Guess where I am updating from?

I’m updating from home. From MY home. My appartment. Where the internet is now working! I am very relieved. When I first plugged the whole thing in, the net was not working. Making sure all cables were connected and rebooting the router did not help. No connection, it said. I was already getting sad and and annoyed. Then the phone rang. It was my first “away call”. My mother calling. Talked for 12 minutes. That must be some kind of record for me. I am not a phone-person. But it was nice talking to her. And a sort of manifestation of the fact that I am now no longer living at home. Now they have to call me if they want to talk to me.

After the phone call I resetted the router and lo and behold, it achieved connection. And now I am all internetted up. With a faster connection than ever before. Sweet.

Outside it is getting dark, slowly. My first night in the new place. I’ll probably get a little scared. No drapes, darkness outside. Unfamiliar noises. But I’ll get through it. I am happy to be here.

I almost can’t believe it in fact. Seriously. I know at the beginning of the year I was adamant that this would be the year when I finally moved out. But there was a part of me that didn’t believe it. There was a part of me that though that by December 31st 2007 I’d still be living at home, no better off. But I have done it. I have actually done it. I’m sitting here on the floor with my flatscreen monitor propped up on a cardboard moving box. No furniture, no drapes. Nothing on the walls. Just boxes everywhere. I am here. On my own. It’s starting to sink in. I have done it. I have moved out on my own. Any day now, I will be believe it is true. Maybe tomorrow, when I wake up in that wonderful soft bed and I see that it was not a dream. Maybe then I will have to believe.

So today I went furniture shopping with my dad. He needed some new furniture to put into my old room. I think he’s going to make a stamp shrine. Or at least a room where he can keep his stamp collection. He usually does his stamp… indexing, or whatever you call it, on the dining room table. And then he always has to move it and pack it down when it’s dinner time or when the day is over. I think he’s excited to have a room where he can spread out his stamps on a table and not have to move them and not have to worry that anyone accidentally opens a window so they all blow away.

Anyway. I found some decent stuff. A fairly big table where I shall put my computer. An office chair. That’s what they’re called, right? With wheels so you can spin around and go wheeeeee. And then a couple of comfy chairs. And a big shelf for books and DVDs and such. And three lamps. I need lamps, it’s getting dark! All the stuff will be delivered on Monday. So until then I have to make do with a couple of small lamps that I have. It’s probably going to be a little spooky once it gets completely dark outside. But oh well!

After the furniture shopping I had a little time to spare so I went to the playground. It’s been what? Three days? Since I last saw the goats. I can’t remember the last time I was away from them for that long. I’m glad I got to see them today. They seemed to be happy that I was back too. I was greeted by loud and insisting baahs. I could of course be completely misreading the signs, but I’d like to think that they had missed me. I know I have missed them.

Then it was time to move the last of my stuff. Oluf came and helped again. With his car. I thought that there was only a few tidbits left but we ended up with several boxes and bags full of stuff again. And my computer of course. The most important thing of all.

Oluf gave me a housewarming gift as well. He saw all the colas that I were bringing and asked if I was a cola fan. I couldn’t exactly deny that. I’m still trying to quit. In theory. In reality, not so much. I’ll work on it later. Anyway, he brought out a Coca Cola glass. A real official one. Sweet. I will be drinking my cheap noname cola from a swanky Coca Cola glass. But that was really nice of him. I don’t think he actually bought it for me, I think he just happened to have it and spontaneously gave it to me. But he’s been a great help. Without him I would have had to deal with expensive and crooked movers. Much nicer like this. The next time I move I will have furniture though, so there will be no escaping the crooked movers. But I’ll worry about that when I get to it.

But yup. All my stuff is here now. On Monday the furniture will be delivered. Later on in the week the drapes should come. Tomorrow I will pick up my new TV. The mailman actually tried to deliver it today. That was fast. Much faster than I had expected. Too bad I wasn’t home to accept it. But I’ll go pick it up at the post office.

And then soon everything will be nice and settled. How sweet it is.

That’s all for today. Thank you all for the good vibes you are sending. It makes me happy that there are people out there in the world that actually care about how I’m doing. It’s a comforting thought.

I’ll try to get pictures of the place posted soon. But right now darkness is falling and as I said, I’m sitting on the floor with uncomfortably placed computers and small lights so I don’t feel like working on them right now. Soon though. I’ll give you a guided tour.

Now I just have to make it through the night…

Day two of the big move is done. I have decided to sleep in my old room one last time. Tomorrow we will bring the computer and my last stuff out to the appartment. And then I will move officially in. Even without drapes.

Speaking of drapes, I went to the drape shop today. With my mother. It was a nice place. The minute we stepped in through the door, the owner came and greeted us and helped us out. He seemed like a real oldtimesy kinda shopkeeper who cares about his metier and his customers. It was a nice experience. Apart from the fact that I can’t get my drapes until the end of next week. Custom sown and all. When he heard that I was living on the ground floor he said “oh yeah, that’s annoying without drapes”. Yup. But he suggested that I put boxes up in the windows or something like that. I have done that a bit, and also a blanket supported by big soda bottles. It’s okay, temporarily at least.

I also got my shower curtain, so that’s good. One thing to cross off the list. I have a notepad and every now and then I’ll think of something I need for the appartment and write it down. It’ll probably be a while before I have everything I need. I’ll get it all little by little.

After the drape shop I went to the supermarket to get some things. Tootbrush and paste. Also I wanted to see what I could do about plates. I have spoons and forks and knives and more spoons, but I had no plates. I figured I’d get some disposable ones. Use those until I found a good deal on some real ones. Fortunately that good deal came right up. A box full of plates of varying sizes and some bowls and cups. 100 kroners. Down from 350 or so. Excellent deal. So I snapped that right up. And crossed plates off my list.

Then I went home. To the old home. Relaxed a little and had some lunch. And then I gathered some things in a shopping kart we had standing around. And pulled that over to my new appartment. Actually, my dad helped. He seemed to think that I couldn’t handle a shopping kart full of stuff by myself. Maybe he was afraid I’d get mugged. Anyway, he helped me on my way. Nice of him. In fact my whole family has been extremely nice and helpful. And I appreciate that a whole lot. I have had my differences with them, I still have issues and stuff from the past to deal with. But the support and help they’re giving me now, it makes me feel like they really care about me. And that’s a very good feeling.

I don’t know if I could do all this without them. Moving is hard! Psychologically too. I am beat and tired and my legs sore and I just want the dust to settle and everyday life to kick in.

The first thing I did when my dad left the appartment was to put together a floor ventilator. My old friend, fresh air. I had actually bought it long ago. Before I knew I was getting the appartment. I had meant to put it in my old room, to replace a smaller model. But I never got around to it. And then figured it’d go well with my new place. And well it did go. It’s not unbearably hot these days, but I still need the breeze. I can’t breathe in still air. So I put that together. Using one of my kitchen knives to unscrew and screw screws. Noted down on my notepad that I need to buy a screwdriver as well. Then I lied down on the bed and rested. Relaxed. Stared at the ceiling. The same odd feeling. A bare room. Strange and unfamiliar. And yet my new home, all mine. So much promise. So foreign, but so much potential.

Then I read. My REM book. I have finished the angel book and the Kaufman book. I am happy about that. My reading mood continues. I like the idea of sitting in my very own appartment and reading my books. I hope I can keep it going once the computer and TV arrives. Oh the temptation of easy entertainment.

Then I started unpacking some of my boxes. I stacked books and DVDs and video tapes and CDs up against a wall. It’s kind of hard to unpack when there is no furniture at all. Nowhere to put anything. Hah. But it’s a start.

Now, in not so long, I’m going to go sleep in my old bed for the last time. My old room is almost stripped. Nothing left. That is almost as odd, if not even more so, than the stripped new appartment. A little limbo, my past erased and my future open. A new beginning. A fresh start. YOU ARE THE WIIIND BENEATH MY WIIIINGS. Sorry, I got carried away.

So tomorrow I’m going furniture shopping. Then Oluf will come and help us move the last stuff, including my computer. And then I’m there. In my appartment. For keeps. Fingers crossed, my next update should be made from there.

I feel like I’m the center of the universe. Somehow.