OK, OK, OK.

So I haven't been real blogative lately, but Debbie asked for the story of the car, so here it is.

Well, I got a job. It is a job with regular hours, benefits, good location, and a reliable salary (at the Patent and Trademark Office, where my sister Meagan works). Matt and I decided a while ago that if I found a job before we moved, we would sell both our cars and buy a new one. So the day after I found out that I got a job, we drove to Ventura and traded in Matt's 1992 Subaru Legacy Wagon for a 2005 Subaru Impreza RS Sportswagon, emphasis on sports. It is a newer version of the car that we rented in Hawaii last year, which we both really liked. If I were buying a car just for me, I think I would get a Mazda 3 because they're little and super cute, but since we needed a car for us to share, a car that Matt might occasionally use to transport his bass, we went for something a bit bigger. It's fun to drive and it has features that I haven't figured out how to work yet, like the rear-window windshield wipers. I know how to run the wipers, but not how to squirt the washing fluid. (Anybody?) So we bought the car a week ago Saturday and drove it to San Diego the next day, despite warnings regarding a pesky 1000-mile "break-in" period, during which we're not supposed to rev the RPMs above 4,000, apply the brakes suddenly, or drive at a constant speed (slow or fast) for any period of time. So basically we're not supposed to speed up, slow down, or drive at a constant speed for the first 1000 miles. Where else besides Los Angeles would that actually work?

Now I have a few words to offer about retirement. Basically, it's a lot of work. I thought that when I finished my postdoc I'd do nothing but read, watch TV, go to the movies, and occasionally do some grocery shopping. That has not been the case. I have cleaned the oven (twice), cleaned under the range, cleaned the refrigerator, cleaned the shower (three times, using a stronger cleaning agent each time), cleaned the interior of my car, cleaned and waxed the exterior of my car, done seven loads of laundry, gone grocery shopping at least three times, bought birthday and wedding presents and cards for various friends and family, shipped said presents to various friends, gotten a haircut, cooked, done the dishes a gazillion times, and went to the movies once. So it has been busier than I expected, but being retired is also lonely work, so I haven't minded too much.

So, for those of you wondering, here's our itinerary: On September 24 we fly to Washington, DC, where we will find an apartment. On September 30 we return to Santa Barbara. On October 4, the moving van will come and take away our stuff, we hope, in the morning. Then we will clean the carpets and do whatever else remains to be done and take off maybe that day, maybe the next. We're not really sure. And my tentative start date for my job is October 18, which is also my sister's (Emily) birthday.