Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Running On Empty
Monday
April 23, 2007
Moving can be a brutal, back-breaking, psychologically and physically draining process. And, for me in my move back to Nashville after almost 12 years, that was certainly the case.
The days leading up to last Friday were spent working by day and packing by night. Before the real move even started, I was sore and tired from moving and packing and trying to think three moves ahead on everything, like playing Chess Titans on Level 7.
Saturday was perhaps the most physically grueling day I've had since the summer football practices from my high school days. In my 13 months in Alabama, I unfortunately lived a mostly sedentary existence; consequently, my cardio and strength levels dropped considerably. No one to blame for that but myself, though it was maddening to have a nice tennis court right in my apartment complex and not have anyone to play. Me against the world.
My Dad was incredibly generous with his time and energy, helping me load up the box truck with my belongings that made the cut. Some classic furniture did not make the cut; my old couch and my bed left my possession. My bed was bad enough where Goodwill wouldn't even take it.
Loading the truck from the second floor apartment wore me out. By the end I was stumbling like Terry Funk late in a wrestling match. My legs were like rubber. And, immediately after that, I had to drive up to Nashville. But I had the easy draw; my Dad drove the Adenus box truck, which is not a fun ride. In racing terms it's very loose on handling, the 0-60 is as bad as I've seen, and to get the gas to go you have to literally almost stand on the accelerator.
Yesterday we ended up out in Cheatham County at a barn on some family property. My Dad and I managed to fit in an entertainment center, a kitchen table, and my washer/dryer units in a barn that was *full* of junk. It was like Tetris trying to move things around in there to make room, and the path was too narrow to actually pull the washer and dryer through on the two wheel cart. So guess what we had to do? Heave-ho from the truck to the barn landing area, and then my Dad and I had to physically carry the heavy laundry units into their respective spots.
Some weekends are easier than others. This was no easy weekend, but I made it. Was it worth it? You'd better believe it.
The room I have at my brother's place is small, particularly compared with the mansion of an apartment I had at Wellington Manor. I was ribbed for having so much stuff, but I'm a packrat by nature, and so it goes. But my brother's house is a nice place, and being here with Matt and our roommate Dustin (Turbo) is going to make for a fun atmosphere.
It looks like Memphis in May is going to happen the weekend after next. That should be a fun time. Big festival events are a little overwhelming to me at times, but this is supposed to be a very fun annual event. Plus, the Counting Crows are playing on Sunday, and I don't want to miss that.
Exhaustion is creeping over me; time for sleep. Tomorrow I can unpack more boxes, and maybe hook up cable on the TV in my room. Matt's big HD television downstairs has kept me from being in a big hurry to set things up here.
By the way, WWE tonight did something totally unexpected: they had a match of the year caliber, 45 minute long wrestling battle between Shawn Michaels and John Cena. No run-ins, no stupid gimmicks, no "ha ha" unfunny comedy, just two guys tearing the house down with a great match. If this is part of how Vince McMahon plans to change WWE television (reacting to UFC), then that is a VERY good thing. But we'll see if it lasts.
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