Purging

I'm forcing myself to do at least one task every day that will get me closer to being ready to move. Today's task was to empty the basement closet of all of my clothes. I packed two boxes full of out-of-season clothes and things that don't fit but will soon (once I start walking to school every day, I'm sure I can drop one size pretty quickly). I filled a gigantic lawn and leaf bag full of clothes to give away.

The scary part is that I still have a laundry basket or two full of clothes in the basement, plus a dresser full of clothes in my bedroom. I think most of those are on their way to St. Vincent de Paul as well.

How did I end up with this many articles of clothing in the first place? I don't even care about clothes, beyond wanting to wear moderately flattering and appropriate things.

In any case, it feels good to let them go. Once the clothes purge is done, the book purge begins. And so on until I run out of purging time and have to move what's left.

James and I are grilling tonight. The grill isn't coming with us, so we have to enjoy it while we can. If that means burgers for dinner, I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

Clerks

I went and saw Clerks II yesterday with James and Greg. I'd read a couple negative reviews, but I knew before I read them that there was no way I was going to miss seeing this movie.

Jeff was the one who introduced me to Clerks. I remember how much Dante reminded me of him at the time. I loved the movie instantly, which, when you think about it, is kind of weird. Most of the acting in the original is pretty wooden, though the dialogue is brilliant, and of course it's thoroughly obscene, not to mention ludicrous. But it's charming, and so is Clerks II, I think. Though the egregiously offensive moments in this one are even more egregious.

Nerves

Last Sunday afternoon I thought it would be nifty to try making caramel. Caramel is one of my favorite flavors, especially with nuts, and I've always been intrigued by the idea of making it myself by melting sugar, rather than buying it in a squeeze bottle or, God forbid, unwrapping and melting down a zillion pieces of caramel candy. I am pleased to report that I did, indeed, make delicious caramel, flavored with real vanilla and Irish whiskey rather than that vanillin gunk Big Food likes to put in everything. In fact, my caramel-in-progress looked so inviting that, without thinking, I dipped in a finger to see how it tasted.

Bad idea. Melted sugar is way hotter than boiling water, and it's sticky to boot. So, through a combination of this act of stupidity and a chem-lab accident in 11th grade, I now have substantial dead spots on the pads of both thumbs and both forefingers. Fortunately, they don't hurt or look awful, and I can still type and knit. But I need to not fry parts of my body on superheated things anymore. (The prior incident involved glass heated to the point where it was pliable. Why do I do this crazy stuff to amuse myself?!)

Moving day is in one month. Thanks to the very-part-time job, I just might have enough cash to carry me through until the loans come through. And after that, I'll have very different things to worry about.

Restless

I just want to hurry up and move already. I love Pittsburgh, so it's not that I'm not happy with where I am, but the stress is really getting to me. I hate working nights: all day long, I'm thinking, "I should do something fun to take advantage of all this free time I have before I have to be at work!" But I can't relax, because I'm worrying about the work I'm going to have to do later. That's how I feel about this impending move.

It's stressful making such a dramatic change in my life after the past several years of holding patterns. I know that many people say that you can treat law school like a full-time job and be successful, and I'm sure that's true, but I don't think it will feel the same for me. Maybe that's because of the kind of full-time jobs I've had: all of them have been customer-service oriented. I'm looking forward to not having to please customers all the time, as well as more obvious things, like learning a ton and acquiring new skills. And outside of school, I'm looking forward to living downtown (which I've wanted to do since I first laid eyes on the Downtown Mall), walking around town, getting involved at a new church, and enjoying the chocolate sorbetto at Splendora's. Here in Pittsburgh, everything I'm enjoying is beginning to be colored by the fact that I'll be leaving soon.

I'm glad that I'll be able to come back here after moving. I often wanted to visit Seattle after moving here, but only managed it once, and then only for a couple of days. James has so much family here that I'm sure we'll be back often.

Sweet

I decided to visit my parents for a few days. It's only four hours' drive (well, unless there's traffic, which there nearly always is) and I wanted to see my dad on his birthday, which is today. It's been a really nice visit. I've done a lot of sitting around, but nonetheless have managed to get a few things done: my dad and I fixed my car's cranky CD player together (and only had to make one Home Depot run, so that's not bad!), and I did some student loan paperwork and sent off my final deposit check to U.Va. Tomorrow before I leave for the trip home, I'm going to try to get that student loan junk in the mail in hopes that it will be all squared away when U.Va. cuts my tuition bill.

One Fun Fact about my family is that we consider seafood the marker of a celebration. Accordingly, my dad did not have a birthday cake tonight, but rather a dinner at Red Lobster. I personally think the candles-on-a-cake tradition should be abolished in favor of one crab leg per year.

One and a half months now until the move to C'ville. Can't hardly wait.