on the move: destination midwest

packing began early last week... and didn't stop until the move. the move, from packing up my apartment to setting up in northwest indiana, was documented in 300 images and 1 video. i've selected about 12% of those images to post here:

the living room was the destination for everything packed. here, all my things waited to be taken down the stairs and thrown into a 4x8 uhaul trailer.

chicken was very confused about things being moved around.

all of my things beginning to be piled into one big lump.

my side of the bookshelf emptied.

my "to do" lists sitting on my pillows and all prepared to leave then ext morning.

just before everything moved out.

one last look back at my building: the beige one just after crash bang boom, third floor.

chicken was not amused. he and george were the last to leave the apartment. chicken's carrier was positioned in the middle of the two front seats so that we could get him out if we needed to. he was bothersome and spent most of the ride with my sweatshirt over the front of his cage so that he couldn't see us. he ended up sleeping most of the time. george was on the floor in the back, between my plants. we heard no complaints from him.

4th and south, philadelphia: waiting to get out.

one last look at william penn from 676.

and the cira center waved goodbye as dad was trying to get the gps on his phone to work.

goodbye philadelphia art museum. too bad you aren't as cool as chicago's art museum, but you look nice after your restorations.

one last view of the skyline from the schuylkill expressway.

manayunk...

i think this sign was supposed to say something... oh well.

our exit in indiana!

it's 3am. we pull into the exit and there's only this automated machine that refused to take quarters.

and yet it wanted fifty cents...

home!

and would you look at that: the trailer is still attached. way to go...

we didn't start unpacking until we got some sleep. i took refuge in my sister's bed. this was my sister's room while we were growing up. the day i turned 18 and left for college, my sister took over my room and the room pictured here has looked like this ever since.

it took 4 hours to load everything in philly and 45 minutes to unload into my dad's house. my stuff filled the living room and the kitchen.

my mirror while i was growing up... now in my sister's room.

we were to have dinner with my grandparents on sunday afternoon. this is the little blue house at the entrance to their drive way. their property used to be part of an old farm and this is the only building that is left of the old estate.

my grandparents' house a couple acres back.

and now... my room set up. the purple color is quite a change and looks this color during the day. at night it's softer and i like it better, but it's girly and my stuff makes everything feel like home.

and while uploading these pictures this morning, i heard chicken meowing somewhere in the house....

hair today gone later today

packing up goodbyes

procrastinating the evening away from a paper i should be writing, i spent last night packing away most of my things. the most special of them have yet to be packed, but things came together quickly. cabbage patch kids, raggedy anne, marmalade, teddy, tickles, cuddles, finished and unfinished alike all made their way into bags next to boxes filled with art supplies and piles of drawings and paintings. another thing - how did i acquire so much lotion and body wash? this question will continue to disturb me...

and tonight while i should be writing the very same paper that i so cleverly avoided last night, i'm sitting at my desk for one of the last times, thinking about the last things i have to do before i leave. the holiday radio station that i have playing on itunes reminds me that the major holidays are quickly approaching, we'll make our resolutions, and say goodbye to 2008. this week is full of goodbyes: to a boy, my hair, my friends, an apartment, a city. today even as i said goodbye to the first of that group, i realized how happy i am, in the midst of what is a sad time i'm the happiest i've ever been and so glad to be making strides towards the future with my planner tucked under my arm filled with piles of "to do" lists that endlessly amuse me.

tomorrow at 12:30pm i say goodbye to my hair and at 8pm to friends from school. all that's left is to finish packing on thursday, load up on friday, and leave before dawn on saturday.

being thankful

another thanksgiving came and went and today on my first full day back in philly after the holiday, although the weather threatened to be sad and rainy, the sun has come out from behind both the white puffy clouds and the more somber gray ones below. the puddle on the mostly flat roof outside my bedroom window will probably dry up before i leave for good on saturday. i am happy to finally leave this city behind after five years three months two weeks and (what will be) five days from the day i left my parents house in indiana to drive out here and go to school.

i've lived in and around the city, navigating my way by car, public transit, and my cheerful red bicycle. in my last 6 months here, my bedroom on the fourth floor of a building caught between society hill and queen village has had a nice view of center city and william penn atop city hall. and in these past 6 months in this attic of a room, i've really come home. the exposed brick walls and dark wood floors have made me feel so cozy and protected and even the oddness of the sloping ceiling/walls that makes the room less spacious and difficult to move around in has reminded me of my childhood bedroom that i left behind. other apartments have not been able to compare to this one and i'm sad to leave it behind so soon after i found it. however, my loss is anothers gain, and the search for a roommate to replace me is well underway and hopefully soon to end. i think the room has been happy having me and in the future, this will be the room by which all others will be judged.

and now... homeward for 35 days, back to the town i grew up in. i haven't spent more than 7 days at a time back home since i left five years ago. and more, my stuff is coming with me and will stay at my dad's house for perhaps the next 4 years while i'm away; to where, i don't know. everything is so undetermined and yet, there are a couple dates to go by at present and markers to set my sights on.

for now, jill sits next to heidi saying their goodbyes. jill will take a tour of my hometown for 35 days before going into storage in my father's garage. someday she'll come out again and i'll apologize for my absense with new tires, a rack, collapsible baskets, new handlebar tape, and maybe a shiny new bell.