made it...barely.

so I've been here almost two weeks, and its borderline pathetic that this is my first post. we got all of our things last week, and internet last Friday, so its been a whirlwind of cardboard in these parts. but let's start at the beginning of this little journey, shall we?

I had the pleasure of flying out with KaliLou from Oakland airport. to say I was nervous would be the world's biggest understatement; I was petrified. you'll be shocked to learn that there were a few spreadsheets about the medication plan, the trial run, and timing on gameday. after the moving company packed up the boxes and all the tearful farewells were exchanged, Kal and I made our way to the gate, where we met up with an entire squealing gymnastics team...so that was fun. the monster was not happy. I was nervous about over-dosing her and equally anxious about under-dosing, and her adrenaline levels were high, so I tried to give her a little medical boost to put her at ease before boarding...

once on board, the fine residents of greater Oakland found any and every chance to complain about the cat. I understand that people have allergies, and had even asked the ground crew how I should proceed and where I should sit for the least disruptive experience for everyone on board. the other passengers were not at all accommodating or even respectful. they acted as if I'd brought on a plague, and weren't even willing to move seats to make things easier for themselves. they just wanted to bitch and moan and complain and make my experience (even more) difficult.

after some elevated stress, the flight attendants came to my rescue and mercifully didn't make me deplane, instead opting to stash KaliLou in her carrier in the wheelchair compartment in the back of the plane. air circulates from front-to-back and out, so allergies wouldn't be bothered so much. I would be allowed to check in on her periodically, and it would be cool and dark to help keep her calm...or so we hoped.

about 45 minutes into the four-hour flight, a flight attendant came to get me. Kal had been pacing in frantic circles in the carrier and her low howl was growing louder. we propped the door open, and I petted her through the small zipper to calm her down. once I was instructed back to my seat to wait out a bit of turbulence, I zipped 'er up and closed the compartment door. shortly thereafter, I heard the third flight attendant gasp because THE GD ANIMAL HAD BROKEN OUT OF HER CARRIER AND WAS TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE COMPARTMENT. tears. so many frustrated, embarrassed, fearful tears. I was certain they'd land the plan in rural Nebraska and ask us to leave and I'd be stuck in the wrong state with a pissed-off beast in a busted cage. the little bugger had used her nose to open/split the zippers (she's irritatingly smart.) and decided she still wasn't happy and an escape was the solution. I literally wrestled her back in the carrier, zipped it up, and tried my best to calm her. if that all wasn't enough, keep in mind how small the rear galley of a plane tends to be...and where the lavatory is located. terrrrrrrific.

things were...not going well. her adrenaline levels were too high, and the medication was no help in keeping her mellow. another flight attendant came back with a four-foot long, three-inch wide strip of what she called "nuclear tape" and suggested that we wedge some cocktail napkins in the door and tape it shut, so Kal could see/hear what was happening outside the compartment and keep her contained. after experimenting with the strength of the tape, I conceded and hoped for the best. we still had 2 hours left in the air, and I was beyond stressed. the flight attendants were so unbelievably helpful and kind, and even strongly suggested that I have a cocktail to chill out. I could see the compartment from my seat, and watched as Kal made snowflakes out of the napkins, but the tape thankfully held...

a windy landing had me sending subliminal messages to the little monster to lay down and stay calm. I have never felt so helpless and incapable in my life. after landing, we waited for the other (evil) passengers to deplane and brought up the rear. I'd texted Rob that we'd be the last off and he'd probably see the checked luggage before he saw us, so I'd meet him at baggage claim. our eyes met from the top of the escalator, and I burst into tears again. I was exhausted. Kali was exhausted. it felt like it'd never end...

we quickly poured into a cab and headed to our new little pad, with Kal whining periodically but happier that she should see/smell/feel Rob. rehashing the slightly-traumatic events of the flight brought a fresh new wave of tears...not quite the homecoming welcome I think Rob'd hoped to provide. we stumbled up our new stairs, through our new door, and let the beast out of her carrier. she sniffed around quickly, but because her adrenaline levels were dropping, the medication hit her suddenly ... drunk as a skunk. ironic as hell, ain't it?!

I still had a good deal of adrenaline coursing through my veins and was still upset, so I didn't sleep well. Friday night? slept like a l.o.g.

(sorry for the lack of pics - who'd want to have documented this strange torture, anyway?! pics to come in other, more pleasantly-themed, posts...)

real

I booked a one-way flight for myself and KaliLou last night. Thursday, February 9th is the official date of the big ol' move. Eeeeek.

My to-do list between now and then is a mile long. I may post it somewhere eventually to look back upon one day, but just know that it's boring and tedious stuff. It's mostly stuff that I hadn't actually even considered: buying a cover for my car? closing out my local safe deposit box? Blech. These things're actually no big deal in the grand scheme of things, really. The list just seems to get irritatingly longer every day.

In other news: Chicago got its first big snowstorm this week! Rob missed it while he's in Omaha for training, but it sure looks pretty in pics on other blogs from the comfort of my warm and cozy office:

not my pic, but I can't remember where I borrowed it from...sowwy.

I ordered some kick-the-shit-outta-the-snow boots last night too...legit gear is SO much of the battle. Function over fashion is quickly becoming my new mantra.

(PS: where the HELL is my funny, lately?! boring posts, be gone!)

kick-ass weekend recap

Friday

• found our couch on the world wide web and tried it out in person (SUCCESS!)
• got crafty: turned a regular ol' scarf into an infinity scarf/snood with a pair of scissors, the ability to tie a knot, and a little patience
  

Saturday

• my first good run in a while, even if it was <2.5 miles
• made our place sparkle
• ate Kel's delicious crock-pot jambalaya
• pre-game beer and football at a bar
• Sharks vs Capitals: row five. you hear that?! ROW. FIVE. it was so much fun...the game is so much faster and the guys are so much bigger when you're up that close. every time the Caps were on penalty, our section was in a heckling uproar. and they WON.

Sunday

• hit up the shooting range for my stepbro's birthday: it was my first time ever shooting a gun. it was so loud, it made me giggly at first. then I felt like a bad ass. fired a .22 pistol, 9mil, 40, 45, and a .22 rifle. I counted it as my workout to withstand any and all recoil.
• lounged around (hey look, I even blogged!)
• early to bed for some solid sleep

cool story, Hansel.

so this is really happening, huh...?

We have a place to live in Chicago!!! Its super cute, insanely central, and has all of the hundreds of things we wanted in one form or another. I've been dreaming of the shiny new stuff that we'll need to fill it up (we'll have not one, but TWO bedrooms. we're so fancy).

we'll be on the top floor...love the windows

Crazy, right?! Then, today, we bought a couch. For the first time ever, since all of our other couches were parentally-owned hand-me-downs/’rounds. We’ve never lived somewhere long enough or took my/our place seriously enough to plunk down serious cash before, so this feels like kind of a big deal. And while I’m at it…a small self-pat-on-the-back for us: since we’re living in different cities until I move out there, we each went to different stores in the same chain and tested couches separately with obvious success. But when it came to picking a color? We both get all nervous committing to any ‘forever’ detail, so I expected the worst. Believe how pleasantly surprised I was when the conversation went: me: so um hey, I like XYZ color. which one do you like? him: the same one, actually. BOOM. DONE. As a little icing on the cake I took advantage of a humungo sale and capped it with an extra discount from taking some three-minute survey and got the thing for like 56% off, delivered. It was a total fluke that I even looked at this store's site when I did, so I'm pretty damn happy with the result.

the worlds teeeeeniest pic...ours will be a greyish brown "cocoa" color

The years of limbo are (strangely) coming to an end, and while I'm nervous and sad to leave California for a little while, I'm really really really stoked about a year or two of big city livin' in one of the funnest and tastiest cities in the country. Flights can be cheap enough, and we have an extra room just waiting for our first visitor...

adios, belongings!

Yesterday, we finished up our humungo purge-all-the-things project at Casa Saratoga. When we went abroad in 2009, Rob's Mom was kind enough to let us basically box up our lives and stash 'em downstairs at her house on the hill. We had a TON of crap, and at the time, I was much more concerned with simply getting stuff out of her way (and getting out of the country!) than with parting with anything, so we amassed something like 50 boxes/bags. When we got back an moved into our little studio apartment, we left like 96% of the stuff there and just kinda started over with the handful of things we wanted or needed.

That crap on the mountain has been an ever-present dull ache of weight on my shoulders. I've been meaning to get up there and purge and better organize it for almost two full years, which is embarrassing at best. With the upcoming move and the hired movers being willing to make stops at two places to pick up our stuff (!), we had no choice but to get crackin'. Since Rob is home for the week, we set aside an entire day to sort out what should be tossed, donated, stored, or shipped... and an entire day it took.

Eight hours of solid work at the house cut our pile o' crap by at least half. We filled the bed of Rob's Mom's pickup truck with a load of donations, and piled up an additional seven boxes + two bags for later drop off. Three huge bags of trash and two boxes of recycling makes me itchy wondering why the hell I even boxed up that stuff in the first place. SO. MANY. THINGS. Things that have no use or personal attachment. Things I swear I didn't actually have. Things I thought were lost for good and that I actually squealed over upon unearthing. But mostly things that we do not need, so off they go to someone who can actually use them.

If I had to guess, I'd say that we've whittled the grand total of our crap (spread between alllll the houses/apartment) to less than 2/3 of what we once had. And I'll probably ditch even more stuff when I'm actually boxing things up, simply because I'm over it. I took a couple pics o' the piles, but no one really cares to see those because they're boring and ugly. So here's a pic of some jumping cats instead:

yay!

Chicago maiden voyage wrap-up in bullets

• landed in Chicago around 8pm on Thursday
• surprised by cold but not unbearable temps – I’d guess in the low thirties
• ordered beers + apps for dinner at Pints on North Ave
• bought my very first fancy growed-up cold-weather coat, thanks to JCrew’s 30% off online sale (I got an insane deal)
• took a short ride on the L up to Lincoln Park for some wandering in our future stomping ground/neighborhood
• checked out Weiner Circle for my first-ever Chicago dog
  

• met all of Rob’s new coworkers at their holiday dinner in the Willis Tower/Metropolitan Club (murder mystery + decent food + honkin’ glasses of wine + really friendly coworkers + great views + accidental seats at the head table…eeek)

• inhaled my first Dunkin Donut at 1am
• woke up to SNOW
  

chowed on a massive breakfast of huevos rancheros + melt-your-teeth-strong coffee at Milk & Honey

headed downtown on Saturday afternoon for some touristy time

visited The Bean in Millenium Park + watched the ice skaters

ate some more, this time: Potbelly for lunch (their pizza samwich > hangover)

snagged the last two pairs of Loft skinnies in my size in the whole wide world, which is really convenient because they’re the best ever and the only ones that fit

met up with my Mid-West native friend Amy to check out the Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo (she mocked me for wearing my hat + a hood and for the tights I wore under my jeans. I've obviously got some 'cold calluses' to develop...)

split (and finished!) a large sausage-tomato-basil Pequods Chicago-style pizza + local Half Acre beers

enjoyed an egg nog & brandy nightcap + the best episode of Saturday Night Live I’ve seen in a long time

slept in + lazily watched football + slowly packed for home

endured an uneventful flight (the best kind!)

exited the terminal back home to find a huge hoard of people with giant American flags, posters, balloons, the works. apparently the last soldiers left Iraq yesterday (!) and a whole flight of them was due to arrive shortly after my flight…SO COOL

arrived home to not one, but THREE, packages of awesomeness I ordered as Christmas gifts

changes

I just dropped Rob off for his Chicago-bound flight, and things are starting to set in. I'm so excited for the upcoming changes, though it all comes with a side of nervous energy. It's one of those things that you know will have an enormous impact on a lot of things, but just seems so distant and theoretical until things really start happening. I'm trying to wear my big-girl britches and head off any upcoming freak outs at the pass, but I have no idea what to expect in the next few weeks.

My first ever trip to the city that'll be our home base will be in two weeks, so it's nice to have something in the short-term to focus on.