its been a week yes it has

It's been a week of making moves. 

Of cleaning out storage containers, schlepping, driving, packing, re-packing, schlepping some more. Dodging hail and snow, a closed Hood Canal Bridge and cancelled ferry.

Of cancelling one internet provider and starting up with another and saying no to any and all sales pitches.

Of signing things, thinking up new passwords, nervously checking bank account balances and imagining balmier days ahead. 

In the meantime, this made me laugh (no sound the narration is cringe).

 

@blaaackone #monkey #monkeyingaround #fall #lol #clumsy #trickster #apple #friends #fruit #nature #green #caring #aww ♬ Coffee - XIANZ

And I love this series. "Take me to your favorite place and keep the meter running."

@keepthemeterrunning “ROMAN” PART 1 // Kareem’s hails a cab and takes a ride with Roman, a Russian who’s been driving a cab for 29 years. They travel to Queens to Romans favorite restaurant. COMMENT FOR PART TWO 🚕 🚖 created by @kareem.rahma  #nyc #newyork #taxi #cab #queens #russia #food #anthonybourdain #conversation ♬ original sound - KEEP THE METER RUNNING

 

presshuh

Boy this past week has tested me. World events notwithstanding--I moved apartments, dealing with surly landlords and malfunctioning doors and a moody elevator. Who needs a gym membership when you spend days schlepping boxes and art and all the freezer stuff down five flights of stairs, hustle it all into a Zipcar, then schlep it all back up 2 more flights of stairs. Then hurry to return the car on time. But, I've cleaned and Goodwilled and the moving boxes were picked up and c'est finis--I'm out of the old and into the new!
Add to this the happy circumstance of 2 different sets of visiting friends plus a 206 friend's birthday celebration, and stick a fork in me, I'm happy but dunzo.
*
Speaking of pressure, here's a delightful throwback: Flight of the Conchords' "Inner City Pressure."

moving

The meteoric, gaseous, ridiculous Seattle housing market hit home for me literally, as my rent has gone up 30% in the past 2 years. With this most recent hike, I called it quits on my neighborhood and the greedy Scrooges who own my building, and found another place. There are pluses and minuses, I guess. The new place is small, which means I've spent the past few weeks sorting through storage boxes that have been tucked away in closets for six plus years.
I found letters dating from my parents' ugly and painful split.
A Max Headroom mask.
107 chocolate wrappers (*).
A tiny chunk of the Berlin wall.
Journals and more journals.
Scraps of stories starring my longtime-protagonist-yet-still-unpublished Eugenia Farquharson.
My mom's jewelry box, with her collection of watches and earrings and heart-shaped jewelry.
You can't keep everything, and yet it's hard to know what to let go of.
A metaphor for life, probably, and yet I still find myself debating myself: do I really need that feather boa? The collection of Pee Wee Herman art?
Yes, probably.
Maybe.
I'm not sure.