Moving Right Along

We're in South Dakota as I tap tap tap this out on my phone. It's actually the coolest state so far. At least it has the funniest billboards.

The scenery has been pretty blah so far. There's a lot of flat land. It reminds me of this toy plane we used to have. You sat behind the "plane" and steered it across a loop of scenery, attempting to knock down all the pop up trees and buildings in your path. At least that's what I did. Anyhow, that's what the midwest is like, a big loop. 

We've been through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota so far. Ohio was the smelliest. I thought seeing the mighty Mississippi would be cool, but it was just a big ass river (much like the Ohio, except, as Topher pointed out, we couldn't smell the Mississippi). The coolest thing in Iowa was an odd American Gothic themed rest area (sorry 'bout it, Iowa). The man with the pitchfork showed you the way to the men's room and the woman was by the ladies' room. There was also a mural depicting a countryside.

We departed Wednesday in the early afternoon and are at about the halfway point now. We anticipate arriving Sunday. We have stayed at two Comfort Inns so far, mostly because they are pet/ferret friendly, relevant to our interests. 

Speaking of ferrets, just in case you were wondering how they've been doing, here is a snapshot of Dude in his element: sleeping awkwardly.

 

  

Rarrr, 

Jax

Loading Day

Today is the big day. Well, one of them. The movers are slated to arrive in ten minutes. Then some dude/tte will drive it away later this afternoon. 

Topher and I finished packing roughly 45 minutes ago. No big. I'm just glad we're done. I'm going to get myself a margarita (well, more like a water from the tap since we don't have margarita capacities right now, but we can pretend) and watch two dudes load all 150 boxes and furniture into the truck. We will depart tomorrow or Wednesday after cleanup, depending on how much catch-up sleep is required. My next blog may be on the road, unless I get inspired before then. Wish us luck!

Rarrr,

Jax

See You in Washington, Computer

Topher is about to dismantle the Big Kid Computer. Yep. That means it'll all be phone and kindle updating from now until sometime in the beginning of July. So bear with me, here. 

It's sort of an ancient artifact, so we're hoping it makes the journey and will come to life again without having to go all Frankenstein on it. Topher built it roughly ten years ago, or sometime not too long before he met me. Since then he has had to replace parts here and there, so it isn't reeeeally a decade old, but it's pretty old. And the monitor is one of those hulking beasts that takes up the whole desk. It should be fun to pack. Sounds like a Topher job. 

I digress. I'm sure I'll have time to update from the road (boy will I ever), but I might get sick of tap tap tapping on my phone. So we'll see how that goes. Until next time, Big Kid Computer. 

Rarrr,
Jax

Crunch Time

I wish the title of this post had more to do with food. I mean, I am eating right now. That's the only reason I'm able to type this blog post. If chewing while typing isn't multitasking, I don't know what is. I think it goes without saying that our cooking capabilities are grossly limited right meow, so I've got some leftovers from when we were out to eat after the car snafu. That's a pretty good segue, I think.

Today we took my car to the place we were instructed to by the Auto and Boat Relocation place. Unfortunately, there was a breakdown in communication that resulted in some confusion and several phone calls being made from the drop off point. The woman Topher had set it up with had been on vacation and left some loose ends that we didn't appreciate. No points there. I think I will end up reviewing our experiences with all of the various companies we're using when we get to our new home. So far it's not looking good for these guys. Fortunately, the woman at the drop off place was very helpful and assured us that she, armed with the phone number Topher gave her, would take care of it so we could focus on our move. Very helpful. A+ for her.

The movers are coming at 8 a.m. Monday. It is 2:00 a.m. EST on Friday Saturday. Now is the stuff freakouts are made of. Full disclosure: I am a worrier and an overthinker. I am afraid our stuff won't fit comfortably on that gigantic truck. Topher thinks we will use half of it. I think he'd win on The Price is Right, because my bid will be way over as I like to worry about Irrational Things, but I think we'll use more than half. I'll keep you posted on who wins this round.

In case you were curious, I will provide you with a sample of my fretting. I am worried about finding pet-friendly hotels on the way there. I am worried about the truck not showing up before the movers do in Washington. I am worried about the car which is usually parked on the street being in the way of the movers and the ramp for the truck. I am worried about things breaking in transit. I am worried the car will break down on the way out there (Topher is way better at fixing Autobots than automobiles, and I don't have a mechanical bone in my body). I am worried about our GPS pooping out in the mountains. I would be worried I am going to worry myself into ulcers, but fortunately, ulcers are not caused by worry, but instead primarily bacteria. Yep, some dude named Barry Marshall swilled a bunch o' dat bacteria because no one believed him and his collaborator and he wanted to prove their point.

Go science.

Rarrr,
Jax

Goodbyes Are Hard

Tonight is my last night of work. 

For the past 16 months I've worked at this place. My friend JB (see her website of awesome here: Hi, Jenny Brown) recommended that I seek employment here, and the rest is history. 

It's more than a place where I collect my paychecks. It's the best job I've ever had, for one thing. I use my brains! How about that? Most all of my friends in WV work with me. I've met some really amazing people who are going to make it hard to say goodbye. Life is full of difficult goodbyes, some of which you don't get a chance to say, and all you can really do is savor the time you have. Everyone here is incredibly special to me in their own ways, and I hope to stay in touch.

Thanks, Best Virginia friends, for making me feel welcome and loved in a new place.

I said goodbye to Michigan and now I'm saying goodbye to West Virginia. But life is also full of hellos, and I am saying hello to Washington, to a new life, to new friends and experiences. 

I'm still sick of goodbyes. 

Trucking Ridiculous

I was pretty sure all of our stuff plus an elephant would fit on here.

Then when I got up (Topher was already up and packing), I saw this box mountain: 

That stack is the biggest box they sell at the store around here and that stack is three high and two deep, filled with Topher's stuff. So, basically what I'm saying is the elephant can't come with. 

Rarrr,

Jax

Boxing Day

Okay, it's not really Boxing Day. It is Boxing Month.

I am surrounded by boxes at home. It's like a cardboard jungle. Except with less mosquitoes and malaria. It's kind of stressing me out. I have to walk through a maze of boxes to get anywhere in the house.

On the plus, I'm currently munching on some almonds I found cleaning out the cupboards. The spoils of victory. Spoils literally, their sell-by date was 11 months ago. Still. Treasure.

The truck comes today. Since Topher's new employer is thankfully paying a nice chunk of moving expenses, we are going all out. We rented a large trailer to be driven across the country by someone else, movers to put all of our junk in it, movers on the other side to unload all of our junk, and a truck to haul my car cross country so we will only have to drive one. Phew. The movers are coming on the 23rd, so the trailer will be darkening our driveway--er, street--for several days and hopefully not PO the nice neighbors. The movers come to our new apartment to unload the 2nd of July.

In case you weren't counting, that's ten days without most of our stuff, four of which will be on the road, and ten days without a means to do laundry. Assuming I'll get right on the laundry the moment the truck is unloaded (spoiler alert: I won't). That's a long time to pack for considering how precious trunk space is. "What about the back seat?" you say. That space will be occupado by the ferrets' two-story cage, which barely fits, and a jade plant that belonged to my beloved, recently-departed maternal grandmother. That's pretty much the backseat. Period. We also need an air mattress, pillows, suitcase/s, my violin, a vacuum (yes, I Need it), and a plastic tote containing cleaning supplies, TP, hand soap, and the like that we're not going to want to run to the store to get immediately upon arrival. Fortunately, Topher's car is ginormous and could hold like, five bodies in the trunk AT LEAST. Um, just a guesstimate.

(That's a joke, in case anyone really thinks I might be an ax murderer. Not to be confused with an Axe murderer, who just smells really good.)

All of our clothes except my dress clothes for work this week, two pairs of jeans, and six shirts apiece are packed. We're gonna be dirty birds and rewear stuff because whatever, we're just sitting in the car for four days. EXCEPT underoos. Momma always taught me to pack extras. It's good life advice.

All of this makes me think of my old roommie and dear friend Chels and her fiance, who are biking across the country with only as much stuff as they can carry with them through mountains and rain and junk. Infinite love and respect, sistafriend.

The rest of Monday will be spent cleaning the house. If you've ever moved I don't have to tell you about gunk and dust that manifests under furniture and major appliances. And if you haven't moved before... well I won't spoil it for you. Then our landlord will swing by on Tuesday and hopefully hand us a fat check which once was our security deposit which we will magically transform into gas.

There are a lot of moving parts in this equation. Hopefully this all goes off like Michael Jackson choreography, as opposed to Baby's first recital where everyone is spinning in a different direction. Or, like my first ballet recital, where, so I've heard, everyone spun in the same direction except me. At least I was confident. I'm feeling less confident about this move, but optimistic, if that makes any sense.

Here's Dude immersed in a large roll of bubble wrap. He's "helping."

Rarrr,

Jax

n00b

So. My first post. Oh gee. Where to start? The pressure!

I'll start by introducing myself. Hi, I'm Jax. I'm new to the blogging world, so be patient with me and give me constructive feedback as you find appropriate. I currently live in the Best Virginia with my hubs, Topher, and our two ferret fur children, Dude and Puddin Tater, but we are in the process of relocating to the Seattle area. That will occupy the bulk of my posting for the next few weeks, unless I get struck by lightning. Actually, I'm rather procrastinating right now, so I'll try to keep this brief.

I love hooking. You know, crocheting. Keep your mind out of the gutter! Or don't, sometimes it's more fun that way. I love crafting in general, but yarn has always been my primary vehicle. I am learning to sew, slowly and in bursts. My mother would be more than delighted to show me the ropes, which she has to a degree, but she lives in metro Detroit. That is where I hail from, but that is a whole other blog post. I am a pescetarian, which means I eat the fishes but not the other meats, and I love to cook and learn new things all the time. I love the musics too, with healthy variety. I played violin for 12 years, however have been rather lax about it since my college days; forgive me, I'll get back to it one day.

My fuzzbutts Puddin Tater and Dude are my sunshine. Tater is my favorite. It's not a secret, I tell Dude to his face. Tater is a beautiful sable ferret who recently had most of her tail amputated due to a growing tumor on her spinal cord (also another blog post entirely), and I'm delighted to report that she's doing marvelously and starting to regrow the fur on her booty. Dude is a C student at best, but we don't hold that against him. He's our special little guy.

Those boxes aren't packing themselves, though. Until next time!

Rarrr,
Jax