Moving out after 29 years
In which the Medievalist moved out of her work office after moving in in August 1996
Taking a Load Off
On Wednesday, the Archivist and Medievalist went to the Medievalist’s institution to pack up the remaining items in her office. This office has been the Medievalist’s second home since August of 1996. She has napped there, taught and learned here, and had many a good conversation even when there used to be stacks of papers to be graded. During Snowmageddon of January 2014, she thought she might have to sleep there. Several colleagues had to help her dump all kinds of old files, papers, and who knows what else. We definitely did not bring enough trashbags, so thank goodness the chair of the department thought of just piling things onto a media cart, which we rolled to the dumpster many times to get rid of things.
Even though the Medievalist had done the “official” things like completing her retirement paperwork with the state and taking care of a checklist for separation from the university, somehow clearing off her office door hit her hard. On top of that, the responses she received on social media, especially those from former students, reminded her of why she loves teaching and how much of a difference teaching—not just classroom and disciplinary stuff—can make on everybody involved. As she was sitting in her empty office crying, a friend to whom she had just texted before and after pictures of her door, said that the Medievalist is leaving at the right time since she is still loving much of the job of being an educator. She left her name on the door (redacted). Someone else will have to take that down.
We only had to bring home two smallish boxes of stuff plus the Medievalist’s three diplomas and some other artwork since she had done a pretty good job of clearing out most of her stuff already. Now all of that is packed and in the PODS. We spent much of Saturday moving more stuff to the PODS and breaking down some furniture to better fit: when it’s IKEA, it can almost go back to being flat-packed!! We are feeling pretty good about getting everything else packed or ready to be packed for when the professional moving guys/muscle show up to help us get the big things into the container. Then we’ll spend three nights in a hotel before moving to our apartment—all with the cats in tow!!
Temporary Locals
As we look forward to getting our final paychecks—we will both be getting bigger paychecks than usual because we were both on nine-month contracts with money being put into escrow so that we can get paid all twelve months—and the money from the house sale, we plan to pay off all the travel we’ve already booked. It’ll be good to leave with so much paid for. As we finish packing clothes, we will each have to decide what gets packed to be stored, what gets packed to be taken on the year-long trip, and what is getting packed for our temporary apartment living; the Archivist has much less of this work to do than the Medievalist.
Also, our cat-sitter was kind enough to drive over an hour to come meet the cats. We are so very relieved and thankful that someone we trust and love so much is going to be taking care of two of our most precious souls. We will miss our cats desparately—one of them puts us to bed every night!!—but knowing that they will be in great hands is such a huge relief!
The Craic
We did something we rarely ever do—mostly because it’s not the Medievalist’s style—and binged two shows this week. The first was Four Seasons (Netflix), a Tina Fey (et al.) remake of the 1981 Alan Alda/Carol Burnett movie of the same name. Starring Fey, Will Forte, Steve Carell, and many others, it’s hilarious and also a close look at interactions in long-lasting marriages and how those mundane things can keep the relationship going or break it down. The second was I Am a Virgo (Prime), about a fourteen-foot-tall Black man who lives in Oakland and who wants to be a superhero but finds a community of people who also want to make change in the ways things work—and oftentimes do not work—in their neighborhood. If you need a great four-minute speech for a class or some other presentation about how and why capitalism is bad and necessitates unemployment and violence, check out episode seven. This show is thoughtful, thought-provoking, and visually stunning with some laughs and great music. We also started the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers, in which Nicole Kidman continues to be pale, wispy, and mysterious, and the new strangers are also intriguing. We continue to enjoy Hacks, Doctor Who (so queer this season!!!), and Poker Face. The Archivist said “screw it” to that final boss fight—having defeated that boss once already during initial game-play—and started Days Gone, a zombie-fighting game, while the Medievalist continues to enjoy her replay of Far Cry 5. Finally, the Archivist finished the entire Lord John series from Diana Gabaldon and started the latest Flavia, while the Medievalist continues to enjoy reading Kate Atkinson, because how could you not‽
Packing and moving will be our main focus for this next week, so we hope you’ll forgive us if we miss a post. We’ll be back!
Ride and hearken, y’all,
The Transmigrationists