Diagnosis Nothing

[lunabee34]

As I suspected, my OBGYN was all, "Yes. You are not having a period. Excellent observational skills. Now pay the lady a hundred and fifty dollars on your way out."

It wasn't quite that bad; he's a good doctor and not dismissive, but I am so tired of every single doctor's visit being a mere confirmation that, yes, something is wrong with me, but no we're not going to do anything about it. I would like to have an actionable problem, my friends. LOL

Anyway, he said that if I go three cycles without a period to come back when I'm at the end of the off week of my birth control (taking birth control interferes with tests for menopause), so we'll see.

I also made an appointment with a dermatologist for next week. I've got a friend who has had numerous cancerous lesions removed in the past year which made me think I probably ought to have a full body check myself just to be sure.

And now for something completely different. I have been watching Tiny House Nation and coming up against a brick wall of understanding. I truly do not understand why anyone would choose to live in a tiny space. I mean, I get it on an intellectual level (wanting to reduce your energy footprint or spend less of your income on bills or as a matter of necessity in a major urban center), and I'd also get it if these houses were ever intended for one person to live in. But no, it's always a couple and sometimes a family with children and pets.

Part of my inability to get it is a product of my upbringing. I was raised with rural values. My parents taught me that owning land is paramount. They didn't have a huge house but it's four bedroom (because you have to be able to sleep everybody when they come to visit). I have never lived anywhere that space was at a premium. When we first moved here (my first real stint at living in a neighborhood), the houses being so close together was a real adjustment for me.

I don't need to live in a mansion, but I cannot imagine living in a tiny house. I cannot imagine sleeping in a loft bedroom in which I cannot even stand up straight. I cannot imagine being able to stretch out my arms and touch both walls of my living room. I think I would be so anxious (where do you go to get away from people?) and claustrophobic. Also, I do not have a lot of stuff. I have a very pared down closet. We don't own knickknacks. But I have a ton of books and a ton of dishes, and I wouldn't want to get rid of them. I definitely think too much stuff (and too much of the wrong stuff) is a Real Thing, but I don't agree that just Stuff in General is Bad.

What do y'all think? Could you live in a tiny house (gladly or only begrudgingly and of necessity)? Do you need your space?

Comments

[zulu]

I'd prefer more yard to more house. I've always lived in a city, so for me if I was going to have a smaller (not tiny) house, the advantage would be that I'd get to enjoy a lot more of my lot because the house would have a smaller footprint. And things that fold into other things are cool. But otherwise: no. People need their own areas!

So far 1200 square feet has been plenty for three of us + 2 cats, but bell is dreaming of more space so we can get cat #3 without stressing the other two.

[lunabee34]

In theory, I like more yard (and that drive to own land is so ingrained in me that I'm always slightly ashamed that we own nothing), but in practice I mostly hate to be outside because it's so hot and buggy. My window of enjoying outside is fairly narrow.

I don't know what the square footage of this house is: it's three bedroom, two bath, kitchen, and living room. I think it's about 1300 as well give or take a couple hundred square feet.

I want a five bedroom house. We live so far away from all our family, and when they come to visit, it's miserable. Five bedrooms means everybody can come visit and be comfortable. The fifth bedroom would be an office.

[the_rck]

I would hate it passionately. I would like to have more space than we do (850 square feet and a partially finished basement) if only for a counter in the bathroom and a little more space to move around in our bedroom.

[lunabee34]

I hear you on that. We have more square footage then you do, but all the bedrooms in this house are rather small. I really like having a larger bedroom, one large enough to put a chair that you can read in and have more than just enough room to maneuver around the bed. LOL

[elfin]

I'm really fascinated by the whole tiny house thing. I love some of the ideas, like multi-purposing spaces, and clever storage solutions, but holy shit, I can't imagine living somewhere that small. And this is coming from someone who grew up in a house that was less than 900 square feet. When my parents sold it, it was listed as "a charming cottage." lol

I will admit that I'm ready for the Husband and I to be in a smaller house. But not tiny.

[lunabee34]

I 100% agree with you that the multi-purpose furniture and use of space is really cool as are the storage hacks. The architects and designers are really clever.

But I just could not live in a house the size of my living room/kitchen. We would all kill each other. I know we would. LOL

[vicki_rae]

Shuddering at the thought of a tiny house. I'm really claustrophobic. This house was build 50 years ago by the prior owners and has big rooms (even both bathrooms!) but tiny bedroom closets and no storage at all. None. The coat closet in the entry is a joke overstuffed just with coats for three people. We put a coat tree next to the front door for guests to use.

It was my parents house and when I eventually retire to another state I'll significantly downsize on square footage and lose the 3rd bedroom but oh god no not to anyplace where I can touch two opposing walls at once. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen/great room, big closets. At the very least something I can use for a pantry and a place to put my suitcases that isn't along the wall in the guest room.

Well. Possibly by then I'll also need a closet for my BPAL habit. As one does.

[lunabee34]

BPAL closets for all when I am Queen! :)

Houses that lack storage space are so bizarre to me, especially homes that are roomy enough to have incorporated them in the original floor plan. You have to wonder what the architect was thinking in leaving them out. Was the expectation when the house was built that people would use free standing wardrobes.

[princessofgeeks]

Methinks this is a small trend, part of the SIMPLICITY movement, that is being exploited by the media.

Probably more widespread are the people who sell their homes and buy a big RV and drive around everywhere.

In any case, Chuck Wendig has been laughing at the tiny house movement, and his posts about it are pretty funny.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2016/04/25/the-tiny-house-hunters-drinking-game-tiny-living-big-drinking/

I definitely want to downsize, but not that far. A one bedroom apartment with a pool and a view of the river would be fine with me.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

I think you are right. There's a huge contingency of RV-dwellers out there.

And oh my sweet and fluffy lord thank you for linking me to that blog. The drinking game is hilarious but his open letter is even funnier. Much much full-throated laughter going on here.

[archersangel]

Methinks this is a small trend, part of the SIMPLICITY movement, that is being exploited by the media.

i agree.

[karmageddon]

Great link

[karmageddon]

"When someone realizes that the loft bed is basically a chest-crushing, sarcophagal sex-free frottage zone and as soon as you put anything beefier than a ratty blanket up there you’re going to break your nose on the ceiling and then smother to death"

[lunabee34]

I KNOW!

Josh made me stop reading the post out loud because I kept laughing too much like a hyena.

[china_shop]

For about two years, my ex-gf and I lived in a one-bedroom basement flat where the living room had a 6-foot stud (ie, you couldn't take clothes off over your head). We used curtains for doors, which I see is on Chuck Wendig's drinking game list. The bedroom and kitchen had maybe an 8-foot stud, and you had to go outside to get to the toilet. But we managed to cram three couches, two bookcases, two cats and a couple of guitars into the living room, and had friends over a lot (the tall ones had to kind of stoop till they got to the couches), and it was fun and manageable. I liked that it made me disciplined about clutter and resolving relationship niggles (nowhere to hide!), and it was super-easy to heat. Also, the location was excellent -- close to shops and town -- and we had enough lawn that in good weather we spent a lot of time outside.

But that was twenty years ago. I wouldn't go back. And even that was probably more spacious than many of the tiny houses. o.O

These days, the idea of not having a separate bedroom gives me hives. (I had a studio apartment when I was single, but I was young and poor.) In fact, for the 16 years (so far) of my current relationship, the boy and I have lived in separate houses! Ha!

[lunabee34]

It all seems easier when you're younger. Josh and I lived in a truly tiny apartment when we were in college (although not quite NYC studio apt tiny; this was luxurious by those standards but eensy weensy by the standards of the area); it was probably a little smaller than our kitchen and living room together. And yet it was two bedroom! You could definitely get away from someone and close the door. Which is crucial.

[umadoshi]

Ah, the joy of inhabiting meatpuppets. *sighs* *hugs*

I couldn't cope with one of those tiny houses. Sometimes I feel like our current place is a bit ridiculously large for just me, C, and the cats, but it's not huge, and we make use of it. (And then I eye Ginny and Kas' new place, which is WAY BIGGER than ours [and yet has only two bedrooms, where we have three], and I contemplate how living in a space like theirs would make it much easier to have another cat or two.) I don't actually know the square footage of our townhouse for comparison to anything, though.

I've always, always needed my own space; the first year C and I were married, we had separate bedrooms, but since then we've always shared a bedroom and I've had an office, and now he has his own space too (which he essentially did in the co-op we lived in before the current condo, but it doubled as the guest room).

(I really like the "Not So Big House" design philosophy [and have a couple of the books], which requires designing a house [which I have no illusions about ever having the chance to do] while really thinking about how you use space as an individual/family and working to not wind up with bloated entryways or showy rooms that no one ever actually uses. But that's a very different thing from "let's shove three people and a dog into two tiny rooms and a loft!!!")

[lunabee34]

I miss having separate bedrooms. We didn't always avail ourselves of them, but when Josh is snoring really bad, it's really nice to have an actual bed I can go escape to or kick him out to.

Josh is actually really interested in building our own house rather than trying to purchase one when the time comes. I know basically how buying a house works, but not so much the process of building one. I've heard such terrible horror stories about contractors that I am deeply leery. I'd actually love to be the first person to live in a home and to get one that's laid out exactly as I'd like, but IDK. That's a bit in the future anyway.

[umadoshi]

I've almost never availed myself of the option, but being able to go sleep elsewhere if need be is one of the reasons I like having a guest room. (C doesn't tend to snore badly, but I also think in terms of if one of us caught a really bad cold and the other might still be in the clear. And he slept in there for a few nights after tattoo sessions, when he had to sleep on his front and keep the cats away from the fresh work.)

There are a lot of tempting things about building one's own house! The main reason I can't see it happening for us is that we like living in the city proper, and land would almost certainly be horrifyingly expensive before the construction costs.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

It's all academic for us until we know whether Josh gets tenure or not. If he does, then it makes sense for us to buy or build a house here. If not, then we should most emphatically do neither. LOL

[archersangel]

i couldn't stand being in one of those tiny houses. just looking at them makes me uncomfortable & i'm not claustrophobic.

[lunabee34]

Yeah, I'm not claustrophobic either and looking at the layouts of those homes makes me feel like I could quickly learn to be.

[karmageddon]

It's definitely a new form of decadence IMHO. You need space to buy in bulk, to save things to re-use. You can have a dorm fridge if you never eat out, etc. I get rebelling against McMansions, but this isn't that. It's just as show-offy and possessions-as-identity. I have 2000 sq. ft. for 6 people, which I think is too much to heat/cool/clean. 1500 would be perfect I think, well laid out of course :-)

[karmageddon]

Meant: "always" eat out

[lunabee34]

Oooooooooh, yes! That's it exactly.

I hate to use the word hipster, but it is hipster and pretentious. There is a whiff of that about the whole thing.

[torachan]

If it was just myself, I wouldn't mind too much, except for the kitchen space. I hate feeling cramped when I'm cooking. But for living with another person? No way.

[lunabee34]

We are on the same page for certain. I would not want to live in a tiny house with even a cat, I don't think.

[havocthecat]

I need more space than that so I can keep my books. You can't ebook all the gaming books. It's just not possible.

[lunabee34]

Agreed.

I'm not giving up my books, my shelves and shelves of physical books I can hold in my hand.

[monanotlisa]

I don't need a large house; in fact I don't quite want that. But a Tiny House is madness for long-term living -- not for a few months or days; I would enjoy that. The house I'm in has pretty much the right size. Like you, I'm probably influenced by my parents' house in Germany, which is European and therefore not sprawling while still giving space to its inhabitants.

I can and am prepared to live in an apartment, though -- I love the City, and that's the price you pay if you can't pay the price. ;)

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

The Tiny House episode I saw that made the most sense was the one where the people had them construct a tiny vacation house. They weren't going to live there, just vacation there for short periods of time.