People have observed that I am doing surprisingly well with the idea of moving halfway across the country. I feel like I have expected it for a while now, though, and that makes it easier. I never expected to stay here in the midwest - though I always assumed I'd be moving to Silicon Valley or Seattle - and so I've been ready to accept a move for years now. Furthermore, I haven't spared any expense in surrounding myself with amazing friends who are going places as well. All these people that I grew up with (and am still close with) are disbursing all across the country (though curiously, most of us are ending up in the Eastern time zone). I've always kind-of expected it because these people - my best friends, new and old - are brilliant and can't be expected to stay cooped up in this Chicago suburb. It was an awesome place to grow up, yes, but we have to stretch our wings (just like Miley) and head for bigger places.
So the short answer to "Why are you so chill about moving halfway across the country?" is "I've been expecting to do so since high school."
My entire life is in carefully disheveled piles in a room of my parents' home - I don't have to pack anything since the moved will (allegedly) take care of that. This whole full-service move thing is going to spoil me. I'll never move on my own again. Not only do I not have to lift anything, but I don't even have to pack all my stuff into boxes. This may be the best thing ever.
So TC, Heather, and I took a trip to DC to chill with Ange and see the sights. I drove there - all 13 hours - accidentally, and then making it the trip home solo became a point of pride. The two days in between the road trip portions of the vacation were lovely. DC was sunny and hot, but not so much as to be painfully unpleasant. We visited museums, art galleries, and memorials on day 1 and just strolled around the city on day 2. We marveled at the superiority, cleanliness, and speed of the DC metro system and lamented the lack of casual restaurants in the richer districts of the city. We visited the memorials for World War 2 and the Korean War after dark and shared solemn silence. We dodged a rainstorm and hid in Ange's store for an afternoon. We had beer and pie and got accused of being seventeen. It was an incredible (and, for TC and I, incredibly spontaneous - only a week of planning) trip and well worth the time away from my childhood home. I still need to sort through my photos from the trip, but I can say that I would love a wider prime and one with VR.
A bunch of people piled into my house on Sunday to say goodbye. It was nice to see friends and extended family and all that condensed into a single afternoon and evening. I shook hands and gave hugs and described my job at least a hundred times. I showed off photos of my new home to anyone interested and felt uncomfortable when people would cry. I got to play favourites with my last 3 Spotted Cows and I sat under the canopy in the rain and let it mist on me. It was pleasant, the conversation, and well worth the time spent.
I've been spending time on worthwhile things lately, I think. I am also in a list-writing mood apparently.
It has been strange to not pack; I have been getting things in order for the new home and making moving decisions and searching the house for things that might be mine. The pile has grown quite large. I never knew I had so many things that I needed to take with me. The kitchen is the biggest offender here, what with its dishes, pots, pans, small appliances, etc, etc, etc. Having a kitchen is entirely too much work.
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