5 days!!!

The insanity of it all is hitting. I have five days to finish packing up 23 years of life (either to take or put in storage) and those 23 years have been full of a great many material blessings.

I have been finding random objects I'd forgotten I owned - such as the first Cherished Teddy that I received as a child - "Zachary", a sailor with a boat and now worth a good chunk of money. Over the years, I have received an inordinate number more and, to this day, continue to collect them. Granted, unlike when I was a youngster, other people purchased them for me whereas now, it's all me (and mom when I can con her into coughing up some dough toward the collection ;)).

What I have left to physically pack is my jewelry (for those of you who know me rather well, you'll know this will be a trip in and of itself), my workout gear (also an insane amount of "stuff") and necessary paperwork that is currently dumped on the floor as the furniture holding it is now in the garage ready to go into the Penske truck.

I've been to Mama D's and the Village - so got those checked off my list. I have left to see: Sergey (tonight), Andy (tomorrow), Mikey (Thursday), Sena (hopefully Wednesday), Dan (Wednesday) and hopefully everybody else and their mother's on Friday. I have doctor's appointments to finish up, lunches to have with prior bosses, as well as a good amount of "oh shits" to be said. Nobody ever said I was perfect ;)... except for me of course!

The next few days are going to be swamped, insane and full of excitement and a little bit of saddness. Already I'm trying to figure out when to do what and realizing just how little sleep I am going to get. And we all know what happens when I don't get a whole lot of sleep... uh oh! Watch out folks! Hurricane Morgan is gearing up for landfall. Hopefully, this particular hurricane will be diverted, but best be prepared with provisions - such as chocolate, iced tea and a wall to bang my head on. This should be sufficient.

Until next time...

"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon" ~ Anonymous

The Countdown Begins

Hello, good morning, good afternoon and nowhere near good night.

This is the first of many blogs to be posted in the ensuing time to come while I am at grad school and figuring out where the wind will blow next. The purpose of this is to keep you all apprised of my fabulous (and not so fabulous) experiences in DC and at school. Some will be funny, others will be serious, others will be straight up pissed off (hello? did you forget who you were reading about?). So please, enjoy it all with me and be ready for a hell of a ride.

To recap: I am attending the George Washington University in Washington D.C. for my Masters in Women's Studies. I grew up in Southern California and went to school for my BA in English at the University of California, Berkeley - Cal - GO BEARS! I, and my parents, leave August 2nd to begin the trek across the country to DC. We'll pound pavement for four days, stopping in Gallup (NM), Oklahoma City (OK), Nashville (TN) and finally, arrive in DC. In Nashville, we'll be seeing family and an olllllld friend of mine from way back when (no Drew, I'm not calling YOU old...).

Yes, just about everybody I know is concerned about how I will survive in the cold. It is an adventure - not because I am leaving my family and friends behind, not because I haven't been a geek in a few years, not because I'm starting over - but because I don't know the meaning of weather.

I have 10 days to go. I have yet to finish packing just about everything I own. But! I have finished my shoes. I own an un-Godly amount of shoes and have pared it down to only about 75 pairs. We are talking some serious talent that I possess - who else can handle choosing only that few?

My schedule is a bit batty trying to fit in everyone and everything, but I'll manage. Until then...

Things To Do Before I Go (Please remind me if there's something I forget!):
-Eat at (clearly, food is my first priority):
-El Som
-Mama D's
-Chart House
-Food Show
-Shop at (clearly, shopping is my second priority):
-Galleria
-Village
-Katwalk (I decided to forgive them)
-DSW (duh?!)
-See a movie
-Go OUT (and look cute of course - documentation must be made)
-Take a walk on the beach

I will be home for the Holiday break (no Thanksgiving for me! That will be in St. Louis).

For now, I'll leave you be. Check in, check back, subscribe, do as you will.

And wish me luck.