Left DC and Scott’s house relatively early in the morning, and it wasn’t a great sleep. I think we’re both adjusting to the new sleeping pattern of each other in the bed and, well, usually I’m OK with that because I know it’s temporary. But this time I know it’s not. We’re going to be together from now on. I guess I’ll have to get used to his snoring ;-) If we don't adjust quickly, I fear that two grumpy people with quick tempers may lead to a miserable trip! But I think we'll adjust after another couple of nights.
The rest of the trip was fabulous! We picked up a Garmin and headed off to Norfolk to see my little sister and her BF and celebrate her birthday...26 years young. My good friend Wendy joined us for dinner, and we had a great time catching up and celebrating. Tomorrow I think we’ll jet off to the outer banks before heading to the Raleigh area. Good-byes are still coming so I’m not too sad yet. The drive to Memphis will likely be miserable because I’ll be so sad to have left everyone at that point. Good thing we picked up a box of tissues today.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Everything's in a Cube!!!
Everything's packed and ready to go! No fights, we just "got er done." I'm always amazed how one's life fits into boxes, and in this case one massive box with room to spare. Let's hope nothing gets broken en-route. Tonight we spend the night with a friend and then it's off to our first stop, Norfolk, to see my sister. Let the road-tripping begin!
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Final Countdown
Today makes it official...I only have one week left here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I am a mix of emotions right now, which is fun for no one, least of all myself. But the boxes are mostly packed (except for some last minute stuff), the moving cube confirmed, and the anticipation great. I want to go. NOW. Just leave, but I have to be patient for one more week.
I'm always amazed at how one can literally fit a life into a bunch of boxes. It kind of makes you think, that's it? That's really everything? But it's strangely liberating and terrifying at the same time. Like you're closing off a loose end and everything's wrapped up neatly in a pretty little (or big) box. There's nothing left to come back to after this. Which can be incredibly depressing because I love all my friends here and leaving them is just about the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But then I'm reminded of the incomparable Dr. Seuss:
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the [gal] who’ll decide where to go...
Oh! The places you'll go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights....
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
One more weekend of celebration for my friend's wedding then I FINALLY (5 months later) get to see Darren and I move! One week will fly by with the wedding and other last-minute good-bye plans, but it's already too far away. I want to hit the open road, knowing that the end of this journey is really just the beginning of another one. And I can hardly wait to start.
I'm always amazed at how one can literally fit a life into a bunch of boxes. It kind of makes you think, that's it? That's really everything? But it's strangely liberating and terrifying at the same time. Like you're closing off a loose end and everything's wrapped up neatly in a pretty little (or big) box. There's nothing left to come back to after this. Which can be incredibly depressing because I love all my friends here and leaving them is just about the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But then I'm reminded of the incomparable Dr. Seuss:
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the [gal] who’ll decide where to go...
Oh! The places you'll go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights....
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
One more weekend of celebration for my friend's wedding then I FINALLY (5 months later) get to see Darren and I move! One week will fly by with the wedding and other last-minute good-bye plans, but it's already too far away. I want to hit the open road, knowing that the end of this journey is really just the beginning of another one. And I can hardly wait to start.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Chef Mel
I am so grateful at this moment to be here in Arlington. I really am going to miss all my friends and support network. But one of the fun things about moving, and also just summer, is the gatherings. Birthday/going parties, potlucks, random BBQs, needing to clean out the freezer, etc., have given me ample opportunities to stretch my chef legs and make different culinary delights. Examples include: red/white/blue cupcakes, my first angel food cake (which turned out terrific), a crockpot roasted chicken (slow cooked so the meat literally fell off the bones) in an apple wine sauce, bite-sized quiches, vegetable-au-gratin (which sounds gross but is possibly the most delicious thing I’ve ever made) and my standard 5-minute strawberry shortcake. I really love to cook/bake. I’m told the food’s good too, and I know I certainly enjoy it. There are never any leftovers, so it must be true! I’m glad I can cook for my friends while I’m still here and hopeful that I will find wonderful friends up there to cook for as well.
Raspberry angel food cake with raspberry preserve topping. Lo-cal and low fat too!
The moving plans are slowly beginning to finalize. Road trip is in progress (keep those ideas coming!) and so are the pre-move wedding details. (Just to clarify, I am NOT getting married. At least not yet. My friend is the weekend before I move.) I also received my consultant contract and it’s a lot more than I was expecting. I’ve started the selling process of furniture I’m not taking with me and I have a small city of boxes in my dining room area. As the details become more finalized, the move becomes more real and I am finally starting to get excited. I can tell because when someone asked me about it today, I didn’t panic as a reaction and start thinking about everything I still have left to do. Instead I gave her a big toothy smile and said, “I can’t wait to go!”
The moving plans are slowly beginning to finalize. Road trip is in progress (keep those ideas coming!) and so are the pre-move wedding details. (Just to clarify, I am NOT getting married. At least not yet. My friend is the weekend before I move.) I also received my consultant contract and it’s a lot more than I was expecting. I’ve started the selling process of furniture I’m not taking with me and I have a small city of boxes in my dining room area. As the details become more finalized, the move becomes more real and I am finally starting to get excited. I can tell because when someone asked me about it today, I didn’t panic as a reaction and start thinking about everything I still have left to do. Instead I gave her a big toothy smile and said, “I can’t wait to go!”
Thursday, July 15, 2010
I'm going on a road trip and I'm bringing...
A car full of stuff! After a successful convention in Orlando, I am finally on the home stretch to my move! I have secured transportation for most of my stuff, mapped out a loose plan for actually getting it from DC to Edmonton, and started working out the great summer road trip to Canada.
So far, D and I will be traveling to Alberta via North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. So my question to you out in the blog-o-sphere is, where should we stop? We’ve considered a few places (Memphis, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Black Hills, etc.) but would love to hear about where you’ve been, where to sleep, where to eat, what to see, etc. Please send me your best bets and ideas!
The whole experience has been overwhelming. Not just the logistics of moving, but the mental implications of the move as well. It’s not easy to just pack up and go, leaving behind wonderful friends and fond memories. And for people who have never gone through a large move like this, I gotta tell you: No matter how in control you feel, you’re not. My sister just recently moved to Norfolk and she’s been my litmus test…Results indicate that this is not going to be easy. I think the experience of having done this twice now is haunting me, making me feel worried and apprehensive about it all. But I still know I’m doing the right thing. I know it because I love D. I know it because I think I’m just ready to move on and begin a new chapter.
If nothing else, this will be a grand adventure! No work, no responsibility, just a fewweeks months of rest and relaxation. I think I will like being a lady of leisure, at least for a little while.
So far, D and I will be traveling to Alberta via North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. So my question to you out in the blog-o-sphere is, where should we stop? We’ve considered a few places (Memphis, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Black Hills, etc.) but would love to hear about where you’ve been, where to sleep, where to eat, what to see, etc. Please send me your best bets and ideas!
The whole experience has been overwhelming. Not just the logistics of moving, but the mental implications of the move as well. It’s not easy to just pack up and go, leaving behind wonderful friends and fond memories. And for people who have never gone through a large move like this, I gotta tell you: No matter how in control you feel, you’re not. My sister just recently moved to Norfolk and she’s been my litmus test…Results indicate that this is not going to be easy. I think the experience of having done this twice now is haunting me, making me feel worried and apprehensive about it all. But I still know I’m doing the right thing. I know it because I love D. I know it because I think I’m just ready to move on and begin a new chapter.
If nothing else, this will be a grand adventure! No work, no responsibility, just a few
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Melancholia!!!
So, I was ready to write a blog about how crazy I feel, how I'm freaking out about moving because I haven't actually done anything yet and how I'm worried about jobs because I have zero leads and the consulting work with my current company seems to be falling through. Then I thought about the word "melancholia" and this is how Webster's dictionary defines it:
A mental condition and especially a manic-depressive condition characterized by extreme depression, bodily complaints and often hallucinations and delusions.
Huh. That's not how I feel AT ALL or what I thought the word "melancholy" meant. So I looked that up. Again, Websters:
A depressions of spirits; a pensive mood.
Ok, so how can pretty much the same word be defined so differently? It made me laugh and definitely lifted my spirits. Only I would be lifted by the intricacies of the English language. Nerd.
A mental condition and especially a manic-depressive condition characterized by extreme depression, bodily complaints and often hallucinations and delusions.
Huh. That's not how I feel AT ALL or what I thought the word "melancholy" meant. So I looked that up. Again, Websters:
A depressions of spirits; a pensive mood.
Ok, so how can pretty much the same word be defined so differently? It made me laugh and definitely lifted my spirits. Only I would be lifted by the intricacies of the English language. Nerd.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
My Favorite Time of Day
Everyone has a favorite time of day…A small piece of their day that is peaceful and calm, regenerating your spirit for whatever comes next. For me, this moment happens in the morning when I drink my first cup of coffee. I am one of the few people I know who actually likes the taste of coffee. Day, afternoon or night, I enjoy the flavor of the beans. I don’t particularly need the caffeine; it’s just my drink of choice.
But I look forward to that first cup in the morning. I make my way to work, fighting the DC-metro traffic, and trudge up the four flights of stairs to my office. I sit down, let my computer start up and take that first sip. Immediately everything I’ve been worrying about or dreading at work is gone. My body relaxes and my mind is calm as I savor that first sip. And as the email floods in and the files load, I continue to sip my coffee barely noticing anything around me. I feel serene and at ease with the workload or problems facing my day. During the weekend this is even better because I don’t have to shift gears right away. I can enjoy my first cup and stare off into space as the caffeine slowly coaxes my body awake. For me, this is better than a massage because I feel very relaxed after that first cup and ready to conquer the day.
But I look forward to that first cup in the morning. I make my way to work, fighting the DC-metro traffic, and trudge up the four flights of stairs to my office. I sit down, let my computer start up and take that first sip. Immediately everything I’ve been worrying about or dreading at work is gone. My body relaxes and my mind is calm as I savor that first sip. And as the email floods in and the files load, I continue to sip my coffee barely noticing anything around me. I feel serene and at ease with the workload or problems facing my day. During the weekend this is even better because I don’t have to shift gears right away. I can enjoy my first cup and stare off into space as the caffeine slowly coaxes my body awake. For me, this is better than a massage because I feel very relaxed after that first cup and ready to conquer the day.
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