Hey! A day is totally a break! Shut up!

Went out with my girls last night, danced to some 80s music. Woke up this morning (or rather, Orion woke me up (at 11)) this morning in an excellent mood. I watched some TV and then took advantage of the lovely weather (Dear friends in New England, I was outside in a T-shirt today. Love, Watergirl.) to clean out my storage shed. I can move all of the stuff in there when I go up to sign my lease. Although the kayak is probably going up the next time I head to Richmond. It's going to live with TRgirl and Randy.

(Did I mention that my new place is 5 minutes from them? And that that will be the closest I've lived to family in my entire adult life? I'm not sure I can handle it.)

I also cleaned out the pantry. Later this week will be the attic and the bathroom, followed by the room I am most dreading, the study.

Other things I need to do this week:

1. Schedule the move with the movers
   
2. Set up utilities.
   
3. Call about insurance.
   
4. Start working on getting my VA PE license.
   
5. Figure out what I need to do to register my car and get my VA driver's license.
   

The movers are coming to pack up my stuff and start loading the truck on March 26. I move on March 27.

They'd like me to have another helper on move-in day, but I don't know anyone who is free on a Thursday.

Tonight was a gorgeous night. Again, no need for a coat.

I had a very frustrating lesson, but in the end I rode the best canter I've ever ridden.

I signed up for a few meetup groups in Richmond this past weekend. Yesterday I signed up for an event. One of the groups is going to James River Cellars. Who loves a good winery tour more than I do? (No one is the answer.) The bad part? It's on the 29th, and I should probably spend the day unpacking, not drinking wine.

The most appealing reason for the move:

Aquamama and I headed out to TirNaNog last night to spend our winning gift certificate. We also played pub quiz, albeit very poorly. I think it was our worst showing ever. Random thing I pulled out of my head: Bobby Knight used to coach Army (Boo!). Random thing that I almost pulled out of my head but I just couldn’t quite get there: The most recent expansion teams in MLB. I was all, “I think there’s something in Arizona.” Aquamama insisted that that was the Cardinals, even though I was quite certain that the baseball Cardinals are still in St. Louis. I also said, “What about Tampa Bay. I think maybe it’s Tampa Bay.” (Correct answer: Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays).

Also last night? The evites for my going away party went out. My friend Ed is throwing it for me. At my house. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to come help me clean.

Oh, and then there was the part where I was talking to one of the off-duty bartenders. (Sidenote: I want to find a bar in Richmond where I know the regulars and the bartenders.)

Aquamama, later: You have a thing for him.
WG: So?
AM: You’ve had a thing for him for a while now.
WG: So? He’s hot.
AM: You’re not here for much longer. What are you going to do about it?
WG: Probably absolutely nothing.

Excess stuff


Originally uploaded by H2O girl.

I cleaned out the storage bench, the attic, and the coat closet. I also started on the study (it's actually coming along quite well). The stuff on the bed? That's what I need to get rid of.



Except for Jasper. I'm keeping him.

Last night was my last book club. I won't see those women again for a while; some I may never see again. (There is talk of a beach trip later this year, and I am so there, but not everyone will make it.)

Tonight is my going away party, and while I'm excited that people are coming, it's also a sad occasion. I probably won't see most of them before I leave.

This is the part that sucks.

Let's see. The last time I posted? Apparently 4 days ago. That night was my going away party (not to be confused with my going-away girls' night out or my going away office dinner), held at my house. It was a blast. I didn't cry at all, not even when Ed broke a wineglass. (Wait! There's leftover wine. Hang on.) OK. Back. (Confidential to Stewie: There is also leftover IPA.)

I would like to inform you that even though I picked on Ed for having the party at my house, I love my house and I love having parties there. I also love picking on Ed.

Saturday was wine club. But first was trivia smackdown with Robin. Who beat me! That almost never happens.

Sunday Robin helped me put my kayak on my car. I brought it up to Richmond that night. While driving up, I got a call from my landlord. I called her back as she asked. She said, "I thought I'd let Orion out. However, he was camouflaged on the bed pillow."

I now have a cube and a key to the Richmond office. Came back to Raleigh last night.

I called my leasing company this morning. They wanted to check that I was signing my lease on Thursday, but would give me the key Friday, when the lease started. I said, "But I need the key on Thursday," and was told, "You can't have your key until the lease starts, and that starts Friday. When you called, you said you wanted to sign the lease Thursday, not to move in then." I had to explain that I had called to change the signing because I'm going to be in Richmond on Thursday, not Friday. If I were able to pick the key up on Friday, I'd sign the lease then. I was told, "We can change the lease, but you have to pay for Thursday."

Duh. Seriously.

Today, I spent the afternoon setting up cable, electric, and new insurance. The cable took some time, because the sales rep told me that Comcast's records showed that I owed them $90. Interesting, since I've never been a customer. However, the customer service rep found no record of such a thing. So, I will have cable and internet.

Thursday I planned to sign my lease. I was in meetings all day. I checked my phone at 3:30 PM to find a fairly frantic message from my leasing agent. When I called her back, I was told that my original apartment had been flooded (pipe burst, shot hole in wall) and they were moving me to a different one.

I checked the new one out; it was fine, so I signed my lease. Of course, I had already set up utilities and my renter’s insurance. The insurance and cable? No problem changing those. The electric? Whole other story. First, they were closed from Friday until today. Then, when I called, the person I spoke to wanted to transfer me to someone to talk about my flood damage. He said, “Will that be OK?” I answered, “No. I just want to switch my service address.”

We got that done, and he informed me that there was a $15 connection fee. I told him I’d already paid that. I was told that was for the previous apartment, and they had to charge me another $15, there was no way to waive it. I told him I wanted to speak to a supervisor, and suddenly he could waive it.

Also this weekend, Aquamama picked up my washer. (She needed one, and I had one to sell.) Orion is very upset that the washer is gone. He keeps going to where it was and crying. He has never done laundry, so I don’t understand the sudden need.

We made it up on Thursday with no problems. Jasper is apparently a huge fan of wall to wall carpeting. He is much happier here. We also had our first mass escape this afternoon, but all returned safely. I had dinner at TRgirl and Ryan's and confused my dad wickedly when I answered her cell phone. I cannot run the dryer with the closet door shut or it sets off the smoke alarm. My vanities do not have drawers or shelves, they are just big gaping maws. I miss my friends; I've sent them my address. I hope they come visit.