The last time we'll......

As the move to Boston nears so many 'routine' events are fast becoming memorable "the last time we'll...." events. For example, I, as you know, give blood every 8 weeks at the local blood bank. I donated recently and realized that I will not be eligible to donate again until after we move! It was my 'last blood donation' at that spot! As we prepare for our big move, several little things like this have become momentous occasions to recognize and appreciate the things we love about living in the Eugene area. What a tremendous reminder to 'live in the present'...whether we are moving away or staying here. All we really 'have' is right NOW.

Along these lines Trina and I are going to Newport, Or this weekend for what we expect will be our last trip to the Oregon Coast before we move to Boston. Newport is one of our favorite coastal destinations and we have visited periodically throughout our 7.5 year relationship. We have made day trips involving picnics and chowder, weekend trips to stay with friends in houses above the beach, and trips involving furious winds and bone-chilling temperatures. But, no matter the conditions, we always enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, the salty sea air, and the chance to stroll through touristy shops and boutiques while sipping a latte or hot cocoa.

As if visiting Newport isn't enough of a treat, we have been gifted (for my birthday back in March) a night at one of the sweetest bed and breakfasts in Newport: the Ocean House. It is a tremendous gift and one that comes at the PERFECT time. What better way to unwind from all the demands of preparing to move cross country than by taking 24 hours off and staying at the Ocean House? Our room is complete with GORGEOUS ocean view, soaking tub (I may never leave), beautiful decor, incredible food and all the peace and quiet you could ever want! Ahhhhhh. Just with the 'dr' ordered.

Soaking up our last (gulp) trip to Newport for some time will involve all of our favorite stops. I am in LOVE with the beach...so this means that poor Trina will be subject to much walking in the cold, windy conditions forecast for the weekend. I promise to treat her kindly and with copious hot beverages and chowder. We will also visit the Rogue Brewery...one of my favorite spots! Rumor has it that they make a
KILLER burger (which I have never had). I have a sneaky suspicion that Trina will be updating her facebook status with some delicious details regarding some massively tantalizing burger on Saturday around the lunch hour. I will likely be savoring the locally brewed, delicious espresso stout or 'dead guy' ale. Sigh. No trip to Newport is complete without strolling through the waterfront area with a latte, and of course we'll hit all the fun little boutiques around Nye Beach.

I had hoped that this summer I would cycle from Astoria to Brookings, but this dream was hatched before my realization that I would be funded to work in Boston starting July 1. This is just another reason to soak up the scenario along Hwy 101.

open house, garage sale, open house: repeat

We have hosted two open houses, had one very large (and successful) garage sale,made 9 very large trips to goodwill, sold oodles of 'goods' on craigslist, and have whiddled our possessions down to the items that we hold nearest and dearest. You'd think that our home would look sparse, empty, or even like we had been robbed. But no. Instead our home looks fully furnished and well organized with tidy (but full) closets, cupboards and drawers. The human ability to 'collect' 'stuff' is mind blowing. How two, childless, women could acquire THAT much 'stuff' in such a short period of time is arresting. Nevertheless, we are systematically paring down.

Now, about the open houses: three weeks ago we had an open house advertised ONLY online for two days. That day we had four or five folks drop in to view the property. Yesterday we decided to really 'go after it'...it being the sale of our home. We advertised in the local paper for two days, posted online in various places for a week, and had signs up all week. No. one. came. Ha! Well, almost no one. About an hour before closing up shop a couple came by....but not just any couple. This nice husband and wife duo visited our property on SATURDAY as WELL AS on Sunday. That's right...TWO VIEWINGS. I don't know about you, but in my handbook, 'the fancy girls guide to selling a house in 40 days or less', this is a great sign! I am, we are, cautiously optimistic. The last thing this couple said to me as they left was, "feels just like home". Alrighty then. The only thing better would have been "the check is in the mail". Either way...it was a positive experience.

In the mean time, while we wait patiently for the residents of our property to find their little gem (located at 3503 Westleigh St) Trina and I have been doing our fair share of online property cruising. For those of you who have not rented a home in the past 10 years, it is a whole new world out here. Nearly any property that one could conceive of finding is now posted on any number of websites, online property management companies, free-online-lists (read, craigslist)and even online neighborhood newsletters and newspapers. It really is amazing. Our routine goes a little like this: one of us locates an AWESOME apartment in one of the three neighborhoods we are most attracted to in Boston (South End, Back Bay or Jamaica Plain). Then, we find the address or the properties cross streets (full addresses are rarely available) and search google maps (http://maps.google.com/) by typing in the address or cross streets to get a real life, street level view of the property and the surrounding neighborhood. It is so. much. fun. If we like the area (we often virtually 'stroll' up and down the surrounding streets) we contact the landlord or property manager for additional information. Usually we will 'like' an area if the surrounding streets and properties are tidy, the shrubbery is maintained, there is no graffiti on buildings, the sidewalks are in good repair, there are no bars on windows and if there are parks and greenspaces near by for walking our sweet little beast. So far this has kept us entertained for HOURS as we point and click our way to a new residence. I cannot imagine trying to do this without the internet! Oiy-Vay!

On a completely unrelated note, last week was 'grad fair' at OSU. This is an event for students who will be graduating and participating in commencement....universities will use any excuse to have a 'fair' to sell students things that they 'need' in order to: graduate, register for classes, go to class, go to a sporting event, or any number of other everyday student activities. Nevertheless, I went. It felt like 'the' thing to do, and it felt festive...and let's face it. Jennifer Jabson will do almost anything for a little pomp and circumstance. My dear friend Verna joined me at this 'fair'....and it turned out to be a load of fun. We had our picture taken together posing in PhD regalia (puffy costumes that PhD's wear to commencement ceremonies and other such fluffy events). I can't resist posting these....it was so much fun. By the way, Verna is one of my closest friends whom without I might not have ever made it through this journey. I wonder if she will be able to fly to Boston for our weekly 'social support' meetings?

Status Update

It has been WEEKS since my last post. In that time I have presented, defended and passed the final exam for my PhD. That's right...I'M DONE!!!!! As such, the last few weeks have been filled to the brim with details in preparation for the defense, anticipatory anxiety for the defense and recovery from the defense. Who knew it would be so consuming? The morning after the big day I felt like I had run a marathon. I spent the whole day limping along.

Nevertheless, our planning and preparations for the big move to Boston have not slowed. We have selected a moving company, sold my car, made 950 trips to goodwill (you think I'm exaggerating?), had an open house (and scheduled a second), showed the house to four people (no offers yet), and organized a garage sale (scheduled for Saturday the 25). Whew! We are like two Tasmanian devils here in Eugene. There is a perpetual cloud of dust hanging around the condo from all of our activity. Could this explain the absence of the bidding war over our fabulous home?

We have also made several important decisions about our move to Boston. First, we are going to visit there for 5 days in May (May 25-30) in order to secure an apartment and for me to handle HR issues at the university. Second, we have officially decided to drive to Boston in June. With our old cat and uppity dog this seems like a must.Flying either of them (or god forbid both) could be dangerous for them and us. If you get my drift. Can you imagine, me, carrying macy in all of her 'vocal' glory through the airport hoping to all of the pet gods that she doesn't bark all the way to Boston? To that visual add Trina carrying the 'vocal', elderly and excreting Jasmine. We would probably be escorted out of the terminal, leaving us to hitch-hike our way across the US. Driving is a better option.

Currently we are planning to drive out of Eugene on June 24'ish. This will permit us plenty of time for easy drive days and site seeing (I've never driven cross country). This will also, hopefully, keep any one of us from killing another. :)

Here's to continued planning, and house selling!!!