The Next Step

Friday, May 2, 2008

The past three days have been an emotional roller coaster.


I have a lot to do at work. I needed to clear out the rest of my cabinets, my work station, my desk and a 2-drawer credenza. On Wednesday I spent a lot of time talking to people who were surprised to see me, etc., so that cut drastically into my "getting things done time". But I did make progress! Pat Winnie even commented on it. A witness is always a good thing.

I went over to harass the boys (Jaime and Frank) and when I left their room it hit me that I won't be doing that any more, and the tears started. Then I was just a breath away from crying for the rest of the day.

Once I left work I had the same thing to do at home. Try to pull together all the stuff I'm taking to Oregon so the packers can pack it. I absolutely am taking my craft armoire .. but I had to clear a path for them to get into the room so they could pack it! With my emotions stretched to the breaking point I was absolutely worn out and ready to sleep the minute I got home. So, while I was making progress, it wasn't much. And the movers were coming on Friday!!

Friday morning -- a good thing I got up early. Mover was going to be here between 8 and 8:30. He showed up at 7:45. I showed him the kitchen table piled with stuff and the pile in the living room. Pointed out the armoire in the guest room (a path had been cleared!) and said I also have 2 big boxes of books as well as my hanging clothes. He started right in with packing it all up. Said he's been doing this for 40 years! He didn't look that old but it turns out he's going to be 60 on Wednesday. Maybe it's because they're my age that old people don't look old anymore.

I was worried about the armoire because it's custom-made and VERY heavy. Fortunately, the company did a screw up and sent another team to do the packing! They had another job to go to but they stayed to help Johnny and they got the armoire packed and dismantled in no time. They were done by 11:30 so I was able to go in to the office and finish up.

Another emotional day. Trish Hall had cut out various sized hearts in different colors and had them spread all over the floor by my desk and scatter on my desk top. Along with balloons, a card and a beautiful heart necklace -- yep, you guessed it. More tears! I hadn't had time to do my hair or put on any makeup which was probably a good thing.

At the end of the day Barb (God bless you!) came in when she was off work and helped me clear out the last of the mess. A lot of file folders to empty, which is time consuming when you have to open all the clasps first. We filled one shredding bin and several trash cans. I still need to go in tomorrow morning to pack up the rest of the stuff I want shipped to the new office. Carol and I are going to take some of the silk plants that Bruce and I snagged from the Hayward BCO when it closed.

A long 3 days. Worn out, exhausted. Cal and I decided to treat ourselves to Round Table pizza. LOVE their pizza. HATE their service. We always have a large 1/2 King Arthur, 1/2 Gourmet Veggie with NO onions. I make sure I emphatically stipulate no onions on the veggie side. Tell them it's an allergy .. sometimes that's the only way they'll listen. The phone person always gets it. Claim they write it in big letters. When it was delivered I said "check to make sure there are no onions". The light by the door wasn't working so we were trying to use the porch light and the delivery guy and I said it looks okay ... we paid, he left.

I'm getting my piece and DANG. There are green onions all over it. Alright. I can deal with this. Just scrape them off. But NO. That's not enough. They made sure to put red onions on as well and they're baked in under the cheese. Cal is ticked. He calls them to complain, so they're making another one. Another 45 minutes and it's almost 9:00 (I got home late). The same delivery guy comes back and I invite him in so he can see for himself that there are onions all over my veggie pizza. He's apologizing, and opens the new one. Onions on Cal's side .. and ... wait .. what's this?? The other side is mushrooms, olives and green peppers. NOT my gourmet veggie!! He said they are really swamped and that's probably why the screw up (except they do this every flippin' time!) so he's having them give us back our money (by not cashing the check .. huh, we'll see). So we end up with 2 pizzas for the price of none.

I'm exhausted and wrung out. I must have said goodbye to Lynda and Barb about 3 or 4 times with tears each time. I missed saying goodbye to several people (Pat W .. where were you?) and that made me cry too. So I'm off to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I need to get the rest of the work stuff packed for shipping and I need to pack my car. I also hope to have some time to run to Davis and spend time with Colin and Ellie. Getting my hair done at 11:30. On Sunday I just want to get up and go.

Take care everyone, and I'll keep you posted!