I Snore On the Bus

Did you know that today is Wednesday? I didn't. Meg and I said goodbye to one another at 5am this morning, and I spent most of the day dazed. It all started on Sunday (btw the last blog was written on the 9th when I was supposed to be taking a nap. I couldn't figure out how to fix the date :). I worked overnight from 8pm til 8:30am. A bunch of folks from the Columbus Circle store came to help me and a few people from my store move things around and try to make the place look pretty.

In my infinite wisdom, I decided to stay awake all day Monday and go to bed early since I had to wake up Tuesday at 5am. We went shopping at the Atlantic Center Mall. First, we explored Payless and DSW with only one sweet pair of shoes for me. Then we went to Daffy's. I have never heard of Daffy's yet we were told if I wanted to buy some underwear that was the place to be. It was grueling. I hate shopping. I tried on 8 different bras, and was ready to give up when I looked at the little old woman with the Polish (?) accent who was manning the fitting room. Surely such a wise being, having a large bosom herself, could offer me some advice. And she did, and I now know what size to look for.

Wouldn't you like to know?

Then we went to Target, which is normally quite rewarding, but the Target at Atlantic had no clothes!! In actuality, they do have women's sports and casual wear. Unfortunately, both Meg and myself wanted clothes for work. We ended up leaving the mall with a lot of sexy underwear and shoes...oh, and I think Meg bought a cute dress too, but by that point I was delirious.

I believe the rest of the day went like this: we went home, we decided to go to the movies, we got more coffee, we went to trader joes, saw Julie & Julia, cried, hung out with Renee, and then I passed out. The week since then like this: wake up at 5am, go to work, leave at 8pm, struggle for sleep, get up at 5am...and here I am.

Tonight, I ran screaming from work exactly at 8pm, and directly into the welcoming doors of the express bus. Literally without a second to spare. I promptly fell asleep.

An hour later I woke up. Head tilted back, mouth open, throat dry, and though I can't be certain, I'm pretty sure I was snoring, or at least breathing loudly.

I'm still awake four hours later, still in the clothes I had on at 5am. Maybe I need to go catch the bus.

Next Time We Hire Movers

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I don't even know how to describe the state I am in today. Meg has gone to the botanical gardens. I should be sleeping because I have to work an overnight tonight, but I am so stressed I almost started to unpack more and clean... instead I thought if I wrote something, I would at least be sitting down.




Things I have seen so far in NYC:

1. An alien walking down Park Ave. At first glance you might mistake her for a female human in her sixties; upon closer inspection however, the shiny leopard suit stretched across her wiry figure, the bright orange hair carefully sculpted into a hard swirl, the gold sunglasses which cover her entire face, and her spastic walk make it hard to deny she is not of this earth.
2. A rat crawling on the subway tracks. Ok, I realize this is no big deal. I saw them all the time when I was a tourist, but I saw my first one as a New Yorker! Oddly, I haven't seen one since.
3. A subway train full of drunk Yankees fans. And yes, I got to ride with them.

We've been able to explore our neighborhood a bit. There are a couple of fantastic Italian bakeries nearby, and a pretty nice Japanese restaurant where we are quickly becoming regulars. We did laundry around the corner, and bought one of those handy carts for such occasions, as well as for shopping, though it sits unassembled in our living room.

Yes, living room! We have done some unpacking. There is still a bit to do, but at least you have a place to sit when you come in, and it feels like home. My favorite place to sit is on our front porch, with a beer in hand of course.

Here We Are

Holy crap, I have no idea where to begin...

We successfully made it to Brooklyn. The drive here was rigorous, and since we came things have been... crazy, to say the least. Let me give you the rundown.

Moving

Thanks to a little help from our friends (Steve, Spark, Sarah, Cynder, Josh, Lori, Matte) and family (Joey, Molly) we got all of our stuff into one U-haul truck. It wasn't easy or pleasant, but we did it. Then we drove... We made a pit stop in Albany to drop off some furniture with Stacy's mom, and then we hauled ass to Brooklyn. Unfortunately, due to extreme traffic (thank you Joey for maneuvering the U-haul across the Geo Washington Bridge) and poor planning we made it to our new house at about two a.m., and Danny, Rene and Brandon helped the three of us unload. Now everything is inside the house, but still in boxes because I am lazy, and Stacy has been at work.

Being Here

The first two days that I was here I suffered from the most extreme homesickness and panic I have ever felt. I would have moved back to Buffalo in a heartbeat if I could have, but I had just forked over a load of money and signed a lease so it wasn't an option. After two days in bed I reemerged to find that our new neighborhood is incredibly cute. The house is great. I love having Rene downstairs because he does amazing things like bring me breakfast. Everything is much better. Now, if I can only find a job...

Jobs

Stacy stuck with our former company and started her new job on Wednesday. She'll fill you in about that later I assume. I am still attending job fairs and interviewing and hoping that I find a way to make money.

That's about it.

There were some pretty funny stories in the interim, but we'll have to revisit those later.

THE END OF AN ERA

Meghan: Whoa, for a second I thought Stacy wrote "ear." Era. Good. Carry on.

Stacy: Like, "Errrrrrahh" I have no idea what that means...

Anyway, this is it. Our last day working together. Or at least, working together for someone else. We will be working together (watch out world) on our own business venture soon, but today for the last time together we have on our name tags and our happy faces, and will be serving the public until midnight. That sounds kinda dirty doesn't it?

I am about 5 shots of espresso into the day so far, and my left eye keeps twitching. Should I be concerned? NAH, just need more caffeine!!

Stacy Wants Ninja Cats

It's official. We've gone crazy.

Our future downstairs neighbor called me today to complain about packing. I thought it was funny, because I wasn't packing when he called, but I was thinking about packing. Really, if you add up all the time I have spent thinking about packing and converted it into time spent... uh... packing, three houses would be boxed up and ready to move. However, theory does not imply action regardless of what Zizek says.

Some interesting things have been happening to Stacy and I in this weird home stretch. Stacy has developed Tourette's Syndrome and keeps wandering around twitching and swearing under her breath, and insisting that she wants ninja cats because there was a movie on a Canadian channel that featured highly-trained combat kitties. I have totally stopped doing anything other than wondering if anyone loves me. Oh, and singing songs like "Disco Inferno" at inappropriate times.

When my stepmother packed up her and my fathers house she bought color-coded tape and ironed things that were going into boxes. I am barely able to assemble boxes, let alone accurate pack or label them. How did she do it? Well, it's three a.m., and I think it's time to get packin'

Note: The word packing was used in excess due to laziness and lack of motivation. It in no way reflects the authors opinions on repetition as a literary device, assuming she is still sane enough to have opinions.

What To Do, What To Do

This is not what I am supposed to be doing right now. Meg & I are each at our own apartments in Buffalo finishing up the last of the packing, which mostly consists of clothes and blankets & lamps. I can't focus, nor am I sleepy. I am contemplating whether or not I really need all of these pairs of Payless shoes.

I am cranky and uncomfortable, two things which I attribute to eating pizza everyday since Tuesday, and could also be accounted for by PMS. In a misguided attempt to make myself feel better I ate some dark chocolate - yet I feel this is ok because I am drinking green tea. Hmmm, both of these things have caffeine, oh well.

Somehow, in two days, I will be in Brooklyn. My only hope is that my brother will still love me after he gets us there. Two premenstrual insomniacs, two cats, and a whole truck load of stuff.

Pray for him.

The Packing Continues

Today was a good day. Don't get me wrong, it didn't go as planned - not that Meghan and I ever really have much of a plan, but today we were supposed to be up and out the door to get coffee by 10am. I think we left my apartment a little after noon.

Mornings typically go like this: the alarm clock goes off, I hit snooze; the phone alarm goes off, I hit dismiss; the clock goes off again, I hit snooze, and Meghan rolls over. The alarm clock is NOT next to the bed. The alarm clock is all the way across the room on top of my dresser. I get out of the bed, walk to the clock, fumble with the buttons, and dive back into bed. My neighbors must hate me.

This morning was much of the same, with Meg actually getting up to smash the alarm clock a few times. I am usually the one who ends the cycle, as I was today. The only reason I did was to check my bank account balance as I have done obsessively for the last two weeks. I don't know why I do this, I'm not sure if I am expecting the money to disappear or for thousands of dollars to suddenly show up there. Neither of these things has happened; I still have the same pitiful amount of cash. It is a good thing I am a wiz with lentils.

Yet we did get out of the apartment, grumble at one another until we reached Starbucks, and then magically, with iced caramel soy lattes in hand, everything was full of sparkles. Maybe I exaggerate, maybe the day of packing was still looming over our heads. We did get a lot accomplished. We probably only have about 3-4 hours of work left in each apartment, and pretty much it is just packing up the clothes.

The day ended splendidly. Our friend Steve came over to take part in the packing madness, and then we headed over to the Zicari's house. A few of the awesome folks from our neighborhood joined us, and we sat in the "cabana" drinking wine and beer, eating bugles, and wondering if it was ok that water was streaming down the christmas lights (it was raining, and there are a couple leaks in the cabana). I looked around at Shaun and Eric, Mark and Sarah, the Zicari clan, and felt blessed to know them. I admit, I am a little sad to leave B-lo behind, but I know that those folks, along with some of the many other fantastic people I have come to know will come visit.

I mean, doesn't everyone love NYC?