Progress Report

I took a photo of the sea of cardboard literally blocking out the sun in my living room, but it looks as though I've packed every USB chord I own, so I can't upload it.  Which is too bad, because it's quite a sight.  Our lives collapsed into all these boxes, representing untold hours of sweat equity to pack it all, just to reverse the process in a week.

I think it says something about the American lifestyle that I can pack all this stuff and live comfortably without it for weeks - in some cases months.  I'll need to ponder that further some other time.  For now, I'm checking in briefly to report in on how it's going, give the coffee time to kick in and let my back stop talking back to me.  It's not at the screaming stage, but it's definitely protesting three solid days of constant bending over boxes, only stopping for the Steeler game, which really didn't help because I spent the entire game an uptight bundle of nerves.  (I knew it would be a nail biter, but c'mon, Ben and the O-line, did you have to make it that interesting?)

And, speaking of that, the irony of it all!  The Steelers fight to earn the right to come play for their seventh title 200 miles away from where I am right now.  If they do, I'll find myself 1,400 miles away watching them alone.  At least I'll have that new Steelers couch to watch it from.  And at least I can catch the vibe of the city, which I am sure will be electric.  I had wanted to be a part of that for the Winter Classic.  Maybe the Steelers will give me another shot at it.  Of course, they have to take care of the Jets, who now boast former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes, so worrying over how I've totally blown my best shot at seeing the Steelers live in a Super Bowl is a bit premature.  And really pointless, because everything is in motion, all except me at the moment, that is.

And I need to be.  There is still the kitchen, garage, two bathrooms and the master bedroom to pour over and the moving van arrives tomorrow for us to begin loading.  We have a crew coming the day after to load the large pieces of furniture, but that means all those pieces have to be empty of their contents, and hallways clear so they can get through.  And, I need to get my car ready to meet the treacherous conditions the Steelers hope to leave behind.  I read a Tweet this morning from a woman who lives there complaining that she needed ice skates to take the trash out.  (I actually have some in one of these boxes somewhere...)  I packed with the window open yesterday, the day sunny and mild.  The weather here was almost taunting me, it was so pleasant.  Yes, it's true, I could not have picked a worse time of the year to do this.  For everything scary about this move:  leaving my family, my dogs and my friends behind (which has been way harder than I could even have imagined), leaving a job and not sure about securing a new one, getting lost in a city where around any particular bend is a part of town you don't want to be lost in - just driving up there scares me the most.  I have never driven in snow and ice on a routine basis.  Now I'll not only be doing that, but I'll be doing it on roads completely unfamiliar to me.  Fair warning to any and all who live in a hundred mile radius:  watch out!  I'm sliding my way to you.  When I falter, lost in the nerves of the enormity of the challenges I've handed myself, I just keep thinking, "Only six miles away from Sidney Crosby..."

Go Steelers, go Pens - I'll be there soon.