First off, an enormous thank-you to Mark, who introduced me to librivox.org about an hour ago. People, this is a seriously cool site: FREE books and audiobooks for download. These are all in the public domain, ergo not today’s NYT bestsellers, but you now have no excuse not to catch up on your classics. I am downloading hours of audiobooks to listen to on that long drive across the continent. Mark tells me that because it’s all created on a volunteer basis, the quality of the reading varies widely, but even so, it’s FREE.

JACKPOT!

Also, I may have found an apartment…I’ve been in touch with a place that seems promising. It’s in north Seattle, right by a bus stop and a mall; the neighborhood has Lynn’s safety approval; there’s no weight restriction on dogs; prices are reasonable; there’s a sauna and jacuzzi on the grounds…. This of course leaves me, the pessimist, wondering if there’s some nasty mold problem or other huge drawback. I was going to post a link to the Web site, but then I realized it might not be the smartest thing ever to publicize to the entire world where I might be living.

Tonight I get to move out everything for bulk item pickup. This should clear some space for me to at least see my way through the chaos.

Last night I packed my antique books. This was a discouraging and depressing process. For those of you who don’t know, I have an insanely bad allergy to the kind of mold that grows on books. We found this out when I was 18 and had a sinus infection I couldn’t shake for something like eight months. The doctor finally suggested an allergy test. Mold was by far my highest allergen, and he said the worst type is specific to old books. I’m something ludicrous like 35,000 times more susceptible than the average person. He asked if I was ever around old books. I started laughing and said, “How much did my mom pay you to say that?” My mom, on the other hand, turned white.

See, I worked at a used bookstore once a week, and I had a bunch of old books from there and my grandmother’s attic and various other places. I loved their musty smell, and I’d often stick my nose right up to the pages to breathe it in deeply. I had old books along the shelf above my bed.

The doctor said, “If there are any old books in the room where you sleep, get them out immediately. Today. As soon as you leave here.” When we got home, the nurse called my mom to make sure we were going to get the books out of my room stat. This is how ridiculously bad the allergy is.

I can’t even go into libraries without needing to sleep for hours afterward. It’s not that I get congested or itchy eyes or anything; my body just starts to shut down. People think I exaggerate or make this up because they can’t see any physical symptoms. Believe me, I WISH I was making it up. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say my life would be quite different without this allergy. For one thing, I’d have a lot more books because I’d be able to go to used bookstores. I could work in a library. I could be a book scout. I could do all kinds of cool things I’d really like to do.

I wonder sometimes about seeing an allergist about shots, but I suspect they wouldn’t make enough of a difference to matter.

Anyway, just sitting on a bookshelf in humid Savannah, some of my books, both new and old, have gathered black patches. (This makes me think of the Bible verse that talks about how “moth and rust destroy.”) My antique books filled a box and a half and I was so sick by the end of the packing that I went to bed early. This leaves me wondering what the point is of even having these books. I can’t read them. All I can do is stick them behind glass on a bookshelf and look at them.

Oh, well. I guess this brings us full circle to audiobooks. Free. Burnable onto CDs. Playable in the car. While I drive to Colorado and then Seattle. Whew.

I have stepped away from my time as a Californian. I am now three days into becoming a Texan. Is it any wonder that I had spent time in theatre? Anyways, picking up where I left off at in my last post. The last night I had in the Bay area a few of my coworkers and I got together for a last/goodbye supper at BJ’s in Tanforan. I have to say that there were a couple that I know without a doubt would be there. Then others that I was shocked in a small way that they even showed up.  Regardless I was very thankful for the support everyone has given me for the move. Food was great as you can see by my fantastic sandwich.  One thing I do not recommend doing is this, now this is mainly aimed at the procrastinators, do not take a shot of patron and drink a screw driver when you know that you still have to finish packing. Now I am not talking  about like “oh I need to zip my suitcase packing. I am talking about the “Shit! I stil need to clean and pack my suitcases and sort the junk and finish patching the hole in the wall packing.” I do work well under pressure but after that all I wanted to do is sleep. I mean like knock out use a blow horn to wake me up type of sleep. Also to mention the fact that I was running ont three hours of sleep from the night before  and worked all day. The point is this, just get the packing done early. TIME moves quickly these days.

I have so much more to say but that is for another post. You know -like how I got lost 3 times yesterday, saw a deer jump ACROSS our lane on the HIGHWAY……….

Miss A. Fox 

So I’ve almost finished packing.. Sign the lease and pick up the keys on Monday! Exciting times.

Move into the house in Morley next week with Denni and Shirley. Should be good fun. But the moving part will be hard work.. Never realised how much shit I have.

Now we have a cheap outdoor setting that we picked out. It even has an umbrella which will be needed as it’s now summer -.- And Amber from Optus is giving us a dining table that she has spare. Thanks Amber . So we pretty much have the house fully furnished. Denni is getting a big tv in a couple of weeks and I bought a washing machine. Between us we have all of the other furniture, but I’m sure we will start building a collection!

Work the past couple of days has been interesting. Today I worked with Kyri. A few guys were waiting in the queue to be served. As you may have read in my previous posts, Kyri is a lesbian and I’m quite obviously gay. They were making gay jokes and impersonations. So when they got to the front of the queue, Kyri refused to serve them and told them to go to Allphones if they wanted 3 service. Which I would of done the same thing. The guy claimed he had lots of gay friends and didn’t mean it. Sorry buddy. Too late for apologies!

So my friday night has involved packing. And watching The Simpsons with my sister who is home temporarily while she moves house too. Will be weird having 4 family members living in 4 different houses. But I’ll probably rarely see my sister as she plans to move to Albany for an accounting job. Would of gone out but had so much to do anyway. And a certain someone didn’t text back. Which I’m not happy about. But oh well. It doesn’t matter.

This has been another quite boring and short post. But will keep you updated as the move is early next week.

Check out my Music and other sections if you haven’t already!

Thanks for reading.

Tom

It’s thursday. You know what that means.

Just kidding! In college, we loved going out on Thursday more than any other night of the week. We were pretty crazy. Freshman year when I actually had 8 am classes though, not so much. Everyone ever thrown up in a bush outside of their business class before? Yea…me either

I had quite a nice day today here in Elon.

Woke up around 9:30 and hauled ass to the coffee pot to brew some deliciousness before a 10:30 meeting. I added a bit of cinnamon to the mix which is a great combo. Later that day, the chapter president who I’m staying with declares: “Wait, did you drink that ENTIRE pot of coffee by yourself?” Uh…no, must be the other insane consultant who’s staying with you.

I also had breakfast! My oat mix:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 small banana
• 1 tbs melted PB
• crushed cheerios atop

After my meeting I bopped over to the campus gym. It is nice. I don’t remember my college gym having carpeting and practically any magazine you’d ever want. It was like Barnes & Noble.

I had a lot of energy to burn off as I haven’t really hard-core exercised my whole trip here. I’ve noticed that it’s definitely affected how much crap I’ve eaten I’ve been eating. So I channeled what could be negativity about bad food decisions into a good workout sesh.

• Distance: 8.1 miles
• Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Intensity: high for the first 6 miles, water break and lower intensity (around 6.2) for the last two
• ab work
• arm weights

I decided to not do any lower body work because my body was craving cardio. I walked back to the apartment, showered and made some lunch!

• boring sandwich thin
• turkey
• slice of pepperjack cheese
• chopped gala apple

I assure you if I had taken a picture of this, it would be just as exciting as you can probably imagine.

Afternoon snack was some low-sugar, low-carb yogurt that the president didn’t like but was offered to me from the fridge. SOLD. I topped this low-sugar yogurt with some sugar cheerios.

Around 5:30 I had a piece of toast topped with a veggie burger. But we went to the grocery store and I was in the mood for a Hugh Jass salad so I picked one up for later. I am always up til like 2 am anyway so I’ll definitely enjoy a 2nd dinner.

People always ask me what kinds of food items I get at the grocery store while traveling. I like to get items that can go in suitcases and hold up well between different schools. Such as:

• trail mix
• apples (if I bury them in my busty bras they will be nice and intact upon arrival)
• granola bars
• apples
• tea + coffee
• peanut butter

Today I picked up:

Some chocolate almonds…

Some tlcs…

And some delicious tea!

I am currently sipping on the eggnog tea and it is divine. I really enjoy drinking flavored tea at night because it’s like having dessert and if you add a splash of soymilk it is very satisfying.

I threw in some laundry and am going to iron my shirts and get my pack on. I also need to look over some training material I am presenting on on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Shower + blow drying of hair is also a ‘need to do’. I totally haven’t even started my report for this visit which is so unlike me. Might as well add that to my agenda for the night as well.

See ya later for an update on if I’ve actually done anything. This blog is good accountability.

Alison

Day one, reason #1, I guess!

My baby has a lot of packing to do before we fly tomorrow. He has 10 months worth of ’stuff’ to move in 2 trips. The airline we’re using on one of those trips has crazy restrictions and we have no way to measure his bags so he kind of has to pack JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT tonight. Only problem is, he’s avoiding packing like the plague. Oh and he bought a motorcycle helmet as part of his Halloween costume and now he’s insisting on keeping it just in case he ever buys a bike (yeah, like I’ll let that happen).

Anyway, to check if he was actually packing instead of just sitting at his computer, I sent him a message on Skype that said, “I have a crush on you!” Thinking that if he replied, I would know what he was really up to. He came barreling into the room to kiss me and told me he had a major crush on me too. I replied, “I would have a bigger crush on you if you were packing, you know.” “What!” he exclaimed. “My crush is unconditional!!” I thought about that for a while before deciding, “…Oh… Well, that’s not very smart…”

Then came the predictable demands for sexual favours and requests for me to wear a sexy pilots uniform. He then worked out a point system for this and that and gave me a quota to reach each week.

Maybe the title of this should have been, “He’s a wishful thinker!”

<3

LS

Tonight, I’m sitting in a really empty house!

Jeff, due to traffic hold-ups, didn’t make it here until 10:30, but it’s amazing what we accomplished by 2:30.  While I was waiting for him, I took a couple more boxes over and got them unpacked.  Here at the house, I also brought everything downstairs that I could manage by myself, leaving behind just a dresser, bedside chest and a couple of suitcases.

Once Jeff arrived, we took a small load, plus vacuum cleaner, to the flat and had a cup of tea and showed him around the place – should’ve taken just 30 seconds, but he was interested in every nook and cranny, he wanted to make sure everything was really ‘all right’ with the place.  Other than being small, he was fairly happy with it and spotted the same obvious problems that need to be reported to the estate agent that I spotted – like the hole in the living room wall!  One of those ventilation pipes comes in there and for some reason it’s not seated properly and you can see daylight and feel cold air through there.

After that, he made the first trip back to the house with the idea that he would bring all the small stuff while I vacuumed and unpacked – that took us through four trips, and then there was mostly bigger stuff that he needed help carrying…like the big box that all my china and glassware was packed in.  A big thanks to Tracy for ALL the boxes and to Matt and Julie for so carefully packing everything while I rounded it all up to pack!  It was fun unpacking it all, and of course, nothing had a chance to get broken – well packed and it certainly didn’t have far to travel!

At one point, we had another tea break – this time with chocolate chip cookies – and then were back at it.  With the bigger stuff, we probably did it all in about five trips.  The front of the house, outside my front door, is crowded with all my garden pots…will have to check tomorrow to see if the gate to the garden is locked or else will have to meet my downstairs neighbour to gain access – don’t want anyone stealing some of my nice pots!

Once we’d had tea, we unpacked a few more things and then headed over to a local pub for a break – we were suddenly both starving!  We had beer and burgers and a nice long chat about everything but me and D – we’d already spent enough time exhausting that subject.  Jeff’s opinion is like everyone else’s – I’m well out of it and he is willing to bet that Frances will leave David before David leaves Frances.  We may have to start making some wagers, folks!

Jeff and I also made plans for Christmas, which was good – I’ll spend a few days with him and hopefully get together with a few other friends, and then he’ll spend a day in Birmingham with me.  I may even do some decorating once I’ve unpacked everything.

Just waiting another 48 hours for an eBay auction selling fridge and washer to end, make arrangements for people to pick the stuff up, and then I’ll say good-bye to this house for good.

9 days! Seriously. Only 9 days until we embark on the biggest holiday/trip/adventure of our lives!

Is it too late to chicken out now?

Of course, I’m joking. I’m getting more excited as days go by and I think Nik is too now. Strangely, the boys don’t entirely share this excitement!

E keeps telling us he doesn’t want to go because he wants it to ’snow at Christmas’. I can’t seem to get him to understand that all the Christmas cards and pictures in the world are lying to him and it DOESN’T snow at Christmas anyway. He really thinks that I’m depriving him of the snow-filled wonderment of a white Christmas. I can’t help thinking, though, that he’ll soon forget about that when we’re sat on the beach, in the sun!

J is just counting down to his 10th birthday which happens to be the day before we leave. His countdown is a day ahead of ours (which confuses and annoys E no end!) and he appears to be very excited about his birthday although I’m not sure why. Perhaps he has some misguided notion that he might be getting (good) presents? I’m not sure who gave him that idea! So, to J, it’s 8 days and counting!

I have promised myself (or threatened or something) that I’m getting the suitcases all laid out in the bedroom this weekend and I WILL start packing. If you see or speak to me, be sure to remind me of this, won’t you? I have a lame excuse that 2 of the cases are still in the loft so I can shift the ‘not started yet’ blame onto Nik for a few days longer but I really do need to get sorted soon to give myself time to go through it all, after I’ve packed, and take half of it out again!

Not quite sure when I’m going to do this, mind you. I need to clear an ironing mountain first before there’ll even be room for the cases. Maybe Sunday…or maybe ermm..next Saturday? That could be pushing it a bit, I think! I guess I’ll have to pack while the boys are at school. E loves to ‘help’ me pack. Unfortunately, his idea of packing is ‘how many toys can you fit in a suitcase?’!

Toys. There’s a dilemma. What to take? I’m certainly NOT asking E because it’ll set off a whole emotional ‘but we can’t leave X,Y and Z behind’ discussion. Maybe I’ll ponder it a while and observe his ‘most played with’ toys for a few days. Trouble is, as anyone who knows him will know, E plays with EVERYTHING he owns, ALL at once! When he plays, you know about it because the house looks like a (not so) mini tornado swept through it! I’m sure we’ll work something out.

Did I mention it’s our wedding anniversary today. 15 years. Sheesh. You ‘get less for murder’, as they say! Actually, I think prison food might be better too but shhh, don’t tell Nik!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband and thanks for dinner/lunch at Damon’s in Lincoln. Unrivalled for ribs!! If you’ve never been, GO! You can eat free on your birthday too (shame they don’t extend that to anniversaries, eh?!) plus a free cake. Good food!

So, how are we spending our anniversary evening? Well, Nik’s on his Xbox (Modern Warfare 2, I would think) and I’m working on his website (right after I finish this entry which I started to pass the time while my laptop rebooted, anyway!)

There’s something not quite right about that set-up really but hey, works for us! I promise that by 10pm we’ll be snuggled up on the sofa, ready to watch Lie to Me, with a box of chocolates or biscuits or both! (thanks Mums!!)

9 days though. Comes round quick, eh?

I’m packing and packing. What is this deal? There’s not a dog, a cat, an alpaca or a person in sight. It looks like 32 degrees will be the high for the week–if the thermometer makes that. I have eleventy-two thousand boxes to pack, a realtor to hire, clean-up, and a trailer to haul to Oklahoma. What’s wrong with this picture? I think I’ll order a truck and take as much as I can this trip.

They tell me the big west-facing windows should be put in this week and I’m missing it. Our little Demi has lost four pounds from the cold and there are single digit temperatures predicted for the next couple of nights. If it’s that cold here, it can only be worse up in the mountains. There is no green grass. I need to get to work and spring us all.

Meanwhile, Tom’s in OK fiddling with warm sensibilities–satellite TV and teaching. He’s eating breakfast out while I’m dining on what’s left in the cabinets so I won’t have to move as much. He’s complaining that it’ll only be 40 today in Grove while we’re working with 27 here. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

ZsaZsa’s little boots are such a hoot and she was born with enough fleece that it swings back and forth when she walks–it  even did on the day she was born. The word is that she’s a pronking instigator.

Look at that sweet little face! I guess I’m in love all over again.

Well, I’d better get packing.

Tuesday November 24, 2009 9:49pm

just packed everything, and it really doesn’t feel like we have less stuff. i guess we do, but jesus. getting on a train, again, tomorrow. leaving sara. waaah. only one extra week together, once the program was over, and not enough quality time. i guess we have to feel a little more settled, and then we can hang out and not feel crazy. can’t write too much, still stuff everything. i mean, everywhere. have to take a train to tarnów, and … more tomorrow. there is a train to write on.

9:55 pm

Moving is second nature for us

Make sure to read my previous post, Incredible India! Making the Move.

My husband is thousands of miles away, I’m alone in the Dominican Republic with my four children and packing up all the contents in our ‘home’, preparing for a move to Georgia where my hubby will be meeting me.

I’ve been here for five long, difficult weeks without him. He went ahead to get our belongings in Utah and a car and to take them to Atlanta. In the DR I have no car, more stuff than I do suitcases, and I am definitely tired of packing. It’s our third move this year, and our 14th move in eight years of marriage.

It’s a miracle (literally) that I’m able to get my four children and our twelve suitcases to the airport, onto the plane, through customs, onto another plane and to Atlanta.

It’s late, my children are all sleeping as the plane lands. I wait for the other passengers to exit. I look behind me and see only the stewardesses are left. They look at me with impatient anticipation, wondering if I’m going to get off the plane so they can go home.

I rise and begin to gather my slumbering kids, my husband’s guitar, and five other carry-on bags. I’m not managing it very well, three of the four children are crying and all the while the stewardesses give my dirty looks that say “What, are you crazy lady? Why are you traveling alone with all these kids and all this stuff?” Then they ask me, “How are you going to get all this?”

“I don’t know,” is all I can reply.

Finally I ask, “Can I come back for some of this stuff? I can’t get it all right now.”

“I guess I can help you with that, but only to the gate.”

I lumber down the airplane walkway, with Aaliyah on one hip, dragging behind me with my other hand three overweight bags. Kyah amazingly carries three carry-ons plus blankets and other paraphernalia. When I finally exit the hallway, there is a light shining down on my gift from heaven…a wheelchair!

I load up my belongings and perch Aaliyah on top as the stewardesses eagerly slink away, grateful to be done with this clearly insane women. I carefully steer to an elevator then out toward the baggage claim area. As we approach the revolving doors, I spot him, tall, handsome and refreshing.

Tears spill down my cheeks as he gathers me in his arms. I’m home, because home is wherever we are together. I’m ready to unpack my bags and leave them unpacked for a long time…

Next time…

How Do You Decide When and Where You’re Going to Go?

No internet.

Sad.

I’ll remedy that as soon as I can, but I fear that I may not have regular internet access until the new year. Yikes.

And another thing- my new place? Right by a busy road. And traffic sounds? Oh yea, I hear them all night long. Oh, and early in the morning, too. Fun, huh?

Here’s some good stuff though: All my boxes, my clothes, my stuff is in the new place now. The old place? All clean. And empty. Devoid of anything that says that I ever lived there. Except for the walls. They are much better off thanks to my having lived there. Trust me. Celery ice is a much better color than the dusty weird blue that it replaced. I keep mentioning that wall color, maybe I’m a bit obsessed. I’m just a bit sad to be back to some generic off-white. (Some day. . .)

This week instead of blogging I’ll be cleaning and organizing my new place. Yippee.

I just got home from a graduation planning meeting to emails about final details for going to Copenhagen! I can’t believe that I am leaving on Friday. It’s relieving to know that packing doesn’t take that long, because I haven’t really started yet! Our flash mob on Monday was quite successful. We had media coverage from several sources including the local newspaper and CBC. 50 Yukon high school students converged on Main Street and ‘played dead’ with signs and tombstones stating, “Canadians are dying for Climate Leadership”. Most people who I have talked to are excited for me to go, proud and think it’s an amazing opportunity.

As much as this is true, I am constantly feeling the guilt of going wrap itself around me. I don’t think I have to explain myself. If you are reading this, or you are one of the other British Council advocates that will be attending the conference, you likely feel the same way. Will the cost of my emissions outweigh the benefits of my going to both my community and the decisions that will be made? I hope not. In fact, I will be doing everything that I possibly can to make sure that that isn’t the case, because I know that I could not live with that fact. I am feeling very satisfied with my presentation, and can’t wait to a run through with my fellow Arctic presenters!

Bishop: Doing fine. Super snuggly and crazy as ever. I keep thinking he’s more subdued than usual, and then he takes a flying leap over the back of the couch or tears up and down the stairs, and I decide I’m just being paranoid.

He does look kinda worried, though, doesn’t he?

Rotzooi: Is mostly confined to the living room (above) now. And just to prove that I am capable of organization, I give you this shot of the linen closet:

So there.

Speaking of Dutch vocabulary: My parents visited my maternal grandmother for Thanksgiving, and my mom asked her about troep vs. katroep. Grandma says she never said “ka-troep” and has no idea where that extra syllable came from. I think Mom made it up. She now wonders if it came from Dad’s side of the family.

Packing: Two bookshelves and a closet full of books left to pack, as well as various and sundry other items. I keep having freakouts about not having enough boxes, so in addition to haunting the liquor store almost daily (they’ll know my name pretty soon, and not for the usual reasons), I’ve bought some boxes at Target. An FYI: Their bankers’ boxes are sturdy and less expensive than small boxes from the moving companies,, and you can buy them in packs of six instead of 25+.

My goal is to finish packing by the weekend so I can start moving boxes into the garage, pulling up carpet, painting, and cleaning.

Gorey has courteously packed herself and is all ready to go.

Getting rid of stuff: Saturday I have several people coming by to pick up potted plants and furniture. Saturday is also the beginning of the week during which the bulky item trash truck cruises through my neighborhood, which means several other items will be headed to the curb. Vindictively, I hope the truck takes all week to show up, just so the ludicrous woman next door (she who calls property maintenance over things like my grass “poking through her fence”–even though her grass pokes through to my side as well) has to look at my old eyesore furniture for days.

This is Sadie, who can come with me to Seattle but would adore a home with no other pets. She has to be an indoor cat because she doesn’t have front claws. She loves people and is a huge snuggler. If you live in Savannah or Colorado or Seattle or points between and want a kitty, I will happily bring Sadie to you.

Stress dreams: A boa constrictor the size of a freight train chases Bishop and me up a stairwell in a church. (I guess my mom was right about all those bad creature features giving me nightmares.)… Staying in a glass hotel room perched precariously 33 stories from the ground, with someone who reminds me of an evil roommate I once had. Unable to sleep because of the height, I open my eyes just in time to see pink feet and a pink tail disappear under the covers. I wriggle out of bed, trying to avoid being bitten by the mouse, and proceed to bludgeon it unsuccessfully. It refuses to die. I hurl it against the wall. It still refuses to die. At some point, my college crush (who slept with aforementioned evil roommate) shows up with his friends….I keep being molested by an evil stepmother who was molested by her evil stepmother. She always makes me wear her stepmother’s antique gray shoes. Fed up, I wait for her behind the door and then bludgeon her with one of the shoes. (Lots of bludgeoning in these dreams. I don’t know if I want to know why.)

Zuli, meanwhile, faithfully camps out by the alarm clock.

Looking for work: I announced the end of the PowerPoint prematurely. Turns out the font I chose is not installed on my computer at home, so I had to change fonts. Which led inevitably to more tweaking and tinkering, much of which was simply procrastination because I was drawing a total blank as far as what to say in my killer cover letter. Last night I forced myself to sit down and write the darn thing. It took three hours, but it’s finished now, and the first packets announcing my fabulousness are ready to mail. (An aside about background movies: Abominable is perfect–so bad that when I need a break and try to watch it, I can only stand a few minutes before my brain seeks refuge in the very task I thought I was trying to avoid. Saw III does not fit this bill.)

Fun surprise: I came home last week to find this on my back patio.

I love spiders as long as a) they are not in my house, b) I don’t walk into their webs, and c) they don’t climb on me. So I was thrilled. I don’t know what kind of spider this was–I’ve never seen it before–but my mom can attest to the fact that my heretofore coherent phone conversation suddenly devolved into “Hi, spider! Oh, this is so cool! Wow, this is a HUGE web. I wonder what kind of spider this is. Hi, little spider. I’m so glad you decided to live on my patio. I have to grab my camera. This is AWESOME!”

Sadly, it rained that night and the spider went away.

I think that’s it for now. But that’s a lot, huh? My head is reeling.

For some strange reason, when typing out the title of this post, I hit the date as ‘07.

Something’s wrong. Maybe too much songwriting here lately.

Ok!

Hi!!!

Let’s get this party started, shall we?

Rules: Answer the last, ask the next.  First commenter will answer the starting question below, then leave one for the next person. mkay?

STARTING QUESTION: Have you been naughty or nice?

The magnificent molasses spice cookies

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Full Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Happy Birthday to Costume Imp, my dear friend and travel buddy! Have a wonderful day!

Yesterday was busy — writing in the early part of the morning, errands into early afternoon. Found a wonderful batter bowl at Home Goods for an excellent price, returned some stuff to Chef Central, found a great folk art ornament when I was actually looking for something else.

Packed all afternoon. Not only did I pack a lot, I took apart the bunk beds from my childhood, stacked the frames, slats, head and footboards, mattresses and box springs. The movers just have to load the truck and unload the truck.

I’m thinking about bringing in a small bureau, if I can pick one up at a thrift store and refinish it myself, and storing my fabric and holiday linens in them, instead of the way I’ve got them now, stacked in plastic bins.

Christmas story is coming along well, although it’s a novella, not a short story, and I have a feeling it may have to go out separately from the cards instead of with the cards. Oh, well. The other thing would be to get it all designed and printed, but not send it out until NEXT year — which means it would be all ready to go. That might make more sense. And then I’d work on the Victorian Christmas story this time next year to go out the following year.

The anthology story’s coming along — and staying within its short word count, and the steampunk’s okay, but I haven’t really gone full out on it yet. I have the opportunity for two more anthologies — I have to see if they fit in.

Will work mostly on writing, taking some stuff into storage, and shifting around the final few things for tomorrow. I still don’t know what time the movers plan to be here — they said they’d call this afternoon. I need to start the assignment for Confidential Job #1 today.

I’m glad I got everything taken apart and stacked yesterday. It was a lot of work, but it takes a lot of the stress off me for today and tomorrow.

My life’s not too exciting right now — it’s all about the furniture swap and then getting everything sorted out properly so I can decorate for the holidays.

I’m hoping to get the first act of the new play on paper today, though. I’d like to send it off early next week. I get to see MATILDA MURDERS this weekend, which should be fun.

I made eggnog French toast this morning, which turned out pretty well, thank goodness, since I couldn’t find the recipe that inspired me to try it in the first place.

Devon

Hiring the right people to help you move house should not be approached lightly. So many businesses hire poorly trained packers that when the goods arrive at their destination some have been severely damaged as the proper packing rules have not been met and unfortunately every time it’s the customer that are hurt the most.  I cannot drum into everyone enough that you should do your research first to prevent the likelihood of damaged goods. Can you afford to take that risk with un-known international removal companies? If they’re too cheap, be aware that they probably won’t be properly equipped with harnesses, protective covers and padding where needed… also don’t risk doing moving large items yourselves, you could really hurt yourself… i learnt that the hard way!

I sit here in a glorious stupor when I should be doing anything but. In a little over 24 hours I will be departing for Los Angeles (or El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula to use its original title) where I will begin a three month journey around North America. My backpack lies empty on the floor with various articles of clothing scattered around it. On the table sits my satchel, the only thing I’ve packed thus far, containing travel essentials: passport, travel documents, iPod, reading material, diary, travel guide.

Ideally this blog will document my travels, and where appropriate, deliver them à la Kerouac (a style I deem fitting given my location and activities – driving across the West). Whether I can manage this remains to be seen, due in part to the potential for internet and also in part to my obsessive need to continually redraft everything. Nevertheless, some semblance of textual recording will take place. The idea of turning an unending, essentially random thing such as existence into prose with a beginning, middle and end is something that fascinates me (not to mention the selectivity of memory, the influence of past experiences on said memory, etc etc – a blog entry in itself).

The Great American Road Trip is a romantic idea that appeals to an intrinsic need to keep on discovering. It was this need coupled with the belief that such discovery would lead to new and better things that drove the pioneers of the 17th and 18th centuries, or the explorers who came before them. However, to boil it down to the simple need to discover is spurious. Ultimately, what is it we wish to discover? Other cultures, other ideas? Or perhaps discover soi-même, through isolating ourselves from the mundane and everyday. Am I in fact searching for this new and better something? Is my expensive travel habit nothing more than a subconscious quest to fulfill an unknown lack of something? Or do I just want to get wasted in Vegas?

Arms. Legs. Protection. Clothes. Sponsors.

The workshop, lunchroom and fitting rooms of Harrison Prosthetics and Orthotics has been overrun with skiers. The whole mens team save for Frenchy, who is currently nursing a different kind of broken leg (the flesh and bone variety!), have been present and demanding all manner of carbon fiber products and improvements.

The arrival of Paralympic Sprinter, Kelly Cartwright, in search of a leg adjustment added to the chaos over lunchtime.

Three pizzas and piles of carbon fiber later, everything was sorted and everybody left content and itchy, thanks to the numerous shards of raw carbon embedded in their skin and clothing.

Two of my Sydney-based teammates, Toby and Marty, then joined me at my new favourite coffee destination Kanteen. Following a lazy bite they climbed into an airport bound cab and headed back to Sydney for a day’s rest before we all begin the lengthy trek back to Vail, Colorado.

Meanwhile, back in Geelong, my mother’s house had become my giant “floordrobe” with few precious pockets of stubborn floor space lingering.These remnants were mostly in the kitchen, a place I’m yet to conquer fully.

And then my skis arrived from Sydney.
Thankfully my poles, some skis and all my bindings had been allocated to somebody else and I was left with a neat little package of just 8 pairs of skis. Under 70kg, big win!
However this was quickly followed by a fresh shipment of Icebreaker clothing for myself and some teammates, adding to the already bulging floordrobe.

Somehow I managed to get it all into 2 massive bags and 2 giant ski bags.

I used to suck at packing, but practice makes perfect… I’ve had a lot of practice!

Mitch.

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Anyone who knows me knows the kind of packer I am. There’s no second like the last possible one, I always say, and in no other part of my life is that mantra truer. After four years of stuffing everything into the car to the point of risking suffocation of passengers and collision with other drivers, throwing everything into boxes and attempting to drag the boxes up/down stairs and into dumbwaiters, and packing the last of my earthly possessions hours before my flight from Philadelphia to Oakland while unmistakably drunk, I’ve decided it’s time for a change.

So I started packing last night. It’s not going so hot.

At this point, I’m standing in a midden of laundry, contemplating whether I should take my crime of legging-ing international. (I think yes.) Everything’s all over the place, I feel scattered, and I have entirely too much work due before I leave. I need a plan.

I need to buy books.

Just like last time, I plan to do a lot of reading while in Sharjah. It’s between that, spending money, and getting in trouble. Given the circumstances, I think it would be best to pass up my two favorite pastimes and stick with Option A.

I made a list of books I’d like to read and looked them up on the UC Berkeley library catalog. I was feeling pretty good about my list, until I realized that the library catalog lies. All of the books you want are not on the shelves, except for the ones you really, really want. They’ve already been checked out by someone else. (Here’s looking at you, A Single Man.) I was forced to modify, as well as pay a visit to my favorite local bookstore, to pick up some titles. Between the two, here is what I came up with:

Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
In Moe’s, I spent a very long time talking myself out of buying the Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom. As much as I love it, I felt it was in poor taste to bring along, and so compromised with myself and bought this. How this is necessarily a 1:1 exchange, I’m not sure, but dear God, I love that man.

Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
I have never read anything by Palahniuk, despite being told countless times that he “seems like the kind of writer you’d like.” Thought I’d start here, since I saw the Sam Rockwell movie, liked that well enough, and might as well see what the fuss is about.

Chuck Palahniuk, Snuff
I don’t know what it’s about, but I have my theories. I found it in the library, next to where Rant should be, the title actually suggested to me.

Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Never read it. Know exactly what happens in it. Have seen the Kubrick AND the Jeremy Irons and Antonio Banderas’ Wife versions. The time is now.

Jennifer Price, Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern North America
I have owned this book for nigh on two years, and have yet to finish it. It is an excellent collection of essays on natural history, recommended by the author’s brother (with whom I was staying at the time, so I couldn’t very well turn it down). I will. finish. it.

Mary Roach, Stuff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Recommended by a friend, this books sounds like exactly the kind of thing I want to read. Dead people! It’s going to be great!

Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam
Shay’s idea is that the human response to war/combat is universal, and makes a very strong case for it by drawing parallels between Vietnam veterans and the development of the character of Achilles in the Iliad. I’ve read this before, and was originally aiming for Odysseus in America (Shay’s next volume, on the idea of homecoming, both for Iraq veterans and Odysseus), but this time I’d like to reflect on it more. There are also companion documentaries for each; I recommend the whole collection.

Eric Wolf, Europe and the People Without History
Obviously, I’m no good at picking out fiction titles. This was recommended by my professor, after a comment I made in class. Chances are it’s about Marxism and/or depictions of the Other, since I make comments in class that pertain to very little else.

Am I missing anything vital? Should I skip any of these entirely? You should read them, too– borrow them from me, getting them off Amazon, but whatever you do, don’t go looking for them at Cal.

Five days!

This is a late entry because I was at my mom’s for the weekend and there is no internet there. So I had to keep track in a notebook and am now putting in all the entries for the weekend.

I am packing all the clothes and all the things that we will need for 4 days. I hate this because I always feel like I will forget something important. I’m nervous and checking and rechecking my mental list of clothes, uniforms, toys, food for Thanksgiving dinner and whatever else. oh ya, medicine, gotta remember that.

Doodle 289 - Camping Packing

Tomorrow, I’m going on a two day camping trip with my son’s 4th grade class (fifth grad is going too).  So I thought I would doodle my trusty old backpack.  If any of you are old enough to remember the first Pepsi Points/Pepsi Stuff promotion, I saved up to get the Mountain Dew backpack, and have been using that thing for the last 12-13 years.  It went to bootcamp with me, hauled groceries up and down the hill even week in Korea, and has always been there when I needed it.

I loves how she writes on O.P.P:

I hop on a 21+ hour flight tomorrow to Guam! I’ll be there for a month + a couple days for a cousin’s wedding / to spend the holidays with my family. Right now I’m mentally preparing myself. Traveling gets mad stressy. The anxiety & stress always starts with packing, I usually pack too much, or too little of what I need. I’ve made a visual outline for myself: What to pack? I’m so glad I don’t have to pack much clothing, since I have a a whole closet full of clothes back home. Let’s just hope I can still squeeze my ass into em! As far as packing goes, less should be more:

Media
* Cellphone & charger
* Digital camera & charger
* Video camera & charger
* Journal/notebook and pen
* Laptop & charger
* Reading material

Medical
* Extra pair of eyeglasses
* Pain reliever
* Prescription medicines

Money & Documents
* Cash/Credit cards
* Driver’s license
* Frequent flyer/frequent guest cards
* Paper airline tickets or e-ticket confirmation
* Passports and visas, if necessary
* Your itinerary

Miscellaneous/Extras
* Anti-bacterial wipes
* Keys
* Lint roller
* Plastic Zip-Loc bags
* Q-Tips
* Sunglasses

Clothing and Accessories
* Socks
* Sneakers/Workout clothes
* T-shirts / Undershirts (So I can change on the plane)

Sundries
* Makeup bag
* Hair shit (curling iron, hurr product)
* Deodorant
* Makeup remover
* Facial cleanser
* Moisturizer/SPF
* Feminine products
* Toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash/floss

Wow….. I pack all my shit & now my apartment is completely empty!

Well, that day has finally arrived and I’ll be heading off to the Far East tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. PST. I’m both excited and a little apprehensive about my journey. All the reading I’ve done and conversations I’ve had, worries me just a little. If I think too much about the tropical diseases (and me the mosquito magnet), political unrest in Indonesia, terrorist attacks along the Nepali border, and whether I’m bringing too much stuff, I get a little nervous about leaving the comforts of home. But these risks are just part of the adventure, and part of the journey.

Many people have asked me, why? Why am I taking this time off? Why am I willing to take these risks? Maybe because I have reached a comfortable place in my life, need to examine my past and contemplate my future. (Read: Mid-life crisis) Maybe after 22 years of struggling with unfulfilling work, I’m just a little tired of the rat race and need more than two weeks vacation to revitalize my life or improve my attitude. But to be honest, I don’t really know the purpose of my trip, but all the circumstances came together to make this possible. I think it would be imprudent not to take advantage of this opportunity.

I don’t expect that three months lying on Balinese beaches and climbing the Himalayas will change my outlook or make my life complete, but maybe it will. At least it will be a different experience. I do know that I will miss my friends and neighbors and wish that all of you could come along with me on this once in a lifetime trip. Instead, you can live vicariously through me as I recount my experiences to you and I in turn will take with me the memories of all of you.

I will have limited access to my email while I am traveling, especially in Nepal (no, I’m not bringing my laptop.) Feel free to write, but know that it may take some time for me to respond. If I have your mailing address, I’ll try to send a postcard, but there are no guarantees. Mail from some third-world countries is sketchy at best. And all my best intentions may fall by the wayside if I’m just having too much fun.

Thanks to all of you who have helped to make this journey possible. See you next year (or sooner).