Note: Inspired by my friend Erin over at Dec-O-Blog, I have decided to post my adventures from the start, despite the fact that I am already at one major end destination. Follow the fun!Probably the worst experience in my whole world was packing up my apartment for storage and packing to live in Israel for 5 months and packing to be driving for 4 days and 7 days in NYC. Now I know what you are thinking, "Duh, Talia, packing ALWAYS sucks!" Yes, you are right. Packing always sucks. This just sucked harder. What goes into storage? What goes to Israel? Oh crap, I don't have enough room for that to go to Israel. No more boxes, just shove stuff into bags... it was madness. In fact, I had hoped to take pictures to post of this whole process but I was just so overwrought, I couldn't deal with that.Finally, on Sunday the August 15, my very wonderful and dear friend Ben joined me to get my truck. Then the very nice movers came and helped me move everything into a Uhaul and then into my parent's basement. Note to my readers: Uhaul has a great service on their website that helps you find movers to help you pack, unpack, load, uload, and/or clean. I highly suggest this to EVERYONE! In Denver it is only $15 per person per hour. I hired two guys for three hours and it was well worth it. (Read: no carrying things down three flights of stairs.) Not to say I didn't walk my butt off on those stairs but it was great. I gave my brother all my non-perishables (rice, beans, pasta, quinoa, etc) and my parents all the rest of my food, ziplocs, foil, cleaning supplies etc. I have always been a horder when it comes to that stuff. I am always worried that I won't find it on sale again so I make sure I am stocked up... hence, a lot of crap to move.The next step was packing for Israel. I thought I had this under control but... no... not even close. When a fourth of what I had planned to take filled up my allotted two suitcases, I knew I was in trouble and in true Talia fashion, I freaked out and called my parents. I hate doing this stuff alone! My mom's sage words of advice were this - throw it all into trash bags and get it to our house, we will help you sort it out. After a few late night trips back to the apartment with and without my mom to finish the last minute stuff and clean the place, I ended up sweaty and dirty at my parent's house ready for a shower... such was not my luck. My step-mom, in her truly brilliant-ness had us all stay up until nearly 3am sorting out the things for Israel until it became a manageable pile. Then shower and bed. WHEW!The next day was more sorting and picking then running around and helping my brother. Oh didn't I mention? He was moving too... to NYC. Yeah, good planning! :) So we got our rental minivan and loaded his stuff up. That night, my father (who is the king of packing) helped me roll my clothes and with the assistance of many space bags, I managed to get my necessaries into two checked bags at 50lbs and one rolling carry-on and one backpack! WHEW! YAY! Then they got shoved into the minivan and we slept.During this whole process I really realized how much I have in my life, not only to be thankful for the good fortune to have things but also that there are many things I am sure I don't need. My Israeli wardrobe consists of a lot less than all I own and a LOT less shoes. It is hard to part with it all but we will see where I stand in January. I imagine it will be a nice homecoming to my closet!Now I know some of you are wondering, Talia, how in the world are you going to manage it when you come home and have a bunch of Israeli purchases?! Here is the answer... much of what I brought will stay here. I am sure I will wear out some clothing but mainly, I brought comfort things for the dorms here. There are none or few hangers, a very hard bed, and no towels. Here's what I brought that will be left here:
- twin sized jersey sheets (the soft material) - I don't own a twin sized bed anymore
- mattress pad with a bit of cushion
- egg crate pad for the bed
- two old towels (I have literally had them since camp in middle school)
- a bunch of old wash cloths
- a small bath mat/rug for near my bed
- toiletries
- shampoo & conditioner
- face wash
- body wash
- toothpaste
- lotions
- hand soap
Pretty much... I think I might have an empty suitcase on the way back to fill with goodies! No, really, I know you must be thinking that is excessive but when I arrived in Israel it was the nicest thing to have familiar sheets, a soft bed, and toiletries. And I don't mind leaving it for others who might want or need it here. :)Well, there is part 1 of my trip. Look for part 2 tomorrow... The Sibling Drive(ry)!