, I’ll need to be careful and not get carried away with playing Santa.
And, speaking of that interstate move…the packing process resumed yesterday and continues today. Most of my clothes – the more summery T-shirts and polo shirts, mostly, but also stuff I rarely wear (like my movie-accurate Indiana Jones cosplay outfit) – are now in moving boxes, as are a lot of the kitchen stuff I salvaged from my Miami townhouse when I moved here in 2016. Also, my college-era globe that used to grace my desk in the Student Publications office at Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus is out of the garage and on the kitchenette table, waiting to be put in a moving box as well.
I don’t want to say it’s depressing cos I have been on “Move Out” alert for over a year and knew that sooner or later I was going to leave this house. But, like everyone else here, I envisioned staying in the Tampa Bay area until an offer to rent a place in Brandon was rescinded – the excuse being “It’s too much house for you” – and no other local alternative could be found, at least not in a desirable time frame that would satisfy everyone.
Miami was my “next best” choice, but, just like in the Tampa Bay area, there is too much demand for public housing or apartments with subsidized rents – there is no Section 8 waiting list here to speak of either in Hillsborough or Miami-Dade County, and apparently, you must wait till someone either moves out or dies in an “over 50” apartment community where subsidized rents are accepted.
So…it’s up to New Hampshire – the Ice Planet Hoth, as I like to call it – that I must go to, and so, we’re emptying my closet and placing most of its contents into boxes from Home Depot and Lowe’s. And, of course, the clock is ticking down to M-Day: December 12, 2023, which is when my interstate road trip is slated to start.
So…this whole experience is not quite depressing…but I’m not exactly jumping for joy, either, y’know?
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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