So it took three posts. Sue me.

So, at 3, Phillip & Barron call to be let into the gate with my surprise.  As soon as I hang up the phone, Jake & Erin call and tell me they're here.  It was great, because Jake & Erin have been our best friends for two years, and they'd never had a chance to meet Phillip & Barron, who have been my best friends for twenty years.  

So, bear in mind, I've been packing all day, dealing with boxes, etc.  Imagine my surprise when Phillip & Barron present me with a box of Star Wars & Star Trek toys.  For those of you who don't know, about two years ago, shortly after I met Luke, I was robbed and cleaned out.  I mean, they took all of my old toys, my dishes that I'd inherited from my grandmother, clothes, computers, DVDs, CDs, EVERYTHING.  So this was a pretty nice gift.  But I could have killed them when I saw it was another box.

So, like I said, couldn't have done it without Jake & Erin.  We listened to Lisa Loeb as we packed and painted.  When Luke got home, there was actually very little to do, it just took FOREVER.  We finally finished painting and loading up the truck at 10:00 Thursday night, and then we had to go get a couple of things from Jake & Erin, and by that time, we were wiped.

Part of our plan involved getting Luke's paycheck (which came in on Friday) FedEx'ed to my aunt's house in Massachusetts so that we could have money for vacation, and we'd just use the $300 to get us to Texas.  Luke was worried that we wouldn't have enough money, I wasn't.  (BOY, was I wrong.  The truck itself cost OVER $300 in gas, and then we had the car, too.)  Luke made a case for staying the last night, leaving town after his paycheck arrived, and having less time in Texas, because we had a 4:00 flight to Richmond to go on this massive family vacation.  He was worried about the money, I was just fuckin' tired, so I said ok.  I hated the fact that we were going to be driving through the night, but WOW did it end up being the best option.

Now, bear in mind that a move requires communication.  Luke didn't have a cell phone.  So every hour and a half, I'd see him doing something weird, or (as he tells it) I'd THINK I'd see him doing something weird, and so I'd pull off.  Eventually, we just worked out a system that we'd stop every two, two-and-a-half hours, get out, go to the bathroom, and stretch.  Sadly, this turned a twelve hour trip into a FIFTEEN hour trip.  Poor Shayera was MISERABLE the entire time.  She never once chewed on a bone, or really do anything other than lay in her bed and gaze balefully at us until she fell asleep.

We finally got in to Texas at almost six in the morning.  The Dreiling's hide-a-key isn't in the front yard, so Luke had to vault over the fence to find it.  He couldn't, so he had to vault back over and we had to knock on the front door anyway.  Jim came in our room at about nine to get a key to the truck so they could start on our laundry, and he and Paul ended up unloading our whole truck for us.  It was crazy, and so, SO nice.

I updated the blog, went for a swim, played volleyball (Luke won, damn his time), and then we were off on vacation.  And that's where the next blog will start.

We've Arrived! A story in two parts, pt 2

Ok, so I'm doing this from vacation, which has many of its own stories, but I gotta finish the move, first.

So, we awoke at a quarter til 8, not so refreshed, very sore, and, for my part, a little bitter about the work remaining.  Luke had to go to work.  I know he didn't see it this way, but I felt he'd escaped.  So, I knew that Jake and Erin were going to sleep in and have a late breakfast, so I was expecting them at about 11 or so.  Fine.  I began moving boxes, finishing the packing, all the stuff I could do by myself while I waited for them.  What I didn't know was that Jake had gotten rip-roaring drunk the night before with his cast (He's doing "An Adult Evening With Shel Silverstein" at the old Galaxy Playhouse and I believe that it opens July 31st.  Go.  I've read the script, its hysterical and disturbing.)  So they woke up at 12, then went out to breakfast, and then Erin, bless her heart, had to take some tests for work, and so they didn't end up getting there until 3.  Let me tell you, they were a godsend.  I could not have gotten everything done without them.  Erin painted, Jake helped me reorganize the truck, he helped give me some direction about finishing packing, it was perfect.  Meanwhile, I'd called my best friend Phillip and his brother to see if they could come, but they had errands they had to run.  At three o'clock, they call to tell me they need to get let in, they have a present for me.

I hate to do this to you, but I'm doing this from the jacuzzi in my bathroom here on vacation, and I'm sweating like a pig.  I'll try to write more later today.  

We've arrived! A story in two parts, pt 1

So our whole plan had been to pack up the truck on Wednesday and Thursday, and then leave Friday morning at 2:00.

Ok, so I started packing up the truck on Wednesday.  By myself.  Because Luke had to work.  It's the only way we could get it to work.  I only took two fifteen minute breaks, not counting going to pick Luke up from work.  That's tired work, I'm here to tell you.  I got a lot of the last minute stuff packed, but not all of it.  I got a lot of the taped up boxes and stuff done.  I was calling Luke every thirty minutes or so.  He wasn't so bothered by it, though.  It was nice.  However, there was a lot to get done still, and then we had to paint everything back, so we had to call in reinforcements.  We asked Jake and Erin to come, but we were kind of vague about when we needed them, and they didn't really say when they'd come, so we just kind of carried on.  We got the Bowflex undone, and hit the sack, thinking we'd have about three hours of work left to do.

That's all for now.  Now, I must swim.

today's the big day! Can't post from iphone. Who knew?

Little Goodbyes

Moving sucks.  I've been so busy yesterday and today that I haven't had time to write anything, and I've completely forgotten the story that I was going to tell you yesterday, dear reader.

So anyway, yesterday was my best friend's birthday.  I've known him for almost twenty years, and we've done almost every single birthday together.  I knew it was going to be tough saying goodbye to him (even though he's moving to DC on Sunday), but I was surprised how tough it was going into Downtown Decatur.  So many memories.  I saw someone I knew from my church, but I don't think she'd know who I am (cuz I haven't been in almost three years!)

It's funny how the little goodbyes are almost as tough as the big ones.  The things that you didn't even realize you'd miss.  

So anyway, 

Goodbye, Decatur

Goodbye, Howard School

Goodbye, Covington Highway

Goodbye, Emory

Goodbye, Midtown

Goodbye, shirtless boys playing volleyball on Tuesdays and Fridays on Virginia Avenue

Goodbye, Outwrite bookstore

Goodbye, Burkharts

Goodbye, Piedmont Park

Goodbye, Fourteen West!

I'll probably write more tomorrow.

Whoops!

Didn't realize it had been so long! Sorry! But, I'll be picking things back up, because I'll be moving on Thursday to Dallas, and as one of my friends said, I have to tell the story in my own words.

Luke doesn't do well, when packing, with spacing the project out over a few days, so that, for instance, if we need to get to something, it's not already packed. I did not know this when I sent him in to pack up the living room, thinking that it might take a couple of days. I was excited/had some trepidation when I saw that he'd packed it all in an hour and a half. Nowadays, here's a typical conversation around our house:

Jacob: Luke, do you know where that book Erin lent us is?
Luke: I packed it.
Jacob: [long suffering sigh]
Luke: I was trying to be efficient!

Don't get me wrong, I have my faults, too.

Luke: Honey, do you know what you're going to do about your car?
Jacob: I thought we'd decided to donate it.
Luke: Have you called to do that yet?
Jacob: [silence]
Luke: [cry of frustration]

Isn't your first move as a couple fun? Though, I must say, having seen my parents do it SEVERAL times, I suspect that it does not get easier.

Got to train my replacement at work now, so I must go, but I already have a funny story to tell, so I'll be back.