The Trip Down & Moving In
It's funny, as I try to begin to write this, just how far away this all seems right now.. almost like it was another life. Moving day was chaotic: the movers were rough but awesome which resulted in a lot of last-minute packing as the movers were moving our stuff, one broken desk, one broken but fixable dresser and Subway for lunch on the bare carpet of our Albany apartment in all of our sweaty, exhausted glory. We soon packed up the Yaris, hooked it up to the U-Haul truck driven by my generous and awesome parents who signed on for this ridiculous road trip (willingly!), buckled Dora into the Rav-4, and were off.
Dad hooking up the tow dolly outside our Albany apartment
Birmingham, AL.. and our seemingly endless view of the U-Haul and Yaris
It was an exhausting trip.. let's be clear. But I think we all (especially me and Mike) benefited from being so exhausted that a nice long car trip felt like a break. To this day, I know we were driving for a long time, and I know we were SO ready to be out of the car, but the fact that it as a 3 day + road trip is almost inconceivable.
The first night, we traveled from Albany to Harrisburg, PA. Day 2 was Harrisburg to Knoxville, TN and day 3 was Knoxville to Baton Rouge. We stayed in hotels each night-- including Dora, who did remarkably well. We were really nervous about having her with us, but in the car, you would hardly have even known she was there. We ultimately decided not to drug her, though we even went as far as to buy the Benadryl, so we got lucky that she slept nearly the entire car trip on her own. The first night in the hotel she was skiddish, but she adjusted and by nights 2 and 3 (in different hotels even), she was exploring and comfortable and even slept with us. We owe a lot of thanks to La Quinta hotels, the amazing temperament of Dora, and cat calming spray.
Dora in her carrier when we stopped for lunch in VA
Dora checking out her home-for-the night at the hotel
Awful thunderstorm we got stuck in for nearly 2 hours in MS
Beautiful sunset as we got into LA
Moving in was an experience. The office manager was late, the movers were early, and the maintenance crew was finishing up some final tasks in our apartment. One of the movers also brought his sons (four or five of them), so the work went quickly, but chaotic is a real understatement.
Some of our boxes/bins in our "staging area" in the dining room
My parents being here was a gigantic help. We were able to get so much set up, unpacked, planned and bought that it's hard to believe they were in Louisiana for only a few days.
On Sunday, Stephanie surprised me! She drove cross-country all by herself, with her pit named Blue, to surprise me in our new apartment! I suspected something was up when Mike got all weird about me seeing his iphone, and I thought I saw that Stephanie had texted, but little did I know the grand conspiracy that went on between my parents, Mike and Stephanie! It was one of the most amazing surprises of my life, if not the best. To know that there is someone in the world who loves you enough to put their life on hold and go on this crazy adventure all just to make you happy is one incredible feeling.
Stephanie surprising me outside of our apartment!
On Sunday afternoon, we all (Mom, Dad, Mike, Stephanie, Blue and I) piled into the Rav and went into New Orleans. We were exhausted and still had no idea what to do there, so we walked by Jackson Square, had beignets at Cafe duMonde and bought some souvenirs. My parents flew home the next day, and Stephanie and I had half a week of marvelous Target trips, mall excursions, meals and friend time. I didn't know it at the time, but that was the best gift anyone could have given me: being there for me when my parents left to go home, and hanging out with me all week. I feel incredibly blessed for such an amazing friend in my life.
My amazing best and Blue in New Orleans!
Blue dog! The best doggie ever
Check it off the Bucket list!
Waiting for beignets :)
So what's new?!
Pretty soon after Stephanie left, we started the DMV run(s) and other bureaucratic nightmares that come with moving, including non-stop trips to Target. I think every time we went to Target we spent at least $100, and the Manager at the store closest to us got to know us by face. I never thought I would feel this way, but by the end of the first month here, I knew Target and I would need to take a break for a while. It was just getting to be too much!
Mike started at LSU in mid-August, and we got sucked into the culture that is LSU football. We started venturing out more into the area and learning the way of life down here. For instance, that on game days, if you wear anything other than LSU themed or colored apparel, you will stick out like a sore thumb, and that it's perfectly acceptable to outfit your baby or toddler in LSU gear. Community coffee is the best kind of coffee I've ever had, and makes all other brands taste like dirt. We learned that if you go to the right bar on game night, they'll feed you free jello shots with every LSU touchdown, and that Yogurtland is clearly the best frozen yogurt place here. We have experienced the heavenly agony that is Whole Foods and have learned first hand why they call it "Whole Paycheck." We also learned that you can order to-go alcoholic berverages, and as our waitress told us when we ordered our first to-go margaritas (just because we could), "it's not open container unless you have the straw in it. So if you get pulled over, just take the straw out!"
Our first to-go margaritas!
We had two awesome visits with Mike's parents, where we reunited with Target and explored the outlet mall nearby. We also got to meet some of Ann's friends from work at their housewarming party in Baton Rouge. Hugh helped Mike build a lot of furniture and hang a lot of stuff up while Ann and I "supervised." We also took them to Mason's, easily one of our favorite spots, for brunch, which is ah-mazing!
As far as jobs go, Mike really likes his. He feels like he fits in well for the most part though he is still learning about the culture of the department, personalities, and so on. He loves being back in the classroom and being busy. He's been working long days: leaving here at around 7:15am to avoid the awful traffic on the interstate, and getting home around 6. I am teaching my Crim online course right now and when that wraps up in mid-October, I will start teaching my Aging course. I've been working on my dissertation and sent a first draft of half of my lit review to my chair. So all in all, we've been very productive here!
I also chopped my hair off about 3 weeks in. I couldn't take it anymore. I don't know if I had convinced myself it looked terrible, it was just too hot for it, I was too lazy, or I just needed to be in control of something, but it was cut. I do not regret it one bit. :)
Dora loves the new apartment and though she spent a lot of the first few weeks hiding under the bed, she's back to being the queen of the apartment. We are also loving our new space, and I can't wait to show you! Look for a post later today with photos and a video tour! :)
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