sophienix

it's been a couple of days.

just trying to get into work. and deal with the weather.

the driving here is atrocious.

it's going to be a new adventure, right?

kiss kiss from arizona.

mwah

today is the big day.

i officially fly down to arizona this evening, to start work tomorrow morning.

and begin a new adventure.

i will miss too many things to name.

i will miss too many people to forget.

but i will be back, better than i am today.

take care. see you soon.

(>*<)

i mean, i don't even know what i am thinking.

how could i possibly leave all this?!



it's like a winter wonderland. during the supposed lamb of march.

spring in minnesota is here at last!

ginger

happy spring.

i've been into ginger ale lately.

we went to cafe maude on sunday and the bartender made his own.

it was lovely. 7-up. bitters. something else but i can't remember.

i want to go back just for that.

morning

dark moment passed.

running to target to buy some storage bins for my clothes. i am making progress.

in non-moving news, how cute is this?



it's bright and happy, like i want to be.

nightfall

i wish i wasn't here.

i feel like i am doing this by myself. i am exhausted. i don't eat anymore. i barely sleep, and i am always tired. i am losing weight. i am a day late. and i am so tense i feel like i am carrying every box i pack on my shoulders.

i didn't ask for this.

stuff

they are picking up my car today.

i hired an auto transportation service as part of my relocation package.

it's not a grand sum, but i'll move my car down to arizona with it.

and if i don't have to drive it, even better.

suddenly this whole moving thing has become all too real.



bye bye betty. see you in phoenix. try not to scare that h3 riding with you.

box

omg. packing is hard work when you are as obsessive-compulsive as i am.

everything is just a tad more difficult.

note: i went to office max and spent $15.99/10 pack of storage boxes. i bought three packs. white storage boxes. the kind of storage boxes you typically store files in. why? because they are pretty. they have lids. i figure when we are done with the move, we will be able to use them again. for what? to store all our files.

now i have 16 made and filled. 14 to go. pretty soon i will have 30 filled pretty storage boxes and i will find that i have not yet started on my clothes. those will go in rubbermaid bins that i invested in during college.

somebody save me from myself.

farewell

last day at work.

funny to think that i came in wanting to give advertising a second chance.

or perhaps it was the other way around.

regardless of how i got there, i came out knowing that i am great at what i do.

i cried a lot today. hugs that went on forever. it was emotional.

my favorite breakfast, a croissant from turtle bread co. and a jasmine tea from caribou, were my first presents.

the gifts were fabulous. especially the huge bottle of aloe from the president and my boss. the better to battle the sunburns with! daffodils. tulips. a framed photo. a starbucks card. jasmine tea. starbursts. a peanut butter rice krispie bar. it was too much, and it was too sweet. everything brought fresh tears.

but really, the tokens were nothing compared to the words.

my supervisor said that there would be a hole in the agency's heart when i leave. i told her that i will forever consider myself the agency's heart murmur.

looking back, i feel so lucky that i found a group of people to call family. it was an honor to work with such an amazing team of people. at a workplace that felt like home.

so long. take care. see you soon. lots of love. cheers. best wishes. thank you.

el

tonight i had another lovely pinochle night with e. for a while now we have had set girl dates, every tuesday night.

we went to el meson for a dominicana salad and tamales.

and a bottle of nerola.

we toasted and avoided conversation around my impending move.

both kind of in denial with each other.

we toasted to long distance pinochle nights and laughed about people we know. talked about my farewell party and boys she has dated. rolled our eyes at a familiar face in the restaurant. fluttered our eyelashes at our gentleman waiter. inhaled our dinners and desserted with key lime pie. swirled our wine. relived memory after memory.

i am going to miss so many things about minneapolis.

but i am really going to miss e.

dos

an offer was made on our number two:



affectionately called "the bathroom house" or "the house with the bathroom" because once you see it, you know.

the european open bathroom rocks. my. world.

see the room beyond the bowl sinks? that's the shower.

the rest of the house is pretty great too. i just can't get over that bathroom.

home

update on the move:

yesterday, we made an offer on this house:



in scottsdale.

our offer expired at 11a today. we didn't hear anything.

back to the drawing board.

follow-up

eye check-up over the lunch hour.

he peered at my ulcer.

he dropped a dye in my eye.

he pushed back his chair and said:

i would go without your contacts at least through sunday.

oh no. i widened my eyes. pained expression.

do you have something going on this weekend?

i am going to vegas on saturday and would like to wear my contacts.

and just like that, my wish was granted.*

off! being forced to wear glasses isn't as fun as you might think.

*contingent upon a couple of things, but i'll manage.

white

for spring, i want this:



and this:



thank you.

eye

i have an eye ulcer.

yes. an ulcer. in my eye.

of all things.

ulcericity (what? it's a word) in eyes happens when you a) have an infection or b) lack of oxygen and/or hydration.

since i didn't have an infection, i can only conclude that this was due to a deep nap in arizona. while wearing contacts.

and now, i will always have a scar. oh, brutal, cruel ulcer.

upon hearing my diagnosis,

i asked my opthalmologist the following most important questions:

1. what color will the scar be? (a: white)
2. where will the scar be on my eye? (at first the answer was a: where it hurts! and then the a was: on your cornea)

which lead to this:

3. what is my cornea? (at which point i hopefully answered myself: the white part?)
4. i'll have a white scar on the white part of my eye? (a: no, your cornea is where the lens goes)
5: my contact lens? (a: yes)

and i finally got it: oh, the brown part. gasp! having a white scar on the brown part of my eye is worse than having a white scar on the white part of my eye!

6. will people be able to see it? (a: not unless they are really close to you or you know people with a microscope)
7. will i be able to see it? (a: not unless you are looking for it)

wail: i don't want to be able to see it!

8. will it get smaller? (a: it will fade in time and you will hardly notice it)

i kept pulling out my little compact to find my new little scar. i found it, and then i kept finding it until he finally said,
stop looking at it!

hmph.

now

okay, here's what's new:

i am moving to arizona.

it's scary and the bf and i have been fighting a lot lately.

a lot.

so when the opportunity came for me to move, i took it.

we've been fighting ever since, which made me believe i might have made a big mistake.

on saturday night we were exhausted from being exhausted with each other. i read a book in bed while he watched some television. when he came to bed, i left the bedroom.

i purposely slept on the couch.

in the wee hours, i felt him stand over me, scoop me up, and bring me to bed.

he wrapped me up in his arms, and i finally felt like it was going to be okay.

and it will be.

new

it is quite different

to spend the first day of a new month.

in a new place.

and i mean that both literally and figuratively.

happy march!