So, since the last post I've changed offices (not jobs or company), moved 2700 miles, spent nearly all my money, and have been without a safety net. I'm jealous of friends travelling Europe and South America, but I'm very happy to finally have a working home kitchen again (for relative values of working).
This has been a soft landing after TMFH (the move from hell). I'm going to sketch out the details and troubles of the past month and a half. I'm not doing this to complain, or compare, I just want to set it down before it becomes one big repressed blur of worry and pain.
August - lots of preparations done to move have been discussed, planned out, and purchased. We had a lot of packing to do, but we had planned on a month and a half to get it done in. Charlie has begun to recognize soy in all its forms as a horrible migraine trigger, and is trying to plan on taking all the food we will need for the trip. We've had to stop eating at some of our favorite restaurants in Anchorage because of the soy problem.
Beginning of September -
Then we both got sick. Charlie got a weeklong migraine and I wasn't much better with sinus crud. Our planned schedule fell off. This left us a week or so to catch up. Both of us have learned not to push too hard against illness, since it prolongs it and makes it significantly worse (especially for Charlie).
Second week - mad scramble to complete all my promised workload (I worked right up until Friday at 2ish), and get things packed/donated/organized/cleaned.
Friday before the move, our wonderful friends have a party for us, and it was amazingly bittersweet, and fun, and a great send off. We get home at 12:30am, pack until 2:30am, sleep for 2 hours, and are up and going again by 5:30am.
Saturday (also, my 30th birthday) - We overslept an hour. Charlie rested a bit here and there, but we were both packing like mad fiends. Noon was our target 'out the door time', and when we had coordinated with the landlord to be out by. By 8am it's pretty clear we're not going to make it, so we call the landlord and ask for a short extension. At 10am, we hit up our favorite breakfast venue for the last time, and dropped off a very full car of donations to the Ark of Anchorage. We're back at cleaning and packing by noon, but still nowhere near done. At 3pm I call and ask the landlord for another hour or so, and when he comes by at 5pm, we're still scrubbing. He says to leave the keys and things on the kitchen counter, and lock up after ourselves.
Fast forward....11pm we're finally loading the car. There is a storm coming in to town, rain, cold, winds above 65 mph. I'm packing a rooftop carrier, Charlie is doing the last loading. Only it doesn't all fit. So we unpack and try again. and again. and again. Eventually, at 2am we take five boxes and a suitcase to the fed-ex, then return, load eeeeverything, and make our escape.
We'd booked a room at the best rated B&B in Palmer (45 minutes further along our way out of Alaska), but driving through the night at 3-4AM, through dark, wind, branches, and moose. There were no lights on, but our door was unlocked. We washed and slept briefly, Anchorage behind us.
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