Some companies make their employees work this day, and they get a three-day-weekend. Mine wants to make sure you get both Eve and Christmas off, even if they fall on a weekend. SO we got Friday and Monday off in addition to the weekend. Unfortunately, instead of Christmas cheer, I get to continue packing. Yay.
So yesterday I figured out that my Altima's trunk space is larger than I thought it was. In theory - THEORY - I should be able to fit six full crates in the trunk alone. I don't think I'll need that many, but it's nice to know I can pull that off. I plan to put four in there, then some clothes on top and around for cushioning (I'm heading into the mountains, you know), then have the Insignia LCD on top, and some more clothes. That seems a dangerous bet but I don't really have a choice. The AQUOS alone is likely to fill up my back floor pretty good, then I've got the Thunderbolt Display and iMac, both of which have massive boxes. That doesn't give much room for the stereo or the laptops, or the keyboard, or the printer...*sigh*.
Today I'm going to have to get as much done as possible, because I have to work Tuesday - Thursday. According to research, I very well might get caught in pouring rain...or worst, a blizzard, when I hit the mountains. Stories of people getting caught and dying due to hypothermia. For some reason, on a major interstate, I find the likelihood of that remote. However, I have to be ready for the possibility. The tentative plan to prepare for this is to stock up on some food items, just in case I have to be stuck somewhere or shack up somewhere. I have a spare jacket in the back seat, and I'll be double layered on the clothes since it'll be cold in any case. Worst case, I can use the car's battery power to run a hot kettle for hot water. The car is virtually new - I just hit 10,000 miles, so I'm not worried about breakdowns. Got the oil and filter changed on it, tires checked out, fluids topped off. I have to buy tire chains today or tomorrow from Autozone. Apparently they're required in certain areas even if you don't end up using them.
I've never used tire chains because I've been stuck in this hellhole of sunshine for the majority of my conscious life. I've been in snow before, many times, back in Arkansas and Texas, but I was a kid then. TO me snow was a plaything, now I have to treat it as a life-or-death situation, and I'm on my own. I'm going to ask a friend if she would not mind keeping an open line of communication with me during the trip. I'm going to enable Google Latitude so she can follow my progress, that way if something were to happen, she will know where my phone signal died off, and it should be reasonably easy to locate me from that, as I would not go that far from my car...unless I'm thrown from it, in which case, well, que será, será.
Research also indicates that for the most part, the freeways should be reasonably clear of snow IF there are a good amount of cars driving continuously on it, due to the heat generated from the tires impacting the paving, keeping the snow melted. That doesn't do much if it rains heavily and it certainly doesn't do much at night when it's even colder, and visibility drops. I'm not interested in a coastal pleasure cruise. My sole objective is to get up here to my new apartment and settle in, not looking back. Period. I've dealt with a lot worse than a snowstorm...having nearly died on five separate occasions...so there's no fear.
So today, I have to dump a bunch of stuff into the trash outside from yesterday. I will have a little bit more, but for the most part, everything "trash" is gone and/or bagged and tagged. The bulk of today will be unwiring all of my electrical stuff and packing up my DVD/CD library. If I make good progress, I will then move on to boxing up some of the "keep" piles. It's amazing...I moved here with 7 crates full of "stuff". After my cleanup process, I will have likely about 3-4 crates full. Everything else was junk that I just kept. Lots of paperwork, but I plan to scan most of it when I get to my new place.
Hired a junk hauler who will take all furniture away. I'll just have to buy new furniture and a new bed. That's scheduled for Wednesday, so I have to get stuff packed and out of the way before then if possible.
Internet service is established at the new place, got a decent deal, need to make sure I've got money ready for the installer. I also had to buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, that's on its way, should be here Wednesday unless they use OnTrac, in which case I'll get it tomorrow for sure. It hasn't shipped yet though.
Gas service is also active at the new place. I was pleasantly surprised they got it done at 11pm on Saturday. The Electric service company which is a different utility is closed except M-F, and likely closed today, with no way to request service online. So I will try them today, if not then tomorrow, but I need service active no later than 12/31 which is when I'm planning to be there. Electric has to be on before the internet can be installed, logically.
Tomorrow I have to go through and start scheduling cancellations for SDG&E and Time Warner. SDG&E can probably stay active until after I've moved, but I think they need me here. I have to figure that all out.
