Happy Birthday, Mr. A!

I already wished you a happy birthday last night, but I’ll do it again now that it’s the actual day. I’ve known you for 17 years now, and you improve in every way with every passing year. Your friendship is one of my most treasured gifts, and I am very thankful for it. A lifetime of joy and contentment is my wish for you, . You deserve nothing less.

Much love, Pipes.

It’s Done

Well, I didn’t get my damn truck, but after about an hour of waiting, I did get a very spacious Dodge Grand Caravan. This was from Enterprise rental cars, but to be fair, I’ve rented from them several times before, with no shitty stories to tell, this was just extremely inconvenient timing.

My fabulous moving men (, and were troopers, hauling millions of kilograms worth of books down the stairs at impressive speeds. Kari and her trusty purple vehicle were also extremely helpful, transporting the men who would not fit in the packed-to-the-gills caravan to the storage unit not once but twice, the second time during nasty rush hour traffic. The self-storage lady was very nice, although she had to advise me that I was not allowed to “decorate, paint, have plants, or hang pictures” in my 5″x10″ rental unit, so maybe I looked a little more homeless and desperate than I thought. We were finished by around 6pm.

Thank goodness that’s over. Now I’m resting at the welcoming abode of , and will probably pass out from exhaustion soon. Tomorrow I hope to conjure up enough energy to return the rental vehicle, see , say welcome back to , and go to the birthday celebrations of . Sunday is a day of complete rest.

I have to take a moment to say a big, mushy, Spice Girls singing “mama I love you”-style thank you to , who has been an unbelievable, inexhaustible source of support and assistance through all this. Three whole days of stressful packing in a house haunted with memories, chanting the “one piece at a time and it will all get done” mantra, and it all got done. Aside from allowing me to clutter up her apartment and share her bed without batting an eyelash, maintaining a positive attitude while removing me from the home of a man she’s called “son in law” for over a year now had to be painful for her, and I am extremely grateful for it. Thanks, mom.