2002-07-29 - 2:13

Bust a move

Even as someone who owns relatively little in the way of material goods, I can assure you that packing sucks. I spent the majority of today getting everything together for the big move. I now have practically everything boxed, with the exception of my computer and the things that I'll need for another couple of mornings here.

So, here's how it (supposedly) will work. Sometime at the end of the day tomorrow, I meet with the lawyer, finish off whatever needs doing (mainly paying him his money, I think), and take possession. I get the keys from him, hit the house, and then it's back here to start moving. My parents will also be in town, so I'll be trying to get a hold of them once I know when I'll be meeting the lawyer.

After I get everthing moved, I'll eventually end up back at the townhouse, since my total lack of furniture would make it difficult to get a comfortable sleep at the house. Then, Tuesday morning, I'm back to the house, taking my remaining things. I have the day off from work; and I'll be waiting for furniture delivery and cable (more importantly, cable modem) hook-up.

Sometime in there, I need to get out for some more shopping. I think that I've picked out a computer desk and I also plan on replacing my black CD towers with four of the tall towers, which would match two that I have now. It'll only be a five minute drive to get those; and I'll probably get bookshelves there, too.

I'll have some other running around to do, for sure, as I realize the million other things that my house is lacking. Groceries come to mind. The parents will undoubtedly be a huge help there. I also told them not to get a hotel room for Tuesday, since the house would be good to go.

Okay, the observant reader would have noticed a parenthetical "supposedly" at the opening of my explanation of the grand plans. In fact, that is not baseless pessimism. The lawyer's office got a hold of me on Friday to tell me that they didn't have the mortgage papers that they needed from the bank.

Frantic phone calls ensued; but by the end of Friday, the papers were not in. I think that I should be okay, though. I talked to a guy at the mortgage centre, who explained their mistake, and who assured me that people work there on the weekends and that my forms would be processed.

The lady at the lawyer's office, who was rather nice to deal with, told me that if the papers were in by Monday morning, "it would be cutting it close," but it should be doable. She also suggested that I "shouldn't be stressed and I shouldn't let it ruin my weekend." Umm . . . sure. Why would it cause me stress that I might not have my home when I'm supposed to, and I have my parents visiting, and I have time off work, and I have deliveries scheduled?

So, anyway, wish me luck on that one. I expect that it'll work out fine. Things usually do.

Whew. This is a long entry already, isn't it? Anyway, getting back to today, despite all the work of packing, it was a good day. All of the roommates were around and we had our last big meal as roomies. Barbecue, naturally. It was cool to hang out and grill some steaks and have another meal outside.

It was enjoyable having everyone here; and I will admit to taking frequent breaks in my packing to chill out with people. Oh, and to eat sticky buns; but that wasn't even an option. Not only did Loralei bake those, but she also volunteered to clean my toaster oven, which was a ton of work and was much appreciated. There are definitely many reasons why I will miss this place.

It wasn't until about 1:00 that I finished packing and got around to taking out to trash. I had to follow the urge to sit for a bit to enjoy the cooler air and think for a bit.

Endings always bring me down. Perhaps it's the concept that every goodbye is a small death . . . the added awareness of the passage of time and mortality and closing possibilities. It was the same in my co-op days, when I was moving every four months. The last days (or, more specifically, nights) in wherever I was, I always felt a little sad to see a chapter end.

On the other hand, I always loved the feeling whenever I was in motion the next day. Once the train set out or the plane took off or the car hit the highway, I was always excited about being on the way to something new. Even though it was going back and forth between the same cities, between the same job and (approximately) the same school, I was still fired up for new times.

It'll be a busy first few days, and the starting point still isn't guaranteed; but I'm definitely excited about getting everthing going in the house. It should be more interesting times.

J.