The alarm went off at 9:00am, and I called Eric. After I hung up, I was just lying in bed, thinking I might fall back to sleep, so I set the alarm for 10:00am, because Tifney was coming to Clairemont to take me to lunch at 11:30am, so I knew I had to get up by 10:00am in order to be ready.
Five minutes later the phone rang. It was my insurance company, calling to interview me. I told the whole story, and then they got the towing company on the line and I gave them permission to move the car to a body shop very close by. I am letting the insurance company handle the whole thing, so I don’t have to deal with anything at all. It was a very pleasant experience. GMAC did a great job with my last accident, and – so far – they’re doing a great job here, too.
After I hung up with her, I called the auto shippers and told them that instead of picking up the car Thursday in San Diego, they would be picking it up someplace south of Los Angeles after it had been repaired. They said that was fine and I just had to let them know when and where.
Next the body shop called to let me know they had my car in El Monte, CA., and they needed to get my approval to appraise the vehicle and then they’ll get back to me with the total. The guy was SO nice and everything went SO smoothly, I was kind of dazzled by all the efficiency!
Tifney texted me at about 11:15am to tell me she would be a little late, because our friend Nancy was going to join us. Nancy is the woman who trained me when I worked a half shift with her for three months, and my other half was in HR. She sits right next to Tifney, which is how Tif and I became friends. I’m friendly with Nancy, too, and we’ve been out to lunch with Tifney and Ailien a few times. She’s a doll, too, and I thought it was so nice of them to drive the 10 miles to Clairemont from Del Mar, just to have lunch and then drive back to work!
We went across the street to HOMETOWN BUFFET, which Tifney likes a lot. Eric and I went there twice before we were warned off the place by Jimmy, and I haven’t been there since, but it wasn’t bad and we had a lot of fun.
They dropped me back off a little before 1:00pm and I did two loads of laundry and packed all afternoon. Then I showered and got dressed to meet Rosemary for dinner at 6:00pm. She picked me up and we went to Pacific Beach for sushi at Haiku. I told the woman who owns the place that it was my last visit, because I was moving back to NY. She actually remembered that Eric is there already – and I guess she kind of figured it out because I’ve been there at least 5 times without him, and I was always there with him before he left.
We had a delicious dinner and Rosemary was SO impressed by the fabulous gourmet rolls they have. We started with a COMA, which is the deep-fried jalapeno with tuna, cream cheese and some other great stuff, on a bed of salad with a delicious dressing. We also had edamame. We then had two rolls. A DYNAMITE roll, with salmon, crab and crunchies on top, and another roll (we both couldn’t remember the name!), that had shrimp tempura with other stuff.
We couldn’t finish, and Rosemary took home the leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow. I know she’ll love it just as much the second time around! She insisted on treating me, which was so sweet.
They brought over a martini glass filled with cut fruit and toothpicks, which was so sweet. They're all really nice there, and I'm really going to miss their amazing food!
Rosemary offered to take me to the airport on Friday night, so I told her if I had time (if my move ended in time), I’d take HER out to dinner before she dropped me off. I told her we have to find a place that won’t mind my having Conrad in his little travel cage. Once I pack his cage, I’ll have to put him in the travel cage and he’ll be there until we get to New York!
I think his cage just snaps apart, so I’m going to try to take it apart on Friday and, if I can do it, I’ll pack it in my big suitcase, so I can put it back together again in NY and he’ll be back in his house on Saturday. If not, then I’ll have to ship it, and Eric and I will probably go buy a cage, because he can’t possibly stay in the little travel cage for a week!
After dinner we went to STAPLES, so I could pick up a dozen more rolls of packing tape. I have now spent about $100 on packing tape. Isn’t that crazy? Rosemary told me I’m lucky, because I haven’t bought any boxes or bubble wrap, or tissue, or anything else like that, so I guess $100 for packing materials isn’t that bad.
When I got home I worked on the computer for a while, catching up on my blogging, and then watched DANCING WITH THE STARS and MEDIUM. DWTS is really exciting this year. There are actually 3 or 4 contenders, but I believe Gilles is going to win. I’ve been voting for Lil’ Kim, because it’s so amazing to me that this little rapper from Brooklyn, who spent time in prison, is do graceful, so elegant, and so studious, devoted and dedicated to the whole process. She takes it so seriously, and she’s so sweet. I’m loving her! I don’t know if she can win, but she’s got my vote!