"But tomorrow may rain, so, I'll follow the sun" -The Beatles

Here I am. In Pittsboro, NC. My midway point (figuratively) between HHI and NYC!

Today was rough. Lots of moving. A few goodbyes. My car wouldn't start. Stressful. Lots of driving. Met up with some friends in Chapel Hill. Met new people.

Sadly, I wasn't able to say, "Goodbye" to Lindsey. We were running around getting stuff done and by the time we got back to my apartment, she had left for work. I feel really bad about it. Driving back to NC this evening was a whirlwind of emotions. I was excited about NYC, scared of NYC, sad about leaving HHI and friends, excited to see friends in Chapel Hill, excited to see my family (and pets) in Pittsboro, stressed about everything I have to get done tomorrow, etc. Somehow I still made it home before 3 am!

Here are a couple pictures from today's activities:

The storage unit, locked and loaded!

Passing South of the Border.. the biggest interstate tourist trap, EVER.

For now it is off to get some sleep. Oh, how I wish I could sleep late tomorrow.

Last Night in HHI

Whew.. what a day! THIS has officially been the most productive day I have had on the island... and it is my last... go figure. Mom arrived around three and we have not stopped going since! We made a couple trips to the storage unit and got what we needed packed in there so that all we will need to take there tomorrow will be my couch, love seat, dresser, bed, and mattresses.

Not the best picture.. but you get the idea. We have everything that is going back to NC packed in my mom's car with the exception of my TV, old computer, and a couple random little things.

Lindsey joined my mom and me for dinner at Amigos. Oh, how I will miss their Carnitas Tortas... It was fun! They have both heard a lot about each other so I am glad they kind of got to know each other a little bit. Lindsey also came by my apartment later on with Amber and they took a whole bunch of stuff I was planning on just dropping off at a thrift shop.

I feel much less stressed, maybe just because I have been so busy. There is still a lot of stress to be had concerning this move, but I feel very accomplished with what we completed today. After looking at everything i have in boxes to go to NYC, I am kind of freaking out about how I will get it all there. I suppose I will have to go back through and minimalize again. I am sure I will have to ship some stuff too (which kind of sketches me out for some reason).

My poor dog, Lady, had to have a toe removed yesterday. She is an old girl, I feel bad. I also got some bad news today concerning someone I used to work for. I can't go into detail as I have been asked to keep it private. I am keeping that person and their family in my thoughts though as we had a very close work relationship.

Tomorrow is going to be ridiculous, so I should probably get some sleep.

Good Night Hilton Head... one last time :-(

“There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression." -Garson Kanin

My stress level is through the roof today.

1) I dont know how to get from Penn Station to my apartment and what if the cabbie gets lost.
2) What if I cant get into the apartment when I get there.
3) What if I get to the train station Friday morning and for whatever reason they wont let me check my baggage.
4) My apartment looks so full, how will all of my junk be out of here in the next 24 hours or so.
5) What am I going to put all of my stuff in to take with me to New York.
6) Is one day in North Carolina really enough to tie up all of my loose ends?
7) What all do I need to take with me to the DMV to renew my drivers license?
8) What if I really don't find a job once I get there?
9) What if I get mugged the minute I step onto the street outside of Penn Station?
10) When should I turn in my Palmetto Pass?
11) My train doesnt have a dining car, am I going to starve to death and die on the way up there? How will I pack something to eat in addition to everything else I am bringing along?
12) Can your luggage get lost on a train?
13) How am I going to get all of my stuff from the platform to a cab? And from the cab into the apartment?

AHHHHHHHHHH!

Exhausted!

I think today falls somewhere near the top of the list when recounting Chip's Most Productive Days on Hilton Head Island. I got all of the paperwork filled out for my storage unit with the help of a kind lady named, Theresa at Public Storage. I also went by Piggly Wiggly to get laundry detergent (deciding packing a mountain of dirty clothes wasn't such a great idea after all) and shirts for Lana and Claire. I also ran a few other errands (Walmart, Bank, etc.), not even stopping for lunch... unless you count my white chocolate mocha from Starbucks as a meal. I was also going to swing by the Coinstar at Food Lion and finally cash in my $360+ in change I have saved over the past year and two months, but realized they charge 8%. Not a big deal when you're cashing in $10 here and $15 there, but when you have well over $300 in change, you're paying almost $30! I found that to be absurd and decided against it. I got some change rollers from the bank and decided to take on the task myself. After not much time, I decided it would take me a good 87 hours to roll it all and I have a lot of shit going on. I will probably go to Coinstar tomorrow and fork over the $28.50 or whatever it was I calculated. Instead of rolling change, I opted to take a load of stuff to my new storage unit to at least have a little bit of it out of the way. Here is what I have so far:

It doesn't look like much, but my little Sentra can only hold so much. If nothing else, that is 6 boxes and my office chair out of the way.

Maggie swung by my apartment after she got off work to get my key to Salty Dog and to say, "Goodbye". It was really sad and it honestly took a lot not to shed a tear, especially seeing the tears welling up in her eyes. I hate goodbyes!

My friend, Adam, told me soon after I met him that one of the worst things about living here was that there was always too many Goodbyes. I have seen friends come and leave in just a year, and it has been sad every time one of them has left. Now that I am the one leaving, saying, "Goodbye" to so many people downright sucks! I feel like when I left Boone I was one of the last to leave from the group of friends I spent most of my time with. I also felt like it was past time for me to leave that small, mountain, college town. With Hilton Head, I feel like I could have decided to stay throughout another season. Sometimes I wish I had of chosen to do so. I guess when you are chasing a dream, the timing for your emotions isn't always perfect.

For now, I am going to take a nice, hot shower and wash off the nasty chlorine from the indoor pool and jacuzzi at Hilton Head Resort and start last night's two hour episode of Brothers and Sisters until I fall asleep.

“Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness” -Richard Carlson

Last night was my going away soiree with my Salty Dog peeps. Lots of food, lots of beer, lots of wine! It was definitly a good time... that I paid dearly for today. I'm going to miss those guys a lot! Working at Salty Dog was like working with one big family and it was the best decision I could have made to accept the job and move down here after college. I can't imagine never knowing the people I have met through work.

Two weeks from today I will be back in North Carolina, leaving behind the beach, the friends, and the fun times that could have been. It is sad, but I know there is a big adventure ahead of me.

I was in Bluffton tonight after work to pick up some things and decided to swing by Moe's (because I love Moe's) and that place was packed! Im not even exaggerating, the entire parking lot was full except for 4 spaces in the very back! I couldn't believe it! I love their chicken nachos so much.

In other news. The debate concerning what to do with my furniture is driving me insane! I don't want to store it in Hilton Head because it is freakin expensive and I do not need ANOTHER bill to pay every month when I have no job in addition to my Dell bill, cell phone, final bills from HHI, new bills in NYC, rent, plus having money to eat. Ahh... this is getting stressful!!