Blazin' Moves

First of all, here's a pic I took this morning on the highway as I was on my ridiculously-and-unnecessarily(stupid LA traffic!)-long drive in to work this morning (don't worry, traffic was stopped when I took it, no reckless driving here):
See how the sky fades into a pinky brown at the bottom? No, the sun wasn't rising. Rather, that's smoke from the fires. I heard that over 200 homes are gone at this point.

For living in paradise as we do in SoCal, there are some pretty huge prices that are paid for that perfect weather, I think. I can only imagine how those who woke up to a normal day on Friday and are now without houses and all the possessions in them, 3 days later, can feel. Please pray for them and send positive thoughts/energy, I will be...

Now, on another, less important note, I moved. this. weekend.

Aaarrrgh! There, that was my textual primal scream. I feel a lot better.

Let me explain. Usually, I like moving. I feel it thrilling, and I especially love that last drive away, when you are leaving your own world behind and driving into the unknown. I think it's incredibly freeing and exciting.

But.

In order for me to really get the most out of this kind of excitement, a few "givens" have to be in place. Ok, to amend, not "givens" for everyone. Just givens for me. As I learned this weekend. One of them is, I dunno, packing your stuff, maybe?

I love my sister. She has a dizzying intellect, and she has the most organized thoughts of anyone I know (don't talk to her about grammar. You'll walk away with a headache, I promise). However, actually, physically, organized? Not so much. (I love you M, but it's true! And you know it.) On her last move, her pseudo-family (a.k.a skydiving buddies) got to her house and saw that nothing had been packed. As in, nothing at all. Perfectly lived-in. So they, being the hyperactive go-getters that they are, moved her. In garbage bags. (I can hear some of you cringing). She STILL hasn't found some of her stuff.

This time, it was better. She was kind of packed and had already moved some stuff in her car here and there (the new townhouse is by her work). However, yes, her room was one of the last ones packed. She just has a lot of stuff! Which is awesome when you need to borrow something :) , but not awesome for moving.

Anyway, we moved. And there's a lot more that goes into it. Imagine lost U-Haul dealerships, magical hidden streets that supposedly have a police station (to buy overnight parking permits for the U-Haul), disgusting thai food that makes everyone sick, movies that give you nightmares (Apocalypto rocks, but make sure you can see it to the end before a sleep is scheduled), Los Angeles traffic, ashes falling like snow at the new house, no place for the U-Haul at said house so having to park it halfway into the tiny overpopulated street (I bet our neighbors love us already), bathrooms that will need to be completely disassembled (I'll unpack...next week?), no ceiling fixtures anywhere which we discover as the sun's setting, staircases that are homicidal, and a new neighbor, oh no, I mean disgustingly awesomely huge banana spider that hangs out in the tiny tree in front of the house, sitting eye level with me as I climb out of my car-

"What does that thing eat?"

"Small aircraft."

-and my favorite, "hot" water that never gets hotter than warm. I was awake this morning in the shower, that's fo sho!

And winding up right smack dab in a Monday. I need a nap.

But, I will say, that T was great. He jumped right in, moved furniture, did things that were not fun like clean out the fridge (ew), then help carry the monstrosity of it to and from the truck, find little things that we surely would have left behind, vacuum (without being asked! Wow!) and on top of everything, also comfort me, in between carrying in furniture and who knows what else, when I was overwhelmed. Amazing. Just sayin.

M's friend Jeff with Santa's sack -oh no- I mean a "box" of M's stuff:

M's skydiving dad Mark, M, and Terry in the old kitchen:



T and I on a slurpee hunt mid-move (they make everything better):
And finally, the shot of the evening - our first meal in the new house! We're in what was soon-to-become my new bedroom, watching a movie on my laptop and eating Peruvian food. I'd never had it so was unaware that there would be squid involved. I'm a sushi lover, but I'm sorry, those little suction cup thingies just freak me out.


Have a great week! Stay away from weird ocean animals that are smart enough to learn how to unscrew a jar to get the treat inside (true story, I saw it on the Discovery channel). Wait, if they're smart, and you are what you eat, shouldn't I have been shoveling those bad boys down? Ugh, sorry, can't do it. I'll have to stay dumb :)