(no subject)
So the move went well. We drove about 3/4 of the way on Sunday, making it to Mobile, AL before stopping for the night. From Mobile to Baton Rouge was only about a 3 hour drive Monday morning so we actually got the whole truck unpacked Monday. That left Tuesday for recovery, some necessary shopping, and setting up the TV and computer. I also did some unpacking of boxes.
The cats did pretty well on the trip. They were quite traumatised, of course, and I honestly thought I had lost Róisín the day we loaded the truck. I'd gotten Robin and Siobhán shut in the bathroom and tried to get Róisín there too but she got away from me and when I went looking for her in all the hiding places I knew of, I couldn't find her anywhere. But I did find that the hole in the floor that is part of the dryer hookup system was uncovered. And it led down into the foundation. I crawled around under there too, but didn't see her. Then again, there were ways for her to have gotten out from under there as well, and finally I had to give up and start moving the furniture. I was hoping against hope to find her behind something as we moved it but was starting to believe she'd gotten outside and I'd never see her again when we go to move the dresser and she shoots out from under it. The dresser is closed on 3 sides and only open in the back, so I didn't even know there was space under it, but that's where she was so I herded her into the bathroom and the rest of the packing went smoothly. My plants survived the trip as well, so I'll just have to see if they survived this week.
The new apartment is even more lovely than I remembered it being. We spent portions of Tuesday rearranging the furniture, so all of the big pieces are actually in what I think will be their final positions. That just leaves a bunch of boxes to unpack and things to put away, but not much else.
Wednesday morning I flew back to Baltimore for my brother's high school graduation, which was wonderful. He didn't know I was coming, so it was good to surprise him. And it was a lovely service. His school (all boys) graduated in white tuxes rather than graduation robes and boy does that boy look good in a tux. My parents raised some damn fine looking kids. We had the big party with all the relatives on Saturday, which was very nice. I got to see some people I hadn't seen in quite a while. Yesterday my brother and I had a bonding day -- went out and saw Episode III (which was actually pretty good), and then went to dinner at a fancy steakhouse that my grandmother gave us a gift certificate too. He's still too far on the conservative side for me, but he's not mean about it anymore, which is nice.
Anyway, today is my last day in Baltimore. My flight back to Baton Rouge leaves late this afternoon, and I'll get in around quarter to 9 Central Time, which will feel like quarter to 10 to me. I had a pet sitting service come in and check on the cats a few times while I was gone, but I won't be happy until I see for myself that they're all right. I'll probably take Robin in to the vet tomorrow just to have him checked out and make sure all the stress of moving hasn't caused him to relapse again. The problem with the whole urinary tract thing is that it can develop into a dangerous blockage without any really obvious signs to let me know, and since his behaviour is eratic from the move anyway, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between still settling in behaviour and sick behaviour.
The internet people are coming tomorrow morning to set stuff up, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back online and can start catching up on email and such. I start working on the 16, so I'll basically have about 10 days to get my apartment straightened out and get all the administrative type stuff done that I have to do -- DMV, bank accounts, etc.
So much time, so little to do.
Strike that, reverse it.
The cats did pretty well on the trip. They were quite traumatised, of course, and I honestly thought I had lost Róisín the day we loaded the truck. I'd gotten Robin and Siobhán shut in the bathroom and tried to get Róisín there too but she got away from me and when I went looking for her in all the hiding places I knew of, I couldn't find her anywhere. But I did find that the hole in the floor that is part of the dryer hookup system was uncovered. And it led down into the foundation. I crawled around under there too, but didn't see her. Then again, there were ways for her to have gotten out from under there as well, and finally I had to give up and start moving the furniture. I was hoping against hope to find her behind something as we moved it but was starting to believe she'd gotten outside and I'd never see her again when we go to move the dresser and she shoots out from under it. The dresser is closed on 3 sides and only open in the back, so I didn't even know there was space under it, but that's where she was so I herded her into the bathroom and the rest of the packing went smoothly. My plants survived the trip as well, so I'll just have to see if they survived this week.
The new apartment is even more lovely than I remembered it being. We spent portions of Tuesday rearranging the furniture, so all of the big pieces are actually in what I think will be their final positions. That just leaves a bunch of boxes to unpack and things to put away, but not much else.
Wednesday morning I flew back to Baltimore for my brother's high school graduation, which was wonderful. He didn't know I was coming, so it was good to surprise him. And it was a lovely service. His school (all boys) graduated in white tuxes rather than graduation robes and boy does that boy look good in a tux. My parents raised some damn fine looking kids. We had the big party with all the relatives on Saturday, which was very nice. I got to see some people I hadn't seen in quite a while. Yesterday my brother and I had a bonding day -- went out and saw Episode III (which was actually pretty good), and then went to dinner at a fancy steakhouse that my grandmother gave us a gift certificate too. He's still too far on the conservative side for me, but he's not mean about it anymore, which is nice.
Anyway, today is my last day in Baltimore. My flight back to Baton Rouge leaves late this afternoon, and I'll get in around quarter to 9 Central Time, which will feel like quarter to 10 to me. I had a pet sitting service come in and check on the cats a few times while I was gone, but I won't be happy until I see for myself that they're all right. I'll probably take Robin in to the vet tomorrow just to have him checked out and make sure all the stress of moving hasn't caused him to relapse again. The problem with the whole urinary tract thing is that it can develop into a dangerous blockage without any really obvious signs to let me know, and since his behaviour is eratic from the move anyway, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between still settling in behaviour and sick behaviour.
The internet people are coming tomorrow morning to set stuff up, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back online and can start catching up on email and such. I start working on the 16, so I'll basically have about 10 days to get my apartment straightened out and get all the administrative type stuff done that I have to do -- DMV, bank accounts, etc.
So much time, so little to do.
Strike that, reverse it.