Moving is HELL

I am in moving hell. It looks a lot better than yesterday and my tears are less today, but I still have a good bit to do. My freind is on the way to help me cart my stuff over to the storage facility. Thank God.

*sigh*

I hate moving. After I move to my new place, I am not moving again until I leave this city. It's just too much. I've realized over the past couple months that I'm very sensitive to certain stressors. Starting last month, I was studying for a huge exam, and by the week of the exam (last week), I was having stomach pains and felt nauseous. This moving situation has lead to a headaches, and I can feel that my blood pressure is elevated. I'm not even kidding. Hypertension and stroke run in my family, and I think I'm starting to understand what my mom means when she says, "my pressure is up." I can just feel it. All the more reason for me to get myself healthy and de-stressed! Seriously, when I come back, I'm going to treat myself to yoga at least 1-2 times a month. I'm going to eat more fruits and veggies and learn to relax by deep breathing.

This crap will all be over soon!

Paris Je T'aime!

I just found out Paris Je T'aime is showing here! Last time I checked the website it wasn't. I'm totally going tonight!

Return to Normalcy

Well, things have settled down a little. I'm in the midst of packing as we speak. I'm doing laundry so my sheets and curtains will be clean when I come back home. I got my storage cell and picked up my keys, so I'm going to begin hauling my stuff there tomorrow. The public storage thing is new to me. It was a bit scary. My room is not that far from the entrance (thank goodness) but I have to go through a dark hallway to get to my room. It's dim and a bit dusty--not at all what I expected. But, I didn't see any bugs or anything. It looked clean. Still, I'll probably be wielding a can of bug spray anyway. Unfortunately, lots of friends are out of town, so I don't have anyone to help me tomorrow. I'm going to go in the daylight so I feel a little safer.

My apt looks so bare. But still in disarray. Ah well. It will look better tomorrow.

For the most part, my trip is in order. I need to print out boarding passes and hotel confirmations just for my own peace of mind. I need to make copies of my important documents as well. I still have a few leftover passport size photos just in case I need them.

I started packing my suitcase yesterday. I had been accumulating stuff for a while and it seemed like it was not a lot of stuff, but somehow, my suitcase is rebelling. It looks like I'm going to have to pack my shoes and toiletries in one suitcase and my clothes in my carry-on. Toiletries take up a lot of space (and weight a lot!). But, I suppose on the return journey, all that stuff will be used up so I should have more space on the way back. We'll see! Anyway, I'm gonna get back to packing. Might go to the movies later.

Le French Diet

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in France is (bien sure) the food. But not because I want to overindulge or anything (I don't even like rich, traditional french food) but because I can't wait to have a higher quality of food to choose from. This morning, I got sucked into watching an infomercial fot Kevin Trudeau (who I think is a scam artist BTW) but he got me thinking. I've KNOWN that the food industry in the US is crack. What else could explain why I have a headache if I miss my daily dose of sweets? (a habit I'm weaning myself off, thank God!) What else could explain why I get mini-addictions to certain foods for a certain period of time?

When I went to Paris last year, I was amazed how my appetite was almost non-existent. I don't know if it's because I was so focused on sight seeing or what, because I simply *forgot* about eating. It was more of an afterthought--oh yeah, I guess I should eat today. I'm much more aware of my appetite normally. And considering the amount of walking we did daily, I'm surprised I wasn't ravenous.

I look forward to buying fresh fruit and vegetables at the markets and eating baguette and a little butter. I'm so looking forward to the yogurt as well. (Mamie Nova!) Although I won't be actively dieting per se, I think it will be interesting to see if my weight changes by the time I return to the US (which I suspect it will).

There are quite a few nutrition books about the French diet and French eating style. It will definitely be interesting to track how my own eating changes while in France.

Meltdown

I am very stressed right now.

So stressed I was having palpitations for a few weeks. My eyelid was twitching a few days ago (a sure sign of stress). I've been waking up at night short of breath. I am falling apart.

Between school (studying for an exam) and trying to pack my life into a few boxes and move out of my apartment and move abroad for the summer. I am slowly losing it. I have so many little tasks to do: verify I have a seat on the flight (check), purchase a connecting flight to NY (check), test my new phone and SIM card (check), suspend my American cell phone, suspend my car insurance, figure out where to store my car, pick up the keys for my storage room, pack, shop for last minute needs, go to Church. . .are you tired yet? I know I am. That's only half of the stuff on my list.

Right now, I'm focussing on deep breathing and making small steps. Packing and shredding papers a little at a time. Packing up books and mags into my trunk. Lining up shoe boxes. Packing away things I don't need. Just taking it a little at a time. I don't really have anyone to complain too after all (as my family reminds me) this was MY choice. Right?

But if I can just make it to the week after next, I'll be in France, sipping on un cafe and traipsing down the Champs. I just need to get there. And all will be right again.

Why am I such a procrastinator?

I have exactly 2 weeks until I roll out of the US and I haven't even begun to pack up my apartment. I need to put all my crap in storage because when I return to the US, I will be moving into a newer, better, shinier apartment. It's going to be a hassle though, because I won't have any furniture or anything when I return. And I'll probably be too exhausted to go furniture shopping on the day I come back. Shoot, I may just bum with friends for the night.

I'm also starting to think I may not need to bring two suitcases with me after all. Look, it's already June. The year is HALF OVER. My measly 2 months is going to go so quickly that I'll probably just overpack if I bring two suitcases. I'm starting to think it won't be necessary at all.

I bought a SIM card about a week ago (to go with my new quad band phone) and I have my new international number. I'm just waiting for it to arrive. I purchased it from United Mobile after extensive (and I means months) of research on various travel forums. It seemed to have the best rates with free incoming calls and outgoing calls at a rate of 49 cents a minute. I liked the idea of having a phone as soon as I touched down. I didn't want to have to worry about going to a tabac to buy a phone card. So hopefully it will get here soon (since it's coming from the UK). If I combine the UM card with call back service, I can get rates to the US for as low as 14 cents a minute.

I think I'm gonna head to bed soon. I need to go to Home Depot and buy some boxes. I'm also going to trash the class notes I've been holding onto for 2+ years. I also have a trunk full of books that I don't need, but since I am a pack rat, I still have them. Gotta start whittling things down.

This is why I travel with Airborne

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/ap_on_he_me/tuberculosis_infection