So why do I keep counting?...

Anyone who has seen my Facebook account this weekend knows I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled on Friday morning. This is, oddly enough, one of those things that makes my upcoming move that much more real. My dentist has been trying to talk me into getting this done for some five years now... at first I refused to do it out of fear. Then, I refused to do it because I had no dental insurance (paying for cleanings out of pocket is a bitch). Now, those four useless teeth are gone. And it really makes things real because I never would have done it if I didn't have something motivating me to do it: Cue my move to Penn State.

After a couple of weeks on the phone with a bunch of moving companies, I have finally settled on a mover. Three cheers for finding a company that didn't use a single sales pitch on me and didn't talk to me as though I was an idiot. I have not experienced this a lot in life, but this was definitely an exercise in listening to men talk down to me because I am a female making a "big move" on my own. Of course, this meant that I got to take out months of stress and anticipation on a bunch of people I'll never talk to again. If I have a sarcasm bank, I overdrew my account...

But enough about the shitty people! The nice people I found will pick up my belongings on August 2 and deliver between August 7 (my move-in date) and August 12. I plan to leave Tampa noonish on August 4, giving me three days to drive. I won't tire myself out by driving 18 hours in two days and I can stop as often as I want. Mom won't be coming with me, as originally planned, but that will work out for the best. She's flying to PA from August 11-16; Instead of sitting around looking at a potentially empty apartment, she'll be there to help me unpack. Then, we can go get ice cream and everything will be awesome.

And really, as much as I'm not ready to leave Tampa (I have no less than 15 breakfast/coffee/lunch/dinner/party commitments between Monday, July 26 and Sunday, August 1), I'm ready to go. I'm sick of looking at my home stuffed to the gills with boxes (see the shoddy picture of my current view in my living room). I'm sick of planning. I'm sick of sitting around waiting for things to happen. These last 10 days are going to fly, and as much as I hate the fact that I'm probably leaving Tampa for a really long time (if not forever), I'm ready to taste some more of that sweet Berkey Creamery ice cream. I'm ready to go from high 90s and 150% humidity to high 70s. Mostly, I want my mouth to heal so I can get moving on this next chapter.

With 10 days left at home,

- Mel(li) :)