Two years of my life fit into a 10-foot U-Haul...

... but just barely. The whole thing was a fiasco. On Friday, after I purged my apartment of all the useless shit my last two roommates have left behind, I drove home with a carload of heavy duty Hefty bags (a graduation present... thanks, Dad!) full of clothing, blankets, sheets, towels, and other soft stuff that didn't lend itself to being crammed into the liquor boxes I acquired from the ABC store to move all my other crap. [Picking up several Nissan-Sentra-loads of liquor boxes made me look like: (a) a raging alcoholic, (b) the host of the best frickin' party in town, or (c) all of the above.] Louie got to ride shotgun in his little kitty carrier this time (he usually rides in the back 'cause I worry about the whole airbag thing) because there wasn't room in the backseat, so he stared at me and meowed mournfully for the whole 3-hour drive, reaching his little paws (with not-so-little claws) pathetically between the wires. At least he didn't take a shit this time. Everyone I've ever talked to about this said a cat will not crap in its carrier. Louie must have missed that memo, 'cause he dropped a BOMB on the way back from spring break... and then he rolled around in it... but I digress.

So I got home Friday night only to discover that my father had been on the phone with the U-Haul people off and on ALL DAY trying to track down a truck. We had reserved a 14-foot truck several weeks ago, but when Dad called to verify, the U-Haul dude said they didn't have any trucks, to which my father responded, "Well, my daughter has to be out of her apartment this weekend," to which the U-Haul dude responded, "Well, that's too bad." Dad was livid -- he was swearing (which he almost never does) and I'm pretty sure I saw smoke rolling out of his ears. It was awesome. I don't think I've seen him that riled up since my mom "forgot" my brother's birthday for 3 years in a row.

Anyhoo, Dad got all large-and-in-charge (the man is 6'8" after all), made some calls, and by noon on Saturday we were on the road in a 10-foot U-Haul truck... not quite the 14 feet we had hoped for, but at this point we weren't feeling too picky. What followed was one of the longest days of my life. I had to spackle up the cracks and holes in the walls of every room of my apartment, then I sanded down the spackle and painted over it with the touch-up paint I acquired from the rental office after the unfortunate candle wax incident of last year. Even with the A/C, it was hot as Hell. But I did feel very Gina Gershon in Bound painting in my wife-beater (man's sleeveless undershirt, for those non-Americans among you)... oh, to be as hot as Gina...

Ahem.

Then there was, of course, the packing of the U-Haul: washer, drier, couch, love seat, really ugly faux leather chair (dubbed "the throne") that used to belong to Uncle Larry, endless boxes of books and various and sundry other crap. We literally packed it to the roof. There was no room to spare. I started mercilessly throwing things out (we'd made a run to the thrift store earlier to drop off a bunch of other stuff I was getting rid of). You don't realize just how much shit you own until you have to pack it all up and move it across the state.

Then I had to mop and vaccuum and clean the bathtub and say a little prayer that I would at least get most of my security deposit back. I've still got my fingers and toes crossed on that one -- the inspector is doing his thing tomorrow.

I had a brief bittersweet moment as I locked up the apartment for the last time -- it was home for two years, so it was definitely strange to see it all stark and empty... and clean.

So now I'm crashing at home until I find a job and a place of my own. It's a pretty sweet deal: I'm storing most of my crap in the garage, I get free meals, internet access, cable. The only downside is that I'm back in Dullsville with nothing to do and no one with which to do it. (Heh, heh... do it.)

The last week or so has been a total blur -- 8 million things going on at once, making plans, saying goodbyes. I think it's going to take a while for everything to sink in.

On the upside (?), I got my first job offer! My friend's dad owns a local cab company and said they're looking for drivers. At least I know I won't end up flipping burgers!