moving on............and on.................and on

There are few life events more stressful than moving that don't involve some kind of physical or emotional trauma (and I could reasonably argue that moving encompasses minor degrees of both). Even after the process of transporting one's worldly possessions from one locale to another, there is the much longer/inherently slower process of unbundling that which was so carefully at first and haphazardly towards the end, packed. Every new nook and cranny requires consideration because, as it becomes baldly apparent later, where you put things initially is largely where they permanently reside. Arbitrarily, it seems not to matter if you are moving from small to big or big to small, there seems to always be something that used to fit somewhere that no longer does. Our new place has a small kitchen (a bachelor kitchen perhaps), without a lot of room for things like a wok, let alone a blender, crock pot, or any other of the wide varietal of kitchen accoutrements. Conversely we moved from 1.5 bedrooms to 4, so we have a few rooms with quite literally nothing in them. It is truly a puzzle............and I am not very good at puzzles.

But, by far the most stressful part of unpacking is the near constant sense of what I refer to as 'possession displacement disorder' or more commonly the 'where the (expletive) are/is my (object)?' This occurs with alarming frequency and seems to take a long time to improve overmuch. Generally the lost object is most easily located under the largest pile and the rapidity of its location is inverse to its immediate need. Some kind of lesser Newtonian Law I imagine. Or perhaps Murphy's.

The other part of moving that I am increasingly starting to loathe is the building of new furniture. Tia and I are fairly capable people and yet it is astounding how frequently we manage to put something together backwards. Well, I would say it was astounding except the directly are generally quite vague about the specific details of assembly with often little similarity between the twee 2 dimensional sketches of what you are building and the decidedly different looking actual pieces. And some things, our roving bookshelf for instance, really test both patience and imagination. It is why, in my far off dreams, I truly consider having 'made it' financially is having furniture delivered already put together. I guess it wouldn't be largely composed of particle board and about 20% of the cost though. Suffice to say, I am not quite there yet.

But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Things are gradually finding their way to their new homes and the pieces are finally starting to resemble the whole. Then we can start of the yard.

On Biking:

I really thought I was getting in better shape. We have been jogging for more than a month now and are starting to make some not inconsiderable gains. I have even lost a few pounds along the way. But, clearly, biking and jogging use very distinct muscles. As we are now about 2.5 miles away from work, walking is no longer viable.........but biking most certainly is. However, my body begs to differ. There is a hill (mountain?) about half way to work (and half way to home) that, though clearly gradual, seems inexplicably difficult to crest. However, once over it, the rest of the ride is quite a breeze. I know it will just take time and it truly does feel good to exercise in that way in the morning.........but getting passed by people in flip-flops who are clearly in poor physical shape is a touch embarrassing.

I had thought I might write more.............but more boxes and totes remain. More to come as always.