Let's Go, Jane!

I bought a van! After dreaming about this idea for a year, it is actually *finally* happening. I found a used cargo van at a dealership in Massachusetts and had an independent inspection done. With the green light from the inspection report, I made an appointment to go to the dealership at 10 am yesterday, not realizing that I wouldn’t get back home until after 7 pm. 

Six hours into my time at the dealership, it turned out that my plan to get temp tags from MA as an out-of-state purchaser would mean that I had to pay MA sales tax, on a vehicle I’m registering in NH where there’s no sales tax. The workaround was to drive the van to my parents’ house with a loud and boisterous salesman named Paul. Paul has verbal diarrhea and a wicked Boston accent. We spent two hours in the car together and I not only know his whole life story, I also have a nuanced understanding of how the used car industry works. He even threw in some Andy Rooney impressions for good measure. 

The van, my van, is now safely parked in my parents’ driveway while I finish the paperwork and get the plates. I will say, my flawed plan was largely influenced by Gemini, which I’ve been testing out since growing disillusioned with ChatGPT. This is the second time that I have invested a lot of time researching and executing a complex plan, only to discover at the end that a critical detail made it unworkable. I’m taking a break from the AI chatbots. They are great for some things, like travel and brainstorming, but they miss important make-or-break details when it comes to dealing with insurance agencies or government offices. I have a very low tolerance for my time being wasted.

This week, I settled into my cute rental apartment in Cambridge, MA. It has lots of natural light (a must for me!) and is tastefully decorated. Because I’m here for a month, I can actually do normal things like stock the fridge with real food from the grocery store a few blocks away. I made a delicious pot of chili the other night, which felt very domestic. And Carey is coming to visit this weekend, which I’m really looking forward to. 

I am enjoying being settled in one place, and easing back into a routine of work while planning this next chapter. For the first time in a long while, I’m not dreaming or researching or waiting—I’m home.