10 Feet & 19 Hours: Misconceptions & Miscalculations About Moving

Having never undertaken a move of this scale before, you can understand that I was bound to make a few mistakes and miscalculations...

1. I have an average amount of items for someone of my age, income, and social status.
OK, so we all know this is just flat-out denial. Luckily I have 2 very intelligent & generous parents who took one look at my piles of boxes & ordered a bigger truck (even though it cost over twice as much).



2. There's not much difference between 15 feet and 25 feet.
The difference is: a nightstand, 3 tables, 1 queen size bed, 20 rolled posters, 2 scratching posts, 2 sewing machines, 4 kitchen chairs, 6 cases of water, 1 couch, & 20 small boxes.



3. Your pets love you unconditionally.
My cats tried to give me the benefit of the doubt for the first 3 hours of the drive. Then they just gave me the stinkeye.



4. Cats don't care where they go as long as they're with you.
I no longer believe this. Sophie literally stayed under the covers for 4 days and is just now checking out a few things around the house. (Grace only stayed under the covers for 2 days.)

5. Time is universal.
Q: If a Toyota Corolla with 2 cats is traveling at 80mph & a 25' moving van is traveling at 65mph, at what point does the Corolla's driver realize that her parents won't make the trip in the 14 hours she averages?
A: Utah

6. Strength of emotional attachment to a place is directly proportional to number of years residing there.
Panorama City sucks. On the other hand, I fell in love with Big Pink before I ever laid eyes on her. Go Pink!

7. My house will be sparkling clean & ready for my arrival.
That was actually more of a hope than an expectation. In reality, the place hadn't been touched in many months (years, in some spots) & someone had broken one of the porch steps. On a scale of 1 to 10, the gross-out factor was a solid 7. I'm thinking of nominating my mom for sainthood for cleaning the bathroom floor & the kitchen. My dad, meanwhile, made sure I remained a mortal by fixing the woodstove that had been put together wrong, supplying fresh air by releasing my painted windows, & checking the root cellar for any evidence of the Worm Lady.



8. I'll feel like a True Blue Coloradan as soon as I get there.
I didn't cry the entire trip until I crossed the Colorado State Line. It's definitely where I'm supposed to be at this moment, but I feel like an imposter. A Californian in Coloradan's clothing. Right now I feel like I won't be a true Coloradan until I know everyone in Norwood & at least 1/2 of Telluride. (And until my local number works!) That my take a while...

9. It will be good for me to not have to go to work right away.
You know, most people learn to enjoy unemployment. Not me. If I don't have a steady job to go to, I panic. Don't get me wrong--I'm busy. I've got a ton of cleaning, painting, and unpacking to do. But I need to be steady on someone else's payroll or I'll go crazy.

10. I'm an independent spirit & won't be lonely.
When I said good-bye to my folks at the airport, that was the lonliest I'd felt in a long time. Being cut off from the world due to lack of phone and internet service doesn't help, but I'm going to work on meeting 1 new person a day. And I've always got my chocolate cake lady to say "hi" to (except on weekends & holidays).

I can never thank my mom & dad, Jenny, Carolina, & Phil enough for helping load and unload the MegaVan. There's NO way I could have done it without you.

Love you all and miss you!!!

p.s. Fourth of July was a blast! Check out the pictures below!

Men Without Rhythm:
(That's Norman Schwarzkopf in the khaki, judging the parade.)

Belles of Popcorn Alley (featuring my new manager, Luci!):

The cover of a magazine,
nothing but a paper dream
Just another fantasy for sale
Telling me what I need,
what I should do
Who I should be
That stuff don't matter to me at all

The sky is blue and
the sun is shining
I feel like a bum
with a pocket full of diamonds
I'm free as a bird
and my spirit's flyin'
And that's enough to keep me
Smilin'

Guru man on my TV set
Selling the secrets to happiness
1-800-Change your life today
Dreams I've got my own
I ain't looking for
a yellow brick road
I'm just gonna go
my own way.

--"Smilin'," Tim McGraw