My Surreality Check Bounced

"Why settle for a twig when you can climb the whole tree?"

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Location: Binghamton, NY, United States

Journey is a rogue English major gone guerilla tech. She is currently owned by two cats, several creditors, and a coyote that doesn't exist. See "web page" link for more details about the coyote.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Cuba, NY

New York. We did four states today. Of course, we spent all of 45 miles in PA. So far, the weather holds good, but tomorrow looks like snow. We're going to try to be on the road early and in Binghamton by about 10 AM--landlady permitting. Let's face it, there's no sense in beating our keys to our apartment.

The cats have finally adjusted to this hotel routine. Boone went looking for the litterbox in the bathroom before I actually had it set up. Cady no longer immediately hideas in the room. (Only when the food delivery guy shows up).

It was Pete's turn to ache today. After four days in the car, even the healthy begin to suffer. I only drove about 2.5 hours before the muscles just south of my shoulder blades began freaking out. We have reached the point where it no longer matters if the hotel bed is bad--we can't tell.

No internet till the cable guy pays us a visit on Saturday, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a few days. Let's hope he actually makes his appointment. It's that whole "cable guy" thing.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Terre Haute, IN

We've crossed into the eastern time zone. No problems so far. Tomorrow may be interesting--there's some snow along our best-time route, especially as we skim just south of Lake Erie. Depending on what it looks like tomorrow morning, we may decide to take a slightly more southerly route through Pennsylvania and then go north to Binghamton. It adds some time, but it should avoid the snow until much farther along. And in a 22-foot truck, we may have strong feeling sabout this.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Tulsa, OK

I'm allergic to Tulsa, but here I am, anyway. Knock wood, I don't seem to have any symptoms at the moment except an itchy soft palette, itchy eyes, and an occasional odd feeling in my ears.

Both cats have forgiven me, though the stripey one is still having some trouble adjusting to a nomadic lifestyle. This does not mean they yowl less when crated. Quite the contrary.

And I believe I've had the argument about ten-hour days vs. fourteen-hour days with my brother-in-law at least three times now. So far, cats in fragile health and a back injury keep winning. But having the same argument over and over is beginning to grate. And yet, we owe him sufficiently that I don't feel I can tell him just to shut up. So I keep smiling and putting my foot down. It's a good thing I like my in-laws to begin with. I can't imagine going through this with someone I loathed from the start. Yikes.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Moriarty, NM

One day out. Still in one piece. One of the cats is quite traumatized and currently hiding under the bed. She gave me a dirty look, scentmarked RH's ankles, and went back to hiding under the bed.

I hurt all over. Thank the gods for physical therapy.

And, since I've been up to my eyeballs and neglecting both this blog and some of my friends: Happy Midwinter Holiday of Your Choice. I love you all.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

running to stand still

    Okay, here's where we're at:

  • Work has been told. My last day is 12/24.
  • It's beginning to look less like "packing" and more like "packed" (with the notable exception of the kitchen).
  • Appointment with vet to discuss transporting the cat with cancer this Saturday.
  • No going away party, it looks like, because almost everybody's just too busy at this time of year.
  • Of all the unlikely things, I won the Initiative Award at work this year (one of the also-rans in the contest for Employee of the Year). I knew I'd been nominated, but my general impression was that support staff (IT, Finance, Billing, etc.) simply don't win these. Nifty.
  • A trip to the local army surplus store is in order to round out our winter-weather emergency kit.
  • RH is trying to sell his truck. We went over every contingency we can think of, and we absolutely can't find a reason we'll need two vehicles in Binghamton. We're making the commitment to live within walking distance of or on a bus line to his work.
  • I'm wound so tight, it's unbelievable. December is stressful to begin with. My job is beyond stressful. And moving prep takes a certain amount of time. Any two of the three, I think I could handle. All of them is pushing it. I was up before 5AM this morning so I could do physical therapy and go to the chiropractor before work. After work there's a department dinner. No packing will be done today, needless to say.
  • We have a place to live, but it's a shade on the small side, so packing goes in two categories: Storage and Goes In The House With Us. My stuffed animals have nobly offered to go into storage for six months. Most of my books are also going there. Pete's vinyl, on the other hand, I think has certain climate control requirements.
  • I'll feel better about the place to live when we have a signed contract in our hand. The landlady seems to be not the most timely. Deposit and verbal assurances have been exchanged, but until I've got that, I don't really have an address to give out.
  • Within six months, we hope to find a house we like in our price range, and get all our ducks in a row to purchase it. Wish us luck!