Mewstrodamas is trying his best to be a gargoyle again...
Tonight is Yarn Harlot Night! Yuppers, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is going to be speaking here in Albuquerque tonight! I am really excited! I am picking up Noelle and we are heading down there. I just need to remember to MapQuest the directions so I don't get TOO lost...
Can I go home now? My brain is full! (caution: full out venting session follows)
I talked to my family yesterday and shared the news about the move to Phoenix in a few weeks. Everyone is really happy :-) Hubby and I shared a nice bottle of Moet and chatted in great length about the whole situation. No, the full impact hasn't really hit me yet. I figure it will hit full force when we are in Phoenix looking at houses to buy. We have a list that we have emailed to the realtor down there and all day Saturday and part of Sunday will be spent going from place to place to get a short list of places we would be interested in putting offers down on or starting the next search from scratch. We are leaving ABQ at noon tomorrow for the road trip.
This whole move is really hectic. For the personal side of things, just the logistics of what day do I actually need to BE in Phoenix (since I will be in Austin TX in between here and Phoenix), which school district will my son be in (depends on which houses we like and which ones we make an offer on), where will I need to find an apartment (short term) until the house closing is complete, are there fully furnished apts in the area, what will I pack for the short term, how to handle the different school start dates and how does it affect my release from here... It looks like I will need to be in Phoenix on Aug 21st, so I will do the actual move the day after I get back from Austin (Aug 19th). So, one of the weekends between then and now (either Aug 5th or Aug 12th) I need to figure out what apt to rent and get the rental agreement signed. We are still waiting for the company to give us the relocation package (most likely next week) but since the actual payout isn't for 30 days after the package is signed, we are going to have to float some of this for a couple of weeks. For the kiddo's school, we are just going to enroll him here for the first 3 weeks of the year then transfer him down to Phoenix and enroll him on the 21st. School starts Aug 8th down there and there is not enough time to find a place to live, close out business here and get him enrolled to start the year down there. Then, we need to find the house down there, close on the house, move from ABQ to PHX, clean up the ABQ house then put it on the market once we have done the carpets, cleaned the weeds from the yard and repainted the walls. (a couple of weekend trips back to ABQ to do all of that). We figure the house up here should sell pretty quickly, so we aren't worried about that. Then we have to move my hubby's business and get all of the licences and legal stuff taken care of before he moves to PHX so he can start working right away. I am taking 2 of the kitties down with me and my son so I don't get too lonely...
Workwise, the situation is just as bad. I need to pass down everything I have learned in 5 years and put it into a training document in a week then do the training. I start on one training item and it triggers 2 - 3 more tasks that I need to remember to put into the document. So I have this "stuff to add to the training document" list that is getting longer by the hour. Which reminds me that I need to call my Dr to get a refill on my Ritalin... Then we need to schedule all of the hand off meetings, close out all of my work here, get it transferred to the right people, pack up the desk and give away 3/4 of the contents of my office to the person who is taking over. MY.... BRAIN.... HURTS....
Today, we are officially saying good-bye to our co-worker who got laid off. At our meeting today, we also let everyone know officially that I was leaving also. This is really weird. I have made some wonderful friends here at work, most of whom I know I will not see again after the 11th of August. That is really tough. There are a few that I know we will stay in touch and bump into each other in the future, but the majority of these folks are going to be "good-bye". We took a group picture 2 months ago. Right now, there are 4 of us who are no longer part of the group. We have been a close-knit group for the better part of 3 years (3 new members came in and 2 left over 3 years) and between the folks leaving and the headcount reduction currently going on, it is really stressful. I haven't really thought ahead to the 11th of August yet, there is too much in the present to concentrate on. I know it will be tough...
Then, there are the other wonderful people in my life here in Albuquerque that are not a part of work. Topping that list are each and every one of the absolutely wonderful people who have been a part of the Albuquerque Stitch and Bitch group and the wonderful people at Village Wools. Where do I even start? My command of the English language is not defined well enough to truly tell all of you everything. Every one of you means so much to me. I would be in the loony bin by now if not for the things you have done to save my sanity since March. Some days, it was just the thought of seeing everyone on Tuesday night that kept me going. You have helped me through some of the best times and worst times of my life. Every one of you has touched me in your own way and I will ALWAYS remember that and I will ALWAYS be eternally greatful for all that you have given me. I know we all seem to be moving to different parts of the country but I hope that our paths will continue to cross in the future. I will be making many trips back to ABQ since I have family up here. I will try to schedule those trips with Tuesday night in mind. Thank you to everyone!
Today is my Grandmother's 93rd birthday. I am so blessed to still have a grandmother who is alive and kicking butt! Last Wednesday, I got a phone call from my parents that my grandmother had a stroke and was in the hospital. The stroke was minor. It didn't affect her physical mobility (she used to walk a mile a day) but it did affect the left side functions of her brain. One of her activities that she used to love to do was to play cards and play bingo. When I talked with my parents yesterday, she couldn't play bingo but she was able to play "Go to the Dump". She is going through PT and OT to help her recover so she can go back to the assisted facility that she has been at for a number of years. Grandma is quite feisty and I know she will do her best to recover what she can. I am praying for her to find peace through this whole ordeal that she is going through and to find serenity and acceptance. I am going to try to find a weekend to make a quick trip down to Florida to say HI before November, after the current mess is finished.
