Superficial Joy

I am going berserk about suitcases! Yes, S.U.I.T.C.A.S.E.S. There are several issues going on here. 1. The Shipping "allowance". When I signed the contract with the school, I looked at the shipping allowance and misread it. See how it says AED 1000? I thought it said USD  1000. Whoops. So instead of $1000 US, I get about roughly $272 US. Not great. Luckily I stopped kicking myself for not noticing this before I signed, but now I'm trying to figure out how to get my stuff over there. Particularly I am worried about my protein shake supplement there; it comes in 1.5 lb tubs and I have enough to last through Christmas. Do I ship it? Do I check it? If so, do I put it in a suitcase? Will customs let it through? Arg!! 2. How many bags do I check? The school pays for 2. I am flying American and I have so far called twice to confirm the cost of checking a 3rd bag and heard two different answers: $150 and $200. Depending on how much it really costs, I will check ...

My house is empty after four hours of continuous and glorious chatter, backgrounded by the Michael Jackson station on Pandora. I'm sitting on the couch surrounded by bags of hamburger & hot dog buns, empty wine bottles, half filled plastic cups, 3 bunches of flowers and the remnants of a pot luck. About an hour ago, surrounded by a few dozen friends, a wave of anxiety-laced wonder passed through me as I anticipated the familiar loneliness that usually enters the house as the final guests leave. I'm happily surprised to report, however, I don't feel lonely at all! My heart is full of love, at the risk of sounding like a Donna Reed episode (no, I'm not that old; I grew up with Nick at Nite ). This morning I met with friends and had a minor Come-Apart about the grief I am feeling about leaving. Many people came up to tell me how much they love me, and for one of the first times in my life, I believed them. I left feeling love for them, their love for me, and, ...

I have finally managed to turn off the TV.  Briefly I considered it a few hours ago when I finished a movie I started yesterday on Amazon Prime ( The Dressmaker , it's really good), but I felt too sad so I went to the reliable standby,  Law & Order SVU  on Ion. Aside from USA's  A Christmas Story  marathon every December or a  Gilmore Girls  Netflix binge, where else can a girl get completely reliable, predictable, and most happy-ending television in which she can avoid her feelings for hours on end? All day long I have felt restless, irritable and generally bi&%$y. Maybe it's the lack of sleep lately, or that I  forgot  didn't meditate this morning, or that I want my house to be clean for people coming over tomorrow or that I still have lost no weight even though I must have burned enough mental energy obsessing about it to fit into those pants that used to be baggy on me. I kept driving through the day, cursing this and that, st...

I AM REALLY MOVING TO ABU DHABI!!!! I'm ticketed!!! And look at the routing on my ticket. Before you look, though, let me just say that I did NOT ask for this... AND...there is an almost 9 hour layover in Dallas! Most of my family lives in Dallas, so I will not only get to spend the afternoon with them, but also get to be sent off to the other side of the world by family. This is not the only thing that has fallen into place. Some of the other things... A friend recommended a super great property manager that I feel totally good about I don't fly out until August 24th, and so get to be here in Idaho for the solar eclipse!! (No solar eclipse in the UAE) Another friend's husband just happens to be newly working for a company that packs pianos and precious items for moving and storage. I found this out just about two weeks ago, when my piano had just moved to the top of my "to do" list. Said piano-packer-for-storage company owner hooked me up with ...