28 Days

WHEN: Virgina, South Carolina, and Everywhere In Between WHERE: July 24 - August 21, 2010 ::blog soundtrack:: Death and taxes. Those reading this have only personally experienced the latter and as for me and my families, we have gotten our (tax) money's worth over the past 4 weeks. We have put more wear & tear on this country's interstates than likely is allotted per household. Just between Stacie, me, and both our parents, we have traveled a combined 11,000 miles on interstates during trips over the past 4 weeks. That's almost 2,000 miles a piece! For Stacie and I, all that traveling has also been the gain of numerous auto repair shops along the way. And don't even tell me what 11,000 miles comes out to in gas dollars. I don't want to know! But my number-loving mind had to stop and calculate (around $1,600). But miles and automobiles are only part of our story the past 4 weeks. I don't know how much more "stuff" could have been crammed in to the last 28 days for us - temporally or spatially (had to get my time & space reference in there). Our lives have been compressed, stressed, and blurred in many ways but not without making memories we will keep with us for a very long time. July 24 may not seem like long ago on the calendar but for us in real life it seems years ago. Since then we have had Stacie's family down to visit us, had my family down to visit, traveled to South Carolina twice (450 miles one way), packed up and moved our house in Virginia, then unloaded and set up every box in South Carolina, and changed jobs during the whole process. We have been on our toes every day of 4 weeks and are now looking back in exhaustion and intrigue, trying to remember all that happened in the whirlwind that is now behind us.

Stace & I had the week off while her family was visiting. It was just as much of a vacation for us as for them. It was our last time to "see" Virginia Beach and last chance to relax before the real whirlwind of chaos began.

Does this look like an apartment of two? Somehow we managed to stuff six people into a 900 square foot apartment for 7 days. Quarters were tight! August 6, my last day of work. I've worked one week in the past 4 weeks and been paid for all but the last week - is this retirement? Dealing with HR forms, emails, and personnel (for leaving one job and beginning another) was a full-time job in itself and always a concern in the back (or front) of our minds. We met my parents and sister in Virginia the following week and drove down to South Carolina to find a place to live. It was their first time to South Carolina. It was our fourth time, and the second of three times in the past month. We can't keep our trips straight! God provided us a condo first thing in the morning which gave us the rest of the day to tour and show them historic Charleston. By the way, TAKE the chance to visit Charleston if you ever get it. We're not just biased because we live here either. Sure you can go elsewhere for beaches, palm trees, and national history but the way they're combined in Charleston creates a charm unlike any other place I've been. At Waterfront Park in Charleston. Back to the beach (Isle of Palms)! Not as crowded as Virginia Beach and much warmer water. Our new abode - complete with cockroaches, mosquitoes (the state bird), lizards, frogs, and (probably) alligators. We're still pinching ourselves that we live here and so thankful to have a home and job. Moving buddies. My parents helped us move in to our first place in North Carolina three years ago, we helped them move in to their new house in April, and they drove us down to Charleston to sign our new lease last week. If holidays, weddings, and grandchildren ever fail to bring us together with our families, moves will! Picking up our Penske truck (third time in three years) involved helping the dealer bend the rear bumper back via this steel post. Sign of things to come? The handsome discounts and customer service provided by Penske were worth it though. After three moves with Penske, I have nothing but positive things to say about this company. I have become a self-proclaimed volunteer salesman. Getting ready to load up Big Yella'. August 13 The insurmountable piles of junk needing to be boxed and loaded. You really come to despise your belongings when you have to move every year. August 14 Finished and ready to hit the road! Annnnnnnd, we're stopped. We were planning on leaving Virginia Beach at noon but didn't get out of our complex until 1:30. Then we had to stop by our cable provider to drop off our modem (unknown to us until we turned in our keys and at a location we were completely unfamiliar with). When we got there we were told the modem was ours and our stop was moot. Go figure. We had a quick lunch and hit the road at 2:30 (a far cry from noon). Of course there was heavy traffic before we even got out of the city and we had an 8-hour drive ahead of us, with a loaded 40ft. truck, pulling a car and trailer behind us. Compression and stress were rearing their heads for the zillionth time. We've gotten used to sleeping on the ground... ...and keeping the bare essentials (e.g. shower liner) out of boxes and available on demand. August 15 Truck unloaded, but far to go! August 21 For all intents and purposes, FINISHED! Our car repairs began first thing Monday morning when AAA came to tow our first car to get the brakes fixed that locked up during it's transport on the trailer. Our other car took it's trip to the repair shop on Thursday to get a new muffler. $600 in car repairs is never any fun, and especially not smack dab in the middle of a move! For a guy who keeps close tabs on all his receipts and finances, these have been a challenging past two weeks. We were without internet for 7 days until yesterday and receipts have collected on my desk like cockroaches in the pipes! I have some serious work to do. Time other than on a blog needs to be spent on this computer. We are so thankful God has provided us another place to live and a job when so many are unemployed. He has provided for and guided us every step of the way, even when we thought our way would work better. We are still getting settled and I begin work on Monday. Somewhere in there I will have pictures to post of our condo. It's good to be back on blogger but I enjoyed the hiatus as well.