I Hate Moving

I really hate moving. It makes me on edge until everything is in the new place and ready to go. I keep hoping that the next time I move from my apartment (I've been there for three years), I will be able to hire movers. However, regardless of my feelings about moving, Alex has to leave his current apartment and go into a new one THIS WEEK. See, he was living in this one apartment thanks to his internship for the last year...it was part of the job. He was thrilled by it: icemaker, dishwasher, washer AND dryer, and two bedrooms. Well, there's just no way we can swing something that luxurious this time around. He needs another place to live for this following year as he finishes up his schooling at USC, and then he will move in with us. Maybe one day we'll even get a house, but hey, that's far in the future right now.

So, the housing hunt started, and it was difficult to find a place that didn't look like a slum that was also a) in his price range and b) near the school. He has a bike but no car, so being within walking distance of the school was important. We *think* we finally nailed down a place, and we should be able to get the key tomorrow. Then we have to have everything moved in by Friday at 1p because at that time, we leave to take kids back to their father...and then head down to Atlanta to hang with some bloggers.

The move is stressful because I also have several other stressors brewing at the back of my head. Yes, we're planning on doing a civil ceremony within the next month or so and doing the full blown party later on in France. So, we've had to research rings and divert funds to pay for said rings. I'm still doing research on the marrying of a foreigner part too. Alex's lame ass French school still hasn't paid his tuition bill at USC, although they promise it will be done soon. This means he can't use the USC facilities nor officially find out on blackboard his homework assignments because he's been "kicked out" by the graduate school. The business school is accomodating him because they know his school will eventually pay the bill (or we hope so!!!), but they can't do anything about the graduate school's official policies when fees have not been paid by the set date. I'm stressed about this and want them to pay for it...but hey, it's the season for VACATION in France, so his school is shut down for two weeks. Woohoo! What else am I worried about? Oh yes, when I thought that Clemson U had pretty much turned me down, I received a surprise phone call and email that let me know I was still on the consideration list. Holy fuck. But no, they still haven't let me know one way or the other. So! I don't know if I have to prepare for another full year at Tech or prepare for all new classes at Clemson. I don't know if I'll have health ins. through Clemson or I'll have to wait until Alex and I marry to get it through USC's student health ins. policy. Well, after he's officially enrolled, that is. Oh, there are more stressors, but that sampling is enough to give you an idea of what's on my mind.

Alex's new place does not have a washer and dryer, so that sucks. It is one bedroom, and small, but it is nice enough for him to enjoy. It's close to the school, and all of us can fit when we're down visiting. We just need to get moved into that place and then I need to clean up this apartment before we're done with the move. Then that'll be one stress gone, I suppose.

You can tell that I'm off balance this week because I'm low on patience and snappish. Pitty my children. I hate myself when I'm like that, but other than copious alcohol intake, I don't have a clue on how to make myself be nice!

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Overheard while I was in the bathroom...

The kids walked by the bathroom yesterday morning while I was in it. I heard Ariana say, "Well, it's what Alex calls mom all the time. It's THAT word." Five year old Jared's response: "Sexy? You mean it's sexy?" I laughed so hard that I couldn't find out what word Ari was actually looking for! Haha!

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And on the "my god it's a miracle" front...guess what me, my ex, Alex, and the kids did this last Saturday? We all went swimming at a local lake for a few hours and had a great time! I shit you not. It went smoothly. The kids were SO happy to see their daddies getting along, too. My mom thinks it's wierd that the new trend in divorce is to have the new families be nice to each other and do things together. She told me that there's something wrong with that. Excuse me? My kids were relaxed and relieved to see us all getting along, joking, and having a good time. Were Alex and I a bit tense before going due to the whole "my ex husband is there" thing? Sure. But it went great, and we just might do it again because it obviously meant so much to Ariana in particular. Well, provided that my ex can cope with the marriage after it becomes official. That one may just take time.

I found out exactly how lazy I am these days, though. I did fourteen trips across an inlet about the size of the inlet on my lake that I grew up on. When I was a teen and swam a lot, that would have been NOTHING. NOTHING, do you hear me? This time, the day afterwards, it was paralysis. Every muscle cursed my name and called me bitch. I wish I lived on the lake though. I swear I'd swim every day with the kids over the summer, and I'd be fit! Swimming isn't exercise to me; swimming is fun. That's the only way to get me to exercise...call it fun and have me believe it.