It is finished.

The famous last words of Christ. They apply here, as we finally got out of our apartment in Tuscaloosa. While Eli went to Atlanta on Saturday to watch Bama stomp Clemson at the Georgia Dome, I headed to Tuscaloosa to finally finish up. It literally has taken us a month to get out of there. Ugh.

Here are some lessons I learned about moving:
1. Clean the oven before the final day.
2. Wipe down the cabinets and clean the bathrooms (tubs, etc) before the final day.
3. Remove the adhesive from the windows relatively soon after you take down your winter snowflakes in January. Do not wait until the hot August summer days. Do not wait until the final day of your move.
4. Get a bigger truck and move it all in one sha-bang. None of this multiple- carloads-after-the-truck-has-already-taken-the-majority-of-our-junk business.
5. When you move in, unpack every box, even if you think you know what is in it. I just ordered another copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, because for three years I couldn't find mine. I thought for sure I lent it to Eli's sister. I order the book Friday. Saturday, I found the book in a tote of books that was never unpacked when we made the move from Waco! What a waste of Scholastic Bonus Points!

And I learned the the cleaning agent CLR is pretty spec-dang-tacular. Thanks to my sister and plumber-in-law for that little bit of wisdom.

I feel bad about leaving the apartment, because the company is just going to replace the carpet (band-aid) and not do anythink about the cracked foundation, where the water was seeping up through the living room carpet every time it rained. In the closet under the stairs I kept my boxes from my high school classroom library, since I was teaching middle school and didn't need them. In the three years that they sat under there, untouched, unbeknownst to me the water seeped up and I had two boxes of books that not only had become one with the carpet and wall (and possibly some black mold) but also had to be thrown away, unsalvageable. This was the worst of life's disappointments for this bibliophile.

I have, however, made up for this disposal of books by using using all of my Scholastic Bonus Points to get books I have always wanted, including the entire Bone series (graphic novels) and the first Harry Potter book in hardcover to match the rest of my set (I have it in paperback--tacky, and Eli has it in leatherbound--which goes on a different shelf with the rest of its ilk).

Tomorrow is labor day. I shall labor at grading papers for progress reports for the class I'm long-term subbing for. And maybe I'll get the PS2 set up and play a little Final Fantasy X-2, the game where the girls have different powers based on the outfits they are wearing. It's quite amusing.

Almost here

I like nutshells. Here you go: Eli's camping/hiking trip was a bust. I didn't get to spend all that precious time by myself, which a good thing because I was getting lonely.

Last Monday I started my Jazzercise class here. I forgot how much I love it! Okay, no I didn't. I just suppressed the memory because Jazzercise was no longer available in Tuscaloosa. Lisa, the instructor, is really nice, and I didn't forget any of the moves. I rock.

Wednesday, I went to Tuscaloosa to get boxes from my teacher friends. I helped Shelly in her classroom--and, boy, did she need help. I spent six hours with her. Then I went home and watched a movie. Thursday was the first day of school, so I headed up to the school formerly known as TMS and said hello to my peeps that I didn't see the day before. My ulterior motive was to take peanut butter to Kate, but I ran into Emily, Krystal, and others. I felt really out of place since I'm not actually teaching.

After school Thursday, sis-in-law Stephanie called and told me about her first day in Angela's classroom at RQMS. We decided we would further discus this over dinner, so I went to their house and hung out, and we ended up going to Coldstone for ice cream. Nice. Friday I spent watching movies and packing random items. Not much accomplished.

Eli came Saturday. We packed a little, but ended up going to Tokyo (the restaurant) with Rob and Misti, and then going to see The Dark Knight, because everyone has been talking about it and Eli really wanted to see it. It was disturbing. I'm still having nightmares, and I can understand why Heath Ledger was on anti-depressants and sleep meds after playing that role. The worst part, though, was the woman next to us who brought her toddler to the 10:30 p.m. show. Take away her parenting license!!!

Sunday we went to church, then to Full Moon, and Eli left to go back to Auburn. I spent Sunday night packing some more, getting ready to leave. And Monday, I ran around doing errands and left for Auburn at 11.

I'm here now. Back in the job hunt grindstone. I need a job. I need patience. I need prayer. In the meantime, I'm off to the coin wash to do a couple of loads of laundry.

This Saturday we rent the truck and move our junk from Tuscaloosa. We will have officially vacated the property. It's depressing and liberating. I really can't wait to have a couch to sit on. Haha.

A New Month, A New Start

I am in Auburn. I am all by myself. (If you don't count the cats.)

I came down Monday evening, after loading the car like a pro visual-spatial expert. I thought of everything! But I didn't pack everything that I thought of, and that's why my phone is dead with no hope of revival before next week sometime. I sure hope no one calls with a job offer that I need to respond to PRONTO!

Eli took the Bar Exam on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We went out to eat Wednesday night and got some ice cream from Bruster's (which is DJ's favorite ice cream place in DE) and waited for Alex to arrive.

Yesterday, Alex and Eli set off on their exciting camping/hiking expedition on the Pinhoti trail. While I'm glad that I don't have to carry a latrine tool with me to create a toilet every time I need to use it, and I don't have to wash with biodegradable baby wipes when I need a bath, I do miss the company.

Have I mentioned that our apartment complex isn't done being built yet? Out of forty-some-odd units, only 8 or so are populated. I've met most everyone, but we don't hang out or anything. There's a microbiologist working on her Ph.D. and teaching some high school students to get excited about science (through a grant--she, herself, is not so excited to be teaching them); there's an extroverted pharmaceutical sales rep who everyone just calls "Crazy Laura"; and there's a 29-year-old, divorced Finance Professor who enjoys walking around the complex half-naked (and I guess if I had a bod like that, I would probably want to walk around in my skivvies--er, I mean swim trunks--too). And those are just the three people I know what they do. The people next door have a little boy. The girls upstairs are undergrads (I'm guessing). The boys by the pool are elusive (known only by reputation and one rare sighting). The guy on the end doesn't really live there--he just has the apartment for show and spend the majority of the time at his girlfriend's place.

So, it's lonely. The mall stinks. Okay, I'm being harsh because the Tuscaloosa mall wasn't that hot, either. I don't even go to the mall, so I don't know why I spent the fifteen minutes I did yesterday walking around it to find out that there was nothing there that I really was interested in.

The library is my only refuge. And that's where I am now. Checking e-mail, facebook, job updates, writing cover letters, trying to find a job. Auburn area teachers went back to work yesterday. The students come back next Thursday, just like in Tuscaloosa. I'm starting to feel out of sync.

We are by no means moved out of Tuscaloosa yet. We're going next weekend to pack--we're going to move the weekend after that, and then we're going to clean the weekend after that, at which point we will wash our hands of that place.

In the meantime, I brought my sewing stuff with me, and I intend to make a couple of skirts that I've had the fabric to make. I rented some musicals from the library, and I'm going to watch them. I brought some books to read, and I'm going to read them. Perhaps out by the pool. In a bikini. But, we'll see.