all ready to go

I am done! Everything is packed and ready to go for 9:00 am tomorrow morning. I can't believe it's all really happening tomorrow.!. Even though I checked all the cupboards and closets and everywhere, I have this nagging feeling that tomorrow after the movers come, I'll discover a treasure trove of shit I forgot to pack. And if that happens, I'm going to just THROW IT ALL AWAY.

I am incredibly tired, and I think I'm going to go to bed. Everything aches.

oh. just oh.

Apparently I decided to have 37 beers last night.

And my head feels like it was in a soccer match.

Happy birthday to me.!.

Husband reports I was a fun, happy drunk but not really functioning by the end of the night. And you should see the pictures. We met these two Australian guys who had just flown in yesterday and came straight to the pub, and apparently I invited them over today (with beer)...which will be tricky if they actually show up given that we've got to finish up packing because the movers are coming TOMORROW MORNING.

Yes, I invited two random Australian guys from the pub (we were at a British pub) over. It was just a lovefest last night.

And I just want to know, how long does Tylenol take to kick in? Seriously. I think I'm going to go eat a piece of bread.


UPDATE: finishing up packing completely SUCKS when you're hungover. Ohmygod. I just want to feel human again and I don't even care about packing my crap anymore. Ugh.

My Husband R-O-C-K-S!!!

I decided to start celebrating my birthday this evening...I call it: birthday eve!

So, wanna' know why Husband has won himself a years' worth of brownie points?

He got me the COMPLETE Sex and the City set for my birthday! HA! I'm in SATC heaven! It's an orgy of SATC episodes tonight! It's just fabulous.

I still can't get over it. I own the complete Sex and the City. How much do I rock?!?

Tomorrow for my birthday the plans include: going to my favorite breakfast joint for the best belgium waffle in town; going to the beach to bake myself silly; going to our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner; going to this awesome British pub in Santa Monica for awesome beer on tap. Of course, "breakfast" is relative considering I'll probably be staying up all night watching my AWESOME new birthday present. 'Cuz that's how I roll. Yeah.

Going on STRIKE

I didn't pack anything today. I had ENOUGH. I just couldn't take any more boxes or packing tape so I decided to go on strike and give myself a break. I still think I'll make my goal of being done tomorrow, so it's all good.

I am incredibly exhausted. I think all the stress from moving is finally hitting me. I'm just ready for it to be done already.

Oh, it seems my brain has gone to bed ahead of my body. I think I'm going to follow my brain.

Hey genius...

TIP: when packing your kitchen, be sure to make sure you've taken all tupperware containers out of the refridgerator first.

I tackled the kitchen tonight, and just when I thought I was pretty much done I opened the refrigerator and saw 4 tupperware containers staring back at me. And here I thought I was done with the kitchen. Grrr.

I now have 40 boxes packed. FORTY. That's right, I've been busy, bitches! And I've been rockin' out while packing to good ol' classic '80's tunes. Nothing like a little Madonna and Duran Duran to make packing fun.

Those are tears of HAPPINESS.

Right now I am doing the last 2 loads of laundry: (1) in a community laundry room; and (2) where the machines require quarters to run.

Why is that, you ask? BECAUSE MY NEW APARTMENT HAS ITS OWN WASHER AND DRYER. HOORAY!

I didn't want to do any more laundry, but I had to do just enough to get us through to next week...where I will be able to do laundry WHENEVER I want without having to get QUARTERS or racing other people to the laundry room. HA HA HA HA HA!

This fills me with glee.

5 days and counting...

Well, things are starting to feel like warp speed.

I have successfully hired movers and coerced Husband into posting a few things we want to sell on Craigslist. The Craigslist items include my car. I don't want to drive it up to Washington without a side mirror and with the plates expiring, and we don't want to pay $500 to have the movers ship it. And the insurance company is just being a pain the rear - I called them yesterday and they said they'd try to have somebody come out by the end of the week. I told them we're moving on MONDAY, but they of course don't really care. Hopefully we can sell the car so we don't have figure out what we're going to do with it.

I still have lots of packing to do, but it's coming together nicely. I'm less than amused by how packing boxes is like playing Tetris in real life. And I've got lots of experience with moving, having done quite a lot of it growing up (no, my dad's not in the military, but is a pastor).

Oh, and Miss Eve, yes this move is happening quite quickly - from decision to packing. We knew we wanted to leave California (especially LA), and once we settled on a place I knew it would be a quick move. Once we got up to the Seattle area, we kind of knew immediately that it was a good fit for us. I'm the type where once I know what's going to happen, let's make it happen NOW. I'm really excited to get up there and settled in...and organizing everything in our new place.

Ok, got to get back to packing. Yes, Heather, I saw that you tagged me for that meme, and I'll do it but probably not until after we move. And for those of you emailing me wanting to know more info, I'm going to respond...just probably after the move, as well.

Why my expiring plates may not be an issue...

I walked out to my car this morning, all ready to run errands (which included a trip to Ikea, always a fun time). As I walk towards my car, parked on the street, I notice a side mirror laying on the side of the street.

Then I walk around to get into my car and discover that THE ENTIRE DRIVER'S SIDE OF MY CAR HAS BEEN SLAMMED, BUMPER TO BUMPER.

My side mirror is now just hanging from the side of my car, the actual mirror piece entirely gone.

The trim from both the doors is LAYING IN PIECES ON THE STREET.

When I say that the entire side of my car is destroyed, I mean the entire side is dented. And I'm fairly sure it was a silver car that destroyed mine, because there are huge patches and scratches of silver on my car, from bumper to bumper.

EVEN MY FRONT WHEEL COVER IS CRACKED. CRACKED. How fast was this asshole driving to CRACK my wheel cover?!?

And what makes this even more outrageous is that this asshole didn't even leave a note. NOTHING. Destroy my car and run, bitch. This happened sometime between 8:30 last night and noon today. Both Husband & I are convinced it was a drunk driver that swerved into my car and then kept going.

And get this: no other cars were touched, JUST MINE. Talk about shit luck.

Depending on what the insurance offers, it may not even be worth it to get my car fixed. So we may not even have figure out what to do about my expiring plates.

I still can't believe my car was sideswiped. At least the asshole's car got destroyed, too.



* * *
In other news, I packed 10 boxes tonight. I got these great file boxes from Staples and Trader Joe's gave me 10 wine boxes, with the dividers still in them. I packed all our wine glasses, and the rest of the dividers will be excellent as dividers between plates and bowls.

I need boxes NOW, not on Friday!

I couldn't get out of bed to get to Target. My bed & pillows were just so comfy after the crap hotel pillows.

I had this great idea of ordering boxes & packing supplies online, so it would be cheaper. However, because today is Sunday and apparently all box wholesalers are on the East coast, I wouldn't get anything until Thursday or Friday. I can't wait to start packing until Friday! I need to start packing NOW.

Of course all this hinges on a moving company being able to come on the 30th, which is when we need to have our crap out because the final walk-through is on the 31st. And our move-in date is February 2.

There's also another potential problem: my plates expire this month, and since we're moving there's NO point in renewing them here in California. But do I really want to risk driving through Oregon and Washington with expired plates? Or do I pay the moving company to ship my car and then just register it when we get to Washington? Augh! I'm starting to feel completely overwhelmed!

I'm going to go search out boxes. And damn it, I'd better be able to find some today! I need to start packing!

(Now would be the time to send me calming words of wisdom.)

can't sleep...too much to do...

I've got so much going on in my head I'm a little worried this post will come out psychophrenic.

In fact, I'm so scattered I'm not sure I can even commit to writing a real post.

Suffice it to say:

*The packing madness has begun.

*I've become a box whore. Tomorrow at 8:00 am I'm going to Target to get boxes and then at noon to the liquor store to get boxes.

*I've been consumed with making lists. Really, it's the only way to be truly organized. But I've been having trouble sleeping because I keep thinking of everything I need to do. Of course the absolutely craptastic excuse for pillows at the hotel were probably also to blame.

*I got home and had 18 messages on my answering machine from moving companies.

*Tomorrow I'm going to Ikea to get those fabulous, cheap magazine storage holders. Gotta' preserve my Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living.

*Husband brought the cat home from the sitter. He's looking a little pissed at having gone from a 3 bedroom house back to a 1 bedroom apartment. Of course in just 2 weeks, we'll be upgrading to a 2 bedroom apartment, and his royal fuzzy highness will get lots of space.

*I think I'm stressed about getting everything done...my nails are starting to look like they're in a war.

*I was reading some tips on moving with pets, and came across several suggestiong to get a cat a harness & leash, so the cat doesn't run away. At Target tonight I got the cat a harness and leash. I put it on, just to get him adjusted to it, and WOWEE, I've never seen a cat jump and thrash around like that! I think it's safe to say that he HATES the harness and this may be turn out to be completely and entirely unsuccessful.

*Tonight at Target I bought a bottle of wine. As I was checking out, the cashier looked at my license and said "Happy Birthday on Saturday!". And my initial reaction was to SHUDDER. Holy crap, my birthday is a week from today. It doesn't even feel like my birthday is in a week. And since we'll be packing and about to move, there won't be much celebration. I think I'm pretty okay with that, though, because I'm not sure I want to turn 27. I was suppose to have my life all figured out at age 27.

I think I need a glass of wine.

SEATTLE, HERE WE COME!

We have absolutely fallen in LOVE with Seattle!

There are so many trees, it's like we're experiencing tree-gasms! And it's so green! And the scenery is just beautiful. We just can't get over it. And we can't stop gaping at all the beautiful trees. Have I mentioned the TREES?!? And the rain does not bother me. In fact, I LIKE IT. I haven't gotten ENOUGH rain in LA the past 2 years. And the sun just came out and it's even more gorgeous!

The second apartment we looked at yesterday we fell in love with. We slept on it, and SIGNED THE LEASE THIS MORNING! It's a gorgeous apartment, and soooo much cheaper than what we're paying now!

And here's an even MORE exciting bit: WE'RE MOVING IN 2 WEEKS!!! (Told you we'd want to move right away!)

I've got to go start the moving process! YAY!

I see a sleep-filled flight in my future...

It's almost midnight, and I just finished packing. We have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to get to the airport on time. Yipee. Despite all the tiredness in my near future I am SUPER excited about our trip. Actually, almost too excited to sleep.

I still have to wash the remaining few items in the sink, finish my glass of wine, and go to bed. I packed more than I wanted to, but still in carry-on size. I refuse to check luggage for a 3 day trip. I'm bringing an extra pair of pants & shoes in case of, uh, excessive wetness.

We took our kitty to his sitter tonight. The person who's watching him has a nice, big house, and as soon as we let him out of his kitty carrier, he ran to explore the house and never looked back. It was a little sad for me because when we left, he didn't even want to say goodbye. At least he'll be happy terrorizing the sitter while we're gone.

Ok, I have to finish watching Boston Legal (and my wine) and then go to bed! Husband is taking his computer, so if the internet isn't too expensive at our hotel, I'll post from Seattle!

See ya' on the other side, kids! And wish me luck that it all works out for the best!

Seattle: ? or !

This week Husband & I are going to Seattle. We're leaving on Wednesday and coming back Saturday. I'm really excited!

If this: "?" becomes this: "!", then we want to move RIGHT AWAY. As in we'll start packing when we get back. Yes, I am incredibly excited to be moving away from LA.

So, any ideas/thoughts/tips/wisdom/anecdotes any of you feel compelled to share about Seattle/moving/etc., consider this your invitation to share away!

Quick, somebody up my meds!

Today as I was coming out of Trader Joe's with groceries, I went to my car. The first thing I notice is that my minnie mouse antenna topper is gone (this helps me identify my car in a parking lot). I frown a little at this discovery, but think that it may have just gone to antenna topper heaven, and it was old so that wasn't an entirely unplausible thought.

I put my key in the trunk and I'm trying to open it. The key isn't really wanting to turn, and I'm still thinking it's my car because my key is getting a bit wonky. THEN I notice that there's a sticker in the back window that ISN'T MINE. OHMYGOD, this is NOT MY CAR! To my defense, this other car was only 1 row away from mine, the same make, model, color, and year as my car.

And of course, this whole time there's a woman waiting for this spot. So my medication-free moment had a witness. At least she was nice enough to roll down her window and throw a "it looks just like your car" sympathy comment my way.

Sheesh.

Indignation

You have GOT to be kidding me.

Some complete ass STOLE our water. No, I'm not kidding.

Because we're water snobs, we get these water bottles delivered - the kind where you have to turn them over and put them into a water dispenser. We got our latest bottle delivered yesterday. YESTERDAY. Tonight when Husband was getting ready for work, I thanked him for bringing in the water bottle (I'd have to roll it in while simultaneously preventing the cat from escaping). He says he didn't bring it in, didn't I? Well, NO, I DIDN'T.

Neither one of us brought the bottle in...which would lead to the inevitable conclusion that SOME JACKASS STOLE IT.

Who the hell steals a bottle of water? And one that most likely requires being rolled down the hall because it's too heavy to carry very far?

Seriously, WHO STEALS WATER?!?

Thoughts

1. I'm a little surprised that you can actually say "bitch" on TV before 10 p.m. This is not because I'm conservative. What got me noticing it was all the recent family time I've had - one part of my family wouldn't be caught dead listening to anything with such foul language. And for them, it's kind of like watching sex scenes with your parents - just wierd.

2. When Miss Smarty Pants was here visiting last week, she took me for a mani/pedi for my birthday (which is in a few weeks - fear not, you'll all be duly notified). I've noticed that whenever I do get a manicure (like, once a year) my cuticles come out mangled. Which leads to a painful growing-back process. Which now makes me sound like my fingers look like Revenge of the Cuticle. Despite this slight inconvenience, my fingers & toes look mahhhvelous.

3. It's a good thing my kitty is so darn cute. Especially when he's doing his best to push my patience to the absolute limit. I keep telling myself that the teething will stop. I mean, he has to get fat & lazy eventually, right?

4. I think the Burger King King guy is hysterical. I realize he's also creepy, but I just find him funny. Like, I'm tempted to have TiVo start a collection of those commercials. Does this make me beyond wierd? According to this site I guess I'm a cynical man "of the 18-35 crowd". Hmmm.

5. I know one of my yearly goals was to accept my body for the way it is, but that does NOT mean I can continue to gorge myself silly. In trying to accept my body, I'd like to do things that make me feel good. I think this means I need to get back on the exercise hamster wheel. And I dislike exercising so much I'd rather eat less than be forced to work out. And yes, I know the whole serotonin hoo-hah. Still. I think I'm one of those people that needs a commando-style trainer. Any takers?

6. Confession: I don't like water. That doesn't mean I don't drink it. I do, I just don't enjoy it. Unless I'm I've been in the Sahara thirsty. And I feel badly about this, and I don't know why. Water guilt?

7. I did NINE loads of laundry today. Yes, that's all I did today. No, I haven't been avoiding laundry for the last month. I had to do lots of things you don't wash all the time - like blankets and beach towels & the extra sheets. It wasn't really a fun day. I'm SO having a washer/dryer IN my next apartment.

8. Speaking of my next apartment, Husband & I are going to SEATTLE next week.!. I'm really excited to find out if it's a good fit for us. I will definitely be posting more details about this, not to mention SOLICITING ideas/tips/info from those of you with Seattle knowledge.

9. Because I need to end on an odd number (despite my OCD need for symmetry & balance), I'll share the few things on my birthday wish list. I'd REALLY like the complete Sex And The City. I've seen them all, and yet I still watch the edited, sliced-and-diced version they show on TV. Although it's still fun to watch, the non-sliced-and-diced version is so much better.

(9.b.) I also would like a 9x9x2 baking pan. Turns out having one is NOT enough if you want to do a cake, especially a Martha Stewart coconut cake for Husband's birthday. And they don't sell 9x9x2 pans at the grocery store. Oh, they sell 8x8x1 15/32 (not kidding), but NO 9x9x2. I think Williams Sonoma decided to put a copyright out on that pan size (maybe together with Sur La Table) so no grocery stores or normal, not expensive stores will carry them. Which will undoubtedly lead to MUCH frustration.

(9.c.) In any event, the coconut cake turned out BEAUTIFULLY, and it was my FIRST cake from scratch. I even made the frosting from scratch. I did take pictures, so when I get them developed, I'll post it. (Given the recent debacle with the last camera's memory card, Husband is a little reticent to let me use his brand new camera.)

Ok, I think that's all for now. I'm contemplating going to bed before 2:oo a.m. We'll see.

and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes to...

Happy Birthday, Husband!

Enjoy being older than me for the next 20 days. Hee!

WHO'S THE TROOPER NOW?!?

I AM!

Wanna know why? It is 5:15 A.M. and I AM STILL UP. Oh yeah. It all started with strip card games (which I handily won in a straight set against Husband, HA!), Wedding Crashers around midnight and then The Exorcism of Emily Rose (currently on pause). I think I'm actually becoming (gasp) NOCTURNAL. (Paging Eve!)

This last week has been sparse as far as postings go because I've had COMPANY. And it's been jolly good fun. A friend from college (who is currently in law school and is a Resident Smarty Pants) came down to spend a few days with me. We had tons of fun, although I think I'm due for a chocolate detox (we relived good ol' college days, complete with the chocolate-chip cookie dough). We saw: The Island (better than you think), 40 Year Old Virgin, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Smarty Pants hadn't seen it), and Must Love Dogs.

The 40 Year Old Virgin was laugh-your-pants-off funny. Must Love Dogs was cute (love me some John Cusak).

Last night we went to see The Producers, from which we all pretty much lost our voices because we were laughing so much.

Ok, back to The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Good times, good times.

Fee-fi-fo-fum-resolutions

So... the resolutions. Hmmm. I don't really think I can improve on Saucy's list.

I've never really been into the whole resolution game, anyways. Here's why: I'm a perfectionist, and I can't handle the not following through. Which is also the same reason why I never did the whole Nano Wrimo thing in November. That doesn't mean I'll never write a novel, and this doesn't mean I don't make resolution-type goals to improve my life.

So, instead of the pressure of resolutions hanging over my head, how about we just call them GOALS for 2006?


1. I'd really like to become a licensed attorney this year.

2. I'd like to go easier on myself this year. You know, be okay with me being me. Not expect myself to loose an unrealistic amount of weight but instead accept my body the way it is, flaws and all.

3. I'd like to be nicer to people. There's too much hate and anger in the world already, I don't need to be adding to it!

4. I'd like to watch less television, and read more books. And not fluffy books - cerebral books.

5. I'd like to play more music this year - both piano and violin.

6. I'd like to find some career satisfaction. It doesn't have to come by way of the legal profession. I'm just tired of feeling so unbalanced in that part of my life.

7. Along that line, I'd like to find balance in my life - in family, career, social life, everything. I'm tired of feeling like everything is out of whack!

Do you hear that?

That is the sound of my liver, begging for mercy.