The Rubber Hit the Road...sorta

Pictures as promised. Also note that Chip's city truck broke down on his way to the new crib. So he had to be towed, unload, reload, and oops! he's off to Boston for a delivery tomorrow. Hopefully my precious goods will be delivered intact on Friday or possibly Saturday morning. Sigh.

Now that's a big truck

Promise this big guy wasn't all for me.

Maybe I can scare the movers away...

What does it mean??

Sweet Home Chicago

It is official. I am no longer a resident of D-town. I am however still paying utilities in D-town so I suppose I am a pseudo-resident. Must resolve that this week...But born a Texan, die a Texan, right?

The move went as smoothly as it could possibly go, though I still have to receive my goods. We even got on an earlier flight to Chicago...that was then delayed by 2 hours. Typical. I got a few, "whoa, that's a big cat!" comments in the airport. Not about me, but about Sylvester (I had to take him out of the carrier to go through x-ray with me). Good times.

Today RJB took me on my first bus ride. Yes, indeedee, it shall be interesting. Gotta get my chops for that. Oh, and did I mention that it is freaking cold and windy up here? I know, Windy City and it is windy, ha ha. But seriously. It was a high in the mid-40s today. Low tonight in the 30s.  Get ready to laugh southerners, because this Texan got her some thin blood. Remarkable how I could walk to class outside in The Bend for 4 winters and then live in MKE for three years and I lost my, uh, tough skin. I don't think it was ever really tough. As we were waiting for the bus to get home today, it occurred to me that it will not be warm again until, say, April? Oh. My. 

I'll post some pictures a little later. I am tapped out.  The movers are supposed to arrive tomorrow and RJB has a smarty-pants meeting including all the national peeps around the US so I get to deal with Chip all by my lonesome. Assuming he makes it from St. Louis tomorrow, that is. My smooth ride should arrive next week at some point. Hopefully.

Peace

Are you there God, It's me Margaret.

In public accounting, the rule is to return a call or at least contact a client within 24 hours of an inquiry. But you don't really hassle or rough up your clients if they do not immediately return your call. Apparently with the moving business, when they call during mass chaos (be it you are dealing with other peeps's tantrums, saying goodbye to your best folks over a brew or hey, having packers touch on all your stuff at the ass crack of dawn on a Saturday) an 8 hour turn around return call in unacceptable. I have been called out twice. Dude. I am a bit busy, and no, I cannot sleep on my hardwood floors for a night because its more convenient for you to pack a day earlier than my reserved load day. Snap.

This little project is coming together. I have my bathroom and bedroom left to pack. Little does RJB know, but he's building some wardrobe boxes tomorrow morning. And clearing my car of personal items. And running it through the drive through wash. Good man. 

Ok, so here's the quick meager stats:

Boxes packed in total: 46

Boxes Sylvester has gnawed on: possibly 3, plus a suitcase. This is why he is 15lbs.

Missed calls from movers: 4

Grouch scale: 0 (shocking but I've had wine)

Hours napping today: 3ish

Cost of 2 tickets to Hong Kong for July, 2009: 5,700.

Off to watch my Fightin' Irish take it to 5-2. 

Mmmm...suitcase

Holy boxes Batman!

Mmmm....boxes

My D-town crib

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Frailty, thy name is woman!

O most pernicious woman!

O, Villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!

My tables, -- meet it is I set it down,

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.

Hamlet

Indeed.

Whistling past the graveyard

Five days left in D-town, so let me start with my paramount accomplishments...

Boxes packed: 20 and 2 rubbermaid tubs

One way ticket: Booked. We leave the 27th

Remaining vet appointments: 1

Remaining days in the Dallas office: 1

Utilities cancelled: 0

Adult Bevies consumed since Sunday morning: Dude, stop judging.

Its been a busy last week.  It started with the surprisingly well attended joint going away work happy hour. Whew. That was a mouthful. CCB, LB, and I made a point to have it be a trendy HH since we are clearly uber trendy (come on, some CPAs have style!) and are the pseudo-alcoholics of our service line.  We all got our going-away clocks that were actually quite nice. Afterwards Rogue did an exclusive post-HH. Very typical of Rogue to do so! Oddly this was the first time Rogue delivered on 100% intoxication participation.  

The Clock!

This fun was followed by a bridal shower on Saturday at which I was the grateful recipient of gifts given by my very generous guests.  It was lovely and my hostess were wonderful. I couldn't have asked/hoped/expected a better shower!

My Ladies

Sunday started the true drinking fun vis-a-vis an exceptionally ill-timed work conference in Orlando. I met a lot of peeps, consumed an intense amount of bevies (I apparently thought I was 20 rather than just about 30), had quite a few assumptions confirmed (shock of all shocks, eh?), and had a wonderful time with those individuals that I will actually truly truly miss after my transfer is complete (that sounds a little like I am a computer but oh well). 

Somehow during all of this, I did manage to pack quite a few boxes, take another car load to charity, and get almost no sleep. Just imagine how cheery I am sober right now! ha ha.  Tonight has been a giant struggle. I am about as interested in packing/cleaning/sorting as I would be in getting lectured about UBAs. I think the problem is that I spent a good portion of my day packing/cleaning/sorting my office and am done with paper and the remarkable about of crap I have accumulated. 

Peace out fellow whistlers. 

Holy Hormones

Grouch meter hit an all time high this week. And my internet decided it was payback time and was just as moody. So I am just going to upload some pictures and will write more later. These are from last weekend, so a lot more has been done since then.


Last night was the goodbye happy hour for me and a few others. Once pictures are emailed to me, I'll post that fun too!

A few before shots...

Sylvester checking out the scene

All ready to go!

Progress! (this is doesn't do the room justice. Major furntiure was given away)

The Ego and the Id

Fifteen days....

Boxes packed:  11 halfway, 1 huge rubbermaid tub

Total charity trips: 3

Recycle trips: 1

Items on the curb for big trash pick up: 4 (already picked up by a drive by family - shocking)

Moments of fear of change this weekend: 4ish

Grouch Meter this morning: 8.5

Today marks the last day I have to drop Ryan off at the airport, knowing I won't see him again for another month. This time I'll see him in two weeks permanently! Holy cow, two more weeks and I'll be a Texan in the Windy City. Hope Chicagoland is ready for some southern sass....

This afternoon, as part of the anti-packing movement, we watched a documentary about the lucky 40 who ran the Badwater 135. Yes. Run. Badwater. 135 miles.  Now this was truly fascinating.  Frankly, I think some running dudes were smoking some good stuff and thought an ultra starting in Badwater in the middle of July would separate the boys from the men.  And then I think some dude not in on the joke took it seriously and developed the race. Oddly, people came.....115+ degrees, roads not closed, each runner having a crew to aid them, this sucker is intense.  Runners ranged from their 30s all the way up to 68, some with and without appendages, and these runners have average day jobs and are not professional runners (or Kenyans, Olympians, etc). 

The story  brought to mind that the body is capable of amazing things and mind over body is a powerful thing.  The winner of the ultra in this film ran it is 26 hours and 48 minutes. The runners, the "winners" of the story, were unable to do this on their own. They needed the help and support of the crew and the 'comfort' that they were not the only runners out on that course. While racing is a solitary sport, success was given its badge of honor only through the constant vigilance of the runner and his crew. A Marine was running (fellow Marines were his crew) and dropped out of the race (he required and IV which resulted in disqualification). Instead of heading to a hotel, he and his crew helped a first-timer from the UK who had a crew of 1 (all others had crew of about 3-4 members).  This teaming was the only way she made it through the 135 miles.  The Marines let go of ego and pride to do the right thing.  

I ponder, how often do we let Ego control us and we stand by and watch others stumble, all so Pride can wear her crown of laurel? 

Memories, whenever you're near...

Sixteen days and counting...

Movers: Booked. Official day is the 27th!

Car transport: Booked

Sylvester: poked, prodded, and shot. Twice. By the vet that is.

Trips to Goodwill: 1 (thanks to Ryan's packing job!)

Furniture given to Callie: 5 pieces and off to a new home!

Boxes packed:  11 halfway filled with books

Runs in my wonderful community this week: eek. 

This has been a huge week.  Ryan flew in last night and I put him right to work. I think he continues to be overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" I have. But its not really all that bad. I just happen to have  a lot of hobbies that require a lot of, well, stuff.   This evening we started boxing the books. We have 11 boxes halfway filled with books (in efforts to being friendly to movers, we are be conscious of weight). What can I say? I am a nerdy book worm. 

Sylvester remains calm though he is getting a bit curious. His fancy pants airline approved carrier arrived. I hoped he will lay in it since he has a special affinity towards bags, but no. I think he is suspicious... Vet went well and I found he weighs a solid 15lbs though is not considered overweight. My boy is large and in charge!

Sylvester loves him some bags!

It seems every time you move to a new place, the packing process brings about memories and emotions.  I stumbled upon a scrapbook I made for my Riley Cat after he died. I shared it with Ryan and it was shocking how the memories of the day he died suddenly (2/11/07) came tumbling back. I still consider that moment to be the single most tragic day of my adult life and when I experienced true heartbreak.  Does this make me lucky or pathetic? I have experienced plenty of death in my lifetime but somehow this was different. I suppose Riley was my companion during some emotional and lonely periods of my life.  Anywho, I wonder what other memories will make their presence known in the coming days...

The Riley Cat

Tomorrow there will be more packing and perhaps another trip to charity.  Tomorrow also happens to be the Chicago Marathon which Ryan and I were both going to run, but were both sidelined with injuries (well, he is actually injured, I had some oddities in my leg that sprang up after my IT Band deal in the spring). So that means no marathons before I am thirty. But at least I will live in my favorite city by thirty!

More tomorrow most likely. Peace out.

It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's progress!

Twenty days and counting....

Boxes packed: 0

Change of address cards: Arrived!

Work days remaining: 8 (outside of days long training!)

Progress made on the To Do List: buck-o, read on!

Met with the movers last night. Professional, well spoken, all around good. Got the inventory and quote for my crib, which included moving, packing, insurance, and auto transport. My oh my. Good thing I did ask for money for this move. It is reasonable, but it is nothing to laugh at. I bit the bullet, and knowing I was still operating in the 90% zone, I was bold, charged through and booked the move. Be proud mighty Ants, be proud!  And that's not all!  I also have a vet appointment set up for this week and already checked American and IL pet restrictions. I know you are all amazed (maybe confused), but surely impressed!

Ryan was nice enough to book a flight for this weekend to help me pack. Poor thing has been dealing with Me-as-a-moody-teenager for the past few days. Sigh. Little does he know that he will leave the Big D with a list of honey dos.  Though he is rather perceptive so maybe he will come with the perceived list already made.  Wait, that's crazy talk! I'm marrying Ryan, not a JMP clone! :)

Fletch and I met for wine at Vino 100 this evening. It makes me sad knowing that I won't be able to play short timer with her anymore and meet for a quickie of wine. Boo. Tear. Sigh.

 

In honor of the boo, tear, sigh for Fletch, here are my fav pics of us kickin' it old school in Bavaria (circa 2005. hee hee hee hee) :

The Grasshopper & the Ant

Twenty-two days and counting until the movers come. Exactly three more Saturdays in Dallas.

-Trips to charity: 1, dropping off 4 bags of clothes

-Bags woefully awaiting charity: 2

-Furniture awaiting its new home (and not in Chicago): 4

-Boxes packed: 0

-To do items remaining on my move list: sigh.  next question.

About 90% of my day I am playing pretend-everything-will-magically-appear-in-Chicago (this usually takes place from 8am - oh, say, 9pm daily);

5% of my day I am paralyzed by what it is I have to accomplish at work and home in 22 days; 

5% of the time I actually accomplish something, generally after 9pm, which limits me to things I can do without talking to anyone. Horribly limiting.

I have a meeting with the movers on Monday to get a quote for the move and for packing on my behalf. Excellent. My landlord gave me a quote to get my crib cleaned. Check. I have a number to call a company to have my car shipped. Must call Monday, must call......  Ordered a fancy pants Sylvester carrier to go under the seat of the airplane. Hmmm...must set up vet appointment. Must book flight. Must deal with utilities. Must tie lose ends at work.  A handful of returns yet to finalize. Must buy clothes for winter work wear (eek!). Must stop pretending food will make this all easier (I do have a wedding dress ordered for goodness sake!). Must run....

My brother's fiance came to see me for a bit this weekend. She had some other business in the Dallas area and stopped by to chill with me Saturday night. It was great fun and the first time we were together without my brojo.  I am glad it worked out as I am incredibly excited to have a sister. We had dinner at Tei Tei (most likely my last time there as a Big D resident. Tear.) and went to see King Tut at the DMA on Sunday.  The King was fabulous! We had tickets to the earliest group of the day and were downtown a little before 8am. I have to tell you, that was a great experience (yes, shock of all shocks, I was up and happy to be up that early). No stupid drivers, free street parking, and people are so fresh in the morning that they are not yet bitter or jaded! We took our time; entered right on time at 8 and finished around 10:15ish. Afterwards, off to brunch and then Heather got in her peppy rental car and started the trip back to her temporary home in East Texas.  Which means I should start taking care of business, but as noted above, I am currently operating in the 90% zone.....