Wrenches and Wrinkles

Well, I was supposed to already have my keys to my new apartment, but unfortunately the remodel on the new unit isn't quite finished yet. I got a call earlier this week (or was it late last week) from the office telling me that they needed more time to finish their work. That definitely threw a wrench into my plans. They said that I could probably get my keys on Wednesday, June 30, and I really hope that I can because I have movers coming on the morning of July 1 to move everything down. And in the afternoon on July 1 the cable/internet people are coming to set up my new place. So, needless to say, I'm really hoping I will get my keys on the 30th, otherwise there will be a few problems.

I was hoping that I could start moving the smaller stuff over this weekend, with the intention that the more I can move myself the less the movers will have to move, and therefore the less time it will take them and therefore the less it will cost me. But unfortunately that is not happening according to plan. So, instead, I just have to continue packing. Fortunately I don't have to be completely out of my current place until July 11. So, in theory, I can switch my plan—just have the movers move all of the furniture and heavy boxes, and I can do some of the smaller things later. (I'm also starting to run out of boxes, so I might have to move more things later so that I can reuse the boxes I already packed.)

And as I'm writing this, I'm thinking about all of the other odds and ends that I need to move—things like all the food from my fridge and cabinets and all the alcohol in my liquor cabinet. Yep, I'm definitely going to need an extra week...

Collectibles

Many of the things I've managed to collect over the years are office supplies. I don't know why, but for whatever reason I've always loved office supplies. When I was younger and when my dad took me to work with him, he would let me take a pen or two home. Ever since, I've loved to collect different pens and pencils. There are just so many different styles and colors! And you have to try them all to know which one is perfect. When I was in college and grad school I would take notes or make vocabulary lists in different colors. Yes, I would color code my notes, because I'm just that crazy. But I'm also a visual learner, I suppose, and I would always associate certain words or notes with colors and somehow that helped me to remember things. So, I've collected quite a variety of pens from my school days, but then I managed to collect more when I started working. Why wouldn't I take every single style and color of pen from the supply closet when it's all free? And when given the opportunity to order them from a supply catalog, oh my God, hold me back!

Needless to say, I've manged to amass a lot of pens. The amount I have is a little crazy, even by my standards. Now that I'm no longer in school and not taking notes every day or doing homework every night, I don't go through pens as much as I used to. Because I write so little, one pen can last forever. So, given my latest quest to minimize my worldly possessions, this afternoon I went through all my office supplies in a painful effort to get rid of half of what I own. Let's face it, I don't own anything fancy. It's not like I'm holding on to them because there is 14k gold inlaid into the barrel. And it's not like I write with a fountain pen every day. These are just your basic ink pens or ballpoints. Parting with these pens might have been a little painful, but it wasn't as devastating or tragic as I thought it would be. So now I can proudly take all of the pens I've given up and put them in the supply closet at work to share with my co-workers.

Yes, I'm this crazy...

Quick Break and Deep Breaths

I'm taking a short break in between cleaning, purging, and packing. This has been a busy weekend for me so far, and the next two weeks ahead are going to get even more busy. I'm trying to do as much organizing and packing as I can this weekend, because I don't think I'll have much time to do it during the week. This happens to be my busiest time at work and I have a lot of deadlines and a lot books going to press this month. I have so much to do that I brought home a lot of work that I'd like to do before Monday. At times like this I envy people who work at jobs that aren't controlled by deadlines. Those people have the luxury of leaving their work at the office and it's easier for them to take time off whenever they want. Whenever I want to take time off, I have to constantly plan around my schedules and deadlines. Everyone always tells me that I need to take more time off and I need to take more vacations. While I agree with them and wouldn't argue, sometimes it's just hard to actually fit everything in. Although I love what I do, this is one of the biggest frustrations I have.

So with all the work I need to do—both professional and personal—I'm starting to panic and starting to feel stressed. I'm trying to figure out how I can make it all happen without sacrificing the basic needs in life, like eating and sleeping. Oh well. I'm sure it will all happen somehow.

Blogs and Greek Letters

οι μοι

As I've been packing, I've also been trying to organize all of my old notebooks and files. One of the notebooks I keep is my little web design book. I found other notes on scraps of paper, so I was just transferring them into my notebook.

I am, by no means, an experienced web designer, but I know how to use some of the most basic codes. I know how to create links and how to add special characters. I looked online for other important codes I might need in the future, and I stumbled across some codes to write Greek letters, which is what, hopefully, you'll see at the top of this post. Granted it would take forever to type up anything lengthy using these codes, but they might come in handy for something short and simple.

By the way, οι μοι is often translated as "alas" or "woe [is me]." You'll often see it in Greek tragedy when people are basically saying, well, "woe is me" because usually something bad has happened or is about to happen.

Purge

Packing and moving can be a huge hassle, but one of the benefits of moving is that it gives you an opportunity to reevaluate everything you own. I mentioned in several posts that I own a lot of books and books happen to be things that I collect and have a difficult time getting rid of. But there are other things I've grown less attached to. It's only now that I'm forced to go through these things that I realize, one, that I actually still own them, and, two, that I don't really need them.

For whatever reason I still have a lot of clothes that I know don't fit me very well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of clothes just don't fit in the shoulders and the back. Yet, I still have these clothes hanging in my closet and naturally I haven't worn them in years. What's the point of keeping them if I could at any minute rip through them like the Incredible Hulk? (Yes, I realize that many of you will laugh at that statement considering I'm 5'2" and 100 pounds, but still.) So those will go into a donation bag and maybe someone else can wear them.

I've also held on to a lot of things from my student days. I still have a hard time getting rid of papers and notes from class. Basically, anything that shows my actual hard work is something that I tend to keep. But over the years I've also collected copies and printouts of journal articles or chapters from books that I've used for research. These books and journals will always be around somewhere in some library, so there probably isn't a need for me to keep them. It's just a lot of wasted paper, wasted space, and added weight that I don't need right now. So I've gotten rid of all of these and dumped them into the recycling bin.

Even though I occasionally have a tendency to hold on to things that I think I might need someday or things I might have a sentimental attachment to, it feels really nice to get rid of things. It might be a cliche to say, but it's nice to get rid of the past when you're about to do something different or start something new. Even though I'm just moving downstairs, I might as well use it as an opportunity to clean out and start over, so to speak.

Books, Books, Books

Even though I don't officially move for another two weeks, I've decided to start packing. For now I've started to pack my books, because it's likely I won't need these at any time over the next few weeks. As I might have mentioned before, I have a lot of books. So far I've packed nine boxes just with books, and I still have more to go. Looking at the stacks of books placed randomly across my living room, I think I'll need about three or four more boxes to pack everything I have left.

I know that I'm just moving downstairs and could probably just carry these books down in smaller and somewhat lighter boxes. But if I'm going to have movers handle the big furniture anyway, I might as well let them handle the bigger and heavier boxes. Yes, I am strong enough to carry my 30- or 40-pound desk up three flights of stairs—the desk was still in a box and disassembled—but I'm just not in the mood to do that again. I'll stick with the lighter and easier stuff this time around.

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs

Because it is cold and raining outside, I've been staying home and inside—I'm not exactly eager to go out into 50 degree weather. I did enough of that in the winter. Although I should probably be packing, I've been playing around on the computer instead. With all of these new fancy blog templates, I've been updating and tinkering with my blogs. Yes, I said blogs, plural. This is my main blog where I do most of my writing, but I actually have a few other blogs dedicated to different things. One of these blogs is my photography blog, Eyes of the Muse, a blog I started in 2007. At the time I just bought a brand new digital camera and my plan was to post some of my photos on that blog. Well, over the past four years I posted about four things. The blog was left abandoned. But, four years and a few new cameras later, I've decided to revisit it and to start working on it again. So today I've been posting a few photos that I've taken over the past few years. We'll see how successful I am with keeping it up this time around...

Cold

Yes, I said cold. It has been a while since I've last written about the weather, and now seems as good a day as any. For most of the week we've had warm weather. It was even downright hot on some days. On Thursday we crept into the upper 80s and low 90s. Well, apparently a cold front has swept in. All day yesterday it was cloudy and overcast. The temperature was in the low 70s, which, in my opinion, is the perfect temperature. But as the afternoon passed, the clouds got darker and more ominous. Eventually it started to rain. And it rained hard. By the late afternoon and early evening, right when I started to eat my dinner, the lightning and thunder started. The rain was falling hard and the thunder was really loud. I was watching the news while eating dinner and I had to turn up the volume because the storm was so loud.

In Colorado the weather passes in bands, so you'll have a storm, a moment of peace, and another storm again. This went on during the night. When I went to bed we had more lightning and more thunder. When I woke up this morning, it was freezing! Right now the temperature is about 50 degrees. It seems kind of pathetic to turn on the heater in the middle of June, so I'm wearing my warmer clothes. Good thing I didn't pack them away!

Current mood: full from a big breakfast—French Toast!
Current drink: coffee

You've Come to the Right Place

Do not be alarmed. You've come to the right place. For whatever reason, I've decided to play around with the template settings on my blog. I guess I'm in the mood for change these days. I've tried to go for something that is a little cleaner and brighter. I also wanted something that was a little easier to read, hence the slightly larger fonts because everyone I know is having a harder time reading these days. The blog appearance probably also depends on your computer and monitor. My laptop has a nice somewhat widescreen monitor, so everything looks nice. But this might look different on smaller old-fashioned CRT monitors. Anyway, if anything looks strange send me an e-mail.

Packing

Now that I've started to narrow down when I'm going to move, I've decided to start packing. People might wonder why it would take me two weeks to pack a one-bedroom apartment, but if you looked at the amount of books I own, you'd know why. Over the years I've collected a large amount of books. When you're in school, you have to buy books for your classes. Then you buy more books when you have to do research. And when you're a nerd and just love to read and own books, you buy even more books because they look interesting. And to top things off, I work for a book publisher and can bring home books for free. Needless to say, I have a lot of books. I tried counting them a few days ago, but lost count when the phone rang. When I lost count, I was somewhere in the 300 range with probably another 100 or 200 to go. Even I would admit that this is a lot. Is it really too much? I don't know. The bookish part of me thinks that you can never have too many books. But it always feels like too many when you have to move them—books in boxes can get really heavy.

Well, after I get resettled into my new apartment, I suppose I can reevaluate my library. I bet I could make some money if I sold a few of them at a used bookstore or something. We'll see.

Moving...Sort Of

Right now my apartment complex is in the process of renovating all of the units. Usually they renovate the apartment when someone moves out, but because I plan on staying her for another year, I had the option to either end my lease and move to a different place or simply move to a newly remodeled unit. Because I'm not exactly ready to move to a different complex, I agreed to move to a different unit. They are also keeping my rent at the same rate which is a big plus. The rent payment always leaves my bank account pretty tight at the beginning of the month, but my apartment is huge for the price I pay. There are some apartments in this city that are only 400 square feet going for the same rate I pay. So even though the rent is a bit much, it's a steal for the area where I'm living.

Fortunately I'll just be moving from the third floor to the first floor. Unfortunately I'll be losing my view of the mountains and clouds which I love so much. And I'll also be losing my southern exposure, meaning my apartment will get less sunlight and will be darker. But being on the first floor means I don't have to worry about carrying laundry and groceries up and down the stairs. And when my family comes to visit me, they won't have to worry about struggling up the stairs.

The remodeled unit will have either brand new carpet or hardwood floors. Hardwood floors would be nice and fancy, but I bet carpet will be warmer during the winter. The walls will have a fresh set of paint, and I think it will actually be a color—maybe taupe (whatever taupe is)—and the walls will not be white. The walls will also have crown molding, which is sort of fancy. The kitchen will have brand new counters, new cabinets, and brand new appliances. The bathroom will also be completely redone.

So, it will be an interesting change, but I just have to move in about two weeks. That's a bit sudden and I was hoping for more time to get everything settled, but I just have to work around the apartment complex. Then I have to think about getting my address changed for all the bills I pay and for insurance or bank information, then I have to arrange to have all of the utilities and cable and internet transferred to my new place. And, naturally, all of this is happening during my absolutely busiest month at work. Why would I want things to be easy and stress free?

Sleep Deprived

So I'm happy to report that the birds in the wall have flown away. Ironically they seemed to fly away the day I went to the apartment manager's office to complain. So I've had peace and quiet and have been able to get some sleep over the past few nights. But apparently I still need to catch up on some much needed sleep. I'm usually at my best in the morning. I get tired in the afternoons then I pick up a second wind in the evening. But I'm usually more productive in the mornings and I'm usually on top of my game, but this week I've been totally off. Yesterday morning when I was getting ready for work and making my lunch, I almost put sambal instead of jelly on my peanut butter sandwich. The jars are the same size and sitting next to each other in the fridge. Fortunately I caught myself before putting it on the sandwich. This morning I did something even worse. When I wake up I usually start the coffee then take my shower. By the time I'm finished with my shower the coffee is usually done brewing. Today I started the coffee but for some stupid reason didn't put the pot on the burner. So without the pot there, some of the coffee spilled all over the counter and the burner burned the coffee that spilled all over it. Sigh. I obviously need to catch up on a lot of sleep this weekend.

Bird Drama

I think that about this time last year, I wrote a post about some woodpeckers that nested in the wall of the apartment complex, right outside my bedroom. After a while those birds went away and I thought I was in the clear. But the birds came back this spring. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. About three weeks ago, I noticed a lot of noise in the wall of my bedroom. It was obvious that the birds returned and were hatching new babies. Eventually they hatched and it sounded like there were about 40 chicks in my wall in addition to the parent birds. Actually it was probably only 2 or 3 chicks. At any rate, the noise in the wall was significantly louder once the baby birds hatched. At about 5:30 in the morning I would hear one of the parent birds slam into the wall where there nest is built and then the babies would chirp wildly...and loudly. I could deal with this in the morning, because I usually wake up for work at about 6:00 anyway. But recently over the past few weeks the birds have become more active at night...all night. I assumed that the babies were probably growing and the space was getting tight, because I could hear a lot of rustling against the wall. But over the past week, there has been more than rustling. The birds were now clawing, scratching, drumming, and pecking against the drywall. Even when I knocked on the wall to try to scare or quiet them, it did nothing. Whenever I knocked, they scratched back. No, this isn't a game, I'm trying to sleep. What has been frustrating is that they do this nonstop, all night long. My ears are good and my hearing is sensitive, so even when I tried to tune it out, I couldn't. I even put cotton and toilet paper in my ears and covered my head with pillows and I could still hear the birds clawing and pecking against the wall. One night, at 3:30 am, I had to leave my bed and sleep on my futon because I couldn't take it anymore.

I'm a nature lover and an animal person, so I tried to deal with it as best as I could. But I don't pay $850+ in rent to sleep on my couch, and I haven't been able to get more than 3 hours of sleep each night for the past week. My job isn't easy to do when you're sleep deprived, and when I don't get enough sleep I start to get severe headaches, and those usually knock me out for a few days. So, at my breaking point, I went to the office in the apartment complex to let them know that there has been some "woodpecker damage" outside my unit. But, unfortunately for me but fortunately for the birds, these birds are a protected species and there is nothing that you can do about them. All you can do is patch up the hole once they fly away and hope they don't come back. So, that's that.

On the bright side, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, it has been really quiet tonight. When I looked at the hole where their nest is, I didn't see any baby bird heads pop out to look at me. And the wall in my bedroom seems really quiet and I don't hear any rustling. So I'm hoping that the babies finally learned to fly and maybe they flew away. It's dark now, so I suppose there is a chance that they'll come back to their nest. But I'm secretly hoping that they've found a new place to sleep, because I could really use more than 3 hours of sleep tonight. We'll see...