The Mandelbear's Musings

We're here! It's been a difficult week in a lot of ways, but we're in Den Haag, with keys to our house and a large quantity of luggage. (Even so, I made a couple of really stupid bring-vs-ship decisions -- the Starport tableware and the (Cal. Academy of Sciences?) stuffable backpack would have been really useful.)

But we made it. We have until Wednesday to finish moving ourselves out of the hotel, meaning we have until then to make the house minimallly habitable. We're going to start by getting some blankets and maybe sheets at HEMA, across the street from the hotel. The beds left in the house aren't what we want to end up with, but they'll do as a stopgap.

In the last week we have:

• Sold Molly (to N's ex, which simplified things greatly).
• Packed suitcases (leaving behind a few things that would have been very useful, like a stack of maske, the tableware from the Starport, and a stuffable small backpack).
• Flown to Schiphol, and taken a cab from there to the hotel (for which my large MEI suitcase/backpack proved very useful indeed, because it's about a block from the nearest drop-off point -- the street the hotel is on doesn't allow cars).
• Registered with the municipality.
• Met up with (real estate agent)Ceva, who gave us our keys, a lovely bouquet of flowers which we left at the front desk, and a trip to and tour of our house. (Details in yesterday's post)
• Been out to the house yesterday with j, taking a few items (my recording gear, Colleen's ashes, and the green tool bag that once was hers) and meeting the local swans.

It's been a difficult, strenuous week, but also a very busy and productive one. I'll take it.

( Notes & links, as usual )

After toasting to "our next adventure" in the Delta sky lounge at SeaTac, N explained that we were between adventures -- buying our new house, shipping our belongings, and packing for our flight marked the end of our previous adventure. The next will begin when we move in to SchildHavn later this week. In the mean time we are in liminal space. I find it particularly appropriate that my current reading is "On Fairy Stories" by J. R. R. Tokkien.

Internet here on the plane is flaky. The passenger "entertainment" system crashed, and it took them half an hour to reboot it. Apparently this is standard. My assumption is that they've gone over to the dark $ide. The food here in "business" class, OTOH, is excellent.

Packing up was frantic -- I hadn't left myself nearly enough time. Several errands disn't get run, and in the confusion I left most of my stock of masks behind. Among other things. Well, G and m will be coming in another four weeks or so, and we're working on the assumption that we'll be able to come back occasionally for visits. "Leaf by Niggle" is also appropriate.

A large part of the problem with packing was second-thinking my luggage decisions. In the end I wound up putting my sling bag into my pacsafe (?) tote. The tote's bigger. The question is whether I'm going to have to carry my carry-on as a backpack. Should probably have used the small Travelpro as my carry-on, but it really depends on whether we're going to be taking rail to the hotel. Which I don't know yet. Hope not, because my main suitcase weighs over 50 lbs (up from 39 when I checked it yesterday). That way madness lies.

A glass of wine and a light lunch in the Delta sky lounge went a long way toward helping me unwind. As did the excellent food in 'business" (let's just call it what it is -- First) class. A glass of something alcoholic on the plane is a large part of my travel ritual, and has been ever since I started college at Carleton. The drinking age in the air back there wa 18; I don't know whether it still is.

Unlike the food, the "bed" that the seat attempts to turn into is the most uncomfortable damned contraption I've ever failed to sleep in. It would have helped if the seat belt was adjustable. Why in blazes would they make a seatbelt that can't be adjusted? And I may have eaten a little too much. The idea of being able to overeat in a plane is still somewhat bizarre.

... Posting from our hotel, Cove Centrum/Passage Den Haag. Now that I've unpacked a machine with usable posting software. The new (ad)venture starts with the next post.

It's been a hectic (frantic?) week. The movers came Friday. Inevitably a few things got forgotten; there's a pile of stuff that's going into storage, until (with luck) somebody comes back for it. Also inevitably, there are a lot of decisions that are too late for second thoughts. And there are errands that never got run, which is a problem because I just got through selling (Chevy Bolt)Molly, the last car I'll ever own. (To M and J, but still...)

And of course I'm feeling down on myself for not getting things done, on top of several different layers of leave-taking, transition, and anxiety. On the whole I don't think I'm in very good shape. That's not even counting the ache in my left lower back pain (QL, probably) from carrying boxes, and right TMJ presumably from jaw-clenching.

This time Tuesday evening I'll be on my way to SeaTac with N. This time Wednesday we'll be in Den Haag. This time next week we'll (hopefully) be in the new house.

Wish us luck?

( Notes & links, as usual )

It's been a week. Got a lot done (for me), including spending all of today packing. And I actually did some singing, in Thursday's Eurofilk zoom circle. It feels like I may finally pushed through whatever weird barrier my brain weasels have set up to keep me from singing.

I haven't been very good about anouncing this, but the household known as the Rainbow Caravan -- me, my sister of choice N, her husband G, and oldest kid m -- are moving to The Hague, in The Netherlands, in October. More info later this week -- I promise! (Unless I fall into another rabbit hole, of course.)

I also may have spent a little much on luggage, because REI was having a Labor Day sale.

... and I'm kind of running on fumes right now, so I'll just leave you with LINUX's History by Linus Torvalds A nuclear clock prototype hints at ultraprecise timekeeping , and The NSA Has a Podcast and what's even better it's called "No Such Podcast"!

( Notes & links, as usual )