chicago-bound 2008

Move Date!

The move date is finalized!

March 17, 2008!!!

That means three weeks from now, I’ll be living in Chicago for good. No more tearful goodbyes at the airport. No more scratching my brain trying to figure out how to pack for the Chicago weather and not have to check bags. No more psycho neighbors.

Guess who is a little bit nervous, a lot excited, and feels bittersweet about the whole thing? :O

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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On The Move

Even though I should be up to my ears packing right now, I’m posting here. I will do some packing this afternoon. All my office and desk stuff, and all the clothes that are not in season, and my decorations is what I hope to have done by Tuesday of this week.

It really is not much longer ’til I’ll be heading west for the next adventure of my life. OK, it’s only about 400 miles west, but it’s still west!

Am I nervous?

Heck yes! This is the biggest move of my life! The only other big move I did was coming to college. Even then, it was only from Cleveland to Columbus, Ohio. This is two states, a 6–7 hour drive. But people do much bigger moves than I do all the time. I know I can do it.

What am I nervous about?

1. Not having my place all packed up in time! I have a lot of stuff, and although I am planning to get rid some of it, it’s still hard to get motivated to do something like packing. AND the bad thing is that I usually get motivated around 10am, while I am at work. By the time I get home, I’m ready to crash on the couch. But that’s the life of the working person. I have to force myself to do it. I do not want to be scrambling two or three days before Andy shows up with the U-Haul. The sorting is going to drive me nuts. I already have a pile of stuff to give to Goodwill, but bags and shoes I don’t use, and clothes I don’t wear is easy. Stuffed animals and certain knick-knacks is what’s going to be hard to part with. Keeping the big picture in mind helps me be more ruthless, though.

2. The drive out to Chicago. Adam will be with me in the car, and we will be able to switch off, which is good. But I have never driven more than 2.5 hours on my own before. And I have driven 3 hours… but 6–7 hours? I’m a bit lot nervous. I think we’re going to split the drive in half, or switch off every couple hours. I plan to make a MOVING playlist for the iPod. Anyone have any recommendations for songs to keep me awake while I am driving? Adam is threatening me with NPR.

3. Learning a new way of life in Chicago. Columbus is not very urban. I drive everywhere. The thought of driving in Chicago scares me a bit. There is almost always loads of traffic, and there are insane cabbies all over the place. And people are MEAN and aggressive. Columbus is full of either right assholes in big vehicles or people who trudge along at speeds well below the posted speed limit. Right now, I am pretty centrally located in Columbus, so I just hop in my car and 5–10 minutes later, I’m where I need to be. My commute to work is about 12 minutes. In Chicago, I am going to have to get used to twice that long, or 3–4 times that long if I’m taking the train or the bus, even if where I need to be is 2 miles from where I live.

I don’t worry much about getting lost while driving. Not only is there Mapquest or Google Maps, but I have a decent sense of direction, and usually once I find my way somewhere, I can get there again without any help. But I’m going to have to learn public transportation all over again, and I can totally see myself going the wrong way on the trains or hopping on the wrong bus. Thank God I’ll be living in a centrally located area in Chicago, but it’s still a bit unnerving!

Plus, they make it such a pain in the butt to own a car out there. The whole “City of Chicago” sticker that is required of residents out there is just a money-making ploy. Parking for work downtown costs a ton. And just getting my license and registration transferred over is going to cost well over $100. But I doubt I’d get what I still owe on the car if I sold it, and I will not be paying for something I can’t use!

I will be looking for a new job shortly after I move out there. There are plenty of opportunities that look interesting, but we’re going into a recession and that worries me a bit. In the best of times, companies aren’t that great to potential employees. But we’ll see. I’d like to get a job doing what I do now, but again, I’ll have to see what’s out there, and who is willing to take me on. Just getting an interview proves challenging when the economy is like this.

My life has been one huge milestone after another since 2000, so this whole ordeal is just another one to add to the list. That’s why I know I can do it, I know I WILL do it, even though my nerves sometimes try to overtake the excitement.

Chicago-bound 2008! :)

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Space Bags OMG (Picture)

OK, so today, I sold my two laundry baskets of books and got $30. Armed with a 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond, I headed there to get a seven-piece Space Bag set. I could have ordered it from their Web site for $19.99 (the box cost $29.99 at BB&B), but I figured with the coupon, I’d be paying the same as I’d have with ordering it online and paying shipping. Plus, I could have it NOW.

So, I came home, pulled out the XL size bag and decided to see what was up. I stuffed in two raincoats, two thick winter coats, at least one or two spring jackets, a hoodie, a fleece thingy, and two wool pea coats. Then I zipped it up, sucked the air out and got this:

Space Bag OMG

Color me impressed, why don’t you? That could totally fit into a suitcase. Not the big one, either, a normal one. Um, wow? All those coats! And I still have a bunch of the vacuum bags to use. I wonder if I’ll need to buy more? I know I want to BUY more. Now that I know where to get them… 🙂

YAY Space Bags.

I also separated out a bunch of stuff to donate. I managed to fit in all the shoes (except the ones I am using now), bags, and belts into ONE bin. The rest is going to Goodwill. I feel so proud. If I can consolidate like that with everything else, this could work out well. 🙂

I just have to be RUTHLESS, is all. The knick knacks are going to be the hardest, to be honest. 🙁 Those and the stuffed animals. But one way I can talk myself into that is by telling myself that those bears would make some kid somewhere very happy. I plan to only keep one or two bins of stuffed animals (sorry Adam, I just can’t part with ALL of them!).

Star, I still have that box of dolls to send you–I plan to do it within the next four weeks.

Tying up loose ends. There is so much I need to do, besides all the packing, organizing, etc. And locals, whatever food I don’t want to take with me, you are more than welcome to it. I also have an entertainment center, a TV, and a desk that I need to unload. If you want it, holla!

Did I mention the official move date? It’s March 17, 2008.

LESS THAN A MONTH! OMG OMG OMG.

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It Has Begun

Today, I packed 11 boxes. Those boxes are full of DVDs, books, and videotapes. But they’re all packed, except for a book for me to read, and some DVDs for Aidan to watch when he is here. The books were the hardest. Even after putting aside two heaping laundry baskets full to sell, I still had more boxes than I wanted. I’d wanted three to five boxes of books, but I have seven. Fortunately, there will be plenty of room for all my books and other media, as I am taking three huge bookcases with me.

We have stores around here with which I can make a little bit of money getting rid of things. New Uses is a used general store, and I can take things like my phones, my answering machine, lamps, etc. there. Half Price Books for books, and Once Upon a Child for toys. I also plan to dump a bunch of stuff onto Chris. The rest will be given away. Goodwill will be seeing a lot of me over the next four weeks.

The hardest rooms will be the kitchen, my bedroom, and all the crappy little stupid things that I never know what to do with them, like wires and computer things. Next week, I plan to buy plastic bins, heavy duty trash bags, and lots of tape and stuff. It’s time for me to just… bust it out.

Holy crap. In a month, Adam and Andy will be here. I packed 11 boxes, but I feel like I need to do more right this moment. But I actually need to eat.

This is the biggest move of my life, guys. I’m freaking out a bit.

*bites nails*

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