We unpacked 40ish something boxes today.  I'm starting to really like the new place.  I LOVE the city.  I handled work questions off and on all day long.  I'm feeling good and productive and starting to relax and think that maybe, just MAYBE this thing is going to work out. 

My landlord from Colorado called and told me that she will be mailing my refund check tomorrow.  And that if I ever need a reference she'll be happy to give me one.  Oh, and that she will be in Albuquerque in a few months and wants to get together.  Pretty cool. 

I'm kind of afraid to pinch myself because it's going so well that if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.

Sigh

I'm here.  Mary and I rolled into town yesterdeay afternoon.  There was a problem with the paperwork at the apartment but they managed to get it all sorted out just about ten minutes before the movers arrived, but not until after I was ready to burst into tears.  I'm very glad I wasn't alone.

Just in case you didn't know this, having someone who loves you standing there makes a HUGE difference in the way you're able to deal with trials and tribulations.  I got a lot of positive feedback on my driving skills.  It was nerve-wracking for me.  I was scared of the brakes, scared that any kind of turn would make the load shift and damage the truck, my stuff, and my confidence to the ability that we would be stranded by the side of the road.  Mary says that I worry too much. 

She may be right.

I backed that 26 foot truck into a parking space at the apartment complex so it would be close for the guys to unload it.  Did you really get that and absorb the truth of it?  I backed a 26 foot truck into a parking space.  me.  The person who has personally and singlehandedly backed more vehicles into other vehicles and stationary objects than any other person who swims in the gene pool from which I came.  And rest assured, the other swimmers constantly remind me, make jokes, and otherwise refuse to let these little incidents die.  But were ANY of them on hand to notice that I backed a 26 foot truck into a parking space?  No.

Oh well.

I'm feeling good about this. 

I'm not feeling so good about the fact that I didn't get all the unpacking done today.  Well, I did have a good time.  Mary and I ALWAYS have fun together.  She laughed almost as much as me. 

We'll get more done tomorrow. 

(I just read this aloud to Mary to show her how prominently she figured in my blog of the day.  She says, yes, except for the part that was all about you.  Well, that's kind of true.  But the truth is that all that's good in my life for this whole weekend has been because I've been in the presence of unconditional love.  And that may sound really sappy, but it's the truth. I wouldn't have even tried these things without that foundation.  So even if it seems like it's about me, look a little deeper.)

Yikes

When I went to pick up the truck, they didn't have the size I needed so they "upgraded" me to the largest truck they have. Holy Hannah. I don't know if I can drive this thing. it's considerably bigger than any truck I've driven before, AND there's a tow dolly with my car.

The men are coming this morning to load it. I had a conversation last night with the move coordinator that was interesting. She started with a rather bored voice telling me all the stuff I'd need to have on hand so the guys could get me loaded properly. And some of it confused me.

"Why do I need 5 dozen blankets?"

"It takes a lot to protect your pictures and lamps."

"I already packed all that stuff."

"How?"

"I broke down boxes, cut them to just barely fit the pictures and then taped them up. PLus, I'm planning to lay that stuff down in the back of the car so it won't be in the truck anyway."

Long silence

"I'm getting the impression you've moved before."

*************

okay peeps - I'll be seeing you from the place where the sun sets soon

(New internet connection supposed to be installed on Sunday.)

Hugs

To my "friend"

I received another invitation to be "friends" with someone, so I clicked the link to see who this person was.  I'd never noticed a comment from anyone with that name and I'd never visited that site before so it was a matter of curiosity.  Who would ask to befriend someone they don't know at all.

In cyberspace, the "real" rules of friendship don't apply.  I understand that.  There is no passing through casual acquaintance to a place of mutual understanding and shared pleasures.  There is no commitment or loyalty.  But still, shouldn't the word "friend" mean something more than entry into a cast of thousands?  Shouldn't there be something that you would like about the other person?  Or some shared interest to give a semblance of mutuality?

The person who sent me the invitation obviously doesn't know anything about me nor do I care to know anything more about her than I learned in a half hour of clicking through blogs and comments displayed like so much unclean underwear on that site.

The ostensible theme of the blog was "spiritual exploration" but the overt reality was that it's dedicated to attacking and attempting to ridicule Christianity.  Now I want to be very clear here, I am a Christian.  Compared with various mainstream theological schools, I'm a little bit odd in my leaning.  (And I'm sure that many if called upon to examine my views would call me a heretic outright.)  I'm not going to get into the particulars here.  But suffice it to say that I have a very open view of God, of the soteriologicial sufficiency of grace through faith, and that grace leads to virtue rather than virtue calling grace. 

Yesterday I saw a license plate on a racy little convertible "GRRRACE" and I loved that.  I know a little about the man who drives that car and it might be that one day I'll write something of his story.

But that's a tangent.

What I do not believe in is attacking the beliefs of other people.  I don't believe in using fallacious or ad hominen attacks to attempt to ridicule beliefs with which I don't agree.  And I don't believe in practicing any kind of vicious, disrespectful, degrading, or otherwise unpleasant "dialogue."  And frankly, I believe that anyone who resorts to such has already lost the argument.  So I have nothing to say at that point. 

If you desire to engage me in a conversation, I'm up for that.  I'm even up for that kind of intense discussion of doctrinal points which can rightly be termed an argument in the strict definition of the term.  But I have no time to waste with people who have nothing better to do than sit around and shout slurs at each other.  And btw, I include in that group some of the "christian" (and yes I deliberately used a little c) groups who espouse hate and exclusion toward other groups of people.

My view is that anytime you identify yourself with a "group" you are in danger of forgetting that such distinctions are artificial and always to some degree arbitrary.  Certainly there are groups within the family of man, but we are all part of the same larger family.  And I find it really tiresome that some of the brothers and sisters can't seem to find a way to avoid squabbling at the table instead of just enjoying the banquet spread before them. 

And having said all that, I'm declining to join in friendship with the person who contacted me yesterday.  I have no ill-will toward her.  But I'm not interested in reading any more of the nastiness perpetuated there under the banner of "open" discussion.

Moving Philosophically -

I'm down to about four boxes of books that need to be donated to the Friends of the Library.  I have a basket of clothes that just came out of the laundry to be packed.  And then there are odds and ends.  Decorative items and so forth like that.  A few pictures left on the wall, and that's about it.

Well, and my computer.  I'll pack that last because I plan to pay bills on Friday.

Anyway, soon it should look like that the Who's House in Whoville after the Grinch came to call. 

As much as I dislike moving, WHY do I do it so much?!?

That's a serious question.  There are lots of things I do that either I don't enjoy at the time, or I don't enjoy the results.  But I keep doing them.  I over eat.  I move from one house to another.  I buy things I don't need and then wonder where my money went.  I defend myself to people who's good opinion I neither respect nor desire.  (You know the ones I mean, if they like you it's because you're entertainment never because you're a real person to them.) 

Why do I do these things??

I have way too much stuff.

Harry Potter Opinion

... now that the series is concluded we can look back and see the entire thing as hindsight.  Were there problems with it?  certainly.  But in the end, wow.  The themes, the story, the adventure, the philosophy ... we'll be talking about this one for years.  And rightly so, it's an impressive feat. 

I think Tokien would have certainly sniffed about some of the prose.  But he would have been very impressed with the story-telling. 

Well done, Joanne.  Well done.

Mostly Dead -

that's would be the long list of things that have to be done for this move. I know I want to buy a house, but I'm thinking that after this, unless they want to double my rent next year I need to just stay put for a while. Moving is a pain I could live without.

Easily live without

So how was your weekend?

10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7 ...

Lines are forming all over the world in anticipation of 12:01 - the witching hour.  Hour that the final Harry Potter book will be released.  Do you have your copy on reserve?

Speculation about the series conclusion has been a matter of grave sport on the internet for months.  Snape, friend or foe?  (I'm gonna come down at the last minute and vote for friend because foe is really obvious, but I'm also gonna guess that he dies in this final book.  I know that if I were Rowling, I'd kill him.)

After 10 years and millions of words - a few even written outside the books, what is left to say?

I'll say that after having avoided the books for several years on the recommendation of people who warned of spiritual malfeasance, I picked up a copy of the first one.  I was not only pleasantly surprised by the story, I was heartily disillusioned by the people who had given me "solid" information including supposed quotes from the books that simply were not there.  I'm never impressed with someone who argues badly and lying about your opponent is about the worst argument I can imagine.

So I read the book.  And then the second.  And then the third.  Sure there are sections of clunky prose (most of book five) and sometimes the pacing is off, but overall they are good reads.  Of course, I want more from a book than a quick read and Rowling delivered.  Sometimes heavy handedly but her philosphy and her grasp of psychology have been really delightful.  Her 12 year olds really did seem like 12 year olds.  And they have grown each year in ways that reveal subtle but effective passage through their teen years.  That's an authorial feat I admire. 

The stories themselves are mythic.  They make the journey laid out in Joseph Campbell's "Hero of a Thousand Faces" and are replete with literary references from Homer to Shakespeare, the Bible, and Beatrix Potter.  How cool is that? 

Early critics were unhappy that sometimes Harry and his friends chose the lesser path as when Hagrid gives Dudley a pig tale in the opening of the tale or when Harry blows up his Aunt in the third book.  Well, I like it that they don't always do the right thing.  I don't always do the right thing.  And it makes a better story in my eyes to have real people making less than stellar choices along the way but doing the right thing when it comes down to to the big moments of their lives. 

There have been some spoilers posted on the internet already.  Famously a couple of newspapers posted reviews on Wednesday and Thursday.  I'm not much put off by that, I'd read the book even if I already knew the ending just to see how Rowling handles getting us there.  

But I'll be reading it tomorrow.  My book is on a UPS delivery truck that's probably idling around the corner from my house as we speak so that it can be delivered first thing in the morning.  Tonight, I'll be packing.  I've already disassembled the boys' beds (at least in terms of the bedding) and got their matresses in plastic wrap.  I've set myself a goal to finish filling 10 boxes tonight.  So I'd better get back to it. 

Too bad I don't have one of those wand thingies ...

I love Dawn

It's one of the many perks of being an early riser.  The view from my bedroom window is often breathtaking in the early hours as the sun rises over the prairie.  I have one week of these views left then I'm moving to the other side of the mountain.  I'll be going where the sunsets are spectacular and light up the pink granite of the mountains so they look like watermelons in the late evening rays.  That's where they get their name, Sandia being the Spanish word for watermelon.  I'll be living just below the Sandia peaks. 

My cousin, Tim who used to live in Albuquerque has been visiting Colorado Springs for the past week.  We discovered quickly that the apartments he lived in are directly across the street from the apartments I'll be moving into.  He's told me that he loved living there, given me tips about his favorite places and things to do in Alb, and I'm ready to explore based on his suggestions. 

This weekend is going to be a big one for me.  My best friend has already braced for the fact that I'm likely to wear myself completely out with the packing and is ready to deal with the whining that will follow.  I'm really lucky to have the friends I have. 

I've packed backward this time.  I usually start with the stuff I absolutely cannot live without and then about halfway through I start donating stuff that seems like too much trouble to Goodwill.  This year I started the donations first.  So now I have a whole bunch of stuff about which there is no question, it has to be packed and it has to fit on the truck. 

I've gone over my budget for this move and then double checked it for a 10th 11th and 12th time.  If I'm right and I've thought of everything, I have exactly $15 more in my savings account than I'm actually going to need.  How's that for a comfortable margin! 

Comfy or not, I'm ready to ride off into the light of the setting sun.