Monday-

The morning began like any other work week; we got up and got ready for work. The exception to the last three years is that she’s starting a new job. Yes, she is nervous. I told her it’s normal to feel nervous when you start something new, even if you are excited about the opportunity. I gave her a kiss, wished her luck and shut the door behind her.

I went back into our scarcely decorated apartment (the furniture is still on its way from Pittsburgh) and made a list of the things to do today. The first is to take our girl Storm to the vet so they can have a good look at her and establish a baseline for further visits. I hate to do it. The move has already been stressful for her but it has to be done. The plan is to bring her back to the apartment and let her chill out for a bit before I leave her to go run some errands. I need some new gym shoes and to get a work out in. I have other work that needs to be done, too, like looking for some more freelance work and working on my articles for the Honey’s Anime website. I keep telling myself that as long as I keep getting paid for writing for Honey’s that I’m not unemployed. I am excited to learn about my new city. I’m also looking forward to finding a new job that really interests me.

The plan is to meet Amanda at the Blind Tiger, a coffee house, after she gets off of work. I hope their coffee is good. I’m starved for really good coffee in the evening after all those years of living in a city where good coffee places closed before work ended.

Tuesday-

The coffee house was nice. It was situated in a newly developed area of the Tampa suburbs. It had good coffee and was easy to get to. I especially liked that we got our coffee in actual coffee cups.

I got Amanda off to work earlier today.  She had trouble with traffic. It will take a few days to get the timing down.  The house is quiet.  I don’t hear traffic, airplanes, or trains. The quiet is weird coming from downtown Pittsburgh. I managed to get in some time writing an anime article. The trip to the tax office to get my new drivers license and register to vote didn’t take that long, the time on the road took far longer than my time at the office. The funny thing that happened on the way home was getting rear-ended. I didn’t take any damage, the guy behind me dented his grill on my tow bulb. He only hit me because he was hit by a deputy. It was just an inconvenience for all of us — and an opportunity to share my brand new Florida license information.

Amanda and I got to work out together, kind of. I swam laps in the pool and she went into the gym to do one of her workouts. We were able to walk back to the apartment together and that was the best part.

Wednesday-

I didn’t have a lot on my plate today. I have to get Amanda’s car inspected and make a quick stop at the vet to drop off a sample. I’ve got some work to do online but hope to rest up because the pod with our stuff comes tomorrow. The help doesn’t come until Friday, but we can at least get the coffee maker.

Thursday-

The pod delivery looks futuristic

The pod came and they had no problems dropping it off. My first order of business was to retrieve the coffee maker and some of my kitchen supplies. I feel a little better now.

Friday-

It was a marathon that was run like a sprint. The four movers and I quickly moved the entire contents of the pod up the steps and into the apartment. I was quickly buried in boxes and feeling very overwhelmed. I honestly didn’t know what to do. I did a lot of deep breathing, decided to start in the kitchen and then got overwhelmed all over again. My stress levels were sent to total freak-out level when my old job in Pittsburgh called and asked me to do some editing for a project they needed ASAP. 

One packed apartment

I don’t know how she knew I needed her, but Amanda called and talked me down from jumping off the balcony and feeding myself to the alligators in the nearby bond.

Our entertainment center was packed to the point where the pegs busted.

Broken bowl

Even our heavy-duty plastic bins were damaged

Another broken bowl

As we went through our boxes, we discovered that the guys who packed our pod in Pittsburgh didn’t do the best job. Nearly every single box was crushed. Our furniture was damaged, bowls broken and mugs shattered. But bit by bit we found places for things and one by one the boxes began to disappear. I at least had my couch to sit on before the end of the day.

Saturday-

We’ve still got so much to do and not a lot of time to do anything else. We’ll get everything sorted and eventually feel more settled. We know moving is always hard and stressful — even when everything goes according to plan. It’s good to see progress and know the upheaval is temporary. When it’s over, we’ll be living in a little slice of paradise.