Move: To Madison, WI (4 Days Before Arrival)

Since Tuesday, the big themes of the move have been preparing the house to be rented out, and having good-bye dinners with friends and family.

On Wednesday, a contractor replaced a bathtub faucet. The replacement works well. On Thursday, I visited the new location of the CreatorSpace. If you haven’t been there yet, check them out!

On Friday, I transferred money from one Credit Union to another via yet another Credit Union. The first one had a Certificate of Deposit, which had the money for the tuition pay-back to the employer. (They paid for me to go back to grad school; now that I’m leaving, I owe them a pro rata share of what they paid.) Anyway, the first CU does not have the capability of transferring money seamlessly from itself to another CU. To get the money from the first CU to the CU that has my checking account, one has to use a third CU that has Shared Branching.

On Saturday, Dad came by for a visit. We had coffee at Murder by Chocolate, then he helped me trim some trees in the back yard. Later, I made a pot roast for him and some friends. We ran through the Bubble Quiz. Dad “won” with the highest score. The quiz is really good at sparking conversations about society, culture, and politics.

On Sunday, I bid farewell to the Adult Discussion group at the Bay Area UnitarianUniversalist Church. Then, I bought some supplies at Home Depot for doing some more repairs. The day ended with dinner with some friends at B&B Butchers. Highly recommend eating there, if you’re willing to spend ~$80 per person for appetizer, main course, side dish, and alcohol. But, wow, the bacon, the beef, the mushrooms, the mojito…

The evening ended with drinks and tiramisu at a friend’s house. We discussed politics well into the evening. I transferred the title of the VW Rabbit to one of my friends. She drove herself another friend away. I shook hands with the last friend, and bid each other farewell.

Monday will be my last day of work. I will need to turn in all the company stuff, hand over the employee badge, and sign my final time card. Afterwards, my boss and coworkers will all converge at a local pub.

The following day, Tuesday, will be the last full day in Houston. Final repairs will need to be made. Final dinner with relatives. Packing up the Subaru for the drive to Madison.

The plan for Friday April 7 is shaping up. Will look at some houses and sublets with the real estate agent. The Madison weather forecast is becoming more relevant.