move recently?

i could really use boxes of appropriate size for packing books. if you've got any, let me know.

just FYI

still scared shitless of this. doing it anyway, obviously enough, but my internal organs keep trying to make a run for it whenever i let my mind wander for a second or two.

if anyone wants to do me a really BIG favor, they could volunteer to help me do a cleanup and purge of this place sometime in the next few days, so i can get myself better-organized to sell my stuff. right now the place is so unspeakably filthy (haineux, spiritualmonkey, and loosestrife can all attest to this) that i wouldn't expect any sensible person to buy anything that's been in here.

i'm compiling a for-sale list. essentially all i'm planning to take with me are my books, CDs, and DVDs, the clothes that fit, my computer, the acoustic guitars plus a few assorted home recording toys, and my good kitchen stuff. so on top of what's already been mentioned i'll be unloading a few small appliances (coffee machine, toaster oven vacuum cleaner, carpet steamer), all my furniture (most of which will be very cheap and/or free), a wide variety of plant pots (free for the asking), etc.; i'll be selling my TV/stereo/surround system cheap but don't want to let it go till the last minute for obvious reasons, so if you're interested in that by all means let me know.

anyone want a king-size unfinished pine platform bed with drawers underneath, complete with eight-year-old pillowtop mattress?

man, i sure do hope they call to tell me the prescription's ready soon. i would KILL for just one moment of feeling actually, truly calm.

good news/bad news

the lovely folks at the Pacifica Resource Center took it upon themselves to pay for all my prescriptions instead of just the one critical one, so now i will be properly medicated again.

they also, however, aren't sure they're able to pay for the cost of a rental trailer for me after all -- they're willing to give me airfare to Austin, but of course, that's completely impractical. however, i'm now looking at my stuff even more critically and realizing that perhaps i'm willing to give away most of my books as well. an awful lot of them, i've realized, i don't seem to be keeping for any very good reason. i don't think it's realistic to think i could just fit everything in my car, but we'll see what i can come up with. and they're still considering it -- i think the holdup is sort of that they know my car isn't all legal, and that would be a legal liability for them if they pay for the trailer -- but if i can come up with the money to get my car all legal, they question whether i actually need their help with the trailer, if that makes sense.

i really do wonder just how small a footprint i can make here. it'll be easier to tell after the weekend, when stoat comes over with boxes and to help me do a bit of purging.

gah.

everything must go

more news etc. -- it looks like i'll be moving the week of July 24th, since the lovely, talented, and naturally blonde fizzygeek and madbodger will be in Tucson that week and will spring for a hotel room if i sync up with them. does any day that week work or not work for you in terms of my crashing there, matrushkaka? (do note that i've got the two cats with me -- is that going to be a problem at all?)

also on sale now are my Victrola (beautiful working condition) and my old Oliver 9 typewriter (complete with fancy typeface and its original product literature, but needs a new rubber drive belt and a good cleaning); the Victrola may be worth as much as $500, the Oliver perhaps $75 (it would've been worth twice as much two years ago, alas).

my TV, VCR/DVD player, spare DVD player, tuner/surround decoder/amp, and surround speakers are all for sale as well, although i'd obviously prefer not to part with them until the last minute because i need the distraction while i pack. Let me know if you're interested in any of those things, though -- i'm thinking i'd let the whole package go for another $200; the TV is pretty elderly and none of the accoutrements are anything super fancy, though the surround speakers are quite nice ones -- they're made by Celestion, which is a brand well known among musicians for their very fine speaker elements, although they're very new to the consumer audio arena. i think the speakers ran me $450 new, but that was six years ago.

i've still got the new-in-box color inkjet for $35 (it sells for like $70 new) and a Brother HL-1440 600dpi laser printer (plus some extra memory I installed) that I'm thinking is probably worth $100 or so still. (In perfect working order, though it'll need a new toner cartridge relatively soon.) I don't see any reason to take it with me. other, smaller, more pointless things include my cute little breadmaker (makes a dinner sized loaf, does a great job of it), for which I'll take $10. i don't think any of my other kitchen appliances are worth having, though you're welcome to a coffee maker, crockpot, toaster oven, KICKASS antique waffle iron (worth nothing but makes perfect, perfect waffles), slightly less kickass but still very worthwhile antique toaster, vacuum cleaner, etc.; the steam cleaner is already spoken for.

there's a bed, of course -- king sized, unfinished pine, with drawers underneath, not especially attractive but very serviceable, plus an eight year old pillow-top mattress that's still pretty comfortable. i've got a nice pine dresser, with some scratches from the cats but it's a good solid piece of furniture with nice metal rails with bearings and nifty knobs i put on myself. bookcases I'll let go at $10/apiece; they're particle board, of course, but have nice cherry veneer. my kitchen table and chairs are nifty -- i'd let that whole mess go for $40, i think, they're just Ikea after all.

i've got a cool antique steamer trunk I'll let go for $30, complete with built-in hangers (but a broken lock). and lamps. lots of lamps. If you've ever admired any of my lamps, now is the time to say so.

i'm also going to be doing a serious book purge. there'll be a good mix of fiction and nonfiction, paperback and hardback, history, biography, and reference. Dictionaries and thesauri and the like, too -- i'm done with that collection. i'll keep my compact OED, of course, and a couple of other things, but i no longer get any real kick out of having 12 thesauri. if you're interested in books, invite yourself over and i'll separate out what I'm willing to part with. i have, among other things, a complete works of Jane Austen that I've never even cracked the covers of. turns out Jane Austen isn't my thing. who could've seen that coming?

*cough*

right. anyway, if you want my stuff, get in touch.

for your edification

things that are going to be very good about Austin:

• it's a change of scenery.
  
• i'll be with good friends who are supportive and have also been through the depression grinder, so they know what i'm going through.
  
• said friends are part of a very large social community which is connected to many other large social communities, so i won't be living in a vacuum anymore.
  
• SUPERHERO GAMING. FUCK YEAH.
  
• the music scene is awesome.
  
• there is tech there; i may be able to stick with tech writing.
  
• it's cheaper to live there; i may be able to find something else i'd rather do.
  
• jeans and flannel are normal clothes there, not a lesbian fashion statement.
  
• BBQ.
  
• men who wear cowboy boots.
  
• an endless supply of chiles.

that's what i've got so far. did i mention gaming? because i'm all about the gaming. my character is most of the way done already for valkyrie_kitten's campaign.