Hell, any sort of labor; I'm sure plenty of babies have been born on this very day.
And speaking of labor, every Monday leading up to the Big Move (since I don't work Mondays anyway), I've made it a point to pack some stuff. I usually scrawl a to-do list on a page in my little bitty pocket-sized Day Planner so I can see what my packing goals are--things like, "wrap/pack framed chicken prints in kitchen/bedroom" and "pack books" or "pack chicken tchatchkes" (yes, lots of chickens in various shapes/forms/sizes, etc.).
Today was a recycling/cleaning storage locker/packing photos & cards sort of day.
I've gotten a significant amount of stuff bubble wrapped & boxed up; in fact, thanks to the recycling room at the biggie corporation for whom I currently work, I've no doubt saved a bundle on all sizes of cardboard boxes and rolls & rolls of wrap. We regularly receive huge boxes with fixture samples, since we're in the business of building Big Box stores with a lot of "stuff" in them, all of which is prettily & helpfully presented to you (and me), the general consuming public, on various fixtures. And these samples are sent to us from their respective hopeful vendors, and all are wrapped like mad, just swathed in yards and yards of large & small bubble wrap.
As a kid, I loved popping the bubbles on the wrap between my thumb & forefinger. The big wrap is the most fun, for a louder pop; as an adult in the midst of a major move, I now see how wasteful (though thoroughly enjoyable) this popping pastime had been. But what do you know of Big Moves when you're a kid and most moves are done FOR you (basically, you're an accessory to be hauled along, like a lamp or a chair or the family dog, when all is said and done; seriously. I'm not being negative. It's just kind of matter-of-fact).
I also got my AAA Triptik made--this has got to be one of the coolest road trip accessories known to Motoring Man (and woman)! It supposedly takes them a week, but it was done in 2 business days; it's a little narrow vertical flip book, spiral-bound, broken down into 200 mile chunks with highlighted sections and cool fold-out pages for a larger frame of reference. It describes the scenery you'll see as you're motoring along--for example, as I pass through North Dakota, my route "...traverses gently rolling, semi-wooded farmland, once the land of the Sioux and Objibway tribes. Noted for water recreation, dairy and granite products."
I mean, I love this! If cat, friend and I must traverse nearly 1700 miles to get to my ultimate destination, it may as well be poetic!
So I'm feeling very good about my progress on this transition; my ducks are falling into a tidy little row and I can feel like I'm leaving as organized and prepared as I can possibly be. And this Friday is the "Bye-Bye Caitlin" party at the home of one of my managers, who offered to throw a party for me. Kind of an after-work cocktail thingie, good combo of straight/gay/single/married/co-workers/church folk/writer buddies, etc. Have a little closure here, then I'll have the "welcome back" party there. Which is, of course, one of the best and sweetest parts about going from one place to another.
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again.....
3 comments:
The Triptik thing is so cool! I had no idea AAA could be so poetic.
Did I ever send you the website that let you move your mouse over bubble wrap and you could "virtually" pop it all? Then a lusty little voice wheezed MUST...HAVE....MORE! and another sheet would appear. Boy, the internet sure is useful.
Are you driving to Portland??? I thought you didn't have a car?
I always thought that if I had to move cross-country, I would do the whole PODS thing and then just not have to worry about driving my crap all over - plus, I could leave all the stuff in storage until I was ready to unpack it at whatever my destination would be.
Hey, I can't wait to play with the virtual bubble wrap!! Fun! And no guilt! As for the PODS vs. Truck thing, I considered the ABF UPack angle (you pack, they drive it), but being that I wanted to schlep the cat and my plants all at once, and I have an enthusiastic friend who squealed "Road Trip!" when I shared my various perspectives on moving--AND Miss Laura is graciously once again letting me stow stuff in her "extra" room, well.....the drive in a Penske truck won out! If I were doing this alone, the "PODS" motif would've been it, though. For sure. But, you know....this is a good excuse to rejoin AAA. I like them. :-)
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