Monday, January 31, 2011

Birthday Wishlist Update ...

It was brought to my attention that my shipping address was not being populated when a birthday gift was selected to send me. I have made the necessary changes and it should now enter my new address in Chicago. If you encounter any issues with this, please feel free to email me and I will send it to you.

Thanks guys!

Stuck In Iowa ...

Well, things have come to a stand still right now. Chicago is only about 4.5 hours away but the Midwest winter storm is showing its ugly face! Initially it was just gusty winds and snow flurries but it was somewhat tolerable. As it got darker, the snow/winds stopped for a little but gradually got worse. Even moving slowly on the expressway was not making things better. On top of that, truck drivers seem to have no concern for anyone else driving. They would fly by, whipping up snow in their wake and they draft from their vehicle pushes the drivers closer to the shoulder and ditches. It became way to unsafe to keep going. I would rather live to see another day than try to push another 4.5 hours. Luckily there was a hotel nearby and the stop was made.

The news says that the weather is only going to get worse. All I am hoping for is that the plows have been able to clear and salt the roads so that Chicago can be reached by tomorrow afternoon. It may take a little bit longer but I believe it can be done.

So yea ... that is where things stand at this point. I will keep you updated of course. Hope you are all doing well.

1,470 miles down ... 830 to go ...

Today was a very long day! Drove a total of 13 hours to get to the current location ... Colorado. Once in Colorado, wanted to be sure arrival in Denver happened so that any lost time was made up. But let me tell you this, after driving up into the mountains then driving back down them, I now hate mountains! :) Why? For one it took forever to get up the mountain in a UHaul filled to capacity. Second, when coming down from 10,000+ feet, the pressure that is caused can be painful. My head was pounding after the repeated up and back down. I don't think I will be visiting Colorado again any time soon. :)

So right now a total of 1,470 miles has been driven and still need to go another 830. Estimation shows that arrival in Chicago will happen around 11pm or Midnight tomorrow. So this means another hotel for the night so that the keys can be picked up in the morning. So it is going to be another 13 hour day of driving. The driving needs to be done by then because I hear that Chicago is in for some nasty ass weather. Don't get me wrong, that is one of the things I love about Chicago, but driving a UHaul in it is a different story completely! Friends have told me that Chicago is going to get hit with about 23 inches of snow over the next week. The weather forecasts say there are going to be whiteouts and the roads are going to be icy and slippery. On top of that, it is supposed to feel like 30 below on a couple of days. My dog is going to hate me!

Anyway, I guess I should end the post and get to bed. I have not been sleeping well since the move has started and the nights have been spent in hotel rooms. My mind is constantly thinking about all of the things that are going to happen and the things that could happen. I have also been having really strange dreams/nightmares pretty much every night so far. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, in my own room, in my own apt!

It is chilly here in Colorado. So much so that my nostril hairs froze up! I am scheduled to have internet access set up on February 2nd (my birthday ... be sure to check out the Wishlist I posted if you are interested in getting me something ... wink wink) I hope they don't cancel due to weather. I will probably due on last update from the hotel in Chicago tomorrow night.

Thanks for taking the time to follow this adventure. It's been fun and interesting!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Something Fun For Me Has Been Added ...

If you take a moment and look to the left of this post, you will see exactly what I am talking about. :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Please do not feel obligated.

800 miles down ... 1500 to go ...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! What a dork I am!

I am posting this from my hotel room in Utah. Right now the 800 mile mark has been reached. This leaves me with a total of 1500 miles left. From here the next stop is Denver, that is going to take 8 hours. The final leg of the trip will be from Denver to Chicago and that is 14 hours. Going to try and get all 8 in tomorrow plus a few from the other time. Ideally I want to be in Chicago on the 14th.


There have been some unforeseen furniture casualties that occurred on the day of the move from the apt. to the moving van. Let's see ... As the couch was being moved, it was a hell of a fight to get it to happen. It would not fit in the elevator and it would not fit down the stairwell. The only other options was to tie a rope around it and lower it to the ground over a railing. And yes, I had help with the move. Well, this was tried, however, grip on the rope was lost and it came crashing onto concrete. Needless to say, the couch turned into a sectional. It was bad! Then, as I was packing more boxes, I had to run an errand in the moving truck. So the table stood on its side with the legs sticking out. During the drive I heard this loud box drop and a cracking sound. When I got home I found that one of the heavier boxes broke two legs off the dining room table. I tried to put them back on but they were pretty damaged. So I had to toss that. Also during the packing into the truck, the box with all the kitchen plates fell and hit the metal truck bed. Now I am out dishes and need to buy a whole new set.


I am babbling ... sorry. Just something unexpected that I wish did not happen.

Anyway, the drive has been great. Hit a massive amount of fog at one point, so heavy you could not see the rode. I had to drive super slow so it took longer than it should. I have also had to make a number of stops for the dog to do her business. I can tell she is stressed out though. Even so, she ends up lying down in the seat and tries to sleep. She never gets any sleep but she does try. Well, that's it for now about the trip. I will definitely keep you updated with another post tomorrow about my drive from Utah to Denver. Stay Tuned!


I also want to thank all of you for your kind words and well wishes. You guys are the best! And just to clarify, one user said 'congrats on the new job and the move', unfortunately there is no

'new job' at this point. A friend of mine, that is a Customer Service Mgr. first told me that he should be able to get me in. Now he is not so sure and has changed his story a couple of times. So I am not holding my breath for it. Going to start looking when I am all settled in.

Have a great night and weekend guys! Hope you enjoy the pics I posted previous to this as well.

A Post From Utah ...










300 miles down ... 2,000 more to go!

Well, the moving out of the apt. took about 6 hours. Did not make it too Las Vegas as initially planned. Was going to make that the first hotel stop. But after the move, way too tired. So drove to Bakersfield and am updating you all from a hotel room there. The dog seems to be ok so far, she was a lot better in the truck than I thought she would be. And it's so cool being able to stay in a hotel room with her.

The plan is to check out around 10am tomorrow and drive until the tired sets in again. So yea, that's about it. I just wanted to let you guys no what is going on. I will make more updates as the move progresses.

Oh, thank you so much for all of the well wishes you have thrown my way. You all have made me smile. I am so looking forward to starting over in my hometown and being able to share it all with you.

Take Care!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Last Blog Post From CA ...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I am not looking forward to hauling my crap out of this apt., into a truck and then into the new place but I don't have magical powers so it has to happen. :) I will not have any internet connection tomorrow so this will be the last post from California. I will be making stops along the way, for sleep, so I will try and post from the hotels/motels. But don't hold me to that. Not sure how tired I will be from the drive. I am hoping to be in Chicago by the evening of the 31st. I will have to stay somewhere overnight because I don't have the keys to the new place and won't until the 1st. Unless, of course, I happen to get into Chicago before 5 on the 31st. But I still will not have internet in the new place until the 02.02 ... my birthday! :) Hope you can all last that long.










Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Big News ...

Sorry that I did not give this to you all sooner, I wanted to get as many things finalized as I possibly could before making the announcement. So ... ready?

In one week I will be able to officially be making all of my posts from Chicago! That's right ... I am moving! I could not be more excited/nervous about this. I am not going to go into details about how I was able to make this happen. Please, I am probably going to get enough harassment simply because I am saying that I am making the move.

If you have truly followed my blog, you have known that I have not been that happy in CA for awhile now, even before I left my job in August of last year. I have felt this way for a couple of years now. So before some of you send me rude comments about leaving my job and all that, well, just keep them to yourselves. It is time for me to start making major changes in my life. I did not like the way it has been going out here so I look at this as a fresh start but somewhere familiar. The best thing about this move is that it will be a hell of a lot cheaper to live in Chicago as opposed to CA. And you get a lot more for your money there as well.

I do not look at me leaving CA as a failure in any way. I was very successful with my move out here and made it for 5 years before deciding this move needed to happen. Most people that move out here don't even last a year. I learned a lot out here and my mind was opened to so many things I had never really experienced. But CA is not for everyone and it is definitely not for me anymore.

These past few months have really taught me a lot about the choices I make and how important it is to have a plan when making those choices. I feel that I have grown so much since leaving that position in August and then experiencing what I did at the place that finally hired, and then fired, me. Many people look at my choices and immediately come to a decision without getting to know everything that those decisions entailed or getting to even know me more. To each their own I guess. I have reasons for the things I have done and thought long and hard before making each decision.

I now know what needs to happen to make my life more positive. I have taken the mistakes and experiences I have been through and found ways to learn from them. I am full of hope for the future and truly believe that I will be successful in everything that I pursue from this point forward.