Packing-induced hysteria: Hour 12

So, we move tomorrow (soon after that, I'll post some pics of the new place). And we've been packing all day today, so that everything is ready to go when people show up tomorrow at 10 to help (please don't back out!). Despite the fact that I have changed residences so often in the last few years, I HATE moving, and I hate packing even more than I hate moving. Luckily for me, this time the packing and moving is offset a bit by the incredibly satisfying act of checking off several lists we've made since we started this whole project a couple of months ago. We are (unreasonably?) proud of ourselves for getting so much done, but there's a long way to go.

This is our kitchen on its way to being empty. It's a good thing our new kitchen is bigger, because it took us about 5 hours to pack up all the random stuff (Rob's grapefruit gadget, last used in 2006, my spice racks, the 10 cans of tuna we bought on sale in July, the port wine I hauled back from Portugal).

After about 10 hours of packing, I hit this wall where I just don't see the point any more. This is when I finally see the brilliance behind my siblings' packing strategies. I spend the first several hours organizing and labeling, making sure everything is in its right place. Only later do I start throwing everything I see into whatever receptacle or bag is handy at the moment. Grocery bags, trash bags, garbage cans, shoeboxes. Then, at hour 11, I start drinking.

Here, you can see the fruits of our labor (all the boxes) awaiting transport, plus two very confused dogs. Looks like the prayers/dancing/whatever paid off - the forecast for tomorrow is pretty good here. Now I need to go drink pack some more.

Homeownership

That's right. Rob and I have joined the ranks of what I like to call the landed gentry (even though this is neither 18th century England nor a Jane Austen novel)! We're in! Since the very smooth closing on Friday, we've ripped up carpet, gotten new locks, mowed the lawn, torn out some cabinetry-type stuff, and pulled about 8,000 carpet staples from at least three different eras or stapling schools of thought. We've also had the amazing luck to have lined up almost everything we want to get done before the move (next Sunday) that we can't do ourselves.
There will be more updates soon, and pictures once I find the camera. If you aren't able to help us move, do what you can (pray, dance, whatever) to prevent rain. Or lots of homework.

10 more days

That's right. 10 MORE DAYS. And then we will OWN A HOUSE. WHICH WILL BE OURS THAT WE WILL OWN.
Not that this is anything to get worked up about.
Closing is September 19th. Work will commence immediately following (with a break for Kelly's wedding) and with a little luck, we'll have our wood floors and our patched and painted walls (and our furnace and our fence, although we aren't doing those ourselves) by the time we move in on September 28th.
Because of this, and because Rob and I are both planners, we decided it would be wise to get as much of our stuff boxed up and ready to move before closing as we can. So while I was planning lessons and trying to get ahead on my readings and thinking about taking a break to pack a box after page 76, Rob boxed up almost everything we own, including my 5,000 books (see sample at left). And then he tackled the basement.
I definitely picked the right man to move with.

Good News, Bad News: Week 1

Good News: It's Friday! There is so much good in Friday that it is difficult to convey.

1. The republicans are leaving! Which means I will not be stopped by bored traffic cops with Napoleon complexes at every intersection in town despite the fact that my light is green, and that my bus will (hypothetically) run on time, and that there will be something on TV besides that Palin woman and the heartwarming story of how much republicans love America.
   
2. I made it through my first week of teaching! And I haven't cried in front of my class OR my supervisor, no one has dropped my class, I have only made one or two egregious errors, and my kids are actually learning some things.
3. It is the weekend. I'm so busy right now that I barely have time to breathe, and while the weekend is obviously going to be just as busy, it won't involve buses or supervisors or secretaries to get in the way of my work.
4. It also won't involve students. Although almost all my students seem to be lovely people, there are one or two who are already working very hard to make my life difficult. And I don't have to see them again until Monday!
5. Tonight, I get to ignore my social/work obligations and devote my full and undivided attention to a bottle of wine, a plate of spaghetti, and the Sopranos.
   

Bad News: It's Friday, and there are at least 37 things I was going to do, had every intention of doing, really truly meant and wanted to do, but didn't.
Good News: I (hopefully) only failed to do the important things.
Bad News: The relative importance of the things I've so far failed to do is uncertain and I am NOT GOOD at uncertainty.
Good News: Marty sent me some shots of me water skiing at Clearwater. It is certain that I was awesome at water skiing: