Moving Day

My readers may recall that my friends Denton, Sam, and I went in search of a used postal Jeep for Denton on Wednesday night; that trek was most of my effort for Sunday, the day that we moved him into a new apartment. The 1994 Toyota Corolla Wagon, which Denton had been driving daily, recently died after 300,000 miles, but he was able to sell the car for scrap and the proceeds contributed to the rent for the first month, thus enabling him to take over some things to the apartment earlier on Friday and Saturday.

Between the wagon and the Jeep, Denton was not without transportation, his 1981 Yamaha motorcycle. Like many in this economy, Denton has struggled to find stable, full-time employment, and currently works two part-time jobs, in addition to his Turley Solutions, which distributes promotional literature. With much aplomb, he also interns at the State Capitol in Topeka for Rob Bruchman, for whom he campaigned in 2010. Somehow, Denton still finds the time to host friends at his home on Friday nights.

Moving day, Rufus is the most relaxed one in the house.

I do not want to burden you, but Denton says that the moving day will begin when you awake tomorrow. Do you have an estimate of what time that might be?

For clarity, the above conservation was with the significant other of Denton, and not with Rufus, who is joined by two pet birds and the father of Denton as residents of the domicile.

Are we meeting at the old place or the new place at noon? Here. Okay, good, because I am tired, and need to be told things twice.

That is the question.

Sunday was a rainy day. In order to keep boxes dry, the Jeep was the primary means of conveyance between locations. My time was mostly spent at the house, where I did some packing. With analysis paralysis, I would ask, “What would you have me pack?”

Defeating Procrastination: Analysis Paralysis
“Analysis Paralysis is where you can’t make any forward progress because you bog yourself down in details, tweaking, brainstorming, research …”

At 4:23 p.m., I called home to tell my mother that I was going to the other locale. Speaking with her reminded me that I had promised to help her with two issues on her computer. For a little bit, I went home and found that someone had not flushed the toilet, resulting in an encounter between the sole of my shoe and some fecal material.

♪ I don’t want to talk about **it ♪

The significant other of Denton understood that I would eventually be over to the other place, where the others waited for me for about half an hour before they continued. Around 5:30 p.m., I arrived and waited with our friend Paul, who lives above and had moved the boxes against the wall.

Denton and entourage returned, and moving the boxes back to the center of the room was the command. To make room for the bed, Raa and I then moved some boxes into closets in the master bedroom. For clarity, Raa (Laura) knew my sister Kimberly in high school, and is not the significant other of Denton.

Apparently, I missed some drama at the house involving the significant other of Denton and the absence of a truck by which to move the mattress and box springs. Although I do not own a truck, I apologized for my absence, and she said everything was all right and recited a fact that moving is the second most stressful thing that one can do. Everyone was stressed on moving day, but she personally took time to reassure me.

By 8:00 p.m., the battery in my phone was mostly discharged, and the evening became more sedate once some bookcases, the bed, and the birdcages were assembled. Before I begin to talk about conversations last night, I must tell another tale.

The previous evening, Lighten Up, a former improv troupe to which Denton belonged, celebrated the fifteenth or sixteenth anniversary, and Trish Berrong arranged for free barbecue from Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ and free beer from the Boulevard Brewing Company for those in attendance. While Raa was also at that event, I was at Improv Thunderdome: Season 9 Round 3.

These people were volunteers for the second performing troupe.

Admitting that he was a little tipsy from the Lighten Up celebration, Jared Brustad hosted the show at ComedyCity. At the Lighten Up celebration, Denton and Raa met with Kate.

Kate later stopped by the new apartment with her newborn daughter Cassie. Because she was not able to physically help with the moving, Kate paid for some Papa John’s Pizza, of which I had more than my fair share.