Less than a Week

It's hard to believe that this time next week I will (or rather should be) moved into my new digs.

I'm more frightened than I thought I would be.

Packing is getting harder and harder.  There is only so much left I can do.  Pretty much...the contents of my desk, my closet, a handful of books, and my toiletries are what remain.  Most of that will end up in suitcases later today, I think, or tomorrow morning.  My room is a mess because I can't do anything else until what has been packed gets moved, and I can't lift anything so it has to wait.

Pretty much as soon as I move I'm going to have to find a supplemental source of income - with so many medical things going on I'm going to need much more than I anticipated.  My head hurts from the anxiety.  I wish I had someone to lean on right now, but there isn't anyone.

Half a Loaf

Moving continues, though at a slower pace than I would like.  John is doing the heavy lifting, moving his books from my shelves to his, then if he's up to it moving my bookshelves to the staging area.  I'm pretty much useless; I loaded four boxes of DVDs and one box of clothing, but now my head is aching from bending over.  It's terribly frustrating for someone as mentally independent as I to not be able to do the simplest of physical tasks without becoming ill.

I still have accessories to pack, and laundry to sort between what I need over the next week and what can be packed away, and I need to do that today.  Tomorrow I need to start separating out the common property - mostly kitchen stuff, but we need to talk about who keeps what storage containers and stuff.

Depression is pulling me down, and I know I have to stop it because I simply don't have the time to indulge in it - my move day is nine days away.

Starting from Scratch

Martha Stewart and I don't see eye to eye sometimes.

I'm looking ahead to what I need to stock my pantry in my apartment.  So, off to the internet I go!  Martha Stewart's page on pantry essentials is in the top three, and I figured that her list would be a good place to start.

Until I looked at it.

I'm not going to knock the list, I'm sure it's wonderful if you're...actually, I'm not sure who that list would be a pantry primer for.  Anchovies?  Capers?  Really?

Usually I love Martha Stewart's checklists, especially ones like her cleaning checklist.  Very sensible list, and easy to follow.

But, back to the pantry.  I found a very useful list at The Stone Soup, it's a little bit more than I would consider minimalist but it seems to go in order of priority.  A more minimalist list from the same author is both more and less helpful somehow - but I love it.

Tomorrow is more packing, and packing, and packing.  I'm also haunting the local Goodwill stores for rose-patterned tea sets and other things that I really will need.  Like knives.  That's probably going to be a trip to Marshall's or something.

Got to rush out to a discussion in Tempe, so hopefully I'll be able to get back to this soon.  Ja ne!

Little by Little

I'm feeling a bit frustrated because my packing has stalled, so I cleaned and packed away all the non-essentials on my desk.  It's not much, but at least I can feel good about accomplished something today.

Mentally I'm a bit on the fritz.  I have referrals to see a therapist, but really don't know how I'm going to afford it.   Plus I have a meds appointment on Tuesday and two prescriptions to fill tomorrow. Lots of medical stuff going on right now.

There are so many social issues that I need to come to terms with, but I'm not sure how.  Things I just can't seem to let go of no matter how much I try - it's just too painful.  I guess I'll just have to hope for the "time heals all wounds" sort of thing and put it behind me as best I can.

So much left to do.....

Twist My Arm, Why Don't You?

Ok, L’Arc~en~Ciel, now that you have my complete attention....  

 How is it that you can get me to buy a CD without even hearing a single?  How do y'all become hotter with every passing year?  *melts*  


In other news, Yellow Fried Chickenz's single The End Of The Day drops in... three days technically, since it is tomorrow in Japan now.  I keep scanning iTunes to see if it comes up here in America - I miss being able to buy the CD singles so much but finances and the exchange rate are killing me.  The video for it is totally droolworthy... plenty of Gackt-y goodness, and the other singer is hot too.  ^_^ 

The Living Speed Bump

Sometimes cats, very much like people, seem to have their own personal agendas.  Some want to be petted, some want to be part of every conversation, some wish to be left alone to meditate upon how very fine it is to be feline.

Aiden, the gray cat in our household, has made it his life's goal, and indeed his personal mission to be a speed bump.

Never try to run anywhere in the house.  It doesn't matter if you are rushing to stir a bubbling pot or dashing in to get out of the rain, you will never go more than five steps before your foot collides with something soft, furry, and surprisingly immobile.  What momentum you built will be completely lost as you windmill to regain your balance.

On the rare occasions when he is not in place to slow your progress, he will appear from nowhere and race to get ahead of you, then stop.  He takes his work as traffic control very seriously.

At all other times Aiden is a laid back, zen-like cat.  He likes everyone, will tolerate just about anything, and is generally just a happy, if slightly stoned looking cat.  Unless you speed in his precinct.   

Pulling it together

Book packing - completed!

I've finally finished cataloging and packing all of the books I am keeping (there are a couple of shelves worth that are going to the used book store, but I'm giving friends first crack at them.)

I now know exactly how many books I have.  That is absolutely incredible to me.  Now...I need to finish tagging them for easy reference.  I did end up using LibraryThing.com to catalog them, but it was worth the money.

Now I can see the gaping holes in my collection and actually fix them.  ^_^

Now...on to my next two major projects:  the DVDs and making decisions on the magazines I've been carting around forever.  I have a bunch of Japanese magazines and photo-books, out of print/rare niche magazines, and things I just wanted to hold on to because there was a recipe or article that I was meaning to scan.  Well, now is the time to make those decisions.  Probably...I will keep most of the Japanese stuff regarding Gackt, and my print copies of The Green Egg from the early 1990s.  Possibly my old copies of Run and Compute Magazines.  Everything else will probably have to go away.  *sobs*   

So much work left to be done, but I'm confident that I will be able to finish it before the end of the month.  Wish me luck!