Moving Log

Wow, what a week!!
I'm already in a hotel, my stuff has been packed and taken to be shipped to Brasil!

Yesterday I cried a lot in my very empty apartment and I realized that I never lived so much time inside a home as I did with this one. It became my safe place, where I could be myself 24/7 without any criticism and censure!

Seeing my books going away from me knocked my heart. Seeing all the furniture I have used for 4 years gone made me realized how home is an important thing to me. I really liked this place. I don't know yet if this affection came because of the time I spent on it or because I felt so alone here that my home really embraced me, being my friend and my confident.

I said to a friend that I didn't live in Switzerland those 4 years, I lived inside my apartment and it could be at any country! A city was living near my windows and I could see it waking up and going to sleeping every day when its lights went on and off...

I'm out my "little sweet house" as someone once referred to it...

I'm having strange feelings about being secure and about starting over again, but one thing I know for sure...I will survive!!

I have documented all the moving moves, but I can't download the pics for technical problems. I'll do it as soon as I get a computer in Brasil.

I'm feeling so mentally and physically drained that last night I went to bed at 10 PM. At 7 I was having breakfast and trying to deal with a very angry Swiss lady this time of the morning. I'm in a very small hotel, in an even smaller village and it looks like she runs it because she got mad on me just because I asked for a cappuccino for breakfast…

Ah, all my plants found a place to stay. I even saw a sir getting one violet with so much care that got me emotional!

Tomorrow I'll spend all day long in a spa, taking all the bad feelings and stress away. It was a gift that I really appreciate! It's better for me to go to sleep or the lady closes the door...

Moving Log

Day 4

Moving Log

Day 3

(*)We need a new house!

Moving Log

Day 2

Moving Log

Day 1

What a Week!

I'm very immerse on my packing, carrying along and around not just boxes but my life also!
This week has been very very hard mentally, emotionally and physically and I'm really drained! Something that I was wait for in a certain way, came up and it was very depressing and made me have nightmares and disturb sleeping for some days!! And something I wasn't waiting for but that happened in a very fast way and into a complete cycle also came up to increase my list of dilemmas and concernings!!

What a week!!! What a week!!

As usual I will get over all that and some more!
I'm used to hear that I'm very strong and that I can take anything on my shoulders and on my heart and for very long time. Well, I just realized that it isn't a good thing at all!!
As people know I can take absolutely everything and anything they through all kind of heavy feelings on me as I were a deposit of emotions!! This is really makes me very tired!!!

I really don't how I take it, I just know that I take it!!

Dream to Reality

I got back from Cairo yesterday morning and I started packing my house already! From a beautiful dream directly to a cold reality!

I really don't understand how I can be so happy just for being there! It was a short trip, but a very intense one and I could see the famous Ramadan's lantern! They are sooooo beautiful!!

Well, reality knocked my door and I have a lot to do and I really mean a lot! If someone is passing by, please stop to give me a hand!!

Sunset on the Nile! By me!

The magic Nile! By me

Moving in, Moving out

Movers joke from Grantland

I have a deadline now and it’s sooo cool!! Until October 15^th I’ll be out of Switzerland for good!! I mean, I don’t have the exact date yet, but for sure I’ll be leaving in less than a month!! Hip
I really have a lot of things to do and I’m so happy for that!

In 2003, when I moved from the USA to here, I was very excited! Wow, I was moving to Europe, the old continent!! An art historian living in Europe was a great match!
So, I was told that a moving company would do everything to me and I didn’t need to lift one single finger!! I was feeling as “the cherry” of a Sunday ice cream!

Of course nothing good happened!! I let for the first and last time ever, a moving company taking care of all my stuff and it was an experience I won’t forget! It really was much more stressful than if I had doing everything myself. So, I learned the lesson!
Doesn’t matter the reputation of the company, doesn’t matter how organized it looks like, how competent it is, it’ll be always me, the only one who will pack my books, my CDs, DVDs, my kitchen apparatus, my clothes, my electronics appliances and son on.

I know there is a huge difference between the meanings of our personal belongs to us and to the moving company! We look at one chair and we see more than a chair; we see a piece that carries our memories and the moving company sees a piece of wood or metal. We look at our books and we care about them! It hurts seeing them being put inside a cold box having just the signification of…paper!!
Almost all carriers pack our belongings as used and maybe crap things and this is the huge difference between my packing and their packing!
And besides, in my previous experience, a lot of unnecessary material was used, making my bill a lot expensive.

I’m a very organized person but I’m not freak organizer for sure, but when I saw those guys just mixing things up in my home in the USA and making a huge confusion I had no other alternative than the needed to go to a walk and crying my eyes out and I don’t want to go through all that again!
Oh I forgot! They delayed the packing work for 4 days doing it just and only in the day before I was flying to here. Really it was very very stressful and I don’t want to go through all that again ever!!

My dearest friend Teresa and me having "the last breakfast"!

Oh! I also need to mention my dear friend Teresa Shaw getting at my apartment on the morning I left, with all my favorite breakfast food from a local diner in Blacksburg! Opening the door and seeing her with a box in her hands with everything I could ever imagine was great!

So, I have a carefully plan to make my moving as easier and smoother as possible! I have a plan and I started putting it in practice already! As I’ll pack-storage-ship to different continents I must stick to the plan to get everything done on time and without much stress.
As I’ll move to France, somewhere in France, I can’t send my books and personal belongs to Brasil. I’ll pack them and leave them here in storage. As I was told about my budget, I’ll ship all my furniture, my killims rugs, electronics that are in very good condition to Brasil and keep them there until I need them again! Who knows where I’m gonna settle for good…

There is just one little detail about it…I’m sick!
My inexistent thyroid is giving me a real hard time. I have muscle ache and all kinds of aches you can think of from my head to my toes and I can’t give it up or I don’t want to give it up!
A minimal effort is becoming a huge spending of energy and making me very very exhausted! Last night I was washing my hair and I started crying for the pain I was having in my arms!

And just to add a little more adventure and excitement to my life, my 4mm kidney stone decided to be very awake and sometimes it moves as it were dancing samba, making me cry with such a pain!
Well, not enough? I got an kidney stone and kidney infection all together!! I really can't complain of tediousness around here!!
Almost each other day I need to take stronger medicine to kill my pain! I’m so thankful that I’m going to Brasil soon and I’ll be able to take care of myself with my doctors who really know my illness or anomaly!!

I guess I’m just like the bamboo bush…the wind bend it over but don’t break it!!

The day my things arrived in my home in Switzerland!