His & Hers

Well, the house is packed up, the movers are moving our "stuff" (even as I write!), and the kitties are hiding. Yesterday was a FULL day of packers boxing up our stuff. Today is another FULL day of the moving crew loading nearly all of our possessions onto crates to move across the country.

FYI: for all you military folks out there, always request a "crate" move. Trust me. Less damage, less hassle, less worry. No transfer of boxes or furniture from one truck to another. No misplaced boxes because one from Truck A doesn't arrive at Truck B (for unknown reasons). The crates are great - everything in the same closed container for the duration of the trip. And the crates remain locked until WE unlock them at our final destination.

In the past 72 hours, we've boxed and said farewell to nearly all of our stuff, serviced both cars (tire change, alignment, oil, belt - the works. Dad, your warnings about tires and breaks does not go unnoticed. I always check!), received official "orders" to drive across country, "looked" at many apartments/townhouses/houses/condos online courtesy of our awesome agent Pete, said, "farewell for now" to too many friends, had a surprise visit to to doc's office for a "female issue" (who wants to drive cross country with a UTI?), had sushi four times (love the Cambodian Rolls at Ichiban!), did my last LONG bike through the Blackwater Forrest, sorted through stuff that we should have thrown away LONG ago, and figured out what we want to keep with us for the next three weeks while our stuff is en route.

Thank God I'm not a smoker, and don't have any anxious habits. Because I would be lit up. Seriously.

And that's where this gets interesting. Because just the other day when Nathaniel mentioned that he was going to pick out few movies to take with us, and that I should do the same, I noticed that his choice in entertainment was very different from mine. And that got me wondering: what else is different about the way we pack and what we carry?

His: Gladiator, The Bourne Trillogy, The Big Lebowski, Any Given Sunday.
Hers: Love Actually, Bridget Jone's Diary, Shakespeare In Love, Grumpy Old Men (how appropriate! Especially by the time we hit Barsow, CA)

His: Toothbrush, Shave kit, Shampoo, soap.
Hers: Toiletries, makeup, brush, comb, moisturizer - face and body - shampoo and conditioner, hair tonic, hair mousse, facial soap, body soap.

His: two pairs of jeans, 1 pair of kahakis, 1 pair of running shorts.
Hers: two pairs of jeans, 1 pair of capris, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of running shorts, 2 pairs of workout shorts (they are different!), 5 pairs of bike shorts (never know when we'll have access to a washer), 2 pairs of tights (for the cold weather running in Flagstaff, AZ, and another pair "just in case"), 1 pair of leg warmers.

His: Just throws shoes into a duffel bag. A small bag (his exact words). Running shoes, birkenstocks, penny loafers.
Hers: 2 pairs of flip flops, Zoot Recovery Sandals, 2 pairs of running shoes, 2 pairs of bike shoes, 1 pair dressy high heels, 1 pair high heeled sandals.

His: "Airpower and Small Wars" by Coram and Johnson, "The War of the Flea by R. Taber, The Art of War and The Western World by Archer Jones.
Hers: "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, "Harry Potter 5" by JK Rowling, and personal writing journal.

His: Watch.
Hers: 2 watches (both hr monitor and one with GPS feature-thingy that I'm still trying to figure out), 2 bike computers.

His: Stop and eat "whatever".
Hers: oatmeal, diet coke, gels (thank you Kim!!!) and bars for training, gatorade, fruit and veggies for "on the go", whole wheat bread, peanut butter, lunch meat, water, and the proper utensils for everything.

His: 2 or 3 tee-shirts, and 2 or 3 collard shirts, 1 button down, and a few under shirts, 1 windbreaker, 1 leather jacket.
Hers: countless tee-shirts, even more countless long-sleeved shirts, jean jacket, 2 cammis, 4 workout shirts, 3 running shirts, 4 bike jerseys, 5 sports bras, 1 bike vest, 1 bike rain slicker, 2 jackets (appropriate for workout or other).

His: Are we bringing the cats?
Hers: 2 cats. Plus cat toys, food, litter, and a new box each night.

His: Ipod, but random station is fine.
Hers: Ipod, and Ipod car kit a MUST.

His: The cars are fine (no anxiety).
Hers: The-cars-WILL-break-down-in-the-middle-of-Texas (lots of anxiety).

His: Leave the popped air mattress behind (thanks to one or both of the kitties).
Hers: The air mattress works fine for falling asleep. Its just the waking up in the middle of the night with your butt on the ground that sucks.

His: printed-out directions.
Hers: directions, atlas's for both cars, alternate directions (just in case), hotel locations, distances between hotels, must-sees along the way, extra water, food, and blankets "just in case", emergency kit.

His: naked
Hers: two pairs of sunglasses, three visors, four baseball caps, sunscreen, 2 cases of lip balm.

So you get the point.

Right now we're about T-36 hours from departure time. The movers are almost done, and then its back to the service station to get the heater checked out in Elma, our '96 Corolla. Last thing we want is to loose heat OR defrost while traveling through 20-degree temps. Remember: we've been in Florida for two years, and we're not used to anything much below 40. Sorry guys. I know winter rapidly approaches. My deepest sympathies.

After that - who knows? I've got a swim and functional strength on my schedule still for today. And perhaps there will be time for Sushi before we set off. If not twice, certainly once. I fear it'll be far too long before I eat another Cambodian Roll like the ones at our favorite haunt. And then, Sunday morning we depart. Fingers crossed until then!

Oh - and if you see a gray and red car driving caravan-style with two cats and two bikes in and on (in that order) the gray car, rest assured its only us. Honk and wave, and we'll return your greetings. Unless the cats are going crazy and my butt hurts from sitting all day. You'll get some sort of gesture, but it may not be the one you were looking for. Hopefully it won't come to that, but as with most things in life, you never know.

For now, I'm focused on the workouts and sushi. And tonight we'll hang out on our slow-leaking air mattress, throw some kind of movie on the computer, share a bottle of wine and toast our time in Pensacola. Cheers!