Saturday, June 24, 2017

Eastbound and down!

So the exodus has begun. Please please PLEASE go read Jennifer's post on this first (especially if you like to laugh).

First off, let me start with a tale of what Monterey was like the last 2 years...
1- It was 60*F
2- Alistair was born
3- I graduated

I think that sums up all the important stuff rather nicely

You want more than that? Well I guess I'll briefly expand on graduation (seems a little late to talk about Alistair at almost 2 years old...)

So I was at the Naval Post Graduate School getting a Masters in Applied Physics.
I know that make me sound really smart. Really it was more like this.
At the end of the day I had to do some actual science and wrote a 100 page thesis (with 60 pictures. I ain't that dumb). I wish I could tell you more about it but...
So with that all out of the way, it was time to move! And for some reason we decided to do it ourselves.

Like the saying goes "Never get involved in a land war in Asia"... oh and "Hindsight is 20/20"

Everyone says "You'll only do it once," but I think it is for different reasons than we found. 

First let me preface with I should have prepacked some things a little more. I openly admit that. Not that I didn't do any prepacking, I did, but who wants to do that when you have been writing a thesis all day and get home and everyone is already eating dinner? Responsible people that's who.

Its just hard to know what you are going to need and when, what to put in a box together, and where to put all the boxes and still live in the house etc. etc.
In retrospect, this is the obvious solution to "What do I do with the boxes?"
I feel like there would have been a lot of half packed things, like you could put away X&Y, but still need Z which really should be in the same box, so why put any of it away?

Because life would be easier that way, that's why Evan. Duh.

The next problem is we had limited time with our pods and needed to fill them TIGHT. I would say it is like a game of Tetris, but I distinctly remember that when I completed a row, it disappeared and I got more space.

This did not work like that. AT ALL. IT GOT HARDER. But I made it all fit. All those years of high school band operations paid off (more so than a masters in physics so far... that approach left me assuming the PODS were perfect spheres, all my stuff was mass less, and transporting everything was in a frictionless environment where everything operates as if it were a simple harmonic oscillator aka spring #icanusebigwordsifiwantto).

The next part of the issue is that when doing it your self, it all takes longer but all has to happen simultaneously IF you don't have everything prepacked... But if you were trying to live there still, prepacking EVERYTHING isn't an option. So you need to pack, load, live, pack, load, live on and on. This is so everything fits right and fills the pod, but you also don't find yourself without toilet paper or socks, or even worse things you need to move out like a drill, step stool, vacuum etc. etc. Then there is the stuff you just didn't get to in time on top of that... and it happens to all be sitting on the piece of furniture you need next or in the room you are trying to empty. Because the universe hates people moving.

This is where movers are beneficial. They may throw all your stuff in a box like it is a mid-court shot, but they at least do it all at once and they load it all the next day. None of this stretching it out junk. They are a brute squad.

When you do it yourself, you are the brute squad.
Oh, we also decided to clean ourselves. Because life isn't hard enough when you are moving. This kinda paid off though because our final "inspection" was more of a final "meh, good enough"... so that is $750 we didn't waste to have our housing community clean it.
In the end though, it all fit and we got loaded up and departed. In two separate cars. Because we are masochists apparently. Jennifer and the boys in her car. The dog and I in mine. Now I know that sounds unfair but
1- I do not have satellite radio. Case in point: driving through Sacremento Valley every radio station was in Spanish. Except the one talking about GeeSUHus.
2- I have a soft top jeep. Going over 60 mph...

3- My AC can't champ like hers. And it was literally 57 million degrees when I got to Fresno. And we are heading to places like Death Valley, White Sands, Grand Canyon, Houston etc. etc. Once more I feel like we must like pain.
Basically I imagine this is what the future of our trip will look like
Our convoy. Boys, once again, on the poles...
Ah, the wonders of the South West... so exciting!
But before that our first stop is Endor. Or Sequoia National Park. Same difference really.

But before that we have to deal with Gabe throwing up on our bed (mind you my first real bed in a few days. Days of back breaking labor) in our hotel room at 10 PM


1 comment:

  1. Even though I have A/C, there is none in the back seat. No tinted windows for us either, so I'm freezing in the front so the kiddos can breathe easily in the back. "Put on 'Trolls' CD!" "SING it Mom!"

    ReplyDelete