Friday, May 20, 2011

Good Things to Come - Maybe Even A Washing Machine in the Kitchen?

People have warned me that as I get older, time will fly faster than I've ever seen it.

I'm officially terrified.

Being just twenty-something, it's hard to imagine how fast time will go by in my thirties, forties, and so on. I realize that because I have a lot going on right now (understatement of the YEAR!), everything feels like it's happening in a fast-forward kind of way.

It won't be long until I step off the plane with my new husband (mannen min, in Norwegian) and start a life in another country. But before that happens, I've got a long to-do list to fulfill. I'm looking forward to just about all of it, and rather than feeling overwhelmed, I'm feeling overjoyed. While I'm here in California working, planning, and packing, Stian is miles away wrapping up life as a student and preparing to settle us both into a beautiful city.

In fact, he's apartment shopping (yes, shopping, buying an apartment is normal in other parts of the world) this weekend, and it's quite fun to look at floor plans and possibilities. It's lovely to talk about the future and the home we're getting ready to create - I think we often lose sight of the joy of what's to come because we're constantly surrounded by unknowns. We simply get wrapped up in not knowing how, when, and where things are going to happen, and this leads to untold frustration of which there is no immediate relief. But the very idea of actually getting our own place and ending the Skype dates someday soon is truly the light at the end of tunnel.

There is one thing that I find interesting about a lot of apartments in Norway (and I'm noticing this more and more as we look at places online):  the washing machine in the kitchen. It's not this way in every home, but I'm finding that it's in quite a handful of apartments. And if it's not in the kitchen, it's usually in the bathroom. I can understand the bathroom placement, I guess, but does anyone else find it awkward to shuffle dirty clothes in and out of the kitchen? Stian and I have both agreed that we don't like that particular "feature" in an apartment, but SO MANY apartments have this! It's really amazing, actually. I guess if we get the apartment we're interested in with the machine in the kitchen (next to the dish washer of all places!), we better be on top of the laundry situation. Especially when guests come over - yikes! Talk about airing your dirty laundry!!!

Cross your fingers friends, let's all hope we have an apartment to move into when we arrive in Norway at the end of July!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Moving Internationally - Step #1

I often find myself asking how does one really move overseas? I'm not sure I can give you a conclusive answer, so I'll let you know what I find out after I get there. For now though, there's always speculation.

Obviously, it doesn't really feel like you're moving anywhere unless you haul a bunch of your crap with you. I could call it "personal items," "things," or "sentimental dust collectors," but in any case, it's crap. It's just some stuff you've acquired over time, called your own, and now that it owns you, you've got to take it with you.

I've fallen into the "trap of crap" (ha, yes! remember folks, you read it here first), and now I have to figure how to get it across 5200 miles of land and sea (from the freeways to the fjords!). Not an easy task, and I have plenty of research to do on the matter, but as of right now I've got some suitcases that will hopefully take the majority of my clothes, shoes, make-up, and other "things." Everything else (i.e., wedding presents), will be shipped via sea freight and arrive in Norway in about a month after it's shipped. I suppose that's how this is going to work.

I am trying to clean out my closet every few weeks, but the door can't seem to stay closed because of the monstrous amount of clothes shoved in there. (I have to admit, that problem is probably due to my constant clothing replenishment every so often at the mall....).  I'm going to take my first step towards moving by purchasing something that will help: Space Bags. In fact, after I buy them, I'm going to fill them up with my winter clothing. I may even ship a box or two over to Bergen to be cared for by friends that have agreed to participate in Alyssa's Adopt-A-Box program.

Wish me luck, and let's all hope this move doesn't cost more a thousand big ones.