[insert scream here]

Like I have the time to be writing right now...
I am up to my eyeballs in alligators! In a fortunate(?) turn of events, the movers did not come today as planned. They were supposed to arrive at noon, but at 10:30 I received a call saying 'my' truck had mechanical issues. Long story short, they're coming in the morning, and I had the day to get better organized. It was really helpful, because at every turn I am discovering something else that needs to get done.
However, that takes me out of commission for work tomorrow AM, a critical four-hour stretch in the big Wish-Bone wrap up. Alas, more 6P work gone unfinished.
As I can't figure out what I can and cannot ship overseas, I have a huge amount of household cleaners, personal care products, and food/baking supplies with one foot in the grave. I have been trying to get rid of them on freecycle.com, but of course when you offer up a grab bag of goodies, the inbox floods with promises to pick up immediately and very little follow-through. Well, what do you want for free!? Still, I hope to find these things (surely several hundreds of dollars worth of stuff) a second chance at life.
All in all, a good day - flight booked for Monday, several accounts cancelled, clothing to Goodwill, TV purchased + taken away, suitcase made lighter given more time to assess what's "necessary" to carry with me. And, a little time to relax - enjoyed my last Mexican meal for awhile with my friend Jamie + her baby girl Erica. But I did not get that sense of closure I was expecting when I got up, because my apartment is still full! One more day...

Flat Found!

I went to the UK this weekend to see Jason & help him find an apartment. We were successful! It was actually one of the places he had seen the previous weekend. We looked at about 14 places, half of which he had seen before, and the other half were new to both of us. It's a totally different experience than in NYC. The agents are (generally) much less pushy: they'll help you figure out what the landlord would/should be willing to accept; and actually listen to you, hear what you're looking for, and show you things you therefore might consider. Overall it is a more pleasant experience!

Another strange thing (besides the prices being listed weekly, not monthly) is that rent is negotiable (not the case in NYC). So, we found a place listed at 430 pounds/week, offered 380, and landed at 385. Sweet. It's a really funky place, definitely re-done in the 80s. 2 bed, 2 bath, good-sized living/dining room, and a suspended kitchen(!). Pictures follow!

Master Bedroom

Second Bathroom

Living Room (note stairs leading to kitchen)

Kitchen (note tiny oven)

Of course it was pretty fantastic spending time with Jason, too, this weekend. I finally got to tell him all the stuff that's happened unrelated to the relocation... well, sort of. Like his dad giving me a call to check in, or the guy who took some furniture and later wrote to me to tell me Jason looks like Van Gogh. We hung out in the park in Greenwich for a little while Sunday, just lazing around. I got some decent sleep, finally, and felt more normal than I had in weeks. It was wonderful.

The whole experience is certainly going to be interesting. I am now re-evaluating my stuff - mainly kitchen stuff - to see what else I should not bring to UK and instead bring to NH for storing this weekend. Our storage will be limited (although thankfully we'll have Jason's mom's place for 'seasonal' storage), and there are quirks, like the small oven + fridge. So, I'm going to try to bring only what I can't live without ... you know, like 3 8"-round cake pans, the bundt, angel food, and tart pan.

We're now t-minus 11 days til (likely) move! Still haven't booked a flight yet, but you know, details, details!

Sleepless on the Sofa

As long as I'm having an insomniatic night, I might as well check-in here. I am happy to report having gotten rid of the desk, coffee table, and area rug tonight, with a promise on the TV, runner, halogen lamps, and sofa. After all that excitement, I was so tired I could barely eat my take-out bibimbap at 9:30 but somehow managed to get a second wind. Tried to go to sleep around 11:30, got up at 1:30 to try to tire myself out.

Without going into too much detail, the move is definitely taking a physical toll on me. I have been feeling sick and anxious the past several days, and hopefully the next few days with Jason in England will help straighten me back out. When I give myself a moment to think about it, I miss him terribly and I'm thrilled to get the chance to spend a few days together. Even if we're busy busy during my short visit, it will still be a welcome change of pace.

It may be time to give sleep another shot. 'Night.

Countdown is ON!

I spent the last week spending time with friends, including some dinners, a happy hour, golf, and the Belmont Stakes. Today was a homebody day, with a big to-do list and not nearly enough accomplished.

As the days are getting fewer before my ultimate departure, I am struggling a bit because the to-do list keeps growing longer... I'm thinking about...

- Which electronics need new power cords / chargers (importantly: the toothbrushes and Wii!)
- Where to send the mail (Mom & Dad, you may have noticed some heavier-than-normal deliveries? Maybe not yet.)
- Who is going to buy my furniture? I started today with 9 pieces + 1 TV. Ending the day with 8 (+ TV), with 1 of those promised to someone who "can't believe" I have this desk because it's "exactly what [she's] looking for". Go figure, I thought that would be the hardest to get rid of!
- When am I going to sell the car?

You know, the little things.

Meanwhile, 5 hours into the future, Jason has been busy taking care of little things too, like trying to find us a place to live. I'm excited to be going out on Friday (funded by Unilever- yay business class!!) to help with the hunt; hopefully we'll be able to find something over the weekend, since the days in temp housing are growing shorter too.

So a quick count of the days:
22: Days left on Normandie Court lease
17: Days til the movers come
15: Days left on Wish-Bone
12: Days left in the office
12: Days before anniversary #2
11: Evenings I'm in NYC before the movers come
6: Evenings I might be free and able to get something done before the movers come

Yikes!

Jason's Off!

Flight It's Saturday morning and Jason is now en route to the UK. I brought him to the airport for an 8:30 flight and I can see that he's currently at 37000 feet traveling at 556 knots (the internet is an amazing thing).

Food We spent the last week gorging ourselves silly on all the food we'd miss in NYC: walked the Brooklyn Bridge for Grimaldi's pizza, and binged on East Village Italian, Nina's (our favorite neighborhood spot), Pio Pio delicious chicken, and porterhouse at Benjamin. It was fantastic but we're both feeling the after-effects. While we cook a lot of dinners at home (and when I say "we" I mean "Jason"), one of the highlights of New York is of course the restaurants. We will likely never live in another place that offers as much gastronomic variety.

Final Day Many folks have asked us what we were going to do for Jason's last day in the city. Now that it's come and gone I can say that it was a fairly normal day other than his pending departure looming overhead. He talked with some Long Beach friends & his dad, we played some Wii, watched the Dodgers, and made tacos. It might have seemed anticlimactic, but anything more would have been stressful.

Frozen Yesterday I discovered the top tier of our wedding cake in our freezer (on our roughly 1 year 49 weeks anniversary). Given it was 80 degrees outside and in, we decided to leave it on the counter and check it out after dinner (about 6 hours later). We weren't hungry but gave it a try anyway. It was surprisingly delicious, though we only had a few bites. I was very glad that Jason was still here when I remembered the cake, but this small event made me overwhelmingly sad. I'm still trying to figure out why; I think it's premature nostalgia for this significant period in our lives that is coming to a close.

For Now... I am back in our little apartment, trying to sell the rest of the furniture and figure out how to make the most of the next 4 weeks, which are sure to fly by!