Step One: Moving

I have heard that a woman's body releases chemicals to aid in the process of forgetting the pain of childbirth, lest we decide never to have children again.

I think the human brain must likewise help us to forget the sheer agony of moving across the country, or else, as a species, we'd all be living in our parents' households forever, never to explore, and permanently to eradicate moving truck companies and their policies of not giving you the complete price quote in your first step. 

I move from Ohio to Rhode Island in T-Minus 6 days and I am exhausted. I spent the weekend crazily and haphazardly shoving items in boxes, scrubbing a dingy bathtub until my eyes watered from bleach fumes, listening to my overweight cat yowl over the sound of my cheesy mystery audiobook as I sped down the highway in my boyfriend's air-conditionless Jeep, and realizing that no matter how hard you try, cat litter does not like to come out of carpeting. 

So my first adventure in post-graduate adulthood is moving. My partner J. got an amazing job in Rhode Island, and as I have a few employment prospects in the area, we've made the decision to uproot our midwestern lives and settle on the East coast. We can't say we mind, and I think we're both excited about the newness of our upcoming life, but the process of getting there.... Whew. In the past month, we've gotten the notice about the job, traveled back and forth twice, looked at six apartments, chosen an apartment, panicked and crossed fingers in hopes that we'd get the apartment, gotten the approval, moved out of my current apartment, attended a wedding in Seattle, and realized that our welcome into adulthood is both expensive and a hassle.

Never. Graduate. College. Just stay in school as long as you possibly can.

I kid. My advice however? Tell yourself that moving across the country is going to be $4000, and if it's less, be seriously pleased at the added savings. Also, when renting a moving truck in your recent-post-graduate-life, ALWAYS click past the first price estimate. They'll get you with things like being under 24 (if you are) and the dolly you'll have to rent because both you and your partner are taking cars, etc.

On the SERIOUS upside, beautiful kitchen in the new place! And another upside? THIS is our new downtown playground!

More moving info to come. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the fact that you're not moving right now. Or if you are, take a break and have a drink.