Can we say "Day from hell?" I was up before 6, which is unusual for me. The movers got here at 9 a.m. They were actually here at 8:50, but being the polite Japanese that they are, they waited until exactly 9 a.m. before ringing the bell.
A friend helped me from 9 to 12. She deserves a steak dinner, but that's another story. We finished sorting out all the crap near my desk and putting away the stuff that the movers weren't taking care of.
The biggest shock was that the movers wanted to finish in one day. I really didn't want to shut down my computer and say good-bye to my desk. I felt weepy when I put my iMac into its fashion forward industrial design box. The movers swooped in with 5 folks (6 later) and proceeded to pack our lives into 127 boxes. If this sounds like a lot, remember that 6 of those were chairs, 2 of those were desk and parts, and only a measly 7 were boxes of books.
They finished at 6:15 and left me with homework: 127 box descriptions to assign a yen value to. I promptly drank a beer and then I had another one, since this was a two beer kind of day. I will finish this blog and Grandma will bathe the kids and I will get them to bed. After that, I will ignore the remaining mess in my condo and finish the evil paperwork. And then, I will figure out where the hell I'm sleeping since my boys have bunk beds at Grandma's, but I have nothing.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The opposite of white space...
My word of the year has been white space. Yes, I know that's two words.
I am currently living in the opposite of white space. If I was motivated, I would take a picture of the pit of despair that is my home. The movers come next Monday. This week, I have helped remove from my condo: a washing machine, a bookshelf, an oven, a sofa, bunk beds, a home theater system, boxes of books, dishes, clothes and toys. And yet, strangely, my home still has waaaaaay too much crap in it.
I am plugging away at it, but honestly, I think the packers are going to come on Monday and take a look at my condo and do a lot of teeth sucking. They are going to blink and in that polite, indirect Japanese way ask me if there is someplace that they can work.
The ironic thing in all this is that 3 years ago yesterday, we moved into this place. And shortly thereafter, got our big shipment of stuff out of storage. I feel like someone hit the rewind switch and instead of unpacking, my life is going in reverse and I'm walking backwards and putting the stuff back in the boxes.
Which might also explain the lack of brain cells going on. This week alone, I have managed to forget my child's backpack, leave my purse in the car overnight, and walk off without teaching materials on several occasions. Obviously, my cranial rewind is causing data loss.
White space, black hole. Yin and yang?
I am currently living in the opposite of white space. If I was motivated, I would take a picture of the pit of despair that is my home. The movers come next Monday. This week, I have helped remove from my condo: a washing machine, a bookshelf, an oven, a sofa, bunk beds, a home theater system, boxes of books, dishes, clothes and toys. And yet, strangely, my home still has waaaaaay too much crap in it.
I am plugging away at it, but honestly, I think the packers are going to come on Monday and take a look at my condo and do a lot of teeth sucking. They are going to blink and in that polite, indirect Japanese way ask me if there is someplace that they can work.
The ironic thing in all this is that 3 years ago yesterday, we moved into this place. And shortly thereafter, got our big shipment of stuff out of storage. I feel like someone hit the rewind switch and instead of unpacking, my life is going in reverse and I'm walking backwards and putting the stuff back in the boxes.
Which might also explain the lack of brain cells going on. This week alone, I have managed to forget my child's backpack, leave my purse in the car overnight, and walk off without teaching materials on several occasions. Obviously, my cranial rewind is causing data loss.
White space, black hole. Yin and yang?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Gratitude
I am not feeling grateful these days. No, indeed. My husband moved to the U.S. last week and I am facing an international move with a 4yo and a 7yo.
So in an effort to not turn this into a rambling, hate-my-life blog entry, I offer up the following things I am grateful for:
1) Being invited to the end of year party for the teachers at my son's daycare. I teach English there once a month and when I told them we are moving in February, the head of the school invited me. It was lovely going out, drinking and getting a beautiful frame with photos of me and my boys' time at the daycare.
2) Receiving multiple offers of help from the moms I know. One mom is coming over to help me sort out my kitchen and bedrooms before the international movers get here on 12/20. She even offered to take all my give-aways and trash so I wouldn't have to deal with it.
3) Living next door to my MIL. Today I was sleep deprived and in a foul mood. She offered to take both boys so I could take a nap. She also made dinner tonight. We will be living with her from 12/20 until we get on a plane in February. I am grateful for that.
4) Finding a buyer for our condo. This one I have a harder time with. We lost a lot on the sale of our condo. We are upside down on our mortgage and will have to pay out of pocket on 12/24 when we sell our place. But I am grateful that we have savings in the U.S. and my husband has a new job. It is only money. (Repeat, until I believe.)
5) Having a sister in Seattle. She is letting my husband live in their basement until he gets an apartment figured out sometime this week. She also picked him at the airport. Him, and his enormous duffel and bicycle box.
6) Having a husband with a job. I may have not been ready to leave Japan, but ultimately, my husband needed to move to somewhere with decent IT jobs. He starts his new job on Monday and is excited to be back in the world of software development.
7) Having a husband who has deal with all the relocation crap on that end, even if I'm stuck with the crap on this end. He has been apartment hunting, car hunting and is still jet-lagged.
I have much to be grateful for. I just need someone to keep telling me this. The soundtrack of my brain keeps playing the wrong tune. I need a new anthem.
So in an effort to not turn this into a rambling, hate-my-life blog entry, I offer up the following things I am grateful for:
1) Being invited to the end of year party for the teachers at my son's daycare. I teach English there once a month and when I told them we are moving in February, the head of the school invited me. It was lovely going out, drinking and getting a beautiful frame with photos of me and my boys' time at the daycare.
2) Receiving multiple offers of help from the moms I know. One mom is coming over to help me sort out my kitchen and bedrooms before the international movers get here on 12/20. She even offered to take all my give-aways and trash so I wouldn't have to deal with it.
3) Living next door to my MIL. Today I was sleep deprived and in a foul mood. She offered to take both boys so I could take a nap. She also made dinner tonight. We will be living with her from 12/20 until we get on a plane in February. I am grateful for that.
4) Finding a buyer for our condo. This one I have a harder time with. We lost a lot on the sale of our condo. We are upside down on our mortgage and will have to pay out of pocket on 12/24 when we sell our place. But I am grateful that we have savings in the U.S. and my husband has a new job. It is only money. (Repeat, until I believe.)
5) Having a sister in Seattle. She is letting my husband live in their basement until he gets an apartment figured out sometime this week. She also picked him at the airport. Him, and his enormous duffel and bicycle box.
6) Having a husband with a job. I may have not been ready to leave Japan, but ultimately, my husband needed to move to somewhere with decent IT jobs. He starts his new job on Monday and is excited to be back in the world of software development.
7) Having a husband who has deal with all the relocation crap on that end, even if I'm stuck with the crap on this end. He has been apartment hunting, car hunting and is still jet-lagged.
I have much to be grateful for. I just need someone to keep telling me this. The soundtrack of my brain keeps playing the wrong tune. I need a new anthem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
