Yes, it was moving day. It actually happened. It was traumatic. Still is. Life goes on. As does this blog. And many others (and more than a few have and will find updates this week, that's for sure. If you want to know more, follow the links that will be added later or soon). And the changes keep on changing. Ready or not, time to begin again.
So while the move started last week (and packing started last month), we can designate today (the day just passed, actually, since it is once again past midnight as I recap the day just past, but is the night part of the previous day or is the night the beginning of the next day?... philosophers can muse while we move on) as moving day because I am sitting in an empty apartment now as I type these words. The tentative plan to watch the last of the DVRed shows here tonight changed when I talked myself into moving everything but the cleaning asupplies in two trips today. It was a very long day (only partly in the sun). The carpet fixer woke me just after 8AM and we negotiated a price of $50 (Curly manages somewhere around three dozen properties and negotiated a discount with a carpet service he uses and the guy tried to change the price quote from $45 to $60. Negotiation settled at $50 and the bleach stain was patched. While travel time is part of the price, the work took fifteen minutes and ten of those were going to and from his truck for equipment, so I think he was paid fairly. Being without income, I have no choice but to repress (or is that suppress) my overly-generous nature. It is a struggle, I promise.
Curly arrived shortly after the carper guy was done and the loading started as I scurried around continuing to pack. Sometimes it seems like packing never ends for a pack-rat like me. I will empty boxes and shed stuff, I will empty boxes and shed stuff, I will empty boxes and shed stuff. Hopefully I don't mean I will put more stuff in sheds. Sensible people are laughing at me regularly, but I want to share the shedding with my life partner so I wait and stuff accumulates and multiplies (stuff is weird, just as George Carlin said) and starts families and more. By 1PM we were done with the first load (or was that 3PM?) and we decided it was time for food as we were both ready to do a Snickers commercial and were having trouble making simple decisions like where to go for food.
We decided on the big local (for me, anyway) Chinese Buffet that Curly loves (I do too, but it's not close to home for him so it's more of a treat) and we, unfortunately for Curly's work ethic and desire to get home and rest, pigged out. We chatted between plates and he was rather achy when we were done. Me too, but he seemed especially achy likely because he had lactose yesterday evening and he is intolerant. He really should lose his belly even more than I should (or perhaps just as much) cuz he has issues in there having part of his intestines removed (and I am living in a body getting older by the minute, but that's another story we only maybe slightly mentioned today).
After dinner we rolled back to the apartment and loaded the big bulky stuff (couch, love seat, recliner, dresser, shelves unit, tv stand) all headed to different places. Jackson is giving away the couch and love seat her parents bought when they first moved to Florida (all the cushions are torn thanks to our desrly departed dog) and her new partner has an almost fully furnished home. She's also giving away the dresser her last partner gave her and Curly is taking that. I am taking the book shelf unit she is parting with. She's shedding stuff everywhere and being a very good role model, but waiting for the one (my life partner) to share my shedding continues in case you thought it changed since yesterday, I am parting with a small three drawer desk bottom and a tv stand that Jackson gave me and Curly is taking them, so I am not a hopeless pack-rat, see?
Loading the big stuff took many at least an hour longer than planned. That is because I slowly decided to take more and more stuff and leave less and less for moving by car by myself tomorrow. Suddenly, I looked around and the only thing left was the TV and a chair and the laptop and the cleaning stuff and food in the fridge. Then the TV was loaded into the back seat of my car and away we went with a fully loaded trailer. We unloaded at my new place and Curly left the bulky stuff on his trailer for us to unload at his place tomorrow and off he drove home.
I looked around the new place and suddenly realized I had moved. It was a very strange few moments. I was not quite prepared. I stared at the large window into the black of night for a few moments at least a dozen times before I realized I had to cover that large window with some sort of window covering before I could begin to feel comfortable there. I moved two doors in front of the window and felt much better because it was a concrete step toward accepting the massive changes this move is bringing. I then realized I needed a shower and the hot water is not on there and everything that was packed and labeled so carefully was not as readily findable as planned because we rushed unloading and stacking all the boxes in the new space because that was the only fair thing to do because Curly is giving me way more time than would be reasonable for most friends. Like would you take a week off from work to do all sorts of heavy lifting, wiring, plumbing, cleaning, and more when you work for yourself and your work just piles up when you take days off? Curly is a life saver and that may not even be an exaggeration.
I decided to take action to stop the steep slide into depressing thoughts that was pouring down on me in that new space. I decided I would head back here to what still is home to take a hot shower for my health (physical and mental) and I would search some boxes in the new space and move others to make the space closer to livable and save as much money as possible and then (with a deep breath) provide myself the therapy that shopping provides in spite of the foolishness of spending money when there is no income by going out (unfortunately to the 24 hour Wal-mart because nothing else is open all night) and buying myself some house warming gifts as well as some bare essentials I either did not find in my box search or simply needed because I do not have them. Perhaps I will list them later at the new place. Detail-therapy sometimes works for me too. It is a matter of believing someone cares enough to want to know that level of detail and even more, imagining that I am actually sharing that level of detail with someone who cares enough to share that level of detail and somehow keeping the door open for the one soulmate life-partner-being I've been searching and waiting for all through this life. Survival too. The bill was over $200. Therapy is not cheap, after all.
I have a outdoor large garbage can full of stuff and some more stuff on the back seat of the car. The good news is I did not bring anything into this space except the clothing I found and packed before leaving the new space. The other news (we won't judge) is I have been sitting here for over an hour typing as if I still live here when 99.99% of my stuff is over at the new place. Writing is powerful (and usually successful) self-therapy for me, in case you did not know that yet. In case it matters.
I did not connect to the internet there yet and just in case there is an issue, I decided to record this day here. I am comfortable here, so the words are flowing (in case you didn't notice, aye?). I am saying goodbye, not farewell, but goodbye.
Moving Day can be one of the most bittersweet days in life.
This is one.
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