...I'll make sure I do a better job of labeling the boxes.
Last May when I was packing my house up for someone else to move in, I was more concerned with getting things out of the way than with my ability to easily find what I had packed up. I figured that it was in storage until I returned in June 2012, coupled with my move out date being pushed up a week...well, I packed things up so they would be safe in the boxes, put them in my storage room, and got out. Which means when I decided a couple months ago that when I was home I should go track down some DVDs to bring back with me, it seemed like an easy proposition. I would just have to go back to my house, find the right box, and I'd be set. Easy in theory, a little more labor intensive in practice. I first went over last week, and I spent about 20 minutes moving boxes and looking through boxes until I found the one that held what I thought were all my DVDs. In going through them, I realized I had more DVDs than I had remembered, and there was no way that all of them were going to make it down with me. I have a few different "travel cases" for DVDs, and once they're filled, I'm done...individual cases take up too much room.
So after the initial search, I figured I was done. As I started filling the cases today, however, I realized that I was missing seasons of some of the TV shows I have on DVD. So I hadn't found everything. And then I remembered that when I was packing up, the first dozen or so boxes were packed with some sort of logic behind them...here are the DVD's, here are books from this shelf, that shelf, the other shelves (I realized somewhere along the line that I own a LOT of books...unsurprising to those who know me, but still...). As I was nearing the end of packing, things got a little more haphazard. I would set the box to fill on my couch, and whatever fit in it that wouldn't get broken was placed there. Which means if the DVDs weren't on the shelf where they belonged when I packed them the first time, they got put in another box of random things. And I never bothered to label which boxes were random things.
I went back to my house this afternoon to see if I could track down any of those seasons that I was missing (a couple from The Office and NCIS). There were also a few movies I know I'm missing. After an hour of searching I had found the seasons of The Office in a box filled mostly with books. I still hadn't found the rest of it, and I think I had been through every box. I'm sure they're sitting somewhere in that storage room, but I couldn't find them. So I'm going to be borrowing my mother's copies of those seasons (a sacrifice on her part...she "watches" them when she grades...they make great background noise). Though now that I've introduced her to House, maybe she'll have something else to watch. I think she made some comment about picking a few seasons of that up.
But my lesson for the week...next time I move out, make sure I clearly label the boxes!
My time back here has been good. I've had the opportunity to share with people one-on-one or in groups what I'm doing. I've seen a lot of people that I've wanted to see, and haven't been able to see others, which is kind of expected. In many ways it has seemed normal to be here, and then it seems strange when I realize that it's been 5 months since I've done things like drive...and it will be at least another 5+ months until I do so again. Often times when I sit down and talk with people, it's like no time has passed, things are "normal", just chatting about everyday life. We pick up where we left off...and somewhere along the line it hits me that my "normal" and their "normal" are currently very different. I can still very much relate to their normal, it's really easy to fall back into my old patterns...but in my time in Honduras, I've changed some. They're good changes, and I don't know how much will stick in the long run. I'm sure it will be interesting next year to see what sticks and what doesn't. It will also be interesting to see how much culture shock I experience going back to Honduras on Saturday. In many ways I feel like I've been back longer than 2 weeks...it's been a very full 2 weeks! And while I've definitely enjoyed my time here, and I'll miss people here when I go back, I am ready to go back, and looking forward to seeing people there again.
I do still have one more day in the States. Tomorrow my uncle, aunt and cousins are coming up for the day, and tomorrow evening is our family Christmas...so I'll see a lot of family right before I leave. It should be a good day! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment