2002-03-04 - 8:46 a.m.
A Passage Through Fire; Paradise on the Other Side!

*glancing at clock* Wow. It's still a quarter to eight, and I'm at my desk already? Weird. I was on autopilot this morning, doing all my get-ready routine at about the same time as usual, except that I only had to drive maybe 3 miles this morning instead of 15. Amazing what a difference that makes in the commute times. *grin*

Saturday was the Day From Hell. (Ready for a saga?) We lounged about, got up at 10am, and ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then we went and scoped out some furniture for Mom at the local used furniture store, and picked up a used washer and dryer for the apartment. By that time it was around noon, so we decided we'd better get going.

I already had my few boxes of "room stuff" packed -- the few necessary items and clothing we un-packed after moving down from Tigard. In my mind, since almost everything was still packed, and all the furniture was sitting heaped in one place in the shop, it was going to be a simple thing to move again ... a couple of trips with Mom's van full of boxes, the clothes and loose stuff in Azash's car and mine, and the furniture crammed into the enormous sixties-vintage Ford pickup and its trailer. I even told Dad not to worry, Azash and I could make more trips with the truck ourselves, so he didn't have to cram everything in first try.

Well, he did anyway. It's a good thing there aren't any low overpasses between Dallas and Salem, because he actually stood my bed on end in the trailer! Everything was piled and crammed, with the mattresses tied on top, so wedged together that nothing could shift an inch, even if it wanted to. A twin bed, a full bed, a large table, several chairs, a couch, several small tables, some bookshelves, two dressers, the washer and dryer, desks ... the list goes on. I was totally amazed. Dad is a jigsaw genius.

There was just one small problem. The truck picked Saturday to have issues with its electronic module. This was a surprise to us, because it worked fine when we were tooling around town earlier in the day. We were making a four-vehicle train out of town, when the truck started stalling around the city limits. Azash didn't notice and kept going, but Mom and I pulled over in the Baptist church parking lot with Dad and watched him fiddle with the carburetor and whatnot. He thought there was too much water in the gas, and the tank was nearly empty, so Mom said she'd ride home with me to fetch the gascan.

That was a trip to remember. My car was packed full except for the driver's seat, so Mom had to wedge herself in somehow, obviously not buckled in, and we got stares all the way back to the house, maybe a four-mile drive. Got the gascan. It had to go behind my seat, which pushed me forward so my knees were about touching the steering wheel. Not Fun! Got the jumper cables in case Dad ran the battery down trying to start the truck. Consoled the dog, who had been miserable all day ... I swear, that pup knows exactly what all that packing activity meant. Drove back to Dad, delivered the stuff.

He made it maybe another quarter-mile before the truck died again, so I finally decided to just go on, because Azash was probably really worried by then; it had been forty-five minutes since he left us behind. I made it to the apartment, but he had already unloaded and gone back. So I unloaded, and called Dad on the cell; he was stranded again, but Mom and Azash were on their way with their cars, and I should wait for them.

Unloaded their vehicles. Observed the late-afternoon sun and started to swear. Drove back. By this time, Dad was onto the electronic module problem, but swapping it out with the two spares didn't produce any benefit ... it died again not very far from the house. Calling several friends with trucks didn't get us anywhere, so Dad went to fetch Granddad's little pickup so we could at least pull the trailer. Then he had a bright idea ... we had another ancient Ford sitting around, nearly the same, but in a lot worse shape physically. Dad filched the electronic module out of that truck, put it in the packed one, and voila! Working truck!

It was nightfall by then, so Azash and I picked up dinner and we ate. Everyone was sore and exhausted and really, really short on nerves, but the food helped a little. Then we took off for the apartment, at last, at last. One of the tie-down cables came loose on the way and we almost lost a mattress--let me tell you, following a truck with a wildly flopping mattress makes for a very alarming journey--but we made it.

It was very late before we had everything unpacked. We left most of it in the garage, put the beds and dressers in place, and crashed hard. I got at least ten hours' sleep and still felt like I'd been run over by a garbage truck when I got up.

Sunday, however, was much, much better. We got the new desks and bookshelves (Walmart vintage) put together, shifted all the furniture into place, unpacked the kitchen and the bathroom, and generally began turning the duplex into a home. I even got all my books out ... I'd forgotten I had so many, since I haven't had enough shelves to house them all in forever. I'll have to inventory them all someday and post the list. I have at least 600 books, if not more.

Funny thing. Somewhere around 8:00pm last night, I started feeling much better. I was up until 1:00am sorting the books and shelving them, and I only got around 5 hours of sleep, but I feel much more energized today than I did yesterday. *grin* I'm loving this new place. I really am.

And on that note, I'd better get to work. Blessings, everyone!

--Shell