Things I Have Accomplished In the Last 48 Hours; Or, Get Me Off This Crazy Train Called Moving Across the Country

The following things happened between yesterday morning and right this second, giving me official cause to tell this move to "bring it, sucka" because I am knocking shit out of the proverbial park.

1. I have a place to live in New York City. Repeat: I have a place to live in New York City. I had to somewhat let go of my ideal Upper West Side quaint studio scenario in a move that is, in the end, totally, mind-blowingly convenient. I'll be four blocks from school, a ten minute walk from the Fairway, and a few blocks from the 1 line which runs from the top to the bottom of Manhattan. Fully furnished. Sigh. And Olive will have a playmate! Deposit sent. Lease in the mail.

2. I have initiated email introductions with two of my new roommates. A teacher, a poly sci grad student and me. Quite the serendipitous combo?

3. Student loans are finalized. Repeat: student loans are finalized!!! Yes!!! And in an odd turn of events, I think I'll actually be acquiring less debt than I would had I stayed in Seattle and done the full-time MPA program at UW. I mean, there are many reasons why that would have been a disastrous choice regardless, but whatever, conscience cleared.

4. "Cat Business" ... I'm lumping this into one because holy hell moving across the country with a cat is an ordeal. But, Olive officially has a vet visit in which I will pay a doctor $80 to look at my cat for five minutes and give me some sort of State-approved certificate that says she's healthy and can travel on a plane. I also managed to track down the Jet Blue-approved pet carrier at Mud Bay and am picking it up after work today. Also, there will be cat valium. Which hopefully doubles as people valium.

5. Discovering that my Columbia ID gets me into most every museum in the city for free. While one R. Matthews pointed out that the museums are all mostly "by donation" anyway, what jerk actually has ever demanded a ticket without paying? I don't have the balls. And now, I don't have to!

6. I have a plane ticket. I have a plane ticket. I have a plane ticket. On August 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. I will leave the Pacific Northwest from whence* I entered: Portland, Oregon. What? Your mind is blown in the fluidity of that Circle of Life connection I just made there? I think I just gagged.

7. Lost most, if not all, humility. I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY IN 23 DAYS! YEAAAAAAAYYYYYYY! Humility be damned!

Siiiigh.

*I know this is technically redundant, but "I will leave the Pacific Northwest whence I entered it" just doesn't sound right so bite me.

whim

my parents are infamous for their whims: a trait i have (begrudgingly) inherited. several years ago, my dad assured us that his new pumpkin-orange ford ranger was his "going to jesus truck." four years, eight cars, three recreational vehicles and one house later, my dad is interviewing for his fourth "retirement job" and I am perusing seventeen different types of graduate programs with unabashed abandon. i'm telling you this in part because i believe (hope) verbalizing that i am conscious of my own flightiness will somehow diminish its recklessness. you know, 'a crazy person never thinks she's crazy' logic. at the same time, you will find me more likely to say "fuck it. i'm 23." now, than ever before. and i consider that one of my new favorite personality traits. this evening marked the beginning of a large west-coast retreat i have been preparing for over the past few months. our speaker tonight graduated from yale law school and spent six years writing about his classmates. luckily for him, his classmates were a group of law students who successfully sued presidents ghw bush and clinton, freeing several hundred HIV-positive haitian political refugees from detention at guantanamo in the early 90s. (they were also on npr this morning fyi: http://kuow.org/programs/weekday.asp). the story itself is fascinating, but i was struck most by one of the attorney's comments that the cornerstone of their success as students was the ability to ignore everyone else's conception of "what is possible." wow. i think our conceptions of "what is possible" oftentimes keep us from "what is ACTUALLY possible," and i'm certainly not immune. which explains why many of my whims remain whims. i am now thinking of seriously pursuing a degree in journalism. and will not rest until i've convinced myself that columbia is possible.