packing
In the last week, I've rediscovered a universal truth: packing SUCKS. You start out with the best of intentions: CDs with CDs, books neatly sorted, breakables meticulously wrapped. And then suddenly you're throwing everything into the same box: Christmas lights! saute pan! deodorant! pliers! Then there's the totally arbitrary disposal system; utterly vital papers get tossed while shirts I haven't worn in years escape the trash bin. I keep finding myself immobilized in the middle of rooms, completely overwhelmed by the task at hand. It's not that I even have that much stuff. But the process is incredibly draining.
Why am I putting myself through this? Well, after 4 momentous years, circumstances have aligned so that the members of Harper House are going their separate/partnered ways. After my stint in Tangier, I'll return to Chicago for a few days. Then I'll (re)pack my car and drive to CA, where I'll spend the rest of the summer living with my boyfriend, Louis. Yes, for those of you I haven't talked to over the last 6 months, you read that last bit right.
I'll be back in Chicago in September, to teach a class on "The Environment and International Security." I'll be living in a sublet in Hyde Park. Once the course ends, I plan to return to the Bay Area where, over the next 2 years, I'll finish my dissertation (in'sh allah)
I'm incredibly happy about this plan and trying to see the packing as a simple speed bump en route. Mostly, that interpretation has failed miserably, so I'm relying on loud music and beer to get me through. Although, since I've now got less than a week left before departure, it has to be over soon!
Why am I putting myself through this? Well, after 4 momentous years, circumstances have aligned so that the members of Harper House are going their separate/partnered ways. After my stint in Tangier, I'll return to Chicago for a few days. Then I'll (re)pack my car and drive to CA, where I'll spend the rest of the summer living with my boyfriend, Louis. Yes, for those of you I haven't talked to over the last 6 months, you read that last bit right.
I'll be back in Chicago in September, to teach a class on "The Environment and International Security." I'll be living in a sublet in Hyde Park. Once the course ends, I plan to return to the Bay Area where, over the next 2 years, I'll finish my dissertation (in'sh allah)
I'm incredibly happy about this plan and trying to see the packing as a simple speed bump en route. Mostly, that interpretation has failed miserably, so I'm relying on loud music and beer to get me through. Although, since I've now got less than a week left before departure, it has to be over soon!
posted by Emily at 5:12 AM
3 Comments:
Yep, the slow downhill slide of the packing game, from utterly organized to whatever fits. I'm with ya.
A couple years ago (moving out of Boulder), I started off on the righteous path of organized packing until I ran out of normal sized boxes. The boxes I was able to get were big enough to fit a small person in them, at which point packing started to resemble a basketball game with the world's biggest hoop.
Congrats on the West Coast Return!
This is all so true it's almost painful to read--ARRRRGGGGGGH! I might have to do it myself within the foreseeable future; meanwhile just getting clothes, books laundry soap and me all in the car to get to Mibblebury was a real project (especially right after the last-minute grades). Sigh.
Um, one question--how are you fitting 6 weeks of Arabic between June 13 and 29...?
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hmm, should have read June 13-July 29
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