Blogging Progress???

More like blogging the fact that I'm a total lazy slob. Today I woke up really groggy and sore. And immediately I had moving and storage people talking to me, which half jump-started me onto the idea that I really better figure out that stuff. So I did that. And I've done some other stuff -- burned CDs (number forthcoming), copied the stuff out of the three books from the library, went through an extraordinary amount of paper -- but all this pales in the presence of the solemn vow I have sworn to not get caught in the magazine cycle again. Let me explain: I know some people read magazines on a regular basis. They leave out Newsweek and The New Yorker and visitors actually read them as they, for example, go read their bedtime stories to their four year-olds. But these visitors are occasionally on crack in thinking that just because they soak up this fascinating The Economist article and find the articles in this week's The New Yorker very engrossing that they should subscribe. And this, folks, is my doom. I love magazines. I hate them. Weeklies come way too often. Utne Reader (at least old Utne -- I haven't read it since it changed hands) was perhaps the only one I could really devour. Even if I didn't read the articles, I was interested in knowing what they were. With Newsweek and Time's dismal headlines starting at me, forget it. If anyone wants a fairly complete collection of near-pristine (mostly) news weeklies, let me know. It's ridiculous in here. I'm not getting caught in this guilt-inducing magazine consumerism again. I'm going to buy magazines where they should be bought -- at the co-op and the airport!

Mostly I feel as if I've sat around mooning. OPL said he wouldn't call for a few days -- it's a lot of work having all those mental conversations with someone you can't call. I did manage to rebox some things that needed to be reboxed. But here was the moving coolness for the day, which happened early and was probably the reason I mooned about so much later in the day: when you put stuff in storage, it doesn't have to be packed up tight as when you're actually moving your things. (Yes, I'm putting most of my stuff into storage because it's really the most convenient thing to do in this situation. Sorry I can't be more explicit.) So I've been looking at the way I live my life -- and actually I have a lot of stuff in boxes -- not terribly secure we're-moving-halfway-across-the-country sturdy boxes -- but more precarious really-ought-to-be-reboxed-and-organized boxes. Which means that if push comes to shove, I just won't rebox them. And as I look around at my house, I wonder how much really needs to be put into boxes or reorganized. So much could go as is. I have this weird sense that if I needed to do the whole thing in three days, I totally could. On the other hand, I am going through a lot of stuff, because I have so much crap after five years of graduate-studenting, but part of me just needs to SEE more progress. I have boxes and stacks and stuff, but it doesn't look like a hole in the place yet. Tomorrow I will pack up the car with the few boxes that will fit, go over to the storage place and deal with paperwork, and move my first boxes into my new storage unit.

So in order to not go to bed completely depressed (what's surprising is that I'll get to bed before 4am), here's what I have accomplished:

1. Scheduled movers at a reasonable price.
2. Found a storage unit.
3. Resorted and reboxed some book boxes.
4. Discovered that deep in the closet that the world forgot there are still many boxes from when I moved in.
   
5. Went through and burned the bulk of 27 CDs.
   
6. Looked through countless piles of paper for an old receipt that I need for reimbursement. (Why, oh why oh why???)
7. Began the process of requesting an official copy of said receipt.
8. Sent emails to all my recommenders asking them to update my dossier. (You never know.)
9. Made copies of all library materials for prepping.
   

Here's what I haven't done. I haven't made a big enough dent in this whole thing. I haven't done any intellectual work nor any actual mental prepping. I haven't left the house except to go to the car. And I haven't worked out at all because I am still so sore that moving around hurts. My goal is that by Friday, I'm going to have made a significant dent in this whole thing. I especially want to go through my clothes very soon. And I really need to deal with my office, which is overgrown with books and papers. Luckily I won't have to bother with taking that stuff home. I'll just take it directly to the storage unit, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Mr. Tabby now needs his medicine and I'm contemplating an early night. Mr. Tabby was pronounced reasonably okay (we needed to increase the dose of one of his medications), but he's lost weight and he doesn't do anything. He spends way too much time in dark areas. I don't like this.