As the clock ticks down...

As previously mentioned, I'm relocating to a new state at the end of this month -- in approximately 20 days. So far, I've done pretty well with not panicking about it. I have tons of lists of things to do -- address changes, insurance changes, general downsizing by selling items that are no longer needed, packing up what I'm taking with me, taking care of utilities and prescriptions and general apartment maintenance...

It's taking up quite a few lists and some major space in my brain -- so much so that I haven't been able to write as much as I've wanted to. But the good news is that once I'm moved, then I'll have a lot of time to focus on writing and freelance art gigs and other creative endeavors, so there's a giant beacon of light at the end of this so-far-really-cluttery-tunnel-of-packing-and-moving.

Here are a few general updates about my life and ongoing projects:

1. #thelast40days is going fairly well. I believe I'm on day 15 or 16... I lost count. I haven't graduated from tracing to outright sketching the comics, but I am making progress on changing facial expressions or clothing or surroundings, so I could that as a win. Hopefully by the end of the project I'll be able to whip out selfie cartoons on demand.

2. Downsizing is going well, if slowly. My friend N. has been particularly indispensable with helping me stay motivated and on target with this move. She's taken photos of all the items I'm selling and has been awesome at actually selling it for me! I think we've made about $700 so far, all of which is safely in my savings account so that I can move without the panic of "I have xx days to find a job or else I'm broke."

3. I survived my current job's goodbye ceremony for me. That's really the only thing to call it. I was called up on the floor of our last quarterly meeting and had to stand up there while multiple (about 6 or 8) people took a microphone and said nice things to me. It was like a nice version of a celebrity roast. While I specifically stated that I, under no circumstances, did not want anything like that to occur, it did. And I survived. I came to realize that, however uncomfortable I was with the whole ordeal, that goodbye wasn't about me. It was about them. They needed to do it. I just needed to stand up there and smile blandly and wait patiently until I could leave and go hide and recover from spotlight anxiety.

4. There are very few things left on the list for my time left here. I've trained my replacement, so work isn't all that difficult anymore. I get a lot of time to read while remaining on call for questions from the person who took over parts of my job. I have a smattering of dinners/lunches with folks scheduled to say goodbye before the move, and most of those are this weekend. I'm having an open house to catch any of the miscellaneous people who I haven't already scheduled something with, as well as take the opportunity to get rid of some more of my belongings that I don't want to put in storage. I have one last church cantata to sing in with my father (on Christmas Eve). And that's about it.

You know, it's nice to be putting this chapter of my life to close in a nicely organized fashion. It started out with so much pain and anxiety and change. While I know that no one can really control their future, I like thinking that I'm going into this next chapter with as much of a clean slate as possible, and that all the loose ends that have kept me mired for so long are being tied up here before I go.

It's a bittersweet ending, because there are good things here that I am going to miss. But there is adventure that's calling me onward, and I don't want to miss it.

---

"You'll never completely be at home again,

because part of your heart will always be elsewhere.

That's the price you pay for the richness of loving people

in more than one place."

--markedbyreem, Instagram post.

#moving #projects #update #thelast40days #goodbyes #downsizing