Well, I survived the hottest, longest, most miserable move ever (note: never, ever move to New Orleans in July if you can help it). And it was followed by several weeks without internet connectivity, but now all that mess is behind me.
Happily, although the move seemed to take forever-and-a-day, and was indeed unbearably hot, the process of settling in has gone much more smoothly than the process of getting here. It has been slow-going, but almost everything has now found its place. My proudest achievement is that all of the books are now categorized - a feat which hasn't been accomplished in far too long - and all have been neatly shelved in a manner which Adam has termed the Jacqui-decimal system, despite the absence of decimals or digits from the system. The closets are busting at their seams, but that's okay, because less than a half-dozen boxes remain to be sorted and unpacked.
So it goes that this little Garden District apartment - while perhaps a bit too small in actuality - continues to morph into a lovely home for us. 'Tis not my secluded duplex with three years' worth of memories, but when I stop playing the comparison game this new little place is quite nice on its own merit.
Yesterday I cooked from-scratch eggs benedict po-boys, which I paired with mimosas, and it was the perfect NOLA brunch. It was a celebration of sorts, of our last day off together before Adam starts his new job and I get thrown into the madness of being a 1L.
When I'm alone in the bedroom such as now I can hear the St. Charles streetcar roaring past. It's a sound I'm starting to get accustomed to, just like many other things about this truly unique city...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
life as a chapter book
As I write this I ought to be packing, but I've convinced myself that I deserve a few leisure moments to sip my coffee and enjoy the therapeutic indulgence of writing my thoughts instead.
My time at Allen & Conway officially ended on Tuesday, June 30. I am living now in a bizarre sort of flux as my days here grow immensely short. I'm technically unemployed until I find a job in New Orleans. My house has been emptied of many of its defining elements (dining room furniture, couches, books on shelves) and is filled instead with boxes, a state which inevitably occurs when a move is imminent, and which I affectionately refer to as "Box House." Our handy-dandy Honda FIT has been in cargo-mode for several days now, and The Move officially commences tomorrow when the big truck gets loaded up and what little furniture we still have gets transported with the multitude of boxes to the Crescent City. After that, we'll take it slow and easy for a few days, living in a truly in-between state whilst transporting any straggler boxes, clothes, and the like in the FIT. Our bed is staying here until Monday, when we'll take it down in a borrowed pick-up truck and the kitties will be transported in twin kitty-kennels in the FIT.
It feels weird to be leaving all of this behind: the stress of my job, the familiarity of this city, and the company of dear friends. But this chapter of my life is coming to a close, and only so much can carry over. Truly, it is time; 9 years makes for a long chapter. The new chapter awaits with a new setting, a new cast of supporting characters, new challenges, opportunities, and accomplishments. And even while I'm eager to move away and proceed with the story of my life, I'm more than a little pained to turn the page and leave this chapter in the past.
So it goes, I suppose, that as one moves on to bigger and better things, the comfort of routine and familiarity must fall by the wayside, at least temporarily. And frequent goodbyes, as I well know, are part and parcel of this modern mobile life. Thus continues my life as a chapter book, with the Jackson chapter coming to a quick close and the New Orleans chapter patiently waiting for this page to turn.
My time at Allen & Conway officially ended on Tuesday, June 30. I am living now in a bizarre sort of flux as my days here grow immensely short. I'm technically unemployed until I find a job in New Orleans. My house has been emptied of many of its defining elements (dining room furniture, couches, books on shelves) and is filled instead with boxes, a state which inevitably occurs when a move is imminent, and which I affectionately refer to as "Box House." Our handy-dandy Honda FIT has been in cargo-mode for several days now, and The Move officially commences tomorrow when the big truck gets loaded up and what little furniture we still have gets transported with the multitude of boxes to the Crescent City. After that, we'll take it slow and easy for a few days, living in a truly in-between state whilst transporting any straggler boxes, clothes, and the like in the FIT. Our bed is staying here until Monday, when we'll take it down in a borrowed pick-up truck and the kitties will be transported in twin kitty-kennels in the FIT.
It feels weird to be leaving all of this behind: the stress of my job, the familiarity of this city, and the company of dear friends. But this chapter of my life is coming to a close, and only so much can carry over. Truly, it is time; 9 years makes for a long chapter. The new chapter awaits with a new setting, a new cast of supporting characters, new challenges, opportunities, and accomplishments. And even while I'm eager to move away and proceed with the story of my life, I'm more than a little pained to turn the page and leave this chapter in the past.
So it goes, I suppose, that as one moves on to bigger and better things, the comfort of routine and familiarity must fall by the wayside, at least temporarily. And frequent goodbyes, as I well know, are part and parcel of this modern mobile life. Thus continues my life as a chapter book, with the Jackson chapter coming to a quick close and the New Orleans chapter patiently waiting for this page to turn.
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