A completely untethered existence

At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I have just realized, this morning, that when I give my keys over this afternoon, I will not have ANY keys - not one. I've never not had keys!

Brynn and Lisa will take my car and house keys and disperse them to various folks - car keys to Jen, house and mailbox keys to the neighbors who are taking over my place. I'll give the office key fob to Sally to return for me and that's it. Poof! No keys, no home, no car, no cats, no responsibilities for at least 24 hours. A completely untethered existence.

If it weren't for the 130 boxes working their way towards Southampton and the two suitcases and a backpack tucked in my friends' closet, I guess I would be untethered. Lucky me.

Goodbye red cabrio

This morning, after a bath, oil change and fill-up, I parked Big Red for the last time. I've left her to be picked up next week by Ms. Jen, who will no doubt take wonderful care of her and enjoy endless hours of top down cruising. I have enjoyed my second cabrio immensely. She loved it out here in California, lots of sweeping coastal drives and Sonoma back roads.

When LLG visited, we tucked her young girls in the back seat and drove around--enjoying their squeals of delight. It got a bit cooler and they took cover under the Mexican picnic blanket so that only their little legs stuck out. San Francisco is a great place to have a convertible.

So strange, as I took the #22 bus after dropping off my car, I realized that I will only be on buses, trains, taxis and subways for at least the next two years. In London I will be car-less, for the first time since I learned to drive at 16.

The container has holes in it

This was the container that is supposed to take my worldly goods across the ocean. It pulled up about an hour ago. Luckily my moving guy, checked it out and discovered it had a rather large hole in the roof. Not a good thing in a container, apparently.

What is supposed to happen is that that the 130 boxes which contain my household goods gets loaded in this box (known as a "20") which is then put on train, which travels to Houston, where it is put on a rather large ship, when then travels across the Atlantic and arrives in Southampton, when it clears customs then trains or trucks up to London and the leafy suburb of Hempstead, where the moving company will unload it in about six weeks time. However, this particular 20 has a hole in the roof and it is therefore rejected.

After some discussion the moving guy decides to load the 130 boxes onto his truck and take them to the warehouse--where they will transfer all of them to a more acceptable, non-holey container. Then the trip described above can take place. Without holes, I have great faith that my stuff will arrive in pristine condition. These guys really know how to pack!

Just a postscript, as I was clearing up after the truck with my stuff in it left, the container guy pulled up with another container. So perhaps my faith in my stuff arriving is a bit misplaced... I'll tell you how it all works out in six weeks!

Cats on couches

The truth is I came to posses cats in 1992 becasue my friends Ross and Suz said my apartment needed them. So I got one, Dylan Thomas, a big orange tabby. I was then told that two cats were as easy as one and so I got Dylan his own cat, Morgana. So, really, I swear, I'm not cat person. However, they have been with me ever since and now they are making the move to the UK.

It is a real pain to take a cat to the UK. It involves multiple vet visits, microchipping, shots, blood tests and that's all before the six months wait. So this morning they had their last round of shots and their surrogate Mom, Candice, came to pick them up. Candice, the ever affable pet sitter and force of nature, will keep them here in SF for the six month waiting period. Finally, in March after being spoiled for six months they will be shipped to me in London.

All this is to explain why I felt it necessary to post pictures of Dylan and Morgana on my blog. Here they are soaking up the sun last Sunday, shedding all over the new brown couches. You gotta love them.

Goodbye, Firmwide!

Lunch on Wednesday, my last day in the office, everyone waves "so long" to me. It is interesting having a blog, because it is a reason to take pictures and a place to put them. This is the Firmwide staff or at least those that were in the office that day.

Mexico City here we come!

Big moving week at the 900 Tennessee Street Lofts. Pictured are Richard and Dyana, newly weds in the back of a minivan full of their worldly posessions. Good luck and safe travels!

Can dogs laugh?

So this is the moving week. Had the moving sale (picture courtesy of Sproutgirl74). Friends are all coming by to pick up their goods and now I really am moving. I'm really going to miss my building; I suppose I mean my neighbors in the building. My friends here are all so great; they are always around to let me in when I've locked myself out or feed the cats or pick up the mail.

I will especially miss the sound of the dogs raring up and down the hallways - can dogs laugh? Some times it sounds like that. I know their owners do.

The Clampetts are leaving dogpatch

Getting ready to move means farming out your stuff to friends. Henry and his parents are reciving these two fine slipper chairs. They were transpported with the help of Big Red, my valiant volkswagon, and a blue tarp with bungy cords. Luckily, I was protected from neighborhood varmits by Dixi, the wonder dog. I really did feel a bit like a Clampett driving from Dogpatch through the Mission to Henry's house.

I assume they will be well used over the next couple of years. Parties, dinners, and general lounging are what these chairs cry out for. Hopefully, by Friday of this week I can show you a picture of the chairs in situ at Henry's place.

Sunday Brunch Chez Tennessee Street

Every sunny Sunday morning some neighbors and I meet out front for a coffee and newspapers. This is a picture of last Sunday's group. Missing are Mr. Bob, who's doing hard time as a professor on the east coast, Mr. Rae, who was off attending the Dwell Design event, and Ms. Lisa, who was no doubt still asleep!

We have a great time and that Sunday was particularily nice. Ms. Brynn looks fashionable in her great glasses, Dyana and Richard are on their last Sunday this week, Dan is off to try out his new bike and Ms. Jen is looking wonderful in her fabu new sneaks. Dixi and Pickles are distracted by some passing fancy.

I will miss them when I'm drinking my coffee in London on Sundays.

Driving in Los Angeles

On Monday I had to drive in Los Angeles. I flew in to get to the British Consulate so I could get my work visa stamped in my passport. I also had another meeting outside Los Angeles so I could honestly say I wasn't going there just to get the visa. As if it wasn't scary enough anticipating a rigorous interview--"and why do you want to leave sunny California to go to rainy London?"--I had to drive there!

I landed at LAX at 9, for a 10:30 appointment. I was assured by mapquest that it was only a 6 mile drive. The freeway was packed and we inched along for ever. I took the picture as I sat still for three whole minutes. Makes you want to sell your car and move to a place where there is transit.

I did make the appointment and they did give me a visa - so one more hurdle passed on the trip to London.

Need to cross the ocean

It is kind of crazy making, getting ready to move yourself and your household possessions to another country. First as my friend Lance said you have to decide if that object (book, coffee mug, what have you) really "needs to cross an ocean." That's an interesting way to consider all your stuff. Kind of like that game where you imagine your house is on fire and wonder what you would take as you ran out the door; only you have a couple of months to ponder.

I've decided to take the stereo, though I was dreaming of a new one. But the electric toothbrush, the hair dryer, the coffee maker? They are all at the sale. Sofa - at the sale; bike rack for car - sale; car - sale; strange loud colored pillow - sale. This turns out to be easier than I thought.

SELL IT ALL.

I'll have better taste when I move to England. So obviously, I will do Lance proud and throw off the chains of unbridled possessiveness and take hardly anything, because really most things really don't "need to cross the ocean."

My Dad and his brothers

This is a picture of my father (far left) and his brothers (Roger in the middle and David on the right) from a visit they had earlier this year. Roger lives outside of London and he and my aunt June (along with cousins Rhian and James) will be my closest family once I make the big move.

Now, I am here and its Sunday and I'm at the Sandhurst Llewellyns' house for Sunday lunch waiting for wee David to arrive. Its LAMB!

View of the turning basin

   Not sure why I'm whining about leaving San Francisco, look what I left when I left Florida! This is the view from my parent's back deck, of course when I left they lived somewhere else but hey, I would live here, given the chance. We rudely call that the church in the left hand corner teh church of chicken little, can you see why?

I am shocked

I swore I was going to keep this journal of my adventures in moving and I am shocked, SHOCKED to see that its been weeks since I entered anything. So now I will enter. ahem...

Perhaps I was just not meant to be a confident blogger, perhaps I will be a shy blogger who rarely writes but posts a lot of pictures. Only problem with that is I need to dig up my digital camera. Its here somewhere, but some where could be any where since I am sorta half packed and half getting ready for the big moving sale I'm having on Saturday. So, yes, now I've found the camera but I need to charge the batteries. Oh well, perhaps tomorrow I will have some pictures to post for today - its only words.