Moving Day! (POTD 6/5/10)

I'm plumb exhausted. I'm so exhausted, I can barely keep my head up using my muscles; I have to prop it back on the loveseat and stare at the ceiling while I type. But I could NOT go to bed without briefly writing about what an amazing day today was.

It really starts with yesterday and how Jessica R gave up a whole day, basically, to help me pack so that I could go to Sex and the City 2 with some girls from small group and still be ready for today's "moving party." Jessica is an all-timer. She's in the hall of fame. Jessica is my Los Angeles Candice. I'm so grateful to have found someone like that, who will sacrifice her time just because she knows how important it is to get whatever it is done, and she can make it fun while she goes.

Today I woke up with a migraine, so I was nervous about the move. Then I walked down to the Corner Bakery for breakfast (since all my stuff was packed) and realized I forgot my book. That made me more nervous - what was going on with the day?! (no fear, I had 75 cents, so I bought an LA Times). But then I got to the Corner Bakery and it wasn't open yet. It wasn't going to be open for 50 more minutes. DARN this day! I ended up going to Denny's where I had a delicious breakfast. (turning point?) Then my headache started to dissipate... better and better... and then the amazingness of the day began.

Jessica S took me to get the UHaul truck. Even though it meant that she had to meet me two hours before everyone else. That was awesome.

Then Dustin, Jeremiah, and Tate showed up. These former neighbors of mine (they live in Westwood) are terrific guys who have golden hearts of service (they are always taking me to the airport). They started moving stuff right away, and Jeremiah volunteered for organizing the truck duty.

Aside from these four champs, Jessica and Ryan R, Jeff, and Chelsea and Zane, were all there too. Moving everything down to the truck, taking apart the bed, and loading the truck took only 80 minutes. It was amazing. Even more amazing was how positive and encouraging everyone was. People were just in great moods and that, as much even as the physical labor, blessed my socks off.

Meanwhile, at the new apartment, Jackie and Justin were doing yeoman's work. While we were loading, they were cleaning the entire kitchen so that it would be clean and disinfected when I unpacked food and dishes into the cupboards. They also worked with the cable guy to get my cable, DVR, and internet set up AND they took care of setting up the food and drinks and ordering the pizza. In fact, Jackie had such awesome foresight that the pizza arrived literally 2 minutes after someone said to me "we're all done. everything is unloaded."

The unloading only took 20 minutes.

Seriously.

It was amazing. Again with the great attitudes and relentless focus. I was so blessed.

Finally, and for me, it was the icing on the cake. After we all got fruit and veggies, pizza and beer, we sat - all 13 of us - in my living room and ate together. It was tight because of the boxes, but I have a living room that can seat 13 people. People, listen when I say this again - I could seat 13 people right now and there would be room for MORE! My cup overflows.

here are a few pics. even though the unpacking/organizing/decorating isn't totally complete, I thought you would enjoy some before and after pics. (captions below each pic)

 (living room - before)

 (kitchen and possible office area - before)

 (the bedroom - before)

 (the living room - half unpacked, but looking good!)

 (didn't get to the kitchen tonight)

(my new american style bed that is WAY more than 3 feet from the ceiling!)