...is enough time to post two links.
1) Check out this interactive map of where Americans are moving. You could have a lot of fun with this. I checked out, for instance, where most of the people in Guilford County, NC (where I used to live) are coming from. No surprise--lots of movement from the Northeast.
2) As a somewhat intense coupon clipper/bargain hunter, even I was quite impressed with this guy.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
What's new?
Well, unpacking is still going on--and going quite well. I am scheduled (because, yes, I write a daily schedule for myself) to finish up today. Well, except for hanging stuff on walls. I need some time to plan that out.
But, as noted below, I am also packing--that is, packing up my office at school. It's sort of depressing to do, but I keep reminding myself that there is a good reason: that shiny new office. One problem: said shiny new office is totally not ready and no one can tell when it will be ready. Blame the bats, who put construction about two weeks behind schedule.
Anyway, in the meantime, I am working on my fall syllabi (I can't believe they aren't done yet--I usually have them done well before now) and getting back into a somewhat normal routine. I've got tons and tons of links and things saved up to post, but can't devote time to them right now (see paragraph one, re: daily schedule). But for now, how about a cool video? (Via Andrew Sullivan.)
Does that look like fun?
But, as noted below, I am also packing--that is, packing up my office at school. It's sort of depressing to do, but I keep reminding myself that there is a good reason: that shiny new office. One problem: said shiny new office is totally not ready and no one can tell when it will be ready. Blame the bats, who put construction about two weeks behind schedule.
Anyway, in the meantime, I am working on my fall syllabi (I can't believe they aren't done yet--I usually have them done well before now) and getting back into a somewhat normal routine. I've got tons and tons of links and things saved up to post, but can't devote time to them right now (see paragraph one, re: daily schedule). But for now, how about a cool video? (Via Andrew Sullivan.)
Does that look like fun?
Friday, July 31, 2009
And one more move to do...
As I write this, I am sitting in my office on campus which also has to be packed up and moved in the next week. This is a good thing--a new shiny office (with windows and brand-new furniture) up on the second floor with the rest of the department awaits me, but the very thought of packing another box (with books!) is cringe-inducing.
Also, this is my 500th post! Cool.
Also, this is my 500th post! Cool.
Home!
You know what's an awesome feeling? Waking up in your new house. And being an official Shepherdstownian (sp?).
The move went very well yesterday. If you are moving somewhere in this area, I highly recommend Rockwell's Moving and Storage. They sent over a four man crew who got everything packed and unpacked in less than two hours. Amazing. (Of course, I probably helped a bit by knocking off a decent chunk of time with my own full-car trips the day before.)
After they were gone, it was back to the old apartment to pick up the boys, who were locked in the bathroom. First, I did about 90 minutes worth of cleaning there. Then back to the house with cats in tow. I let them out to explore--which they did very slowly and tentatively at first--as I ate a quick lunch.
Then back to the apartment again to finish cleaning. I had to shampoo the carpets, wash the vinyl floors, etc. At this point I was already so tired (having slept less than 2 hours on Wednesday night after spending all that day loading and unloading my car) that it took every ounce of strength to haul that Rug Doctor up and down the stairs. I considered coming back today (Friday) to finish it all up, since I had until 5:00 today to get out. I didn't want to do that, since I had a 9:30 meeting with my department chair today and the cable guy coming between 2 and 5 (love those 3-hour windows), but I just didn't think I could get everything done before the landlady left at 5:00 on Thursday.
But then I saw that my landlady was (for some reason) staying in the office later than she usually does and I used that as motivation to get it all done. So I did. I was like Popeye full of spinach, if Popeye full of spinach was also a whiny, bitchy, tired girl who was basically crawling up the stairs as she vacuumed them. I don't even want to think about what I looked like (a sweaty mess) when I finally stumbled into her office to hand in the keys. Here's a hint, though: she said, "How's it going over there? About as much fun as a funeral, right?"
I also look like I am a beating victim--bruises all over my arms and legs from boxes and whatever. Lovely stuff. I can't help it: moving is like a full-contact sport for me.
But...it's all worth it because A) I am officially done with the old apartment and B) now comes the really fun part: unpacking. (And I mean that--I like unpacking.)
Oh, and Bing and Wesley are doing great. Right now they are kind of like little stalkers, following me from room to room (or at least floor to floor), but they are also having fun--chasing each other around, playing, sleeping, eating, etc. It's like they are their regular old selves, but just a bit excited and hyper-aware. But I think they love their new house already.
The move went very well yesterday. If you are moving somewhere in this area, I highly recommend Rockwell's Moving and Storage. They sent over a four man crew who got everything packed and unpacked in less than two hours. Amazing. (Of course, I probably helped a bit by knocking off a decent chunk of time with my own full-car trips the day before.)
After they were gone, it was back to the old apartment to pick up the boys, who were locked in the bathroom. First, I did about 90 minutes worth of cleaning there. Then back to the house with cats in tow. I let them out to explore--which they did very slowly and tentatively at first--as I ate a quick lunch.
Then back to the apartment again to finish cleaning. I had to shampoo the carpets, wash the vinyl floors, etc. At this point I was already so tired (having slept less than 2 hours on Wednesday night after spending all that day loading and unloading my car) that it took every ounce of strength to haul that Rug Doctor up and down the stairs. I considered coming back today (Friday) to finish it all up, since I had until 5:00 today to get out. I didn't want to do that, since I had a 9:30 meeting with my department chair today and the cable guy coming between 2 and 5 (love those 3-hour windows), but I just didn't think I could get everything done before the landlady left at 5:00 on Thursday.
But then I saw that my landlady was (for some reason) staying in the office later than she usually does and I used that as motivation to get it all done. So I did. I was like Popeye full of spinach, if Popeye full of spinach was also a whiny, bitchy, tired girl who was basically crawling up the stairs as she vacuumed them. I don't even want to think about what I looked like (a sweaty mess) when I finally stumbled into her office to hand in the keys. Here's a hint, though: she said, "How's it going over there? About as much fun as a funeral, right?"
I also look like I am a beating victim--bruises all over my arms and legs from boxes and whatever. Lovely stuff. I can't help it: moving is like a full-contact sport for me.
But...it's all worth it because A) I am officially done with the old apartment and B) now comes the really fun part: unpacking. (And I mean that--I like unpacking.)
Oh, and Bing and Wesley are doing great. Right now they are kind of like little stalkers, following me from room to room (or at least floor to floor), but they are also having fun--chasing each other around, playing, sleeping, eating, etc. It's like they are their regular old selves, but just a bit excited and hyper-aware. But I think they love their new house already.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Closed!
Closing went well today. The whole thing took less than an hour and was actually kind of fun. I was moving stuff into the new house by 12:00. Four absolutely packed carloads, some more packing, and a decent amount of cleaning later, I am WIPED out! Let me take a moment to sing the praises of my Mazda 3 hatchback, which can fit a ton of stuff into it once I put the seats down.
Anyway, the movers come tomorrow morning to do the rest--all the furniture and heavy lifting (books, etc). But already, I've made progress settling in and making the place feel like home.
Tonight, one last night in the old apartment. And then on we go! Thanks for all your well-wishes. I've got awesome friends.
Anyway, the movers come tomorrow morning to do the rest--all the furniture and heavy lifting (books, etc). But already, I've made progress settling in and making the place feel like home.
Tonight, one last night in the old apartment. And then on we go! Thanks for all your well-wishes. I've got awesome friends.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tomorrow's the day...
The closing is tomorrow at 10:30! Packing is almost all done, too.
Wesley (complete with laser eyes) high on a stack of boxes. (Photo made more dramatic by me holding the camera on the floor.)
To tell you the truth, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, but excited. I am not sure if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. Maybe I should take lessons from Wes.
Wesley (complete with laser eyes) high on a stack of boxes. (Photo made more dramatic by me holding the camera on the floor.)
To tell you the truth, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, but excited. I am not sure if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. Maybe I should take lessons from Wes.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saying good-bye to the neighbors...
One of the most interesting (and often depressing) things about living in this apartment complex is that there are lots of stray cats (at least a dozen adults) that live in the area. All of them are pretty much feral--no way they would let a person touch them. Several of them, though, are infatuated by Bing and Wesley and frequently come up to the patio doors to "visit." Wesley loves it. He gets so excited and whines and whines for me to let them in--something I would never do of course, since they could have all kinds of diseases. And some of them probably would come in too, so long as I didn't get too close. Again, they love the boys, not me. Bing loves the visitors, too, but doesn't want to admit it. He's like that.
Anyway, the other night, I had some leftover chicken that I didn't want to save and that the boys didn't want to eat (they aren't that big on people-food), so I broke one of my own rules and put it out for the strays. The way I figured it, it would be a bit of a good-bye feast from us to them. Plus, Bing and Wes would get some enjoyment out of the visit.
In the time it took me to load the dishwasher, two of our more frequent guests had arrived and were happily chowing down: one of the tortie-colored females who go ga-ga over Wesley (I call them his girlfriends) and an orange tabby that I call, for lack of a better name, "Less Attractive Bing." And yes, I've gotten a lot of grief for this nickname. Over the winter, he was the one cat I fed kind of consistently, since he huddled up against the front wall of the apartment and looked kind of sad, sickly, and cold. But despite all my care, he never let me get that close to him. Vogel once suggested that it was because I called him "Less Attractive Bing." I protested that I never called him that to his face. She said, "It doesn't matter. He knows." Oh well.
So here's some video of the Good-Bye Feast.
It was actually pretty cute--both the tortie and "L.A.B." would take little eating breaks to come up the window to visit with the boys. (I should add that them getting that close does make me just a bit nervous, but my cats are up to date on their shots and their flea preventatives...but still...)
After they left, the boys kept waiting for them to come back...
That was both sweet and sad. Poor strays...they really do break my heart sometimes.
Anyway, the other night, I had some leftover chicken that I didn't want to save and that the boys didn't want to eat (they aren't that big on people-food), so I broke one of my own rules and put it out for the strays. The way I figured it, it would be a bit of a good-bye feast from us to them. Plus, Bing and Wes would get some enjoyment out of the visit.
In the time it took me to load the dishwasher, two of our more frequent guests had arrived and were happily chowing down: one of the tortie-colored females who go ga-ga over Wesley (I call them his girlfriends) and an orange tabby that I call, for lack of a better name, "Less Attractive Bing." And yes, I've gotten a lot of grief for this nickname. Over the winter, he was the one cat I fed kind of consistently, since he huddled up against the front wall of the apartment and looked kind of sad, sickly, and cold. But despite all my care, he never let me get that close to him. Vogel once suggested that it was because I called him "Less Attractive Bing." I protested that I never called him that to his face. She said, "It doesn't matter. He knows." Oh well.
So here's some video of the Good-Bye Feast.
It was actually pretty cute--both the tortie and "L.A.B." would take little eating breaks to come up the window to visit with the boys. (I should add that them getting that close does make me just a bit nervous, but my cats are up to date on their shots and their flea preventatives...but still...)
After they left, the boys kept waiting for them to come back...
That was both sweet and sad. Poor strays...they really do break my heart sometimes.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Two poems...
Things are a bit strange around here these days. There is, after all, so much going on and at the same time, so little. The move is soon (very soon!) and along with that comes all these emotions: anxiety, excitement, even a bit of sadness over leaving this old apartment, and the general feeling of unease that comes from being unsettled. Part of me wants to go to sleep and wake up on moving day. Part of me wants to freeze the clock.
Moreover, it's been so very quiet these last couple of weeks. That's good and bad, I suppose. I like the time I've had to get work done--reading, writing, taking notes, working on my article and conference paper. Being able to do those tasks uninterrupted (without even classes to teach)and realizing that it is my actual job to do these things is, of course, quite wonderful.
And yet sometimes it gets lonely--loneliness exasperated by that lack of teaching I mentioned above and the day-to-day busy-ness of the semester. I find myself missing lots of people and wondering where in the world the summer has gone. Classes start in less than a month, which is (yes, you guessed it) good and bad. I thought I'd have a chance to do more and to see more people. It's hard to shut my brain off at night--I just lay there thinking and planning and worrying and thinking and...well, you get the point.
Anyway, all of this is a long set-up for an (admittedly somewhat pedantic) point about the poems below and poetry in general: when I found them (on the "Poem of the Day" podcast), for a moment, they kind of lifted me away from all of that stuff I've listed above but then dropped me back in that world feeling somewhat better, or at least, somewhat different. And that's very cool.
1) "Pumpernickel" by Philip Schultz. This one goes a place I didn't really see coming--takes us from bread-making to poetry writing and reminds us what both arts do--and why we do them. That last line is just amazing. Oh, and it inspired me to bake some bread this afternoon.
Monday mornings Grandma rose an hour early to make rye,
onion & challah, but it was pumpernickel she broke her hand for,
pumpernickel that demanded cornmeal, ripe caraway, mashed potatoes
& several Old Testament stories about patience & fortitude & for
which she cursed in five languages if it didn't pop out fat
as an apple-cheeked peasant bride. But bread, after all,
is only bread & who has time to fuss all day & end up
with a dead heart if it flops? Why bother? I'll tell you why.
For the moment when the steam curls off the black crust like a strip
of pure sunlight & the hard oily flesh breaks open like a poem
pulling out of its own stubborn complexity a single glistening truth
& who can help but wonder at the mystery of the human heart when you
hold a slice up to the light in all its absurd splendor & I tell you
we must risk everything for the raw recipe of our passion.
2) "Tree" by Jane Hirshfield. Perhaps I related to this one because of the upcoming move and packing up (and thinking a lot about) my own "clutter of soup pots and books." Things that, even as I carefully wrap them in paper and bubblewrap, seem so minor, so unsubstantial, when "immensity taps at your life."
It is foolish
to let a young redwood
grow next to a house.
Even in this
one lifetime,
you will have to choose.
That great calm being,
this clutter of soup pots and books—
Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.
Moreover, it's been so very quiet these last couple of weeks. That's good and bad, I suppose. I like the time I've had to get work done--reading, writing, taking notes, working on my article and conference paper. Being able to do those tasks uninterrupted (without even classes to teach)and realizing that it is my actual job to do these things is, of course, quite wonderful.
And yet sometimes it gets lonely--loneliness exasperated by that lack of teaching I mentioned above and the day-to-day busy-ness of the semester. I find myself missing lots of people and wondering where in the world the summer has gone. Classes start in less than a month, which is (yes, you guessed it) good and bad. I thought I'd have a chance to do more and to see more people. It's hard to shut my brain off at night--I just lay there thinking and planning and worrying and thinking and...well, you get the point.
Anyway, all of this is a long set-up for an (admittedly somewhat pedantic) point about the poems below and poetry in general: when I found them (on the "Poem of the Day" podcast), for a moment, they kind of lifted me away from all of that stuff I've listed above but then dropped me back in that world feeling somewhat better, or at least, somewhat different. And that's very cool.
1) "Pumpernickel" by Philip Schultz. This one goes a place I didn't really see coming--takes us from bread-making to poetry writing and reminds us what both arts do--and why we do them. That last line is just amazing. Oh, and it inspired me to bake some bread this afternoon.
Monday mornings Grandma rose an hour early to make rye,
onion & challah, but it was pumpernickel she broke her hand for,
pumpernickel that demanded cornmeal, ripe caraway, mashed potatoes
& several Old Testament stories about patience & fortitude & for
which she cursed in five languages if it didn't pop out fat
as an apple-cheeked peasant bride. But bread, after all,
is only bread & who has time to fuss all day & end up
with a dead heart if it flops? Why bother? I'll tell you why.
For the moment when the steam curls off the black crust like a strip
of pure sunlight & the hard oily flesh breaks open like a poem
pulling out of its own stubborn complexity a single glistening truth
& who can help but wonder at the mystery of the human heart when you
hold a slice up to the light in all its absurd splendor & I tell you
we must risk everything for the raw recipe of our passion.
2) "Tree" by Jane Hirshfield. Perhaps I related to this one because of the upcoming move and packing up (and thinking a lot about) my own "clutter of soup pots and books." Things that, even as I carefully wrap them in paper and bubblewrap, seem so minor, so unsubstantial, when "immensity taps at your life."
It is foolish
to let a young redwood
grow next to a house.
Even in this
one lifetime,
you will have to choose.
That great calm being,
this clutter of soup pots and books—
Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Countdown to Closing
So I am about ten days from closing, which means there is lots of packing going on here. Sometimes packing is all I can think about. I lie in bed at night and think, "Now which kind of box would work best for the spice rack?" And then there are all the other calculations (complicated by my disdain for living in a disordered space or half-packed): When do you take the pictures off the walls? (That happened today.) When do you pack the DVDs? (Not yet.)
Lately, of course, I am obsessed with boxes--finding them, stacking them, getting the most out of every inch of them. I've got them stashed strategically around the apartment. There's a fairly decent sized stack upstairs in the bedroom and I headed up there today to get one for some kitchen stuff (a few odd bowls, some mugs, etc.) I needed one that wasn't too small, wasn't too big, one that was nice and sturdy. And I knew just the perfect one...only one problem...
It was occupied. Lately, this box in particular has been Bing's spot. He sleeps there all the time. Originally, it was actually sitting with its opening on top and he would jump in that way. I almost jumped across the room the first time I found him in there. Somehow, he flipped it and has been sitting, like a "Bing Diarama" ever since. (They've always loved moving boxes for this reason.)
It's worth noting that this box is the highest box on the highest stack of boxes in the room. (This would have been more obvious earlier in the week, before the rest of the boxes started getting used.) And of course it is--this cat enjoys looking down on the rest of us.
The big question, of course, is how long I continue to let Bing occupy such a desirable and useful box. I've asked a couple of friends who are firmly in the "don't you take his box away from him!" camp.
I tried to talk the matter over with him today...and you can see how quickly I crumbled.
Lately, of course, I am obsessed with boxes--finding them, stacking them, getting the most out of every inch of them. I've got them stashed strategically around the apartment. There's a fairly decent sized stack upstairs in the bedroom and I headed up there today to get one for some kitchen stuff (a few odd bowls, some mugs, etc.) I needed one that wasn't too small, wasn't too big, one that was nice and sturdy. And I knew just the perfect one...only one problem...
It was occupied. Lately, this box in particular has been Bing's spot. He sleeps there all the time. Originally, it was actually sitting with its opening on top and he would jump in that way. I almost jumped across the room the first time I found him in there. Somehow, he flipped it and has been sitting, like a "Bing Diarama" ever since. (They've always loved moving boxes for this reason.)
It's worth noting that this box is the highest box on the highest stack of boxes in the room. (This would have been more obvious earlier in the week, before the rest of the boxes started getting used.) And of course it is--this cat enjoys looking down on the rest of us.
The big question, of course, is how long I continue to let Bing occupy such a desirable and useful box. I've asked a couple of friends who are firmly in the "don't you take his box away from him!" camp.
I tried to talk the matter over with him today...and you can see how quickly I crumbled.
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