Here In Arizona
Finally obtained some Internet access (at a library) and here I am with a quick update.
OryCon was a welcome break to packing. Saying goodbye was a little more awkward than I had expected. Didn't seem like we were leaving at all, seemed like there would be another Con around the corner and we'd be seeing these very same people. There is a good chance that we will be seeing them at a Con, but we are now at the opposite end of the country. Still missed out on seeing a lot of people at the convention, in particular some fellow Eugene residents. Where the hell was everyone? It was great to attend devonmonk 's book launch party. We got a picture and autograph and everything!
The movers that loaded the piano and most of the boxes on Monday morning were great. Seemed like we might be on the road by noon. Alas, the last ten percent plus the cleaning took hours. If frightens me to think of how long it would have been without some wonderful help from floatingtide . She was great. In fact, when we would shout at the ceiling "Whose idea was this anyway?" she said we could blame her only after she was gone and we were on the road. Well, we never had the heart to blame the idea on her.
We didn't get on the road until four in the afternoon. The apartment didn't get a thorough cleaning so we don't expect much back in the way of the deposit. We drove until Reno, Nevada where we stayed with a friend and former Wordo, Brian Wade. We got there around one or two in the morning. It was great to visit with Brian for awhile and I would never regret that, even though we got a late start on Tuesday morning.
We drove through the Nevada desert on Tuesday, through obnoxious Las Vegas lit up in the night, through the Hoover Dam. Security is tight at the Hoover Dam. We had to open the back and be inspected before driving over the damn. I'll always remember the line from the security officer as he points his flashing light at our stacks of boxes and junk (already informed that we were moving) and says, "So, what do you have in here?"
We arrived in Phoenix at two am Wednesday morning. X and I switched driving every two hours. Sometimes a little longer. This was a great way to do it. We were able to get some sleep between shifts. And to comfort the cats.
The cats, in fact, seemed to know that we had reached the end of the road at my brother's place in Chandler. Back in Reno, when we let them out at Brian's place they had been freaked and cautious. In Chandler, they relaxed. They were a little more normal. Some how they knew by our body language that we had arrived. They no longer had to ride in a carrier in a cab of a truck.
We caught up on sleep over the next couple of days. Felt some jet lag on Thanksgiving. Mom is doing well and we're ready to help out in any way needed.
Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. X will be going to a temp agency tomorrow and I'll be writing in the morning. It will be good to get back into some kind of routine.
More to report later!