The Master Plan

    Behind any major feat of human ingenuity is a flawless plan that is loosely adhered to and/or completely scraped during the actual execution. I am what people like to call "Type-A". I was the kid who had her pencil box meticulously organized two weeks before school started. However, my ridiculously anal-retentive tendencies are more often than not mitigated by my ability to give a (insert favorite word here) about multiple stressful things for an extended period of time. I am not sure what "type" Joey is and I don't know what his pencil box looked like in grade school, but I am fairly certain it had Ninja Turtles on it. He does however have a horribly annoying knack for keeping an even keel in terms of interest and effort when completing a task. So between the two of us, we are usually able to come up with a basic outline of plan and just fill in the details as we go. I get really excited on the front end, Joey keeps us focused, and then I have an anxiety attack and make sure everything is completed...possibly a few weeks in advance. You know. Just to be safe.    As an example, I give you- The Master Plan.

     Ok, so that one is actually DaVinci. But let me assure you, getting two adults, a Great Dane, two cats, a hamster and a household across the country is equally impressive. Here is what we came up with:

We got rid of a lot of bulky furniture. My giant four-poster bed is gone, as is our couch and entertainment center. We will just replace some of those items when we get to Tucson. All of our other furniture, belongings, etc. are being shipped in a pod. Well, two pods, actually. The brand Pod is freaking expensive, but we found another company, UPack, that we are using instead. Their pods are smaller but waaayyy more affordable. That leaves the breathing organisms. All of us will be making the drive (the 22 hour drive) in the new car. We will be taking a suitcase with just enough necessities and pet food to last us the 3-5 days for our pods to arrive. Lucky for us, we are down to just one car (and plan to remain that way for the duration of our grad school careers). Because we will all be in one vehicle, Joey and I can take turns driving, so we can make the trip in one straight shot.  This is of course assuming that no spousal arguments, pet deaths, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events take place. We will leave from Memphis at night, that way we are navigating the most familiar territory in the dark and will arrive in Tucson the next evening and can promptly pass out and go to bed....er...floor. So there you have it. Marvel at our strategy. Me being me, I have had this planned out for about...oh...6 months now. Once we actually start packing the pods and car, the entire thing may very well go out the window. But for now pretending I have a grasp on this whole "moving" situation provides me some degree of stress relief. *begins hyperventilating*