Throwing off the Bowlines

Source: google.com via erika on Pinterest

Well the suitcase, save for a handful of things that I still need to use until Tuesday and my electronics and medications, is completely packed and has been since Wednesday (hello Type-A). This packing is courtesy of 2 space bags and my mother. Also I was smoking absolute CRACK (the good stuff) to think that I was going to get 6 weeks worth of clothing for 4 different states (and 2 VERY distinct climates) into a carry on. I barely got it into a large suitcase and to be honest I'm going to be cutting it pretty close to the weight limit so I hope that I don't have to play rearrange at 5 in the morning at the airport. I packed enough clothing so that I don't have to do laundry until I get to Katie's because I don't want to waste precious touristy time and time with friends and family on laundry. My mom is out of town for 4 days but I think Monday night when she gets back we're going to go through it one last time and see if I can cull anything out. Since at the moment I cannot buy a single souvenir along the way and I REALLY want to buy a pair of cowboy boots in Austin.

The getting ready to move process is complicated by my broken stomach as I've had to run around hunting prescriptions and transferring the one I can only get a 30 day supply at a time for to a Walgreens since there are no CVS on the west coast. I also remember I was going to be gone for election day so I had to send away for my absentee ballot. I also parent proofed my room (hiding all um...adult things) and cleaned it for while I'm gone. There isn't a whole lot left to do except for finally go through all the tour books and start planning my tourist activities.

I've been keeping a notebook of all the things I will need for the trip, lists, packing, meds, tourist sites etc. Hopefully I will also use this notebook to track some of my feelings etc surrounding this journey so that I can come back and share them with you. Like the amazing Mark Twain in the quote above I know that I would have been more disappointed if I didn't do this and at least try to make a life somewhere else then I would be if I try this and it doesn't work but throwing off the bowlines is always a nerve wrecking process. So as everything gets closer I'm feeling a bout of anticipatory nervousness. Once everything gets going I hope to enjoy the ride as much as possible knowing that it won't always be sunshine but it certainly will be better then it is now!

I've had a couple of interviews and a couple more planned so hopefully getting employed will come in short order. The only downside being a lot of the job openings I'm attracted to are contract positions without benefits so I may have get a second job at a coffee shop or something in order to have insurance. But I will make it work.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to post until I get going on the trip but I will talk to you from the road!

Catching Up

So its been a week since my last post. I wish I could say I haven't been posting because I've been doing widely important things leading up to my trip (in 8 days!) But really in the last week I have accomplished a lot of really mundane things like a trip to the dentist (no cavities!), a trip to the gynecologist, a final happy hour with friends, going to services for Yom Kippur, my last 3 days of work, fighting the insurance company because they sent my Colitis medicine the SLOWEST way possible (they estimate 5-7 days and it took 16 all said and done to get the meds), going to the DMV to get my driving record which every job in Washington seems to want, changing my checking account to the one with free withdrawls etc etc.

I've also been soaking up a lot of time with my parents since time is short with them. I've spent the last 2.5 years living with them and while that has been A LOT of togetherness at times they're my best friends and my biggest supporters so I'm going to miss them and struggle with being so far away from them. My mom and I went yardsailing on Saturday and had a really successful trip. I bought a giant calphalon frying pan for 5 dollars (retails for over 50) and a set of really nice knives for 10 bucks (retails for 60). Plus some trashy chick lit for the bathtub (don't trust myself with the kindle in the tub!) for 50 cents. I love thrifting/yard sailing/estate shopping! I'm really happy that Katie who I'm staying with in Washington also love them. We can be old ladies together at them!

In other news, I had my first interview for a job in Washington. It sounds fantastic up until the point where they told me that its an overnight job. Like 12am to 8:30am. I still want to be considered for it but I'm such an old lady that I don't know that I could do an overnight job successfully. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It feels good to get at least one interview considering I've only applied to like 10 or so jobs out there so far and I've still got a little over 2 weeks before I even land in Washington.

As for things upcoming, I'm going out dancing one last time with some friends on Wednesday, have a couple of minor procedures I need to get out of the way Thurs/Friday morn, I need to finalize the packing nonsense with my mother (she'll be out of town for a few days leading up to the trip) and decide if i'm shipping things or just biting the bullet and checking luggage (to the tune of 90 bucks for all 4 flights!), go to the jewelry store and get some rings re-sized, and need to figure out if there is a CVS in the state of Washington so I can pick up a prescription or if I need to transfer it to rite-aid or walmart.

At some point things will slow down enough that I'll be able to full feel the nervous breakdown that it is building about picking up and moving my life 3000 miles away from my family. But right now I'm just trying to stay busy. And breathe. Breathing is good.

Ten for Tuesday

First things first, thanks for all the good woo woo. I passed my LMSW exam today with flying colors (137 correct out of 150 and i only needed 99 to pass!). Also thanks for all the page views! When i logged in to post this new blog hop that I found on The Young Retiree's blog I'm at 666 page views. Because that's not ominous at all! 


Anyway, here is the first blog hop I've ever joined! This is from Roots and Rings

1. How do you take your coffee?
Unfortunately with Gastroparesis I can't have any caffeine as its killer on your stomach. But before my stomach crapped out I enjoyed it generally in some sort of frozen frappachino type concoction or from guatemala with TONS of creme and sugar.

2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies?

Soft and Chewy all the way! I accidentally left out 3/4 of the flour the last time I made cookies so they were basically just sugar and butter and awesomely chewy. I might do that more often!

3. Do you wear a belt everyday?

Everyday no. though I probably should I've been loosing lots of weight and I am constantly loosing my drawers but I also still have pudge and belts cut into it!

4. What is your favorite color combination?
Hrm. I had never really thought of this. I like blue and yellow because those were my college colors. Or Red and Orange and yellow for sort of a fall-ish color combo

5. Do you like sour candy?
Kinda? I love me some sour patch kids or some sour punch straws but they also make my mouth hurt after awhile so they're a moderation thing

6. How often do you do laundry?
I'm ashamed to admit that my mom does my laundry when i'm living at home but generally I do laundry every 2-3 weeks. 

7. Did you ever wear braces?
Twice in fact. I had crazy snaggle teeth in middle school that I got made fun of for so my parents fixed them cosmetically and then I had braces in late high school to fix an overcrowding issue.

8. Are you good at Roman Numerals?
Only if we keep it to the little numbers none of these Ms and X and C and whatnot

9. What is your favorite form of social media?

I dont know. I love to hate facebook but enjoy Twitter because I keep it to a very small group. I'm actually way more exclusive on Twitter then I am anywhere else and I'm probably the most me there as well.


10. How do you feel about chin dimples?

I never really thought about it! 

Excitement

Forget getting a job when I get out to Washington. I'm just excited to discover my new town (well if we're getting technical the next one over) has a yogurt shop where 90% of the flavors are lactose and fat free! Which means for the first time since being diagnosed with Gastroparesis I will be able to go out on dates (with myself or others) to get ice cream! We will ignore that the high this week in Steliacoom is only 60 and its supposed to rain all week and the high for the month I'll be out there is 55 but dude! ice cream! out of the house! I think this pacific northwest kind of lifestyle is going to grow on me!

I promise I'll be back blogging with more regularity after Tuesday after I take my LMSW exam (which I'm not confident I can pass so please send good thoughts). I have a pile of tour books I'm really excited to start going through but I said I'm not allowed to look at them until I take the exam. Thanks for being patient!