Unpacking my baggage

I finally got my stuff yesterday.  I was starting to feel lost without it.  So much for being a minimalist.  The cats missed it too.  They were restless and whiny, and really wanted to go out since they were bored in the house.  I felt a little better once I borrowed an air mattress and got internet access from my neighbors, but I still felt discombobulated.
The movers showed up around  7 PM.  They were unloading until almost 11.  They were Russian, and looked like brothers.  One was cute and flirty.  He did the heavy lifting, but the other, skinnier one seemed to do a lot more work overall.  They certainly bickered like brothers. It's good I don't understand Russian.  Anyway, when they were done I went upstairs with the intention of making my bed.  I lay down for a few minutes, and it felt so good to be in my own bed I fell asleep instantly. 
The last week has been a whirlwind.  I've been leaving the house at 8 and coming home at 8 or later.  It's not all work. One night I got home around 9 and went out to get the mail.  My neighbors were drinking in the street, so I went to go talk to them.  One of them offered the use of his air mattress, and went up to his house to go get it while I hung out with the people across the street. The power went off, so we continued to drink and talk until midnight.  Tonight there was a block party.  They are a very friendly bunch.
I started unpacking today.  I made pretty good headway.  So far, the only thing that broke/leaked was something I packed myself, and it got thrown in at the last minute with less care than usual.  Everything that the movers packed survived fine, including my vase collection.   
Since I've been busy, I haven't thought about T as much as usual.  This is a good thing.  I wonder how much faster I would've gotten over him if the shit hadn't gone down at work.  Having had too much free time certainly didn't help, either. He was lurking on IM, but since I was busy and I need to set a good example for the grad students, I didn't IM him.  For some reason, I thought of him a lot as I was unpacking my kitchen, since that was a brainless enough activity that I could let my mind wander.  It's been so nice not to be brooding about T, so my mood was largely "F*&# T!  I should just ignore him when he IM's or calls and just phase him out of my life"  So of course he called.  I was upstairs and didn't hear the phone.  I got the message later. I went to the block party and didn't call him back.  Perhaps I'll call him tomorrow, perhaps I won't. A whole year has passed since things went bad.  I am 3000 miles away, both figuratively and literally.

Pussy Wagon: Recap

The pussy posse and I survived the cross country road trip in the pussy wagon.  The cats and my mom held up better than I did, but then again, I was driving.  I was pretty brain dead at the end of each day and didn't have time to collect my thoughts, so I didn't blog nearly as much as I expected.
Anyway, the cats did much better than I expected. I drugged them on the first day but didn't do so for the rest of the trip.  Luna was a trooper.  During the drive, she'd come out of her box to use the litter box or look around, but didn't meow too much or get in my way.   Rugrat was not happy on the first day.  She complained a lot, tried to climb on me, etc, etc, as we went over the Sierras. We stopped for lunch and when we returned to the car, Rugrat had clmbed into Luna's cat carrier with Luna.  After that, she was mostly fine, except for one time. They adapted surprisingly well to being in motel rooms, but seemed to like some rooms better than others. Fortunately, they like the current one pretty well, and are more relaxed after not having to be on the road today.

I was mostly fine with my mom during the trip. She helped a lot with the cats, keeping me from getting lost in my thoughts, and with providing support duties for me (handing me food and drinks, changing CD's, etc).  My patience levels dropped towards the end of the trip, especially when I was tired or hungry. Days 4 and 6 were the worst.  I won't bore you with the details - you know she's high maintenance and you know I get cranky when I drive a lot and when I don't pay attention to my blood sugar levels. She can certainly push my buttons, though.   Anyway, she definitely distracted me from being depressed about leaving CA and moping about T, even if crankiness just replaced sadness.
The one thing I did wonder about, as she drove me crazy, was how much I have the same behaviors. I know I do on occasion.  I guess many women have a fear or turning into their mothers, and I am no exception.  I wondered if I annoyed T on car trips the same way that my mom was annoying me.  I didn't brood on it too long, since he is a shithead anyway, and if he stayed with me as long as he did it couldn't have been that extreme.  But it did make me aware of those behaviors.
As I'm writing this, I'm listening to my iPod.  My mom's watching TV and has no clue that I can't hear her when she talks to me.  Sigh.
I did the walk through today and close on the house tomorrow.  I won't have internet access at first, and it's the opening weekend of the World Cup so I may not post very much.

Pussy Wagon: 12 hours until departure

The movers came today.  It took them about 3 1/2 hours to pack everything. This was longer that I expected.  I worked in the yard while they packed.  They went through 30 rolls of tape and 5 rolls of saran wrap.  All I could hear was the sound of tape being wrapped around stuff.
My house is mostly empty now.  It echoes a lot more than the last few times it was empty, since I no longer have carpet or linoleum.  The cats are a bit weirded out by it. They both didn't come in until 4 hours after the movers left.  Now Rugrat is wandering around the house like a lost soul and is complaining. I'm not surprised - she does this any time there's change.  Luna is hanging out outside pretending not to care.  I feel sort of bad that this is her last day in the yard.  I know she's very attached to it. 
At the moment, I'm just tired.  The last few days have been a whirlwind.  I've been mostly in a good mood, since I've enjoyed seeing my friends at the various goodbye functions.  Ever so often, random moments of sadness or crankiness sneak in.  I suspect that I'll be sad once I slow down. It's been such a crappy year that I am probably number than I'd be if I were just moving but didn't have all the other emotional baggage. Yes, the pussy wagon is packed full up with baggage, both figuratively and literally.
I should clean but I am too tired.