85% of the Way There

It's 1:50 in the morning, and I'm still awake because I have to go pick up Law McGraw from the airport in about an hour. As I'm sitting here in my semi-empty room and writing this, I realize that we only have about 65 more hours left in Chicago. The movers confirmed today that they were going to be here on Monday between 11 and 1. After that, it'll be time to fire up the clown car and start on our cross-country trip.

About 85% of my belongings are either in suitcases or boxes. I'm starting to get really sad about the last couple of days I have left here in this fabulous city. But for some reason, it doesn't really seem like I'm moving. In my mind, I feel as though I'm just going on one of those vacations out to Monterey and that I'll be back again in a week. This time, though, I won't be back to Chicago until at least December. I guess it'll be just in time for the frigid temperatures and snow. (Speaking of frigid temperatures, it felt so liberating to not have to pack my long wool coat.)

For the past 8 months, my life has been anything but normal and what I'm used to. Before December, I had been living in the city for the past three years and had been working full time at the same company. But all at once, I moved out of my apartment and back to my parents; house in the suburbs. (That's a whole different story that I don't want to get into right now.) And then, I was laid off from my job. So for a couple of months, I was working on business school applications and interviews, where the hours were mainly set by me. Then, I started working downtown for a boutique investment banking firm, and was in an entirely different element there. I did, however, learn a crapload of acronyms, like EBITDA. And now, I'm getting ready to move all of my stuff halfway across the country to start a whole new career path and to live with Law McGraw. I still haven't quite gotten used to the idea that I was laid off and will probably never be an engineer again. Somewhere in my mind, I feel like I'm just on a sabbatical and that I'll be returning to Lincolnshire and dialysis again.

These past 8 months have been somewhat surreal, but in a very good way. Although the path was rocky in getting to where I am today, I can't wait to see what's in store for the future. But for now, I'll enjoy what I have left of Chicago and all the loved ones I have here.

What to Save and What Not to Save?

Amidst my packing frenzy, I've realized that the reason this is taking so long is because I am some sort of odd packrat. With every item that I come across, I have an internal monologue regarding whether or not I should keep it at my parents' house, throw it away, or pack it with me. My most recent monologue was regarding my Mark Prior jersey. Is this something that I should take with me to California? Do I ever even really wear it? Can Mark Prior not suck so much?

And then I came across some old coasters from the hotel I stayed at for my first ever business trip. Nestled amongst the hills in Boulder, the Hotel Boulderado was fabulous. I had a suite room with a king size bed and enough sitting space for a small army. Even better, the hotel newsletter stated that some of the rooms were haunted. All great memories, but do I need the coasters from there? Hmmm...after some hemming and hawing, I decided to throw them away.

Now imagine this process repeated for about 1000 different items in my room. If anyone needs me, I'll be at my parents' house buried under a pile of crap and having some internal monologues.

It's Hard to be Poor

This is extremely girly, but I really want this. Why is it now that I have no income?

The Second Goodbye

I bid my second farewell to a significant part of Chicago for me -- my Chicago bank accounts. I've had these bank accounts ever since the early 90's and went through three different mergers and acquisitions with them. But sadly, they have not made it out to the west coast yet, so I had to bid them farewell today. I transferred all of my funds, limited as they may be, to another bank.

Please continue to lift up a prayer and some good thoughts for Law McGraw. The California Bar starts tomorrow!!!!

Good Thoughts and Prayers

The California Bar is coming up for Law McGraw on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He's been studying super hard every day, but all prayers and good thoughts are welcome! Thanks!

The First Goodbye

I had dinner with a good friend the other night, and I realized that it was my first goodbye to Chicago. I met L back at my first job when we were fresh-faced college graduates ready to tackle the engineering world. Despite our hopes to conquer the dialysis world, we were both met with the same fate. Over the past 4 years, though, we developed a very close friendship.

My Top Ten Memories of L:
1. L being late to work because a rat had gotten stuck in his engine belt
2. L and I trying out the Orange-Cream flavored Kit Kats and utterly hating them
3. L and I trying the "pork rind-like" snack from the vending machine with the mystery sauce
4. L and I on the hunt for the Mega M&M, and finally realizing that they weren't that mega
5. Watching L's movie and really understanding what it is that makes him tick
6. Borrowing L's copy of The Da Vinci Code and ignoring him everyday at lunch so I could finish reading it
7. L's role in my life as a public library and Netflix
8. Thinking that somebody had made L W-shaped Tater Tots as a special present
9. The picture of L in front of the Mustang he rented on his trip to Delphi
10. The countless hours we spent in the car going to and from Lincolnshire

Saying goodbye to Chicago is going to be harder than I thought.

Is This Wrong?

I can't believe that I'm going to admit this, but there are some country songs that I actually like. While cleaning out my room in hopes of packing tonight, I came across a CD of Garth Brooks' greatest hits. I popped it into my laptop and listened to some fo the songs. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed several of the songs. The messages in them were striking and pulled at my heart strings. This might be attributable to the high level of emotions I have right now. Let's hope it is. Otherwise, this warm-blooded Yankee is living in the wrong region of the country. Although, I have been known to let a Southern drawl slip out on some of my words every so often. Maybe this is the real reason why my dad named me Jody Ann. I'm secretly a Confederate.

Packing Party!!!

I'm sitting here on the floor of my room surrounded by piles of clothes and empty boxes, but I can't seem to make myself start the actual packing process. Instead, I've taken the time to read through old letters and homework, in hopes of parsing out some of the junk.

I think that, subconsciously, I'm afraid to start packing, because then it really means that I'm moving. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about moving to California, starting school, and living with Law McGraw, but I'm just not ready to say goodbye to Chicago and to my all of my family and friends. Having lived in the Chicago area for the past 25 years, it'll be weird to be 2000 miles away from my parents. We've always had a very close relationship and it'll just be weird to not be able to pop over to their house to have dinner or to discuss random news issues. I've been teaching them how to work most of the electronic gadgets at home, such that they'll still be able to operate them when I'm not around. We're definitely making a lot of progress.

So if anyone wants to, they're more than welcome to come to my house and to help me pack up all my stuff. Any takers?

A New Haircut?

I've had the same haircut with long face-framing layers for about 8 years. Possibly even longer. Since I'm about to start a new chapter in my life, I've been wondering whether or not I should also get a new haircut. I've been secretly coveting the long side-swept bangs look for awhile. My only hesitations are:

1. I've never had bangs.
2. I have to have every single strand of hair off of my face when I run.

So I can't decide, should I get the long bangs? I'm afraid that I'll like it for the first 5 hours after I get home from the salon, but then hate it every minute after that for the next 6 months. And I really wouldn't want to put Law McGraw through the misery of listening to me complain about my hair.

Roadtrip 2006

Law McGraw and I are going to be driving my little red clown car out to California starting on July 31. Does anyone know of any fun cities or places that we should stop at along the way? The only city on our current itinerary is Denver, where we hope to see a Rockies game and meet up with one of my classmates. Other than that, we're open to any suggestions. I personally want to see the World's Biggest Ball of Twine, but I think that's in Minnesota. Not so much on the way to San Francisco.