Moving Can (and Does) Get Worse

My coffee table did not survive the move. The weight of the boxes on top of it made the legs collapse, which caused the box (with canned goods) underneath it to be crushed, which caused the liquid in the canned goods to spill, which caused the wardrobe box and several other boxes to become soaked, which caused the clothes and books and papers to mildew.

This means I'm not leaving a five-star review for the moving company that packed up and loaded my POD in Texas.

On the plus side, not too many books were ruined, and the stuff that was ruined is well below my $500 deductible, so it's not really worth making a claim and raising my insurance rates.

I can see the carpet again. Small progress. It's overwhelming still. I'm trying to ferret out which boxes were ruined and which boxes have wet bottoms or wet things in them thanks to the collapse and domino effect.

This next week will be dealing with my car and the driver's test and the insurance and the PO box and and and and and. I'll manage to get it all done, but it's exhausting to think about.

I'm shocked at how much crafting stuff I have. Now that I'm in a smaller space, seeing all the bags and bins of yarn, notions, and tools made me realize that I have way more stuff for knitting than I thought and that I really need to honor my goals and New Year's resolutions to knit down my stash before adding more to it. Then again, I just bought three kits' worth of yarn from Craftsy and that box arrived. The yarn is so squishy and lovely, but looking at how much yarn I have, I really can't order from there (or anywhere else) for a long time.

My mom offered to mail my ex's box to him and I took her up on it. I don't have the time to mail it off and get everything for work done while also trying to set up my legal residence. It doesn't help that I don't have a lease the government would really call a lease. I have an email. I doubt an email will be acceptable to the DMV and/or U.S. Post Office. So, I'm going to get my insurances switched over to my new state and go from there.

On the plus side, my Friday bowling date (followed by an impromptu walk in the park and then coffee at Powell's on Burnside) went well. Not sure I'm feeling anything romantic for the guy, but I am enjoying his company.

I'm unpacking. I'm settling in. I'm trying to make this home.

Moving Out is Like Pandora's Box

I'm almost completely out of the old place. I just have to figure out what perishable/nonperishable items I will take out.

I spent three hours boxing and taking the last bits of clutter out of their respective hiding places.

One more final portfolio and I'll be done with summer classes.

I'm still kind of numb/anxious/sad about turning 30 in a few weeks. I'm not where I thought I'd be personally or professionally.

I did decide, come Hell or high water, that I'm going to get the technical writing certificate.

I'll be flying to see my family for a few days this week. It's the balm I need. I might also have new developments to share in the future.

Mini update

This past week has been midterms for me, so I have been rather busy. I still have a few discussion board posts to write and reply to before midnight, but overall, online classes are in good shape. The first chapter of my novel went over very well and several people wanted to see the second chapter as my second project for the course.

I am still working on my New Year's Resolution of using yarn and patterns I already own when making projects. I am almost done with the Bunny Blankie, but the daisy stitch is really repetitive and I don't think I'll have enough yarn to make the full 44-inch length. I needed a couple of weeks away from it because I was getting tired of the whole thing.

I did, however, finish the baby cozy, but I still have to sew on the hook and loop tape (Velcro) since I decided to forgo the buttons. I also started the hat that goes with the pattern, learning how to do an I-cord in the process. It's looking like 420 yards of sport weight yarn will be enough for the whole project, which did not take that long and if the Velcro modification works out well, then it may become my go-to baby gift.

I am working on incorporating more exercise into my week. The dog's daycare has new, longer hours, making it easier for me to get 20 to 30 minutes of exercise in before work. Since I made by twice-a-week workout goal for a month, I treated myself to a Fabletics outfit (full disclosure: I get $10 in credit if you sign up using that link).

I don't do buy from Fabletics often, and I've had one pair of leggings I bought have the crotch rip out during yoga, but overall, I've liked the outfits. It's a pick-me-up. It's harder than I thought to maintain exercise in my routine when I work full time and have four classes this semester. Then I come home to the invisible labor of making dinner, cleaning the house, doing laundry ... it's all exhausting.

The dog started limping on her other front paw on Tuesday and when my partner took her in to the vet on Thursday, the vet upped the dog's pain pills. The second round of chemo is a pill and done at home. We have to wear gloves and wash our hands since it's radioactive.

We took the dog on a three-mile walk yesterday. It's great to see her so happy and energetic. Well worth the cost of chemo to combat this canine lymphoma.

Today, I will knit at home instead of going to my knitting group because my knitting partner is visiting an ill family member, head over to the gym in my new outfit, go to Costco afterward, and work on homework and essays for the rest of the day. The weekends just seem to fly by.

A dream without a goal is just a wish

A dream without a goal is just a wish, and if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

I haven't really been working on the world traveling goal very much. It's something I'm going to have to decide about very soon, because I'll need to know if my employer will grant my leave of absence request, or if I'll be handing in my notice.

I'll need to time it carefully, because as annoying as some of my online classes are, I don't want to have to pay a lot more for them. My employee discount is saving me approximately 60 percent off the sticker price of this degree. I don't want to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to finish what I started; $4,500 a year is more palatable than $10,500 (or $24,000 if I lose my Texas residency as a result of this wanderlust).

I have a few projects in the pipeline: I need to write a lecture on fairy tales and dictatorships for when I guest lecture for my friend's class. I also need to finish translating some poems for a top-secret project.

I really need to move on the graduate school scholarship application, but I need to figure out which two professors would actually help me out with the letters of recommendation.

My goal for today is to finish up my short story for my advanced fiction class. It's due Friday, but I have family coming to visit, and I think I need to clean up the house a bit more.

In a sad side note, it's looking like the dog has lymphatic cancer and not a fungal infection. We're doing a Hail Mary next week, and then going from there.

New Year's Resolutions - 2015

One of the most important things I learned when I was in graduate school for my doctorate was how to set reasonable goals. It is very easy to beat yourself up when you perceive yourself to be less capable, competent, or talented as someone else.

The truth is everyone is engaging in the "I was up alllll night working on ..." or "My work is sooooo great" game of one-upmanship.

One thing that people do is set themselves up for failure. By not setting reasonable goals, they say, "Look, I've failed again." This feeds into Imposter Syndrome: if you never reach your goals, of course you're a fraud.

My (hopefully) reasonable goals for 2015 are as follows:

Personal:

1. Knit at least two patterns from books I already own using yarn I've already purchased.
2. Lose weight and maintain that weight at 159 pounds or less by next year.
3. Exercise at least two days per week.
4. Decide whether or not to pursue a technical writing certificate concurrently with my MFA.
5. Submit to at least three literary journals by the end of the spring semester.
6. Plan a trip around the world.

Professional:

1. Continue improving my editing skills and knowledge of AP Style.
2. Improve workflow processes.
3. Find more opportunities for professional development.
4. Be the best mentor I can be.
5. Figure out how to keep my job while taking a trip around the world.

Academic

1. Apply for graduate school scholarships in January.
2. Apply for the staff scholarship in August.
3. Maintain a 3.5 GPA.
4. Figure out how to maintain my staff tuition discounts while traveling the world.