Packing is more than a chore, it's an adventure. It's a trip down memory lane... if you go slow enough. I'm trying to do this quickly so that I don't have to worry about it as moving day approaches, but it's really hard to not open up something and take a peek prior to putting it in the box. I have this binder of writings, which includes poetry, stories that I wrote for college English classes as well as correspondence that I've traded with others. I'm a little bit embarrassed by both my ideas and my writing style during that time period. It leads me to believe that I'm not nearly as good a writer as I'd like to think that I am. I hate to admit it, but there it is in front of me. I'm not looking for compliments here in order for me to continue on. The only way one could possibly improve is for them to continue working to hone themselves.

    Tick Tock, 10 more days remaining before I move. Over the last several weeks, I've probably driven up toward my new home almost once per day. I'm looking forward to being up there and avoiding the daily commute home. With the spring weather, the social calendar is filling up and nearly all activities are happening up in Ashburn or Leesburg. I can't wait to get there. It's going to be a pretty busy 10 days. My plan of attack is the following:

    Today:        Update you fine folks on what's going on in my life.

    Friday:        Attempt to pack all easy to box items (i.e. books and other non-breakable items)

    Saturday:    Utilize help from friends and pack dishes and other breakables.

    Sunday:      Finish packing.

    Monday:      Finish packing, if not complete on Sunday

    Tuesday:     Finish packing, if not complete on Monday either

    Wednesday: Finish packing. If it's not complete push all boxes to the sides of all the rooms and vacuum in preparation for final walkthrough.

    Thursday:   Close on this home. Finish packing...

    Friday:       Close on new home. Finish packing...

    Saturday:   Pack truck, if packing not complete throw breakables into back of truck and pray.

    Sunday:     Unload truck. Barbeque. Dance and Sing.

    Monday:    Barbeque some more, drink a beer, begin the long process of unpacking...

    Tuesday - 30 years:    Send in the mortgage payment, buy stuff to fill home, sell when house reaches full capacity.

    I think it's strange that this will be my 2nd home in less than 2 years. I've only been in this one for about a year and a half. I also wonder if this will be the home where I begin my family. My lender told me several years ago that I would be married shortly because I had made a commitment. To me life is often a set of accomplishments along the journey, that's why I can't understand why people stand still for so long. I've been so conditioned to attain things. To climb the ladder of acceptability and prosperity. I've done ok so far in that department, and I realize that it's not everything. I even realize that's it not even all that important, yet, it's such a hard habit to break. Once you obtain one goal, you move onto the next one, and then the next, until we die.

    Time to segue off of that Titanic sinking. Hmm, what else has been happening in my life? Well, I got a cell phone! It's from Verizon and I got a good deal on it. I was able to get 20% off the monthly payments and got a free phone. I got the cell phone so that I could get rid of my home phone line which seemed too expensive for the amount of time I spent on it. My plan backfired when I discovered that my cable company did not provide internet access yet. Without cable internet, I won't be able to get rid of the phone line. I need the phone line to dial up. They say it will be ready within the next 1 - 4 months. I don't want to not update my site for 4 months. It's too long to remain disconnected. I have too much work to do.

    I'm just starting to get used to the new cell phone. It's a little different size than my phone at home, so I'm learning how to get it close to my ear so that I can hear, and so that they can hear me. I actually had the pleasure of talking on the phone while driving. I need a headset and will be ordering one shortly. When you're caught in traffic, the conversation makes the trip feel quicker. I'm feeling so cosmopolitan these days. I got a smart pass for my car which allows me to go through the tolls quicker which should help with my new commute.

    I hate to cut this short, but I must. Sorry, my fingers are just a little tired dancing across the keys and it's always bad when I try to play catch up after such a long time away. I need to do short and sweet daily entries. Later cats and kids....

    I had my 2nd closing today. I settled on my new home. Both the sale and the buying have been extremely smooth. I have a number of people coming over tomorrow to help me move. I had originally planned to separate the move into two days because I didn't "officially" have the house until midnight tomorrow. The people that I've purchased from have already moved out and a cleaning person is probably there now taking care of the business. My new house is quite nice in a number of places. There are some eye catching portions of the house that inspire a hmm, or a oh. Which is definitely a plus. I meant to borrow a digital camera to take pictures, but that will have to wait until next week.

    For the past week, I've been struggling with greed. This is one of those seven deadly sins that I usually flee from. I find greed to be particularly ugly when you see it. Normally, I try to remain generous when dealing with people, not worrying too much about whether I get reimbursed or not when I buy dinner, etc. But for some reason, I've been counting every dollar when it comes to this house. Now that a lot of the dust has settled over the financial picture, I actually found myself disappointed because I had figured out how much money I was going to be able to spend on new stuff and my estimations was greater than what I ended up with. The truth of the matter is that I'm still paying off my car and I still have money to play with. It's just a little bit less than I envisioned. I should've known better than to count my chickens before they hatch, but I did and so I'm having to adjust my attitude to more accurately reflect my reality. The reality is that I've done well. The house is good and I'm more excited to make my new one, mine.

    Marriage part deuce: During closing, my realtor mentioned that 90% of the single guys he's worked with have been engaged within a year of their first house purchase. He then mused, what's that say about how women view men and real estate. I thought to myself, "Forget about women and real estate! What does that say about me?" I think this house is a keeper, and perhaps I'm finally poised to make some more permanent additions to my life. In some ways I wish it were more like a menu, than fate. And yet, life goes on and I travel with it.

    Well, this won't hit the wires until later in the weekend. My telephone has been switched to my new home, therefore I can't post this.

    One last thing... The people that have bought my house have taken some pictures of my pets and sent them to me. I figured I would share them with you. At my house, we know who the rock star is. It's Fritz!