Saturday, T - Minus 9

Wow--it feels so great to be able to sleep regular hours again. Seriously, it's been over five years since I had the sleep patterns of a normal person, and I'm amazed at how you can take something so simple for granted. For the first time in years, I don't wake up exhausted or bummed out that the sun is up. What a concept!

So, I've definitely decided to bail out of here first thing next Monday morning, which is the 30th. That'll give me plenty of time to make it to Nashville, only 1600 miles away, in time for the festivities of Labor Day weekend. (Another bonus--first holiday weekend in over five years I don't have to work!) That means I have a little less than nine full days to get this place packed up, cleaned up, and emptied out. I can do it.

I started on it last night, trying to be diligent, but the phone rang and my buddy Dave and his wife Bobbi were lurking about and wanted to stop by--she wanted to take a look at the pop-up coffee table. So I told them to come on by. We ended up playing cards and socializing for a few hours, but by the time they left, they decided that they wanted the liquor cabinet, the coffee table, and the nightstand, too. Of course, AC already has dibs on the liquor cabinet, but then again, he's gotta get permission from Mama Bear first. So if that deal falls through, then I've got a backup. I also found out that one of Dave's friends definitely wants the couch, so that will get moved to a new home later this week.

Now I have to find somebody who wants to take my old TV, and oh yeah, 900 or so rounds of .45 ACP and a thousand rounds of Russian made 7.62 x 39 FMJ (can't advertise ammunition on Craigslist). I'd like to get rid of some bookcases, too. After that, that's pretty much it--just gotta get rid of some junk and some old clothes, and then I'm headin' on down the road.

Also--I found out that I have a whole mess of readers in the Oklahoma City area. Who knew? In the past couple of days, I've gotten no less than three separate offers for a place to crash within spitting distance of I-40 in OKC. Thank you all very much! I'm gonna do some calculatin', and it looks like it'll take about 19 hours to get that far. If I leave here at 4:00 in the morning, that'll put me in town around 10:00 pm. I'll have to think about it, but yeah, I'll probably stop there for the night and save the expense of staying at the Motel 6. (Although, putting a few quarters into the 'Magic Fingers' machine on the bed at the end of a long day of driving has an appeal all it's own, doesn't it?)

Speaking of expense, a generous soul in Australia hit the ol' tip jar last night for a little bit of gas money, which I appreciate. Not that I've got the tin cup out and the 'Will work for food' sign in hand, but if anyone has any couch change they wanna toss in there, well, it'll be put to good use, stimulating the economy all along the I-40 corridor at the end of the month. The ol' Dodge gets about 13 miles a gallon around town, and I shudder to think what the mileage is gonna be like hauling a fully-laden trailer, so I'm guessing I'll be no stranger to the gas pumps on this trip. (Thx again, E5!)

As far as today goes, I've got a pot of coffee on, and I've promised myself that I'd tackle the laundry monster and start working my way through all the stuff in my closet. But the first thing I'm going to do is empty out and pack up every single bookcase in this apartment. I'm also committed to filling up two storage totes with things other than books. If I get all that done today, I'll feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Later this afternoon, Dave and I are making a trip to Costco to get a case of Mexican Coke and a pack of thick ribeye steaks. Tonight it's lounge-by-the-pool time, then we'll grill a bunch of good grub, and then a few of us will probably play cards until the wee hours.

As a reward for all my hard work, it's not a bad way to spend a Saturday...

Mikey