I cannot believe I will be back in New York in 5 more days. It seems impossible, but it’s true! When you look around my apartment, it’s easy to believe. There are boxes everywhere except the bedroom. The bedroom is actually very zen-like, because there’s nothing on the walls – no shelves, no pictures, no boards of rhinestone pins. The closet is practically empty and the room is pretty much stripped bare, except for the essentials. I’m using a snack tray as a night table and Conrad’s on another snack tray. I removed the mirrors and lamps and all the accessories from my vanity.
The bathroom is pretty empty, except for what I’ll need in the next 4 days. The kitchen is pretty empty, including the fridge! The dining room and living room are the “disaster areas,” as well as the second bedroom. The good news is that I can relax and watch TV with Conrad and it’s not stressful or cramped, just relaxing and cozy.
Anyway, I woke up this morning at around 7:30am. My nose was running so much that I couldn’t fall back to sleep, even though I was totally exhausted. My head was stuffed and I felt awful. I called Eric. He got laid off from his job yesterday, and is now searching for another job. I felt bad, because I know he really wants to be working, and I know it’s important for him to work, but I was kind of happy, because – selfishly – I thought it would be great to have him around when I get back!
He was surprised to hear from me so early. After we hung up, I tried to fall back to sleep, but I felt so sick that I couldn’t. I just laid in bed, dozing on and off, and answering the phone when it rang, and then finally got out of bed at around noon.
The insurance company called to say that the car was at the body shop, it had been appraised and the initial appraisal of damage was just over $4,000. They still have to look at more stuff inside the car, so this was just preliminary. I had said it would be $5,000, and my cousin’s husband, Kyle, said $3,500, so it was right inbetween!
So far, the process has been painless. I got a call from the guy at the body shop and I told him that there was no rush and I wanted them to do a great job on “my baby.” He assured me that they would and I told him when it was finished it would be picked up by the shipper and shipped to me in NY. He said that was fine and it would be ready in a few weeks.
Next, I got a call from ENTERPRISE, asking me when I was returning the car. I thought that was strange, but then the guy told me they had sold the car I was renting! I feel sorry for whomever bought it, because it’s so economical and there are no frills in this car at all. You have to roll down the windows manually and there's not even a mirror on the driver's visor. Talk about no frills! I told him I would be returning it in San Diego on Thursday and he said that was fine. Now, I feel even more nervous driving it around, as I wouldn’t want anything to happen to it right before it sold.
I spent a few hours packing and then decided to work on a big project I had been putting off for – literally – over a year! When Eric and I moved to the apartment, we opened up the box holding the giant mirror that hung in our living room and found that some of the mirrored strips that surround the main mirror had fallen off. Thankfully, they had not broken, but they remained standing in a corner of the living room, with the mirror still in its box in the spare bedroom, for over a year. I bought mirror adhesive, opened the box, reglued the two strips of mirror onto the frame, and now it just has to be re-packed.
At around 3:00pm, I walked over to the shopping center with my cart. First, I stopped at the TIME WARNER office, which just opened about a month ago. I told them I was moving and was going to bring my DVR box and remote over. I just wanted to confirm exactly what I had to do, and I have to figure out whether to bring it over Thursday afternoon, or wait until Friday and do it while the movers are here. I hate to not have TV on Thursday night (you know what an addict I am), but I also hate to leave it to the last minute.
Next, I walked to the mail box and then, on my way back, I stopped at SUBWAY for another $5 foot long Tuna with lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese – toasted! Then, I went to RITE AID to get a travel size Listerine and hair conditioner, because I didn’t have enough to get me through the week. I also bought plastic wrap, because I’m going to use it to wrap up some standing file drawers I have on wheels. This way, I can keep the drawers filled and just wrap them so the drawers can’t open. Then, I can put the packing tape on top of the saran wrap and not ruin the drawers. It seems like a good idea. I’ll see how it works tomorrow!
I also bought a case of water so I would have plenty of cold water for the workers on Friday. I will also offer to buy them lunch – there’s McDonalds, Carl’s Jr., Mountain Mike’s Pizza, Subway, Mexican, and Chinese right across the street, as well as KEIL’S, where they can get deli sandwiches, so I’ll probably give them money and let them go across the street and get whatever they want!
Since I wasn’t going to STARBUCKS today (I wasn't up for the walk over, and I never got in the car), I decided to stop at a coffee place that’s right next door to RITE AID. It’s called THE SAME OLD GRIND, which is a clever name, but that’s about all it has going for it!
I had gone there once when we first moved in, but the coffee was so weak and watery that I never went back. The first thing that happened when I walked in was the guy told me their espresso machine was broken. Nice. I told him I’d just take an iced decaf coffee with mocha. It only cost me $2.10, but it was so watery that I threw it out after a few sips. I’m just spoiled by the best and that’s all there is to it.
When I got back, I had half of my sandwich and watched some TV, and then packed some more. I had every intention of going to yoga tonight, although I’m not going to deny that I was a little nervous about driving to South Park in the rental, especially since I found out it’s being sold. I took a nap at around 5:00pm, and when the alarm went off waking me to go to yoga, I just couldn’t get out of bed. I decided to stay home and miss my last class. It made me sad, because I DID want to say goodbye to my instructor, and a few of the other people who were there every week, but I felt better just staying close to home and working around the apartment.
I packed on and off all night long while I watched AMERICAN IDOL, DANCING WITH THE STARS and THE BIGGEST LOSER. There’s really so little left to pack. There are certain things I need until the very last day, and everything else is pretty much done, except for the things that I’m specifically leaving for the packers on Friday. When I got hungry, I had the second half of my sandwich (just as good as the first half!).\
I have been worried that the packers might not finish in time on Friay, even though they’re supposed to come between 9:00am and 10:00am. I have to leave for the airport by 8:30pm, because my flight is at 10:15pm, but now I’m pretty confident that as long as they show up on time, they’ll be finished in just a few hours. I have most of the boxes stacked neatly against one wall in the living room. There are a few in the back room and a few in the closets in the hallway. There isn’t much furniture – my bed, my vanity, the couch, the chest/coffee table, and the folding table and four folding chairs.
I figure there may be moves where people have two or three bedroom sets, a dining room set, a living room set, etc., etc. So, this shouldn’t be too bad. At least I’m hoping it won’t! There is a set of stairs which is a big pain, so that adds to the complication of the move, but I figure they’re used to that.
Tomorrow I’m getting my last massage from Leah at the LOTUS SANCTUARY. She’s become almost a friend, because I’ve gotten 4 or 5 massages since I moved here, and she’s the sweetest person. I really wanted to say goodbye, and I figured this was a great time to get a massage, since I’ve been working really hard, and I’m really stressed. It’s a wonderful thing to look forward to. I love a massage!