Finishings, Part I

Spring semester: day seventy-nine
"Study Day" before finals week starts -- no classes
Final (real) day of Spring semester 2014

My Amazon (Chase) card has been completely paid off and my address has been changed for it manually on this month's bill.


I created/registered an online account tonight for my Discover card, and changed my address on there for it.

I wrote a $40 donation check to the DAV (I do this about twice a year, when I can afford it) because I needed to change my address with them anyway -- lest they stop sending me address labels and free notepads/calendars. Plus, it's another tax write-off.

As an aside to that, apparently we can write off moving costs too. We'll have to look into that more.

I changed my address for my student loans' account and set it up to take effect on the 21st.

My Citi card won't let me create an online account for it without knowing some password or security question answer I used four years ago when I applied for the card. I have no clue whatsoever what that password or security answer would be, as I've barely used the card for anything but my car insurance payments and the occasional pizza delivery. Luckily, the bill for that should come this weekend or early next week, and as the only reason I wanted to create an online account would be to change my address anyway, I can do that manually on the bill (just like I did for the Amazon Chase card).

What's left?

I still have to call and set a stop date for the City of Newton's water/trash, and set up the "large item pick-up day" so that I can throw away the stuff I won't take with me, and I still have to get an official change-of-address form from the post office and fill it out (which I'll more than likely do next week) so that I don't miss any mail that would come here to my house after I'm gone. I also have to notify my bank back home that I'm moving so that they don't put a freeze on my debit card or checking account once I start using it in Omaha.

Aside from that, well, most (if not all) of the other administrative stuff is already done.

Interestingly enough, I've not yet heard back from the county courthouse about the jury duty notice I received last weekend -- the one that told them in my reply, mailed on Monday, that I'd be moving to Omaha more than a month before the "duty" would take place (at the earliest) and that afterwards my round-trip to serve would be 600 miles. I mean, I'm confident that I'll get out of it because of that of course, but I also don't like waiting to hear that confirmation. It'll probably take them a few more business days, I'm guessing.

I don't know what I'll have to do about the car's registration once I move to Nebraska, either -- or when/how I'll have to change my license and plates and all that. I have slightly more pressing concerns to deal with once I get up there -- like dealing with the wedding stuff and getting a job. Once that stuff settles down I'll worry about transferring my license and registration.

Wedding gifts are beginning to be purchased from the registry and/or other places -- one of my best friends from back home got us a Keurig machine (which I've wanted for years), April got us towels, sheets, and bakeware, and Daisy's sister got us a really nice stainless steel cookware set. All of it is shipped to the central location of Daisy's parents' house -- since Daisy is still moving all of her stuff over to the new place on her days off anyhow, and we're not yet at said new place on a daily basis to receive packages.

Daisy and I went through the registry yesterday; as we did, she explained her rationale for some of the new stuff she (with Mama's help/suggestions) added to it over the course of the past few days. I agreed with most of her additions with no issues, though we did end up removing a few things because I already had some of the stuff she put on there (certain cookware/bakeware/containers, two different spatulas, etc). I really don't expect more than ten or fifteen people to get anything off the registry anyhow, and neither does she -- but it's a good collection of stuff for people to choose from, and it's organized so that we can see what we still need after the wedding and eventually get some of it ourselves.

I feel weird getting gifts from people, even if it's stuff we need and/or want. So does Daisy, to a certain extent, probably more so than me -- I'm usually, at all other times, of the mindset that if someone wants to give me/us something, I will happily take it, no questions asked. Yet, now? I don't know. It feels like obligation, like people feel obligated to give us stuff because we're getting married. I mean, people get married every day -- we're not special in that regard. I'm not a fan of things done or given out of obligation only. In fact, I've told people -- especially people I'm close to and those of my friends/family who are in the wedding -- that they don't have to get us anything, seriously, because I didn't want to put them out any more than they already have been for the event. I mean, April didn't have to get us towels and bakeware and sheets, since she's in the wedding and will be flying out here from Portland. Rae said she's gotten something for us as well, even though she's also in the wedding and will be driving from Cincinnati and staying with us for at least two days. I'm happy just to have those people here, in our lives, as they're super-important to me. That's all that matters to me -- it's the love they're showing me/us by coming.

Finally, I've washed all of the rugs in the house and have boxed up most of them as padding for the kitchenware/dishes. The others will be used to pad the other dishes and glassware when I box those things up in another week or so. There are so many things that I can't box up until right before the move, as they're things I'll need and use between now and then. This weekend will be spent doing more of that, piecemeal here and there, learning to survive on the bare minimums of things between now and the moving date.

There's still $100 or so of the yard sale money left, though not for long. I have to use some of it tomorrow night. I'll be meeting up with my friends for late-night coffee and donuts, yes (that'll be a whopping $3 or so) but afterwards I do have to go to Walmart for more supplies and around-the-house stuff in the overnight hours. For example, in putting all the boxes together (so I can calculate what will go into them and how much "box space" I have), I used almost all of the duct tape I had. That's four entire rolls of duct tape I've gone through now just for boxes alone. The cats need new food and I need tissues/toilet paper/coffee/etc., too. I'm keeping my food purchases light and mostly non-perishable -- anything that's in the fridge when I'm getting ready to leave will more than likely have to be trashed, as it won't stay good in the car, even in a cooler, between here and Omaha. So I'm eating light, so to speak, and am trying to eat more than I purchase. If I can cook creatively I can get rid of most of it between now and then.

The beginning of the end, really -- the beginning of wrapping everything up and tying up all loose ends I can, is strangely freeing. When I've been a ball of stress about all sorts of stuff over the past few weeks, knowing that I'm slowly getting it all taken care of makes me much more relaxed and calm than I was before. I know that no matter what happens, I'll still get everything done that needs to be done, even if it's stressful and/or tiring to do it. I know that it's all worth it, and I'll get some much-needed downtime once we're settled into the new place in Omaha. I know that my marriage will be a good one, a sweet one, a spiritually-fulfilling one. I'm no longer so stressed and shaky about everything that I can't sleep, or so anxious and averse to change that I'm screaming internally at the thought of being a husband and taking on an entirely new life role. I've actually been sleeping really well for the past few nights, as each day I take care of a few more tasks and can cross those things off of my to-do list. It's good. It's all good.