Wrapping Up

Things change... Life doesn't stop for anybody

-Stephen Chbosky

How have I accumulated so much stuff?!?

I seem to remember saying much the same thing when I moved out of the Jetta, but since I've had a whole room to fill I've managed to collect everything from japanese lanterns to book shelves. Of course when I move I leave with almost nothing so my mission for February is to get rid of it all (and it's been snowing so tossing it on the side of the road with a "FREE" sign won't work).

The fact is, I suppose, that at nearly 30 I should probably have accumulated more things and be a little more reluctant to give them up.

And this is only half the room...

But I didn't and I'm not.

I realized today that, even though I had the hope of settling down here in New Hampshire for a good long while, I never actually made any plans here. I didn't look into my own apartment or buy furniture. I didn't change the address on my licence and everything was done with the subconscious knowledge of impending transience.

So the flight is booked, accommodations are made, I've given the school notice and told the student's parents. My bedroom is in chaos as I weed out clothes and sell off mirrors and lamps. The challenge will now be to make it through the month as the light at the end of the tunnel draws nearer. 

Another Year, Another Move

Would you believe that I've been in New Hampshire for 20 months? That's right, over a year and a half of being a teacher in a small city (remember that's a small New Hampshire city as opposed to a small California city which would be a very different thing). It's been fun! I haven't had a car for more than 40 days of those 20 months so I walk a lot and take the bus. I sit at coffee shops downtown and go out for drinks with friends on Friday nights. I really thought for a while that I might be able to settle here for a while, I love the area and my family is close by, but no dice.

So I'm on the move again, this time to New Orleans! Yeah, I know: I was going to move there a few years ago, but this time I have a work exchange set up with a hostel down there and a plan to tutor. So maybe it's not foolproof, but it's the start of a plan and with all the snow we've had up here lately even half a plan sounds good if it begins somewhere warmer.

Did I mention I just turned 30?