Moving, moving, moving....
Finally, I have a chance to update the Universe on my life.... It's been very strange not having regular internet access. Will have to get used to that since I don't know when the new connection will be established.
I figured out over the weekend that between last Saturday and tomorrow I will drive 2300 miles. That's damn near to California, I think. The drive back to C-U from Effingham still takes 3 hours (or it seems to) while the drive to Effingham takes just over an hour. I hate it when time expands like that. Pity that sort of time expansion doesn't occur for FUN stuff. :o)
Here's a brief update while I have Internet access at the hotel tonight:
Moving is a pain in the arm, hand, foot, knee, back..... For some reason, the right side of my body appears to be wearing out. My right thumb seems to be having some tendonitis, making gripping things (and opening bottles) painful to impossible. My right elbow hasn't been right since the last neonatal transport I did (with the 380 pound incubator on the cot, plus two steel air bottles). Now it hurts to lift a 32-ounce beverage if any torque is applied to the joint. Guess that'll inspire me to keep my elbow in. Right knee has tightness/pressure in the joint when I kneel, but that could be something with the distal end of my quad. Actually my back doesn't hurt at all from the lifting, but the sleeping on the futon mattress on the floor wasn't that great, nor was the driving all day for two days running with lots of lifting in between.
Monday, I got the truck loaded up in C-U with the fine assistance of Marcia, Mike and Tom. Marcia played load mistress while Mike and I hauled boxes. Tom helped with the heavy stuff in the morning which was a great relief to me.
My sister Jo came down on Monday night, we crashed at a hotel and then Tues morning finished loading. We headed out for Jackson just after 1pm. I drove the truck and she drove mom's minivan. As usual, there was a torrential downpour at the Goreville/Tunnel Hill area, but this time there was a fantastic lightning storm too. We had intended to start unloading the truck on Tuesday, but decided to get something to eat and go to bed instead. So we did.
And unloading commenced at 0730 on Wednesday. At 0735, meowing was heard from the shrubs out front.
The Siamese from next door apparently decided to come by and check out the new neighbor. She wandered around the house commenting loudly. We named her Phoebe. She stayed out of the way, but watched everything. Later in the afternoon she sacked out in a closet, then on a folded up futon mattress and even had a brief nap on my bed before going back to the futon. Had to chase her out of the house at the end of the day.
My motorcycles were delivered four days early by Harry (Allied Van Lines Special Products driver) at about 8:30 or 9 am.
He actually got his truck all the way down to my cove/cul de sac and turned around. The driver who picked the bikes up, Kevin, had made sure he tied the tie-down straps in knots for him. Harry said he would retaliate appropriately, even if it meant calling Kevin's wife. I should call Harry later and find out what he did to Kevin. :o)
The monster fridge arrived at about 10am. We immediately filled the ice cube trays. And took turns opening the fridge to feel the coolness.
The temperature when we knocked off for lunch
was >95 degrees. No wonder we could wring sweat out of our shirts! It reached 103 before we were done. After lunch we had a 30 min nap. It wasn't as refreshing as we thought it should be. We didn't really get our second wind until almost 2:30. By 4:30 we were done!!
It took until almost 9pm for the house to cool off to 80 degrees with the A/C running. But I got to sleep in my own bed, so who cares.
I predict it will take me approximately 1.43 years to get things unpacked and put away.
Thursday we finished getting the dryer hooked up and headed back to C-U, so Jo could get home (she works on Friday) and I could pick up the second U-Haul truck and car trailer. As usual, the torrential downpour commenced at Tunnel Hill/Goreville and continued for about 10 miles. Lightning wasn't as good this time.
Of course, we stopped in Metropolis to have our pictures taken with Superman, as well as having pictures *as* Superman and SuperGirl. It was a moral imperative and about 2 miles off the highway. Trivia note: This is the *only* municipality in the country named Metropolis, so it has to be where Superman grew up. :o)
The local U-Haul in C-U is horrendously busy this time of year. They had ONE guy working there today a major moving week. This did not go well, as you might expect. They didn't have the truck I had reserved *and* had confirmed the day earlier. They also didn't have one larger. So I got a smaller truck, which may or may not fit everything. Getting the car loaded on the trailer was a bit nerve-wracking. Jo was able to guide me on or I'd have never gotten it done. But, I managed to drive back to the apartment without hitting anybody or losing the car and/or trailer, so that's good.
Had a brief panic attack trying to get everything organized. Ended up getting my entire apartment packed up. Tomorrow i need to get a mini-screwdriver to change the towel bars back, get ice and another cooler and get the truck loaded up again. Have some stuff to drop off at the library for donation and have some stuff, mostly clothes, for GoodWill. S'posed to have lunch with Griff tomorrow. Then it will be time to head out of town for good. W00t!
Now I'm lounging around at the Historic Lincoln Hotel. They have embroidered wallpaper in the lobby. The A/C seems to be stuck on the setting for "Winter in Antarctica". I'll be sleeping with only my nose peeking out of the blankets. I suppose that balances out the heat I'll be unloading the truck in tomorrow and Saturday.
Time for sleep now. I've got an early alarm set to get things loaded up before the weather gets too hot and it gets really late to drive. I don't want to get a hotel halfway down, but that's better than crashing teh truck, I suppose. Mostly I just want to get in my own bed and not have to drive LOTS every darned day.
Remind me to tell you about my recent trip to Iowa, where I found an old Sinclair dinosaur still standing watch outside the gas station.... Yes, I did pull off the Interstate just to take a photo of a stone dinosaur. Isn't he cute? :o)
I figured out over the weekend that between last Saturday and tomorrow I will drive 2300 miles. That's damn near to California, I think. The drive back to C-U from Effingham still takes 3 hours (or it seems to) while the drive to Effingham takes just over an hour. I hate it when time expands like that. Pity that sort of time expansion doesn't occur for FUN stuff. :o)
Here's a brief update while I have Internet access at the hotel tonight:
Moving is a pain in the arm, hand, foot, knee, back..... For some reason, the right side of my body appears to be wearing out. My right thumb seems to be having some tendonitis, making gripping things (and opening bottles) painful to impossible. My right elbow hasn't been right since the last neonatal transport I did (with the 380 pound incubator on the cot, plus two steel air bottles). Now it hurts to lift a 32-ounce beverage if any torque is applied to the joint. Guess that'll inspire me to keep my elbow in. Right knee has tightness/pressure in the joint when I kneel, but that could be something with the distal end of my quad. Actually my back doesn't hurt at all from the lifting, but the sleeping on the futon mattress on the floor wasn't that great, nor was the driving all day for two days running with lots of lifting in between.
Monday, I got the truck loaded up in C-U with the fine assistance of Marcia, Mike and Tom. Marcia played load mistress while Mike and I hauled boxes. Tom helped with the heavy stuff in the morning which was a great relief to me.
My sister Jo came down on Monday night, we crashed at a hotel and then Tues morning finished loading. We headed out for Jackson just after 1pm. I drove the truck and she drove mom's minivan. As usual, there was a torrential downpour at the Goreville/Tunnel Hill area, but this time there was a fantastic lightning storm too. We had intended to start unloading the truck on Tuesday, but decided to get something to eat and go to bed instead. So we did.
And unloading commenced at 0730 on Wednesday. At 0735, meowing was heard from the shrubs out front.
The Siamese from next door apparently decided to come by and check out the new neighbor. She wandered around the house commenting loudly. We named her Phoebe. She stayed out of the way, but watched everything. Later in the afternoon she sacked out in a closet, then on a folded up futon mattress and even had a brief nap on my bed before going back to the futon. Had to chase her out of the house at the end of the day.My motorcycles were delivered four days early by Harry (Allied Van Lines Special Products driver) at about 8:30 or 9 am.
He actually got his truck all the way down to my cove/cul de sac and turned around. The driver who picked the bikes up, Kevin, had made sure he tied the tie-down straps in knots for him. Harry said he would retaliate appropriately, even if it meant calling Kevin's wife. I should call Harry later and find out what he did to Kevin. :o)The monster fridge arrived at about 10am. We immediately filled the ice cube trays. And took turns opening the fridge to feel the coolness.
The temperature when we knocked off for lunch
was >95 degrees. No wonder we could wring sweat out of our shirts! It reached 103 before we were done. After lunch we had a 30 min nap. It wasn't as refreshing as we thought it should be. We didn't really get our second wind until almost 2:30. By 4:30 we were done!!It took until almost 9pm for the house to cool off to 80 degrees with the A/C running. But I got to sleep in my own bed, so who cares.
I predict it will take me approximately 1.43 years to get things unpacked and put away.
Thursday we finished getting the dryer hooked up and headed back to C-U, so Jo could get home (she works on Friday) and I could pick up the second U-Haul truck and car trailer. As usual, the torrential downpour commenced at Tunnel Hill/Goreville and continued for about 10 miles. Lightning wasn't as good this time.
Of course, we stopped in Metropolis to have our pictures taken with Superman, as well as having pictures *as* Superman and SuperGirl. It was a moral imperative and about 2 miles off the highway. Trivia note: This is the *only* municipality in the country named Metropolis, so it has to be where Superman grew up. :o)The local U-Haul in C-U is horrendously busy this time of year. They had ONE guy working there today a major moving week. This did not go well, as you might expect. They didn't have the truck I had reserved *and* had confirmed the day earlier. They also didn't have one larger. So I got a smaller truck, which may or may not fit everything. Getting the car loaded on the trailer was a bit nerve-wracking. Jo was able to guide me on or I'd have never gotten it done. But, I managed to drive back to the apartment without hitting anybody or losing the car and/or trailer, so that's good.
Had a brief panic attack trying to get everything organized. Ended up getting my entire apartment packed up. Tomorrow i need to get a mini-screwdriver to change the towel bars back, get ice and another cooler and get the truck loaded up again. Have some stuff to drop off at the library for donation and have some stuff, mostly clothes, for GoodWill. S'posed to have lunch with Griff tomorrow. Then it will be time to head out of town for good. W00t!
Now I'm lounging around at the Historic Lincoln Hotel. They have embroidered wallpaper in the lobby. The A/C seems to be stuck on the setting for "Winter in Antarctica". I'll be sleeping with only my nose peeking out of the blankets. I suppose that balances out the heat I'll be unloading the truck in tomorrow and Saturday.
Time for sleep now. I've got an early alarm set to get things loaded up before the weather gets too hot and it gets really late to drive. I don't want to get a hotel halfway down, but that's better than crashing teh truck, I suppose. Mostly I just want to get in my own bed and not have to drive LOTS every darned day.
Remind me to tell you about my recent trip to Iowa, where I found an old Sinclair dinosaur still standing watch outside the gas station.... Yes, I did pull off the Interstate just to take a photo of a stone dinosaur. Isn't he cute? :o)
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