Landing on the Moon
Okay, I am here in Madison. After a few days of driving, heaving cleaning, and home improvements in the Midwestern heat, I've finally made a big dent in my move. My parents left this morning once my furniture arrived and I threw a sheet on my new big bed and just passed out for a while... It's just been exhausting. And between the move and the drive (and even before that a long weekend in NYC), these are the first moments I've had to myself in as long as I can remember. Really, so far so good. The apartment is a lot bigger than I expected and amazingly, things came together smoothly, after a lot of elbow grease.
I'll be honest and admit that when I first came to town I regretted this whole choice, this move, this feeling like I had to prove something or even wanted to go back to school. After about a day I calmed down and since then, I've been too busy to get emotionally involved with the magnitude of change going on around me.
The ride here was long and uneventful. We were actually half-way between Toledo and Cleveland when the power apparently went out in both cities, although to us everything seemed up and running. My father and I did over 1,000 miles the first day and then only about 100 (from Racine to Madison) on the second day. I don't envy my father in having to drive back... I've spent enough time in the car not to miss having one. Madison itself is a difficult city to drive in - too many divided highways and not enough places to make a U-turn. We also did another lengthy trip - to Schamburg, IL for IKEA Mecca. That place is a zoo, but it feels like a generation marker to go and buy cheap Swedish furniture with approx. 100,000 other shoppers in a giant, roadside, warehouse. Driving, building, cleaning, shopping... and five days vanished.
My birthday was utterly and completely uneventful. I went to bed at 9pm in my parents' hotel room. No cake, but I honestly didn't miss it.
So that's the word on the street... I am taking refuge in the campus library because I still don't have a phone line or internet at home. Also, at home, there are only boxes that need unpacking or things that need to be put away and frankly, I need a little break from all of that.
posted by lmjasinski at 4:25 PM
