When It Rains It Pours

So what’s up with our little buddy El Nino?? Last week had the craziest weather that Southern California has seen “ever.” (At least that’s what those who have lived here longer than my tenure of 14 days keep telling me.) I’m crossing my fingers that they’re right. My Texas friends will understand the conditions when I say that it was basically April thunderstorm weather—complete with a couple of tornados.

[Interestingly, though, the storms came without thunder. I’m going to need to go to the wiki on that one…I don’t get why the thunder didn’t come to the party.]

Anyway, I got soaked more times in the past seven days than I can even count. I’d like to order up the sunshine now, please.

One of last week’s agenda items was getting to the DMV and getting my driver’s license and registration taken care of. Apparently the fact that I had this on my list caused some friends to think that I’m overly conscientious about such things. Yeah…not so much. But my registration expired at the end of December and my license expired last Friday. SO…I carved out time from work and headed over to just get it done with. I left the DMV (soaked from waiting in line outside) 2 hours later with neither of these chores accomplished.

Long story on both, but I did go back the next day and get the properly licensed to drive. The registration…well, when your title is locked up somewhere in storage facility in Fullerton, you have to get the state of Texas involved. I love the Tejas, of course, but I’m not holding my breath on getting this one resolved very quickly.

Moving cross country: there’s so much more fun than just living out of your (unregistered) car.

To escape the wet dreary weather in SoCal, I headed to NoCal where I was delighted to be greeted by…more wet, dreary weather. I went for some meetings in San Francisco and then to Napa to celebrate the second anniversary of my 35th birthday. Let’s just be crystal clear—there’s no better way to spend a birthday weekend than sipping delicious wine in spectacular locations with a super groovy guy.

Especially when you get a good pour.

Not in Kansas Anymore

Whew. I honestly don’t know where to start. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind like no other. I completely feel like Dorothy…pretty much minding my own business and then…POOF…swept away to a foreign land in the blink of an eye. It’s crazy that it’s only been a few weeks since all this change was set in motion. And here I am tonight sitting in my (second…we’ll get to that in a minute) hotel room in Orange County California.

So let’s see. There was the move itself. I’m so glad that Mother Nature blew through with 20 degree temps the day of the move. That was ever so helpful to the whole process. I won’t soon forget the morning that the movers were loading the truck and my mom and dad and I were upstairs in the warmest room of the house with coats and gloves shivering away. Three hours with the door open with those kind of temps has that effect.

Other than being mind numbingly cold (I’m from TEXAS, people…I don’t have the constitution to withstand anything less that 45 degrees), the move went very smoothly. I gave away about half of my stuff and really regret that I didn’t take a picture of my garage before the charity came and took it all away. It was, if I do say so myself, one impressive heap of junk. Absolutely a case of where one man’s trash is another’s treasures. Seriously…I hope that others are enjoying that stuff. I feel so much lighter without it!

There were a few glitches of course (my favorite was about 20 minutes after the truck drove away and my mom happened to open the largest drawer in the kitchen. To find it FULL. Yep. Luckily that was the only thing the packers missed). But my belongings have arrived in California and I’m so happy to be back in possession of my car—not because I care about the car at all, but it was impressively packed with all the stuff that I will have access to in the next couple of months while most of my stuff is in storage. So now I’m not just living out of one suitcase…I’m living out of six of them. Good times.

When I got here I checked into an extended stay hotel. For some reason I thought it made sense to get a place where I could pick up groceries and feel somewhat settled in for the first week. I clearly didn’t factor in the 80 hours of work that left minimal time to eat…let alone shop. The hotel was absolutely disgusting (and I’m pretty sure the carpet hasn’t been changed since 1984). I can’t believe I stayed there for 5 nights, but I’m happy to report that I vacated the flea bag suites this morning.

I had hoped to move into an apartment today. I did find a place yesterday, but can’t move in until 2/1. I’ll be in a furnished apartment for a couple of months while I get the lay of the land and figure out where I really want to live. I found a super cute place in Laguna Beach about 3 blocks away from the beach and village. I can’t believe that I will live walking distance to the beach. This, my friends, is my dream come true.

So many other things have happened (including my car showing up broken…though apparently not the movers fault), but it’s all just coming together. It’s been quite a ride, but I’m not sure anything has just snapped into place for me before like all of the details around this whirlwind move have. I am so many miles from home and barely know anyone out here, but I’m so happy and at peace that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Even if the gas is $3.19 per gallon.

Movin' on Along

Good grief. The moving? It is A LOT of work!!

Just a quick note tonight to say that:

a) Christmas is 50 hours away...and by the skin of my teeth I am READY. Bring it!

b) I close on my house a week from today. This is the one detail in the whole shebang that I actually don't have to do anything for but show up. Holla!

c) I move in 10 days. That thought? TERRIFIES me! I have so many details to figure out. Like...someone to move me. And, tiny detail...WHERE are they going to move it?! I'm going to take the easiest way out on this one and hire someone to pack, move and store my stuff. Three companies are coming tomorrow and hopefully it will be clear which one is the best choice. Where I'm going to be on the other end, on the other hand...well, we're just considering that an adventure. I'll either ask a friend to go check out some options or I'll sign up for something sight unseen. Or I'll live in a hotel or out of my car for a while. I guess either way I'll figure it out.

I know there will be unexpected complications. I've already had my work email/calendar go completely wonky and they haven't even transferred it for real. The real deal will undoubtedly be a disaster. So I'm just trying to expect it--there will certainly be other details that go awry.

I wish I could say that I'm just rolling with all of this and am as cool as a cucumber. To say such a thing would be a bald face lie.

The truth is that I'm beyond stressed out. The combination of the job expectations (how can be this far behind in a job I started yesterday??), Christmas, closing and vacation next week, the move the following week, and meetings in San Francisco the week after are, well, overwhelming to me.

So...I'm trying to breathe a lot remind myself that I WANT this to all happen and that it will ultimately be a good thing. The way it's all unfolded makes me think that it's a God thing, and if that's true that the details have already been worked out.

That's the theory, of course. The practical, well, it's not so rose-colored and sunny.

For those of you in close proximity who are putting up with me right now, thank you for your patience and your encouragement and your amazing, amazing love and support. I know that I can get pretty tightly wound (yes, I just admitted it), but I hope you know how much I appreciate you!!

WooHoo! Bring on the packing tape and bubble wrap!!

Upside Out. Inside Down. And Beach Bound!

So…WOW. What a difference a week makes! Two pretty major things happened in the past seven days that have effectively turned my life upside down and inside out in the blink of an eye.

First—I sold my house! And had it inspected and started down path of the gagillion little details that go into selling I house. I’m a first time seller and my poor realtor is earning her commission—I’m guessing I could win an award for asking the most questions ever. I just like to know how everything works and why it works that way.

Pretty much like a two-year old with an escrow account.

My friends like to tease me that I don’t do anything partway. I don’t just get sick…I get H1N1 or obscure medical conditions. I don’t just hurt myself…I do something to require stitches or pins or some other surgical intervention. And apparently I don’t just do a little something to add chaos to my life…I go a few steps further push my sanity completely to the brink.

You might remember the job I mentioned that fell through at the 11th hour? The whole situation was seriously sucky and I was definitely disappointed about the whole shebang. That’s probably an understatement on both accounts. ANYWAY…in a completely surprising twist of fate, they came back and asked me to reconsider an “enhanced” offer. (Which isn’t as fancy as it sounds, but is what I needed to be able to actually pack up my life and go live in a bankrupt state that was already ridiculously expensive to begin with).

And I said YES!

So I’m moving to Orange County, CA and am completely thrilled with the whole reversal of fortune thing. And shocked. And reeling. And terrified. And already completely in over my head at a new job that I can’t wait to do. I think I just got a seat at the grown-ups table and, well, it should definitely be an interesting ride!

Not sure exactly when I’m headed West, but considering that my house closes in two weeks and I’m moving out 2 weeks after that, my guess is that it’s going to happen pretty fast. There is so much I will miss about Austin (and Texas!), but I'm really excited for this next adventure.

And if 'fate' is listening, while I’m delighted about the recent events, perhaps this week could be a little less eventful. And maybe I could get some Christmas shopping done.

(P.S.—In case you’re wondering, I knew all of this when I posted this. But I had to post it anyway…when I wrote it I didn’t have a clue what was about to unfold!)

(P.P.S--I think that's what 'fate' likes to call IRONY.)

Christmas Countdown

Christmastime when I was kid always began on December 7th—my brother’s birthday is the 6th and my mom strongly believed that he should get to have his day in the sun before we jumped into the Christmas chaos. And we couldn’t blame her—my mom’s birthday is Christmas day and she definitely got what it was like to have your birthday get overshadowed by bigger celebrations.

One of my favorite things we did to prepare was the countdown calendar. As I recall, there’s was a candy cane everyday when we opened the next little window…and I’ve always been a girl who likes my sweets! I love a good countdown when the anticipation builds and the journey to get there becomes as much fun as the eventual destination (this is my complete MO with vacations, too).

The countdown to Christmas is still my favorite part of the holiday—planning gifts, shopping, wrapping. (OK…not wrapping. I actually hate that part.)

I also try to prepare my heart for Christmas on a spiritual level. For several years now the main theme for me has been the reminder me that God keeps his promises…even when it seems that he’s gone away. After generations of Old Testament prophets, silence fell on the Earth and God didn’t “speak” for 400 years. It’s not hard to relate to the feeling they must have had that God just disappeared.

In my own life, it also seems like I’ve been living in silence. For a while now it’s been very difficult for me to hear God’s voice. I’m guessing that it has more to do with me not listening than him not talking— but either way, all I’m hearing are crickets.

And the silence? It’s deafening.

And then Christmas comes. And with it a powerful reminder to me that just because I can’t hear him, it doesn’t for the tiniest moment mean that he’s not here or that he doesn’t love me just as much as he did when I had the frequency dialed in.

I read something that pointed out that God showing up in a manger is a reminder that he can show up any time; any place. That he would choose to do it the way he did is mind boggling. I fully get why it sounds so foolish to someone who doesn’t know God. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that sometimes I feel a little foolish telling the story because I KNOW how it sounds.

And yet…God decided to do something that, honestly, we couldn’t begin to make up. I really love that about him. Hello…a virgin? A manger? But in coming as one of us he rolled up his sleeves and jumped into life with all its messy, painful, JUNK. He became one of us (well…a fully loaded, upgraded version of us).

I can’t wrap my brain around God—and I’m so glad for that. I’m completely uninterested in a God that I could understand or who only works in ways that make sense to me. A god small enough to fit in any box I could make would be an awfully wimpy god.

And I don’t do wimpy. Unless you count the way I wrap gifts.

Life and Jell-O and Time Warps and Such

Hi y’all!

Well…I’ve been taking a bit of a bloggy break and several of you have been so nice to reach out and, well, suggest that it’s time to jump back in. Not only is that just super nice, it’s also shockingly nice.

Um, wow…you noticed I was gone. That’s, well, NICE!

As my last post explained this has been the season of the unkown. I wish I could give you an update with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed, but I guess it just doesn’t work that way. The truth is that nothing is really different. Still waiting for my house to sell, still trying to figure out my job situation, and still exploring what’s next. And yes…I still hope it’s California!

One of the reasons that I’ve been quiet recently is that I got sick…hello H1N1. Whew! What that little bug lacks in intensity it makes up for in duration. So while it was actually fairly mild, four weeks later I’m still working to get my energy back.

But truth be told, that’s probably just an excuse.

Lately I’ve been feeling a bit like a piece of pineapple stuck in one of my late grandmother’s Jell-o molds. I can sort of see out, but I just feel stuck. (Hmm…after all that Thanksgiving eating I definitely feel “jiggly” too!!) There’s great stuff in my life right now—but I still just feel stuck waiting to see what’s next. I’m a girl who likes to take the bull by the horns and GO, but I just can’t seem to find them right now or figure out which way I’m supposed to be going.

How’s that for a bunch of mixed metaphors?

Anyway, I spent the holiday with my family and took a lot of time to reflect on how grateful I am for so much, despite recent disappointments. In fact, I think I’m even thankful for the disappointments because they allow me to remember and appreciate so many things that I take for granted.

And now (because apparently I’ve been living in a time warp where days fly by at an alarming speed) it’s December and Christmastime. I’d like to be disciplined this month in writing about this season of hope. About what hope means to me. And about faith…something that, honestly, I’ve been struggling with. So we’ll see how I do amongst all the hustle and bustle and merriment of the season, but I’m going to try.

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Do They Make a GPS for That?

I'm the kind of gal that really likes maps. I like knowing the lay of the land--what's North or South and how places are connected together by a spiderweb of roads and highways. I absolutely love to travel but rarely go anywhere without studying a map first to get my bearings and understand the relationship of the location to its surroundings. It helps me to appreciate and more fully experience the destination.

Or maybe I just like control.

The thing about studying a map and "understanding" where I'm at, if I'm really honest, has a lot to do with feeling like I'm in control of where I'm at. That I have knowledge (hello, power!) and that I'm not purely at the mercy of my concierge or cabbie.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I alluded a few times in previous posts (yes, like a million years ago) that there was big news in the works. The truth is that I thought I was bound for Southern California. I've been working towards a really cool promotion for the past year and it looked like it was all going to come together and I was going to pack it all up and head West. I fully imagined life by the beach--surfing, running along the sand, and lots of time to soak up the sun, sights and sounds of ocean living. Truth be told, my heart was pretty much set on it. Oh...and the job would have been a killer career opportunity.

At the eleventh hour it all fell apart. I got the offer, but yada yada ya, we couldn't make the details work out when it all came down to it. I would be lying if I said that I was anything other than incredibly disappointed.

So the past few weeks have been weighty ones. I've had to reconcile that something I really wanted and looked forward to wasn't going to pan out. I was so sure that I had read the map correctly and was navigating to not only where I wanted to go, but also to the place I thought I was supposed to go next.

Yeah. Not so much. Feels a little bit like deja vu.

(And for the record, if you ever have such issues to wade through, I highly recommend retreating to Napa. Definitely worked for me.)

So here I am at the proverbial crossroads. And honestly? I have NO idea what's next. Those of you who know me well can imagine that this is, an, uh, less than comfortable place for me to be. But it's that good kind of uncomfortable. My house is still on the market and I still plan to sell it, but have no idea what I'm going to do if/when it actually sells. I still have a job (for which I am definitely grateful), but I know it's not one that really challenges or excites me. I think it's time for something new, but what that looks like I really don't know.

I think my heart is still in California and there are lots of reasons that I'd like to head West and explore the possibilities. And oh, yeah...we're still in a recession so it's not like there a jobs a plenty just waiting for me to come along.

There have been moments when all of the above have filled me with pause--not to mention some angst. But there have also been lots of moments that have filled me with pure excitement and anticipation of what the next adventure might be.

So here we go...there's a journey ahead. And there's no map for this one. I suspect that all of my control-loving-sensibilities are going to be challenged along the way. But I'm also pretty sure that it's going to be wild and wonderful ride.

Buckle up!