Move to MS

I hadn't mentioned it on my blog, but since last September, I've been working on obtaining a job as a government scientist. This job is truly my dream job- no teaching, about 2 months of grant writing per year and the rest of the time in the lab. Oh- and I only have to work on a particular project for 3-5 years. No studying a random protein on a random virus for the rest of my career. Only downside is that the job is in MS.

2 days after my grandfather's funeral, I set out for MS with my Great Dane, Darwin. 90% of the items in the Jeep were for Darwin- I had a single suitcase and a backpack with my electronics. We made it to the half-way point in VA without any issues. The following day, we took longer rest stops - mostly because Darwin insisted on spending an hour rolling in the grass in the beautiful warm TN sunshine. Can't say I blame him, 70F felt very nice considering it was 20F when we set out the previous day! After we left the TN rest stop, I got a call from my landlord. My apartment was not going to be available to me upon my arrival in MS (despite the fact the landlord had already cashed my rent check AND had an additional week to get the apartment ready as I moved a week later than initially planned due to my grandfather's death). However, the landlord offered to put me up in a corporate apartment until my apartment was ready. OK. Not happy about this as I wanted to get Darwin settled in my new apartment before I started work, but what can I do? I show up at the corporate apartment at 10PM- only to discover that the previous tenant smoked menthols. I have always had a severe asthmatic reaction to menthols- there is no way I can stay in this apartment even for a single night! Of course, I can't get ahold of the landlord, so I left a pissy message and frantically called my husband. DH located a pet friendly motel for me, so I called and verified that they had a room. I was expecting some sort of sleazy place, but the motel was actually nicer than the more expensive hotel we'd stayed at the previous night. Darwin especially enjoyed the king-sized bed.


The next day, I got a call from the landlord saying that she is very sensitive to cigarette smoke and never had a problem with the corporate apartment. I responded that sensitivities come in different strengths- and mine was likely greater than hers as I'd been reacting for 30+ years. The landlord then informed me that she'd inspected the apartment and it was ready for me to move in. She couldn't meet me with the key as she had a meeting, but she had a friend bring the key over. I went to the apartment and was appalled at how filthy it was. There was a layer of plaster dust all the way up the hall (I don't think that even a token attempt was made to clean it), the kitchen counters (white) were covered in stains and I don't even want to think about how nasty the bathroom and oven were. Needless to say $400 in cleaning supplies (including 2 boxes of disposable gloves), and the apartment is at least clean....