In the middle of complete change

I know, I know, it's been 4 days since my last post and I am exhausted. Final packing, relocube loading, closing and yard sale.

Thanks again to Erin Haas for her amazing organizational skills and her hip hopping husband, Steve Behnke for loading much of the yard sale stuff into my car, Angela Mitchell for her packing expertise and helping me decide what to pack for the month at Jenny's. And last but not least, Suehyla El-Attar for taking the direction "Just make it go away!" and running. What a godsend especially when I had to deal with the perhaps drunk, perhaps not drunk moving guys.

I really am the luckiest gal in the world.

Eye Scream!

It's been a while since I posted one of these crazy things...

You Are A Chocolate Ice Cream Girl

Dramatic. Powerful. Flirty.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Gosh, they rock

Many thanks to Erin, Angela, Chris & Suehyla for swinging by and helping me organize and pack my crap. We are not done, but we have accomplished a lot.

They did make me throw away the lovely candle that Jen Denning gave me years ago. It had an unfortunate end at the towtowbitches meeting with Angela and Chris a few weeks back.

And now, of course I have another car load for the yard sale.

Gosh, I smell. Shower time.

Week of June 21

Here's my schedule for the week. Not too much fun stuff, but I promise that will come in the next 4 weeks!

Monday - an evening of packing with Erin, Chris, Angela & Suehyla
Tuesday - hip hop with Steve at LA Fitness Atlantic Station 7pm
Wednesday - I really want to go to Serenbe to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I will probably be packing with Erin & Suehyla
Thursday - Grilled Cheese Night at Souper Jenny 5pm - 9pm. It's great! Come in and say hey.
Friday - Mah Jong!

The remainder of the time I will be packing and working.

Gotta go take a shower before my massage at GardenView.

Finally some quiet

I am lying on my bed, dead tired from a very long day. I worked at Souper Jenny this morning, got an oil change and then drove up to Lawrenceville to pick up some moving blankets and then topped it off with ushering for Camelot at Aurora Theatre.

Souper Jenny was uber slow today. That gave me plenty of time to schmooze the customers and fax my application and credit report to the management company of my Davis rental. Yes, indeed Mama's got a place to live! It is very exciting news and much weight is lifted from my shoulders. I am not sure which unit at 212 University I will be living, but Kate Miller will be sending photos on Monday and I believe Dave has some more.

Since I am not able to borrow or rent moving blankets, I found a great deal on craigslist and combined my trip up to Lawrenceville/Snellville to also see the first show in Aurora's new space. I met this dude Vernon at a storage unit and called Erin and Suehyla just so someone knew where I was. Just as I thought, this guy showed up in a big van and I thought for sure that it was going to turn out badly. He told me to drive in first and of course, the area was completely deserted. Um, Suehyla!

Anyway, the guy buys companies and then sells their remains. So I bought a dozen blankets for $36! He asked me if I wanted anything else from his THREE storage units. Um, no thanks. Mama's trying to UNLOAD!

The drive to downtown Lawrenceville was just 5 minutes away and after a few trip around the one-way square, I found the parking deck attached to the theatre. I changed my clothes in the car (big surprise!) and then took a little jaunt around the cute square. My thermometer read 98 so I quickly ducked into a little coffee shop and sat with my iced coffee and read skirt! magazine.

I left to report for usher duty and ran into AC and Tony. We then ran into Nevin and Lily in the parking lot and we all got a grand tour of the beautiful new space. It really is lovely with lots of natural light and remnants from the original church.

While ushering I realized that I am such a good people person. Not to toot my own horn, but I really go out of my way to make people feel welcome and for lack of a better word, educated. I wonder what that means for my future (or continued?) career. We'll just tuck that away for future use.

Anyway, all plans are now set and after lots of change in the last few days, here's where we stand:

6/25 - Big pack day with Angela and Suehyla
6/27 - Relocube is delivered
6/28 - Movers come to load my crap, Move into Jennifer's
6/29 - Closing
6/30 - Yard sale with Michele and Erin
7/15 - Going away party
7/28 - Car gets picked-up for cross country shipping
7/30 - Final day at Souper Jenny
7/31 - Final day at CCCS
8/1 - Meet mom at ATL airport and travel with cats to SAC
8/2 - Relocube arrives, Movers unload crap, mom works magic with organization (oh, Erin!)
8/3 - Dad arrives and I'm sure we'll go out for sushi
8/6 - Start to teach the young'uns how to act (Hopefully!)

Whew! That makes me tired just typing it.

PS

The one scream-worthy thing that I did not mention yesterday is that they cancelled DRA 21A for the first summer session. That's the first of two parts of the Intermediate Acting class that I'm slated to teach. DRA 21B starts August 6, but there's a good chance that my class will also be cancelled. Oh the joys of temping...I can't wait!

For those of you keeping track at home, I have been updating my weekly itinerary on a daily basis and yes, it does change. Now that I have 2 (count 'em, two!) auditions tomorrow, I will have to work at CCCS on Friday. So, Stone Mountain is here by postponed. I hope to do it in two weeks.

This evening I did go to Jai Shanti yoga and took a really great class. I learned a few new poses and really opened my uber tight hips. Go pigeon! -- and my new favorite, FROG!

I ended the night with a little too much reality TV. Dinner and Last Comic Standing and ice cream with Erin and Steve while viewing, So You Think You Can Dance.

Gotta slumber

And everybody SCREAM!

Oooh, italics! Luckily, I had some nutella in my pantry. Mama needed something sweet.

I just got off the phone with my parents and they are trying to convince me to ship the car and fly with the cats instead. I thought the travel was all set and now things are in flux again. I do not have time to research auto shippers and this time I really am trying to hold things together. I didn't expect the crying to start for a bit, but I am ready to let loose.

This means that my mother will fly down to Atlanta and meet me and take one of the cats and my father will probably meet us out there. I really cannot deal. T-minus 10 days to closing, blah, blah, blah. I work 6 days a week and still have to pack up my crap.

Crap!

Erin came over yesterday and we went through and packed more stuff. She really is amazing, folks. If any of you Atlantans need some assistance organizing your stuff, Erin is your gal. erinlhaas@gmail.com We are planning a yard sale with Michele Pearce and gosh, do I have a lot to contribute. Erin and I are toying with having a sale here in the complex this Saturday. I sent a message the management company and got (as expected) a rude message back from the contact. Hopefully I will find out tomorrow if the board will "allow" us to have a sale.

Mother of pearl.

Gosh, my stomach hurts.

Listen to the sound of the rain. Pet the kitties. Deep breath.

Nutella!

Time keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin'...

T-minus 11 days until closing. There are a ton of things that I would like to do before leaving Atlanta, so I will be posting my itinerary every Sunday. If you would like to join me in any of these activities, let me know now and I will schedule with you. Or just keep up with the calendar and come along.

This week will be:
Mojito Monday at dish with Angela and Chris -- tonight at 6PM
Hip Hop at LA Fitness Atlantic Station 7PM with Steve Behnke
Asana Development at Jai Shanti Yoga Wednesday at 6:15PM
Funny Girl at Screen on the Green (Piedmont Park) with Angela and Chris and their buddy, Todd
Takana Miyamoto -- Jazz at Callanwolde -- 7:30PM with Suehyla and friends
Camelot at Aurora Theatre Saturday night at 8PM

There are of course a bunch of restaurants that I would like to try...
Fune or Zuma for sushi
Piebar
Kyma
Bluepoint
Papi's on North
Nikoli's Roof or drinks at the Sundial
Ann's Snack Shop

And then the crazy attractions...
The High Museum (again!)
The Zoo
movies at the Starlight Drive-in
The Kangaroo Conservatory

And the few artsy things...
Camelot at Aurora
Pericles and Servant of Two Masters at GA Shakespeare

I'm sure there will be more -- or if you have a suggestion, please let me know.

Other news is that I finally met Chad Sniffen! He was in town last week for a conference at the CDC and on Friday, we just happened to be in Decatur at the same time. He was doing Java Monkey and Watershed and I was out with Kate Wiley while she was at Alexia Gallery and I was selling my CDs at Decatur CD. Kate and I had lunch at that little thai bowl place and then had some ice cream at Cold Stone. I met Chad for a brew at The Brickstore before he had to head to the airport.

Friday night was what could be my final Mah Jong gathering. At least it was the last time I could host. I am finally getting a handle on the game and actually won once. I called Mah Jong a second time, but with my old eyes didn't see that I in fact did NOT have a crac chow, but a 7 and 2 eights. Poops!

On Saturday evening, Jen Denning came over and we went through my clothes and started packing some winter clothes. She left with a small bundle of clothes that are too small for me plus a hair extensions video to give to her hubby, Lachlan, for Father's Day. Hopefully they had a good laugh.

I have been calling moving companies and should have that locked down in the next few days. I have the portable shipper arriving on Wednesday night, and planned for the movers to come that night. However, Raiders of the Lost Ark is playing down at Serenbe, so I may wait to load until Thursday morning. There is a chance that I will have to rent a place in Davis starting in July, so I may not store my shipper, but unload it as soon as it arrives in Sacramento. Chad or Dave, you up for that overseers job?

No news on the rental front. I am trying to stay zen and trust an apartment will come my way. My new buddy Dave Harrington went to see the cute cottage place and toured the inside. He took pictures, but this silly woman is persuading me not to rent it. Weird! Since Souper Jenny decided to close today, I have an unexpected day off. That will allow me to finally do the last bit of data entry for Synchronicity, do some more packing and perhaps do a bit of yoga before the mojito madness this evening.

Doug Dank - Mission Accomplished!

Okay, I didn't suck...

:)

Trying not to FREAK out!

While I love the freedom of knowing that I will soon be leaving Atlanta, I really cannot wait until all is settled and I have a handle on my new surroundings and routine.

I currently live with empty boxes and half cleaned closets and drawers. I am in the process of loading all of my CDs on the itunes on my laptop so I can get rid of my collection. Kate (and baby Jonathan) come over on Friday and we will go through the kitchen and Jennifer Denning comes over on Saturday where we will go through my clothes.

Deep breath.

The living situation in Davis has not gotten any clearer. The boxy place under the stairs does not allow pets, so I let that one go. And now the cottage one -- that Chad has sold me on -- may not fit my time frame.

Deep breath.

Dan Balmer's friend David Harrington offered to head there today and take some photos, however after seeing it listed on craigslist TODAY, I spoke with my contact, Kate. There are now 2 units available July 1 and 1 available September 1. Um, what happened with August??!! There is a chance that the work to be done will take longer and it will work, or maybe I will have to pay for a half month that I don't use. Or I will have to find some place else. I troll the Sacramento craigslist every day and pickin's are slim. I try and keep my zen demenor, but I have to leave 910 Tuxworth in 16 days.

Deep breath.

In just under an hour I need to be at Push Push for my night of storytellng for The Doug Dank Project. Let's pray I don't suck.

Um, deep breath.

It's finally raining!

OMG! After weeks and weeks of heat and drought we FINALLY get a hint of rain. I have been going against the water ban and drenching my little plants twice a week, but they are so unhappy. As I stare at them now, they look tired yet refreshed.

I hear a few quiet sighs of relief all the way up here on my balcony.

I love the rain!

Change of plans

After Souper Jenny today I planned to meet with Angela and Jenny about the cookbook and website and then go out with Angela and Chris to Bluepoint and start using the Buckhead Life Group gift certificate I have. Unfortunately Angela is not feeling well after her white water rafting trip yesterday, so I met with Jenny briefly to get the cookbook thing back on track (we have our photo shoot next week) before heading home. I have to say that I am a bit disappointed to not be going out tonight, but I guess that gives me more time to pack.

Yipeee more time to pack!!

I would like to start my public shout-out to Erin Haas who came over three days this week to go through my crap and assist in organizing, packing and discarding. Here we are going through my jewelry. We first played with Maxie and all of my Mardi Gras beads, but then we got down to business.

Just to get everyone up to speed on the big picture – all is well with the sale of my condo. After the inspection on Monday the only thing the buyer wanted me to do was to clean the burners on my heating unit. So after a “talking to” from Ashley, I had an HVAC company come in and clean on Thursday. All documents were signed later that day, so I am set to close on June 29.

The ABF Relocube will be delivered on Wednesday, June 27 and then I move in (with Lincoln and Maximillian) to Jennifer Levison’s house for the month. I then work at Souper Jenny and CCCS through the end of July and get on the road with my Dad on Monday, July 30. My fantastic mother will fly in to Sacramento on August 2 to oversee the unload of my stuff and my father and I will arrive on the 3rd. I then have the weekend to settle and start teaching DRA 21B bright and early on Monday morning.

So that leaves one area left. Where the heck am I living in Davis?

Good news is that I currently have 2 places to choose from. Chad scoped out both and my gut reaction was to go with this one. However, he really likes the charm of this one. My mother was not crazy that I may be in the corner underneath the stairs so now I am leaning towards the charming one. Even though the outside is a little run down, Chad seems to think it would be a little quieter. Also, since Mr. Siko’s dog did wonders to the carpeting, they will be replacing that, repainting and putting in new blinds. Both of them should be sending photos of the INSIDE soon. I think that’s going to be the tie breaker. As soon as I decide which place to take, I will sit down with Erin and the floor plan to figure out where everything is going to go and get rid of the furniture I don't need. The thing is that time's a tickin'! I now have 18 days until I need to skadoodle. I would love to be able to sell some of the bigger items on craigslist or offer them to friends.

Okay, I am going to make another vodka gimlet and go through more of my office. Speaking of vodka, look at some of the photos I found from Three Sisters yesterday!

Look, I'm a godess!

You Are Psyche!

Eternally in search of purpose and insight. You're curious and creative with a total sense of wonder. Totally empathetic, you pick up on other's moods easily. Just be sure to pamper yourself as well!

What Goddess Are You?

Tellin' stories

My new yoga mat came in the mail on Monday and I got to use it first thing Tuesday morning. It has a dragon on it with a matching bag. It's also large enough to put my new cork block and purple belt. I was also able to unload my old purple mat to a woman in class. I sold it for $10 and hopefully she will remember to bring some moolah on Friday.

I did also hear back from Bill at Jai Shanti yoga. In his monthly newsletter he mentioned that you can barter for classes. He finally responded today from my email in APRIL. Since I will not be here very long he offered me a reduced rate rather than the barter deal. Since my teacher, Paul will be in NM for 2 weeks next week, I would like to try Bill. I am excited. I also found a yoga video podcast that I download daily. I hope to start those soon.

It's just after midnight and I'm writing from bed. Both cats are in sight -- Lincoln on the floor next to my bed and Maxie in the threshold of the bathroom. I think he likes the coolness of the tile floor. I just had a late night snack of a ceviche stuffed avocado. Or at least part of one. Yummy!

This evening I met up with Suehyla and grabbed Erin & Steve to head over to Push Push for The Doug Dank Project. I was asked to be their monologist next week so I thought I'd better head over there to see what it's about. Pretty fascinating stuff. Sometimes the improv was based on the story told and sometimes it wasn't. I must say that it certainly takes the pressure off of me. So even if I suck, the show could still be pretty good. All I have to say is that there will be plenty of the singing and the dancing in next weeks show!

Big updates

Just to keep everyone in the know, my condo officially went under contract yesterday. The buyer has 10 days to get an inspection so give me until next Monday to really breathe a sigh of reflief. If all goes well, I will need to be out by June 29 and I will take my suitcase and 2 cats and move into Jennifer Levison's spare room. I am giving her my office furniture and she is buying a bed. I am not sure how my little ones will react to Sophia, Jen's cat or how Jonah (Jennifer's son) will take all of this, but I am excited by the central location. So, I will pack and store all of my stuff in one of those portable shippers and it will be waiting for me in Sacramento.

After speaking with Kate yesterday, she convined me to have one last friend packing adventure. So, as soon as I pick a date, get ready for a call or email requesting your presence in the Move Party of the Century. Because I am moving across country and have to unload, there's a good chance that I will be getting rid of things on the spot. And it's a good workout -- and I will provide some yummy food. And there's all that liquor that I will not be carting to CA...

Um, please help.

Okay, I also have news from the rental in Davis front. The cute little cottage place woman finally called me back. There will be some major renovation in there -- including new carpeting and painting, so she's not able to take photos. They guy who current lives in there really destroyed the place, so she just wanted to warm me.

Our of the blue, I got a message forwarded by the Program Administrator for the department. One of the outgoing MFA students, Emily Davis is leaving in mid-July and is subletting her place which is RIGHT DOWN THE STREET from the cute cottage apartment. She describes it as a cave, which scares me a bit. Jen Denning and I lived in a cave in Decatur years ago, but at least the living room area had a bit of natural light. I am checking the natural light situration and will call into action one of the Davis friends to take a peek at both these places.

On the new and exciting front, I decided to do those Crest Whitestrips to whiten the choppers and as you can see below I did pretty well on my citizenship test.

This evening after Souper Jenny I will be heading over to The Earl with Angela, Chris, Erin and Steve to taste what one writer from the Wall Street Journal reported is one of the best burgers in the country. Afterwards Angela, Chris and I will head to see Francine Reed at Blind Wille's. If any of you locals wanna join us, come on in!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?