Checking in

I know it's been awhile. I finally have recovered from the move. Everything is either in storage or put away in my new place, or at least the stuff I was able to get out of the apartment. I called to apologise again, and to see how much I owed them. The final bill hasn't been tallied, but it looks like they are going to charge me a lot for the stuff they had to carry out, which I didn't really consider when I left it, I was so tired, and really, there was no way to get it out in time. So it is what it is. She's thinking it may be upwards of $2000, which I'm still shocked at, but I don't think I have a defence as to why I shouldn't pay it. I didn't think there was quite that much left. So this has been a pretty expensive move.

But at least it's over. I took a few last things to storage today. YKWIA and I finally had our lunch buffet at Masala for his birthday. We've been working on finding places for the food and other items I brought with me. I found a place for my wine and accessories for libations (in a cubby hole in my bed) rather than out in his very Jewish home. We've been getting used to living with someone else, and it's gone pretty well. And I finally got some rest. My boss let me off on Friday due to a low census (although the coming week will be high numbers), and I got a lot done yesterday and today.

I finally finished the notes, just now, for the Call of Cthulhu game. We're going to play tomorrow. I'm doing a little laundry. I just have to put my clothes away and I think I'm done for the night. Hope you're having a pleasant weekend. Sorry I haven't blogged.

I really tried, but

I give up. There is still too much to do and not enough time to finish it. It is almost 1 am. I have to be at work in 7 hours. It was a valiant effort, and today I had some help. But it's not enough. I have all the stuff I wanted to keep. But there are things I'd wanted to take out and things I wanted to donate, and they're still there. I'll turn the keys in early tomorrow before they open with a note of apology. It was just too much, and even though I've been working on this for what seems like forever, that couldn't be changed. But I downsized a lot. I feel like I purged a lot of stuff. I'm just sorry I couldn't present the apartment in the condition I wanted. It means I won't get my deposit back, but really, at this point, I am so tired I feel sick, and I don't care anymore. I do care about the fact that they've been very good to me in general and gave me an extension. I wanted to do things right for that reason. But it was illogical to keep going when it was still going to lead to failure. I'm headed to bed, assuming my legs, which are terribly swollen despite a diuretic and in pain, will let me sleep. Good night.

Do I look as tired as I feel?

I am so over this move. Only a few hours left.

So tired

Most of my earthly possessions now reside in a 10'x15' storage unit, which is now completely full. The bread machine is my friend's, as we switched out machines since mine is superior. A few items are in a closet, a cedar chest, the bed, and lying in a pile at the foot of my bed to be put away tomorrow. Still have to take things to Goodwill and books to the library--and clean, all tonight. Not sure I can do all that. It's 9 pm now, and I have to work tomorrow. We'll see. But I'm drinking water and resting for a few minutes before going back over there.

I am STILL moving

I got an extension from my leasing agent because there was just so much to go through. The big stuff all got moved on Tuesday, along with about 50 boxes of books. The guys took my dresser, chest of drawers, and love seat out to the approved Dumpster area. They were competent and speedy. It took a little less than four hours. I tipped each one enough to get some lunch. They were carrying boxes of books out two at a time. Ah, to be young again. I highly recommend Wildcat Moving. They were very professional and everything worked well. They stacked things very well, using as much space as possible in my storage unit. There were other things I'll need to take out. I'm almost finished. I need to take my comics, the Rosemoon Guild files, a couple of cherry tables, the dining room table, and a few other things to storage, along with several boxes of kitchen things, one of which (the dishes) hasn't been packed yet. Then the fun begins. There's approximately 12 boxes' worth of books to go to the library as a donation. There is easily an entire carload of things for charity. There is a lot of trash and recyclables, too. Then I have to clean. I'm going to work all tomorrow, starting early. I was going to try to work last night, but after working all day at the medical centre, I only got about four hours in before becoming pooped. It's just as well that I didn't because 1) apparently there are special characters in the code for the gate at the storage area that I'd forgotten, and I wouldn't have been able to get in, 2) I decided that moving stuff into a storage unit at 3:30 in the morning, when you're a woman and alone, might not be the best plan, even though they have security, and 3) it was raining cats and dogs, and I'm moving cardboard boxes and things like acrylic paintings. It was cloudy today, but the rain left over from Hurricane Harvey has passed, and it just spit a little rain here and there.

Today I worked for over twelve hours. I am tired. We were supposed to go out to the Indian restaurant (Masala, in Beaumont) today for YKWIA's birthday, but we postponed it for the move. I didn't take a shower this morning and I was sweaty and let's say, fragrant. So I just took a shower and I feel much better. I'm just waiting for my hair to dry to go to bed. Tomorrow's agenda, beyond the apartment, is to put away a couple of boxes' worth of things I brought to the house, set up the printer, take my battery backup/surge protector and put it on the computer YKWIA is using, go over some financial stuff, and do some laundry. That's enough. Maybe we'll be able to go to Masala on Monday since I'm off.

I am getting very sleepy. I'm tired. I think my hair is dry enough, anyway, to not hurt the pillow. I think it's time to turn in for the night.

Ugh

Taking a break on the last day of packing (the movers come tomorrow at 9 am). Have a carload of books ready to go to the library, but only half loaded in the car, as it is raining. Total books to go = two carloads. So much still to do.

I thought that I was finished with the books I'm keeping

as far as packing goes, but I forgot the cookbooks in the kitchen. There are two partial shelves, so there aren't a lot of books left. I think that they'll fit in a copy box. I wound up finishing up everything else book-wise and came about two boxes short of the small U-Haul boxes, but I'd put some VHS tapes in a couple, so it's just about 52 boxes of books to go. Now I have to turn to the other stuff that's going into storage, like the curio cabinet contents, electronics I won't be using, etc. I have to empty the chest of drawers that's left, which is mostly photos and audio tapes (yes, I still have a tape recorder on my player) and the steamer trunk (which is full of art supplies, many of which are old and need to just be thrown out, although I gave Brenda some Renaissance and Elizabethan patterns, a Hobbit graphic novel, and my fish. She came yesterday and got those, and so the tank is now empty save for gravel and some water, and I have to get the rest of that out today so it can dry).

Today I'm going to go get a few more totes for things that shouldn't go into cardboard, do some packing, take some things over to YKWIA's, including my laundry, do that, work on a project for him, take him to my apartment so that he can look through the discarded books (there's a lot of good stuff, I just didn't keep things that I would not reasonably read or use). I have to get things ready for a Goodwill drop off. And then I have to pack up the books that are left to take to the library so I can drop them off tomorrow. I think I reduced the books by about a third; I went from fourteen shelves to about five or six with books on them.

So most things will be taken by the movers to storage on Tuesday. Between now and then I need to take the following to YKWIA's:

1. Three small boxes of books
2. My library books (mustn't get them mixed up with the others)
3. My summer clothes (winter ones are going into storage in totes)
4. CDs and DVDs
5. My laptop, accessories, and a portable DVD drive, since I don't have one built-in
6. Some purses and bags with their holder that hangs in the closet
7. My fan
8. The CPAP and accessories
9. My jewelry box
10. The remaining plants
11. Food and a few glasses
12. Towels, washcloths, and hand towels
13. Toiletries
14. Shoes and hanging shoe rack

That's just about it. I have two long drawers in my bed, an entryway closet for clothes and a few other things, and YKWIA is going to let me use the cedar chest for some clothes, too, and I don't usually have many clothes at any given time, just enough for a week, so that should work. The books can go on the bed's bookcase; the CDs and DVDs can go in the sliding door compartments on the foot of the bed and if needed, the drawers. I was going to try to bring one of the folding bookcases, but there isn't room.

Okay, I should get started. I wanted to get breakfast in me and take my medicine; I've done so. Also, I really need to get a shower before I go to Kroger for the containers, as I didn't yesterday and worked pretty hard. By the time I get those and get them packed, I should be able to go over to YKWIAs.

One week

It just really hit me that I'm moving in a week. That means I need to step up my packing game, for one. Really step up my game. I've been coming home around 8 pm the last couple of days and just haven't felt like it. I don't have that luxury anymore. The biggest problem is that I simply don't have much room to pack in. I'm just going to have to find a way to make room.

Today was a good day, though. My spirits are still up from the eclipse, although I started out a little tired this morning. But my boss moved me out of check out (except for covering breaks) and instead I was in a quieter bay with the door closed taking live calls and returning voicemails. I returned 60 voicemails today, answered maybe 20 more calls, and did some e-mails as well. Since I wasn't trying to check out people and do that at the same time (which gets worse as the day progresses when you do try that), I was able to focus on people's needs much better. All in all, I was much happier.

Alright. Here's the plan. Pack what I can each weeknight through Friday--try for at least five boxes each day. Friday I'm in a training for two hours and then a meeting, and it's lighter census-wise, so if I'm lucky maybe I can leave at 4:30. Saturday will be devoted to packing as much as humanly possible. Sunday is the game, but we knew I might need to cancel, and I think that's going to have to be the case, as the notes and the game will take too much time away from getting ready for the move. If I can have things ready so YKWIA can look over the books left to see if he'd like any, then I can box those up on Sunday evening and Monday, when I'm off, along with anything left, and then I can take the books that are the discards to the library on Monday, and fold up the bookcases that can be.

The movers will be here 9 am on Tuesday the 29th, so on the 28th, I should take whatever's left to move to the new place [medicine, clothes, etc.], except for my CPAP and the clothes I'll wear on Tuesday, plus a few toiletries. Then, when everything's gone, I can focus on cleaning and that sort of thing. Tuesday morning I'll put the mattress and box springs in their bags after taking the bedding off. I'll be sleeping that night at the new place [YKWIA's], so I'll take the CPAP, etc. over after the move. The majority of the plants are already over there; I'll take the rest over this week or weekend. Also Monday I need to go to the University of Kentucky parking office and get a new hang tag; mine expires on August 31st.

I also need to make a list of places to cancel service, namely Spectrum (Internet), Kentucky Utilities (electricity), and Vonage (home phone) and also touch base with the leasing agent to see when she wants me to return the keys and pay the fee for breaking my lease. My mail has already been requested to forward as of August 25th. I'll send my new address to my family members and change over the bills.

Sometime this week, Brenda is coming to get the fish so I can drain the aquarium and have it dried out before going into storage, too.

Wow. So much to do. I hope I can do it without melting down. (It has happened before, that time I left my entire record collection when I got evicted fourteen years ago after getting laid off.)

Whew!

I think I'm up to over 30 boxes of books, CDs, and a few other things packed. I thought weeding the books in the bedroom would be hardest, but it went well - I decreased them by about a half. My nightstand, dresser, and one chest of drawers are empty. The old school Atari and Nintendo are packed up. Some of my winter clothes are in a tote. A lot has been put aside for charity and some things are in bags to be thrown away. Plus I did some things for a friend. It's been a productive day. I think I've earned a rest. There is still an awfully lot to do, but I got quite a bit accomplished.

Today

The water heater upstairs leaked (no one's living up there presently), so I awoke to a leak coming through my bathroom vent this morning. It's been fixed, as our maintenance is very responsive. I hope that will be the last order I put in to the office. It's so odd to think that within days I'll be leaving my apartment complex where I've lived for over 14 years! But soon I'll be in my friend's house, and I might be able to do some gardening in his yard along the way, and that makes me happy. The houseplants I took over already look like they're doing okay for now. We'll see. At work and at home I had sunny windows, whereas these are shadier, at least in my room, so I may have to do some distribution throughout the house. But we'll make it work.

Okay

Sixteen boxes packed and one peace lily that constantly needs water replanted in the lavender pot (it had died, and the pot is a nice cobalt blue and larger than what the peace lily was in, plus it has an attached saucer built in. The peace lily is going on the floor in the room I'm going to be sleeping in--which is technically in the living room, not a bedroom--in front of a shady window.)

I did spill some soil on the carpet, and my vacuum is over at YKWIA's, so I will need to retrieve it tomorrow. Anyway, I think it's time to work on notes, now. Time to turn off Pandora and listen to the game instead. I also need to water the other houseplants. Two orchids are still blooming (in fact, the yellow one sent another shoot off of last year's stem and has five blooms and a bud on it, and the pink one that started blooming in March is still going strong). I've been going through things and rearranging them so I can get around things. I've also been throwing or recycling things as I go. There are two-and-a-half big bags of recyclables, one and a half of trash, almost two, and a small grocery bag full of drink lids, which one of my co-workers collect for some form of charity purposes. I'll take the bags out later--that's not got a time limit for today, whereas the notes do. So it's next on the list. I also have a (small) collection of books to take (remember, it's a book case bed), a few I want to read, a few to study (mainly Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, all of which I'm getting rusty with), and then there are a couple I just need to take--my workbooks on hoarding and anxiety/phobia disorders. I've also gotten my important papers and identification papers together, like my birth certificate, passport and passport card, business licence, and librarian certification, that sort of thing. They're definitely going with me, and not into storage.

Okay, on to notes!

One of the things I've discovered

having packed a total of 10 boxes is that I don't have room to really pack or store boxes. So, I'm going to see what I can downsize or move to storage, like some of the holiday decorations that never made it back in the walk-in closet, but rather are out in boxes of their own. I'm going to try to do that today, but I need to work on the game notes first, now that I'm about halfway through my list. I can always run the other things over tomorrow morning before the game, after all.

Today's agenda

1. Get medicine from pharmacy
2. Return books to the library
3. Donate a few of YKWIA's books and a CD to the library
4. Work on the bedroom
5. Pack books
6. Get totes for clothes' storage
7. Get mattress pad to protect my current (queen) mattress from dust (and cover up a couple of menstural blood stains from the movers--I should have putt one on years ago. The new one (which is a full mattress) had one on within minutes of delivery. Of course, it has a 10-year warranty that is void if it gets stained.)
8. Find something that will work for providing more clothes storage in the closet at YKWIA's
9. Work on game notes

Today, possibly tomorrow:

1. Take telescope, holiday decorations, and walk-in-closet things to storage
2. Take out trash/recyclables
3. Go through medicine in the refrigerator and reduce packaging/space
4. Clean kitchen
5. Clean bathroom

Well

Today was a good day at work. I kept up with everything, and didn't feel exhausted afterwards from that much mental juggling and human interaction. I even had enough energy to work on the house, and my boss gave me an extra day off next week to pack. But... being an introverted person with bipolar depression, anxiety, and OCD, I think work is taking a toll on me, but I haven't really had the energy to do job hunting lately. So, goals for the next few weeks: 1) take care of my health, physical and mental, meaning taking my medicine on schedule, eating well, and getting rest, 2) resume job hunting, 3) get moved with the least stress possible, and 4) do a great job at work. I think that's enough to work on, don't you?

Got everything set up

It's hard to see in these pictures, that this is a full-sized bed, but the 'headboard' and 'footboard' are on the long ends of the bed. The coloured inserts can be changed, or even contain photos with a clear insert over them. Since my friend's living room is pink, I changed them to pink, even though I prefer the lavender ones. I wanted storage and so this seemed a good plan. I guess I assumed the mattress would be recessed more - it's pretty tall. Only the cat seemed interested in claiming it - I think the dogs were afraid of it, or at least one of them was. All the animals were upset about all the furniture moving and strangers coming in to set it up. I hope this will bear my weight okay; it's quite different than the way the similar bed at the store was constructed underneath. There is a bunkie board to help distribute the weight, at least, but underneath there are boards above a cruciform support of perpendicular particle board.

But all in all, it went well. At one point they had a piece upside down and had to change it around, but they still did better than I would have. The guys forgot to put the lower knobs on the nightstands, so I did, and I changed the inserts, even though the lower ones on the footboard meant getting down in the hardwood floor. The workmen spoke a language I couldn't quite identify. Some words sounded Spanish, but it definitely was not that. Maybe Portuguese? It's possible that are Brazilian.

YKWIA seemed to be disturbed by the intrusion of his peaceful home by the bed and what it meant - that we were really moving in together. It will be an adjustment for each of us.

Anyway, it's together and I put the mattress cover and bedclothes on. Now I'm home and I need to work on the game notes tonight, or pack, either one. But I did do a lot today, cleaning and moving things, and really want to just relax. It's hard to believe it's only Friday night - it's felt like a Saturday all day. But tomorrow I have to take YKWIA to an appointment, but otherwise I think game notes and packing are a priority. I don't have a lot of time before I move, and it will go by very fast.

So nice to be off work today

My furniture is going to be delivered today, and I didn't know when that would be, so I asked off for the day. Turns out they're coming between 4 and 7 pm, so that leaves the rest of the day to be productive. I did sleep in, till 8:45, but there are things I need to do today:

1. Pay my rent.
2. Pay my electric.
3. Call the credit union with a question.
4. Get all of the boxes out of my car!
5. Water the plants in the living room (I got the ones in the bedroom a couple of days ago).
6. Look for a rose-coloured full microfleece blanket.
7. Help YKWIA get the house ready for the furniture, moving some things and cleaning.
8. Take him to pay a bill.
9. Receive and inspect the furniture.
10. Pack some.

I need to take two pillows (for the shams) and a blanket I'm going to use to protect the bedding from one of the dogs, who has very short hair but really sheds. Fortunately, the bedding is a cream colour, and she's a light gold, so it should be mostly okay. But since I'm allergic to dogs and cats, I should minimise direct contact as much as I can.

With the exception of Monday, when my mood was troubled by the horrible interview, it hasn't been bad this week. We were a little slower, about 100 people in the clinic or so a day, so busy enough to always be working, but not overwhelming. On Tuesday I sent an e-mail to the interviewing committee thanking them for the interview, answering the question I misunderstood and basically telling them that I tank during interviews due to nervousness, and I hope they'll consider me for the next step in the process, despite my performance on the phone. I hope they will. I suppose all the experts would say not to do this, but I felt I should. The new head of the committee sent an e-mail to me Thursday acknowledging it. So all hope is not lost, hopefully. I really want this job, and I think that I would be very good for the nurse-patrons.

Other things to accomplish this weekend:

• Finish the game notes, as we're playing on Sunday.
• Take off the caps of soda bottles to give to a co-worker who saves them and take out the recyclables, which are full.
• Pack some more.
• Take some light items over to storage and the new place as I can.

The plan is now to go through the books and pick what I want to keep, putting those in the U-Haul boxes. Then YKWIA can look through the ones left and those not chosen by either of us can go into some of the other types of boxes to be taken to the library. My therapist suggested just letting the movers take care of the books that are going into storage rather than me trying to deal with them a little at a time--I will be paying them to move them, anyway. That is the bulk of what I've got, after all. I've already booked the move to start at 9 am on Tuesday, August 29th. I booked them online, with a note that things will be moved from my apartment to a storage centre, that much of it is books, and with a request that a few large items be moved to the Dumpster area if they are amenable. I'm using Wildcat Moving, a local company that seems to have good ratings with the Better Business Bureau and online. I absolutely refuse to use another company, Two Men and a Truck, which is very popular around here, as they stranded a couple I know in the middle of their move with some lame excuse when they realised that the couple was not my friend and myself but rather two men. No kidding. Hometown Movers saved the day back then, and I would have used them now, but they seem to have disbanded. So hopefully, Wildcat Moving will be a good experience. That gives me 24 days to pack, including a weekend right before. I'm off the 28th and 29th for the actual move. That also gives me a couple of days afterwards to clean the apartment and turn in my keys. That reminds me--I should fill out a change of mailing address sometime this weekend, while I'm thinking about it.

Okay, I'm going to get going. I need to pay those bills, get off the computer, and get moving. The boxes will take a little time to get into the house--there are probably about 35 in the car, although the U-Haul ones are still packed flat in a bundle, at least. Hope you have a good weekend!

Things to do tomorrow

1. Weigh myself (I haven't in a while) -- Yay, I've lost 10 lbs!
2. Reconcile my finances. (It would have been nice to have been paid on Friday like I should have been, but it'll be Monday instead.)
3. Get supplements for a friend at Costco, who will pay me back.
4. Visit a furniture store to get a daybed for the move.
5. Tour and rent a storage area for the move.
6. Go to the library and return some books.
7. Obtain or at least line up some boxes.
8. Work on reducing/weeding books.
9. Take out the trash and recyclables.
10. Do some cleaning.
11. Run by the grocery and get mayonnaise for a friend and denture cleanser for me.
12. Plant mint and ivy at a friend's house.
13. Do the game notes.
14. Do some job hunting.
15. Write up my notice for my apartment manager in preparation for the move, to be given on Sunday.
16. Pay my COBRA bill so it's in time for August.
17. Create a timeline/Gantt chart for the move.
18. Finalise my list of what from each room will go to the house, and what will go into storage.
19. Research movers, as neither my friends nor I, can handle the big stuff.

That's enough, don't you think?

So it's been an interesting week, anyway

It was very busy at work. One day we had over 200 on the schedule and over 150 showed up. That was a record, I think. It will only become more normal, though, now that we're taking over the university's paediatric orthopaedic clinic. But with a lot of teamwork, it went pretty well.

I didn't hear anything about the Owenton job until Friday. They went with another candidate, I suspect because they realised I couldn't take the position. There were just too many drawbacks. I wish I could have made it work. But I still have other local applications out there, and there's a Lexington Public Library children's librarian position that just opened yesterday to apply for. I also applied for a position at Shriners in the department I'm working in. The pay range is less than I have been making, but no real commute and EXCELLENT benefits, and I think I could make it on a little less money. I think the Owenton job was mainly so I could see what was out there, especially in the other counties. For example, Boyle County library is advertising a children's librarian position for a little over $13.50 an hour. The LPL one averages about $42,000 a year. That's a big difference. But the health plan is probably the most important aspect for me. There was no way I could have taken a pay cut AND paid that much in medical expenses. With Shriners, I basically didn't pay out anything beyond my biweekly premiums and the before-tax deduction for my flexible spending account, which paid for the $1500 maximum out-of-pocket expenses we had (yes that is not the deductible, that's the out-of-pocket cost, as the deductible was $150). If I can get the patient access job at $16 an hour, I can just make it, and it would be worth it just for the insurance, really. In the meantime, I'll seek a librarian job.

Speaking of making it, after more than 25 years of living on my own, and 14 years living here at the apartment complex, it looks like I will be moving. I have a friend with whom I'm going to move in so we can share expenses. The only trouble is it's not a very big house, and there's really not room for most of my stuff, which would have to go into storage. I would basically have to get a daybed and have a few things from the apartment, but generally, most of my things would be stored elsewhere. It will take some getting used to, and like I said, I haven't lived with anyone for years and years, and we've always said spending too much time together might not be the best plan, as we're both set in our ways. There will have to be a lot of compromise on both sides, I'm sure, and we'll have to make sure we each get some alone time, as we're both introverts. I'll have to break my lease, but that's not too difficult here, you just give notice and an extra month's rent. I'm thinking I could move in by August 1st. I've already found a daybed at Amazon that has lots of storage under it in the form of drawers and sliding doors, a back that has a bookcase/storage as well. I'd need to have a hamper or two, my lamp, my Bluetooth speaker that's four-feet tall but very thin for listening to music, and not much else. There's a small closet. I'm looking around the apartment to judge what can go and what needs to be gotten rid of, and what might go. I should bring a few small things such as my iron and ironing board for pressing my interview suit, but things like books, CDs, and most of the kitchen stuff can go into storage. The aquarium might be able to go to Brenda, along with the fish inside it, as there's no room there, and she's a hobbyist. Most of the bookshelves come apart and fold down, actually, so that will help. The biggest things are the chest-of-drawers, a dresser with a mirror that comes off, the bed, which comes apart, a table that has the top come off, the computer desk with removable hutch, and maybe two other bookshelves and a microwave cart. The plants will go with me, of course. My, there are a lot of them! I'd basically be living in the living room. But it would help him a great deal, and force me to minimise things quite a bit, which is probably a good thing. The main drawback is he absolutely dislikes and will refuse to have Wi-Fi, and my new computer does not have an Ethernet plug, but I can use the old one in the library, get a USB-Ethernet adapter, or uset his one using my phone's hotspot. The speaker is Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi, and I have unlimited data so I can listen to music from my library or Pandora. Anyway, we're going to give it a try. This is a friend whom I have known for 30 years, and I've been friends with him for at least 28. He probably saved my life and sanity by posing difficult questions at the time that I was married which led me to leave my husband. He is like an older brother, and if thie helps, so be it.