I'd like to draw, or paint, or make something. I'd like to sit in a chair. I'd like to hang a picture or decide what to wear before going out. I'd like to cook a proper meal. I'd like to vacuum the carpet. I'd like to get a book from a shelf. I'd really like to go on-line. But I can't do any of those things right now. I can't even call a friend on the west coast because even though it's after 9am here it's still it's 5am there and nobody likes me that much. I don't even like anybody enough to want to chat at 5am.
We're waiting for our belongings that haven't left Portland yet. It took us 9 days to drive here at an average speed of 70mph in between good hotels in the northern wilderness. There are more of them than we'd expected. We sat out a day waiting for a hurricane to blow past. Even if the truck leaves this morning we're unlikely to see our things until the last day the moving contract stipulated - a week from this coming Friday.
Now I'm sitting at the edge of our only piece of furniture - the futon we had delivered on our first day here - while we wait for the person who's coming to hook up the cable for our phone and internet. I'm trying to ignore the men with jackhammers on the suspended platforms outside our 7th floor windows as they grind down the cement on the balconies above and below us. I saw one of them stumble a while ago and my heart skipped a beat. Apparently all that work will be done in a few weeks too.
♡ Hurray! The cable guy just left so now I can post this. I'll come back to visit a little later since now would be a good time to go for a walk and get away from the racket. It already feels better not having to hope for random wi-fi access or having to go outside simply to find a connection spot.
Things are looking up.
[extending your title]
ReplyDelete... what a plague! :)
Surely you wonder these days how it cometh that anyone could ever sigh 'Time flies', hm? :)
Kvetch away, susan! I'd be going stir crazy. And will you please holler out the window (if it opens) to those guys and remind them to have on their fall protection gear? Harness, etc. For goodness sake, what is this? 1927? Okay for you, it might have felt like it. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteMoving is extreme activity and then total non-activity. Nothing is so unnerving as waiting for your things to be delivered, with nothing to do. I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteI must have missed the part about you not having MOST of your stuff. That's hard. A walk sounds lovely, better than being stuck inside at least. Take care! :)
ReplyDeleteI see someone is a slave to technology, they have you right where they want you!
ReplyDeleteP.S. This comment did not arrive via the internet, swear.
sean - True. The matter of whether time flies or not is a relative concept.
ReplyDeletelisa - Numb pointed out to me later they are wearing harnesses but it still wouldn't be fun to watch. He also said the dude probably did it on purpose.
Today I bought some essential art supplies :-)
nancy - Thanks. I just hope they actually do get around to bringing them. Yesterday the move manager said 'Nobody wants to drive to Nova Scotia.. but he will come.'
liberality - Yes, all we have is the stuff we could carry on the back seat of a soft-top Geo Tracker.. not much.
randal - I know they do. Did you know hardly anybody at Starbucks talks to each other?
I hope your stuff is with you soon, Susan
ReplyDeleteI bet it's hard doing without everything you're used to having to live your life; hang in there, this too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteMe, I think I'd take the opportunity to explore with a camera...
;)
I think it's great fun that the futon and the online access were the first two "furnishings" in your new home.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm rooting for the rest of your wordly goods to arrive before Friday week.
the fun of having adventures is slogging through the things that happen (or in your case, things that didn't happen soon enough).
ReplyDeletei hope you at least have a comfortable bed to sleep on!
sleeping on futons... i'd be bitchy too.
here's some lyrics from betty elders, who sings 'you just have to hum along (the futon song)'
And I'd give away this futon that I never understood
How I thought I'd ever like it
Futons are as hard as wood
I miss my waterbed
It was an old one
It had a heater
I liked the motion
It let me sleep late
It kept my feet warm
I'll never be hip
I am a moron
I don't know Budda
I don't like whole wheat
I don't like hard beds
I don't want cold feet
I love dark coffee
I may love Jesus
I need the caffeine
I don't miss you much
Please take these tea bags
For a compress
They'll ease the swelling
They'll ease the redness
You're gonna need them
You have a futon
It's like a flat rock
And you're a moron
You could be here now
On this waterbed
You'd like the m-motion
You could be here instead
jams - I hope so too. Sitting on the floor doesn't agree with me at all.
ReplyDeletecr - I know it will but it's quite aggravating nevertheless. Camera is a good idea and I'll try to remember to carry it more often but the truth is we always return home with our hands full.
steve - I did find a nice art supply store yesterday so may start some drawings too. Thanks for the good wishes - futon and internet both essential.
sera - Surprisingly enough we found the futon (at least at this early stage) to be more comfortable than some of the hotel beds we slept in. Hampton Inn was too cushy, Algo Inn was too weird, Best Western was blah, but the Hotel Universale and the Cambridge Inn Suites were just right. It's best to have your own bed in your own place after a trip like that one.
The song is good and I have slept on futons well past their sell by date. My Sealy is the one I'm really waiting for but nobody ever wrote a song about it.
wow, hear your frustrations and you're the queen of cool headed...heehee....ah well, truckers will be.. you know..too bad they aren't ice truckers, then maybe they'd go a little faster to get your stuff across the frozen tundra:)
ReplyDeleteafter the unavoidable delays-not counting the ones already happened-do you suppose you'll be properly moved in by say, halloween??
yes, kvetch away, dear, just kvetch kvetch kvetch ♥
sorry- i was a little under the weather or i would have been here sooner to cheer you to no end!xo
As you say, this is the place for bitching. Bitch away! I am glad you have a place to sit and cable. This is progress. And as a person who has known what it is to live without her stuff, I have to say that good things can come from that empty space.
ReplyDeletexox
"I'd like to vacuum the carpet." shudder. i'm afraid for your sanity.....
ReplyDeletei've lived without a vacuum for.... um..... years..... can't stand the things.... and i like you enough to answer the phone at 5 a.m. ...'course, i'm usually up then anyway...... the worst has to be over with now.... it's gonna get better - how could it not, in such a beautiful city?
linda - Were you thinking American hallowe'en or Canadian? Just kidding - they are both the same but I'm kind of hoping things will show improvement by Canadian Thanksgiving which is Oct. 12th - Columbus Day.
ReplyDeleteI was ready for some major disruption but not that it would go on so long :-)
belette - I don't feel completely myself if I can't start a project or consult my books and now I've had enough empty space to last me years. Waaah! I miss Powells!
See? I can bitch.
gfid - You're right - I don't usually long to vacuum so that means there must be something off about my thought processes. Still, it's impossible to live in carpetted apartments without owning one.
Of course it's going to get better and really, it's not that bad now. How about if I called you at 4am?
Whoopee for wifi.
ReplyDeleteI'm still smiling to myself about the last line in your previous post...the one about all this being a trip. Sure sounds like it. :)