Boxes

Packing is going wonderfully. The books are a pain — well, they’re not a pain to pack, but the boxes that they’re in are going to be a pain to lift. Bend at the knees… and lift with the knees, not with the back. That’s right. As for the other stuff, I’m going to have an odds-n-ends box in which I’ll put remote controls and random little things. I already have a dishes box, and not many dishes, so that will be okay. Other things don’t need to be boxed — microwave, et cetera. It’s going to be exhausting to move, but it will be over and done with soon.

I went over to the place last night and refreshed my memory about the layout. I’m so happy! I can’t wait. And it’s quiet. I mean, while I was in the apartment I heard the phone ring in the apartment upstairs, but maybe that’s just apartment life. I’ve pretty much become used to sleeping with the fan on anyway. Oh, that washer and dryer… and the nice floors… and the mantel in the living room… and the little storage room off the living room… and cable TV (finally)… and the quiet streetscape when I look out the front windows, instead of an ugly noisy street. There are these nice recessed houses across the street with porches that make me think of New Orleans. And there’s this trendy lunch/coffeeshop around the corner. And there’s this trendy little bar/restaurant a couple of blocks away. And I’m even closer to the big Shop-Rite supermarket and the mall than I was before.

I stood there, imagining a nice quiet Friday night alone in my apartment, able to chill out on the couch and watch TV because 1) it won’t be noisy outside and 2) I’ll have good reception, even cable. And when the Piano Man gets back, maybe he can join me. Or I can join him. Or whatever. It’s gonna be swell.

Monday night will be my first night there. Yippee!

Today I went through my clothes closet. I must have bagged half the clothes for donations. I rarely throw out clothes, but I decided I finally needed to do it. So I’d take out a pair of pants and think, “Hmm, these basically still fit. I could still wear them.” And then I’d remember that I hadn’t worn them in at least two years, and I’d toss them into a bag. I stuffed five shopping bags full of shirts and pants and a ratty tuxedo I wore for seven years in university choruses and rarely washed. Into the bag. White Oxford shirts with indelible collar stains? Into the bag. Carpenter pants that I never wore? The green jeans I never wore? The baggy blue jeans I bought when I first came out of the closet? All into the bag.

Then my friend Tall Red-Haired Guy came by. We loaded his car with the bags and then dropped them off in these big black bins in the supermarket parking lot. The bins are specifically for old clothes and toys. Toys? That’s kind of weird. I imagined someone tossing a Fisher-Price A-Frame House with all the Little People into this big dark scary bin. Interesting.

Then we went to Mailboxes Etc. I’d planned to buy 20 boxes, but they were $4.75 each. So I decided to screw that idea. Instead I bought six smaller boxes, and then we went to the supermarket, where we got tons of boxes for free. If you ever need boxes, go to the supermarket. They’re practically giving them away!

Well, they are giving them away, really.

Anyway, I’ve packed up most of my books and all of my CDs, bagged my old newspapers, gotten rid of my old clothes, got commitments from three or four people to help me move. And it will be over and done by Monday night.

I might not have my new phone service hooked up until Wednesday, though, so it’s possible I won’t be blogging for a couple of days — I’m sure not going to blog from work anymore. But maybe the phone people will be nice and hook up my phone service a couple days early. We’ll see.

I’ve been eating crappily lately. Not enough fruits or whole grains, and too much red meat and sugar. Today I had a scrambled egg sandwich for breakfast, a piece of pecan pie for lunch, cheese and crackers for a late snack, a chocolate donut for a later snack. I don’t really have much food in the apartment now, either, so dinner will probably be a sandwich from Subway. Thank god for high metabolism. I hope I’m always this svelte.

And hey, my urethra’s doing great, thanks!