Moving is #$$%%$## HELL!!!!!

Ok, so an update is in order. On Tuesday, I rose at 5 am, giving me two hours to get was not packed packed, get the cats in their cages, get myself ready, check out and leave for the cat boarder. I left a little after 7, but I still had almost two hours to get to the boarders and then to a VERY important fellowship meeting (I’m in a fellowship program that pays part of my salary the year before the school will open). Well, I discovered a few little secrets about Denver. First, as with any other city, when you are in a hurry you are sure to run into traffic. Second, not as with any other city, there is snow and ice just outside the city. Third, if you get outside Denver (I was going to Evergreen) you will have to drive on a dirt/mud road, in ice. Fourth, a tiny Hyundai Accent with two unhappy cats crying and clawing to get out of their cages does make for a safe said trip. Ok, I finally arrived, after several misturns etc., about 8:45 (NOT 8 am as I had hoped). By the time I got my babies in and signed the paperwork and let instructions for their care and food and checked things out to be sure it was a good place (and it’s a really good place, see Evergreen Cat Lodge is the best!) My kitties might not want to come back home, but even so they were a little scared. Can’t blame them. Thirty hours of driving and even more time in a cage to end up in a hotel they did not recognize for ten days and a vet visit in the middle to make sure they were ok and then a drive to a cat boarder (something I have never done to them). The least I could do was to find a good place (even if it was in the middle of NOWHERE, it was AWESOME).

                Then, to the mandatory FIRST meeting more than half-an-hour late (after paying $20 to a machine for $12 parking and then discovering the damn thing GIVES NO CHANGE!). Ugh, bad start. Then to the airport to arrive after midnight, then to my home. Up the next day for a doctor’s appointment and some packing preparation (loading the boy’s car as best I could, though there’s a LOT more for his UHaul tomorrow). Wednesday night and Thursday (today) solid packing. Did I mention I HATE packing? One of my friends (former student) came and helped for a bit. She managed to get me through all the fragile, which is the worst so I was really grateful. The living room is totally done. The kitchen is pretty much done (what’s left is in the refrigerator and walks to the curb in the morning). Now I only need to box the thing for the boy, finish my bedroom, finish paying bills and filing some paperwork, and finish the basement stuff. Oh, and pack my suitcase for the flight back with enough to get me through the next 4 to 8 days (the truck could arrive on the first, or it could not, if it does not, I buy a blow up mattress so I need to pack sheets and a pillow). Joy, joy, joy.

                So, I have paid for a moving company to bring in a trailer and leave it overnight (Thursday to Friday) and then professional movers will pack my stuff in then the company will drive it to Denver where other professionals will move me in. All for between $2500 and $3000 depending on time and space used. Ugh. It’s 10 PM and I just don’t want to do this anymore. Oh, the trailer was late so I missed my leg wax appointment with my FAVORITE waxer which might have been my last opportunity and my legs look like they could compete with a chimp for hairiest (I know, least of my concerns, but still). The boy has the girls this weekend and Thurs/Fri so he can’t help (hard to pack with a three and five year old ‘helping’) but he did call and tell me the weather was gorgeous and that I should go out, as if. But in fact, I did have to go out. See, the trailer could not go into the parking spot I managed behind my building for it because the truck was too tall and would hit the low hanging wires (cable wire that are supposed to be at 14 feet to the 13.5 foot truck could clear but they were at about 10 feet—you learn something new every day). So, said trailer had to park on the street and as a car (with Maine plates and a parking ticket on the windshield) was parked in front of my building, said trailer is now across the street and my movers will take longer and need to be careful crossing (ie: more money). Then, I had to high-tail-it to the Somerville City Office for a moving permit for the trailer. Well, they let me pay the $55 for two days and a sign (said sign useless as trailer is already parked) and THEN they tell me you can’t leave a trailer on the street unattached to the rig. BUT, they kept my money, ugh! So, I’m just praying that my taping the permit on the trailer (28ft long) and the sign on the pole beside it will keep them from messing with me too much. I tried the “well, it’s really a pod on wheels” and now they are sending someone out to check, hopefully after work tomorrow by which time the damn thing will be gone.

Well, gotta go now, movers come at 9, the boy about 1 and if I can get EVERYTHING done, I will treat myself to a leg wax and make the boy wait. Oh, and damn, just saw I missed GNO, alas, will have to get over it. Ciao.