row house 41

a couple of weeks ago we found out that when the project manager leaves Korea in December, his row house will be offered to us. we suspected that this might happen but initially we were alittle disappointed because that meant that we would have to wait until returning from Michigan to move. never having been here in winter, we don't fully understand how cold it gets and if moving during that time would be hard. when you talk to people they say "oh it gets really cold but its a dry cold". these people are mostly from Texas. really cold Texas and really cold Michigan are really different, needless to say, we have no idea. so, i got very excited planning what i would be able to do when moving to the row house. Ethan, Addison and i started driving by after school and i would take us by the bakery and store we will pass on our way home and tell them about it. this particular row house has a very small backyard in comparison to some but i knew from a blog that ken"s wife used to do that there were some upgrades in the house like ceiling fans, a dryer (hallelujah)and that it was pretty large, as far as the row houses go anyway. we were pretty excited until right before Halloween we found out it was only 2 bedrooms. crushed. i was crushed. i get like that over things. i try very hard not to look forward to things unless i know they will happen. this to me was a done deal. crushed.
so i broke open the ever present wine, melted down for an evening and got over it. sort of. rick is a nice husband and doesn't like to see me melt down. the next day he called me from work and said, we can put Addison in with us if we have to. i will build you a room if i have to, we will make it work. we decided that before we got too carried away, we should probably see the place.
we have always been going back and forth on whether or not we wanted to move anyway so maybe we would see it, realize it wouldn't work and just stay where we are. the next day, ken, the project manager had said he might give us the keys to check it out that afternoon. well, it didn't end up happening that day and then we left for the weekend to go to Busan.
on Monday when we returned, rick called and said he had the keys and at lunch he would swing by and take me and Addison to see the place (Ethan was at school). i was very excited. in the meantime, Ethan's school called and said that we had to come and pick up Ethan because the school was closing for the week due to an outbreak of h1n1. the row houses are right by the school so we went and picked Ethan up on the way and took him with us.
the house was set up alittle different than the other one that i saw with a little more room. probably a little less modern looking though too. living room is a good size but the TV is old and rick says that our electronic equipment will not be compatible. the floors are hardwood, there is a half bath down stairs, a kitchen that is separate with a door leading into it, a dining room type area, a separate laundry room with the dryer(hallelujah) and then stairs going up. i was nervous to go upstairs. i thought i remembered from the other house that the rooms were small but i wasn't sure.
at the top of the stairs is the spare bedroom. twin bed, computer, table and some dressers. this would be Ethan's room and he went in and loved it. next to his room is part of the master bedroom with a door. in here is a king sized bed, nightstand and armoire. then leading thru an arch way is the rest of the room on the other side. i don't know how to explain this well but it is another room. it even has a separate door. the master bath comes off this room too. its like this is the master bedroom but they took the bed and moved it to the second bedroom and took part of the wall away and made an arch. like the arch in my basement at home going into the home theatre (if you've seen my house). i laughed. i actually laughed out loud. it was silly, all that worry about the bedrooms for nothing. this was almost too easy. I'm sure rick had a sigh of relief. i could think of many ways to block that arch to make the rooms separate. very easy fix.

in the meantime, ken, the owner came home for lunch and was able to answer questions. mostly, i wanted to know what furniture stayed and what would go. it was like the people who own the row houses decided hey, this house is for the project manager and his wife, lets knock out a wall and load it up with furniture. it is everywhere and i don't think that any 2 pieces match. its like 80's oak hell. i used to like oak too but this stuff is definitely dated. mom and dad, that old oak furniture that you've been trying to give me and rick since we got married, you should bring it when you come. i think it could find a home here. you know, maybe it is here, i wouldn't be surprised.
the master bathroom has the full sized tub for bathing the kids and also has a wood little room in it that is a sauna. side note: rick found out about the sauna beforehand when he talked to ken and found out that the place was only a 2 bedroom. apparently rick asked ken if he thought Addison could sleep in the sauna. we are hoping that ken knew that rick wasn't serious, i don't think he laughed though.
the icing on the cake is this. when i was asking ken what was staying and what was going he said, the only things that are ours is the oriental dresser thing downstairs and this. in the corner is this fold up, space saver, ultramodern, fat burning, i can use while Addison sleeps, answer to my sticky rice obsession piece of equipment known as a treadmill. beautiful. it was beautiful. it winked at me and said "come walk on me western woman and eat all the rice you want..."
while i was daydreaming, ken says to rick i think I'll just leave the treadmill for you, too much of a hassle to move. nice huh. its the little things these days. needless to say, upon returning from Michigan in January, we will be moving into row house 41 where Rick, Ethan, Addison, the treadmill and i will continue our Korean adventure.