Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003 - 2:26 P.M.
Well, lookee here! I’ve found the entry I thought I’d lost when my computer crashed earlier. Without further ado . . .
Dear Diary,
I’m feeling a little all over the place this week. One minute I’m excited and happy, the next I’m so nervous and stressed I feel like I’m about to vomit. I guess that’s to be expected since I’m moving in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Actually, I’ll have landed in Heathrow already by this time two weeks from today. EEEK!
The apartment crisis has pretty much been resolved as my wonderful boy has found us a new place to live. The new flat is also a one bedroom and is in basically the exact same area. It’s a little bit smaller than the one we’d wanted, but he says that he thinks we’ll be happy there all the same. If all goes well, which I really hope it does this time, he’s going to move in on Saturday.
In a frantic attempt to make moving my stuff down to my parents’ house easier, I’ve become quite like a little old man in a pawnshop. I’m trying to sell or give stuff away left and right. So far I have buyers for my stereo *weeps,* my dresser, and possibly this table thing I have. I also recently noticed a place right near my apartment that buys and resells old furniture. So, if all else fails, I’ll be heading there on Saturday in an attempt to get rid of my stuff.
It’s so hard for me though; I hate throwing things out. Just last night I went through my closet and through out anything that I hadn’t worn in over four months. It was really difficult though and I actually found myself wondering whether or not I might break out the "hot pink shirt I’ve never worn" once in England. All of my knick-knacks are a whole other issue.
For example, I have this tiny "Day of the Dead" diorama which I bought nearly three years ago in Tijuana, Mexico. It’s cute, glittery, and the two skeletons inside are posing with instruments! There’s no good reason why I’m so attached to this damn thing, but I just can’t bear to part with it. I think I’m even going to bring it to England. It’s small so it’s not going to take up much space, but even I recognize the silliness in even entertaining the idea of packing such an item. You know what? I don’t care if it’s silly. I love the little thing and it’s going with me. As long as I don’t turn out to be one of those women who keeps their children’s placentas and umbilical cords, (true story, I saw it on "Oprah" once) I figure I’m A-OK.
I am even contemplating selling some of my books and CD’s. I’m going to research used bookstores and such this afternoon. It’s not often that I reread books and God knows I have tons of CD’s which I never listen to anymore. Leisure clothing is another issue to consider. I have more t-shirts, boxers, pajama pants, and sleepwear than any one person truly needs. I think that some of that must surely go as well. I wish I could say it were about streamlining my life and riding myself of excess, but really I’m just worried that I’m not going to be able to fit even half of my stuff into my Saturn come Saturday. Since my Father has decided to go skiing rather than come and help me move, (bad Dad!) I’m afraid I’m on my own.
I’ve been thinking this afternoon about what I want to do next week while I’m at home with my parents. Besides any last minute preparation, I think I just want to relax and hang out with them. We’ve talked about possibly going to the movies other such things. It's all about the quality time. I’ll be visiting in late spring and my Dad is coming to London in April. Despite that, that this is still very difficult on them both but on my Mother in particular. Although I love her dearly, she’s not the most stable person in the world and I worry about her a lot. As such, I want to make this as easy for her as possible. I’ve done a fairly good job so far, I just want to continue to do so.
Hmmmmmmmm, it’s 2:30pm. This means I have another 2.5 hours during which to busy myself. I suppose I could go through the server and organize all my documents; that would be productive. I’ve already organized the backroom and filing cabinets today and scheduled the desk cleaning out task for Thursday. Yes, I think that’s what I’ll do. Hopefully Lee will call soon to distract me, and after that I will poke around online looking at useful tips for American expats residing in the UK.
