Hotel Julie

Now that Dave is more or less permanently working for his dad, I’ve opened-up our house to any friends who need a place to stay. My labmate, Eric, stayed at the house for a few weeks before his band left to tour Japan. He’s the bass player in his bands, Second Shot and Van Hammersley. His wife, Rachael, used to work in our lab as well but then she landed a great job down in San Diego. It is a résumé-building job so she’ll stick it out for a year and then move on (and hopefully back up north). I actually know a few other couples who are in a similar one-spouse-lives-away-for-work situation as me. Eric’s stay was temporary before he left on tour, but now that he’s back he wants to “contribute financially” so he can stay at the house until he either lands a job down in SD with Rachael (not likely given the economy) or she’s done with her job (in June). Dave and I will have to figure out how much rent is reasonable and then clear out a kitchen cabinet so he can have a place to stash his food. Lucky for me, he used to be a certified veterinary technician so he’s super good with dogs—even my little Ruby who barks and jumps on him all the time.

Just yesterday my prof says to me, “Hey Julie, if we change A-Eric’s name to start with an ‘e’ can he also stay at your house?” At first I didn’t understand what he meant, but then I just laughed. So…my other labmate, Arek (who we refer to as “A-Eric” as opposed to “E-Eric” since our lab is home to both), is now staying on our futon in the office while he does some field work here in Davis. He lives in Oregon now, but has a few more experiments going down here that he needs to finish up. Then I think he’s heading back up north to get married.

Last week my friend Mari and her baby boy, Alex, stayed at our house while she was down here meeting with professors about her doctorate research. I baby sat Alex a lot while she was in meetings and we had such a ball. He’s not walking yet, but boy can he scoot across a room fast! The last time I saw him was when I helped Mari haul all her stuff to the airport when they moved back to Alaska (they live half a year there and half a year here while she finishes her PhD research and classes). He’s getting so big! Babies never seem like “real” people until they start to stand up and walk. Well, he’s almost there. By the time they move back to Davis in January he’ll be over a year old and probably starting to talk!

Whenever someone comes to stay at our house, I make sure to sweep/vacuum up as much of the dog hair as I can, dust the furniture, make the beds up with clean sheets, clean the bathrooms, etc. I’ve given up vacuuming the couches to get all the dog hair off. The fabric is a loose weave and it really just works it’s way into the cushions. Dave uses the shop-vac, but I’m just too lazy (and tired from cleaning the rest of the house) to bother anymore. (No one seems to mind/notice anyway.)

So, if you’re ever in town and need a place to stay just ask! We'd be happy to have you!