Saturday, 20 February 1999:

Pre-Flight Errands

My last few entries before The Big Move are not likely to be all that exciting, since all I'm tackling are the various chores of vacating my apartment and preparing for the flight out.

I woke up fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head fairly early this morning and spent some time reading before getting up to finish filling out the forms to return to Apple, which I dropped in the mail before noon. I then went and ran some errands at the mall (buying some clothes, mainly), and got back from it all around 12:30. A remarkably productive morning, for me.

I spent more time cleaning and organizing things for the movers, and did a ton of laundry. I also watched more of the Homicide episodes I had saved up on tape (thanks again, Laurel!), although I was bummed to discover that I mis-set the VCR and missed Wednesday's Law & Order, which was part one of the story on Friday's Homicide. Oh, well.

In the midst of all this, I got a phone call from Karen, and then Tracy stopped by to return my apartment key and some other items she'd been borrowing from me. I'd just realized about an hour before that that several friends (cat-sitters, all) still had dupes of my key, so I phoned them all and left messages to that effect. I'll get 'em all back before I check out.

And while watching TV I grabbed some thread and sewed up the lining of my leather jacket; some of the lining has become quite ripped or frayed in the ten years I've owned it, and it took several hours to repair the worst tears. No doubt I could get the lining replaced if I want; I'll see how the repair job holds up before taking that step, though. The leather coat will probably be one of my main coats in California (at least at this time of year), so I figured I should patch it.

I went back to the airport next and picked up the cat kennels. They're huge! I was afraid that they'd be way too big for the cats, but now that I've seen each cat in them, I think they'll be about right for a lengthy plane trip. The cats will have plenty of room to stretch. I just hope they'll fit in the cars my friends will be using to transport me on Tuesday and Wednesday. Well, my Tuesday lift (from Tracy) can probably be done in two trips, if absolutely necessary (and if Tracy's willing), while Andrew - a cow-orker who's giving me a ride to the airport - has a Honda Accord station wagon, which is a very large car. I figure if I can fit both carriers in my Civic hatchback, that we can fit both carrier and my luggage in his wagon. That's the hope, anyway!

(Once again, Newton is spending time sitting in the kennels, while Jefferson avoids them. I'm leaving them out and open so the cats can get used to them. I also stuck an old slipper in each one which I'll probably leave there for the flight - yes, I took off the laces before putting them in there - so the cats have a familiar smell1 on the flight.

For dinner I went to Fat Jack's (a local rib place; best in town, in my opinion) with Brian and Beth. I returned some jazz albums I'd borrowed from Brian, and we talked about job plans. Beth has finished school and is ready to find a job outside the research world, and she's apparently got possibilities in the bay area. It would be pretty neat if I go there, then they go there, and then Karen goes there.

After dinner I finished up my APAzine, copied it and dropped it off. Kept doing laundry, and played with the cats a bit. Didn't get around to doing my taxes, but will probably write some letters for C.O.A.s for magazines to which I subscribe before I hit the sack.

Two more days!


R.I.P. Gene Siskel, well-known movie reviewer who died today at age 53, apparently of lingering complications of brain surgery last May. Intriguingly, Siskel was only 29 (younger than me!) when he and Roger Ebert started their television careers on PBS' Sneak Previews. My Dad started watching him way back when they were still on PBS, and I remember often watching the show with him.


So, when I fly out to California I expect I will not write much in my journal until I have a permanent apartment and have my computer set up. This may not be until sometime in April. So I'm going to start a small notification list, which will last until things return to normal at that time. If you'd like to join, drop me a line.

If I haven't heard from you before, feel free to introduce yourself. I'm always curious about my readership!


1 My feet!


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