Getting ready for the move

I devoted the day to packing up my stuff in order to move this weekend, but I only started working on that after sleeping in (which is difficult for me to do) and eating breakfast and lunch. I am realizing how much stuff I have, so I guess I'll have to spend every night this week packing.

Though I hate moving, I am excited to be in a new apartment. I think it's going to be nice to have a space to call my own, to arrange and fill it with random furniture. Lucky for me, I have friends who are going to help me move -- without them I don't know what I would do!

I spent last week trying to meditate in a week-long class that went from 7 to 9 a.m. I don't know why I did it but I commuted all the way down to Union Square for the class, having to leave at 6:15 but never actually getting out the door early enough to make it on time. It took all my effort not to fall asleep, but I did learn a few things. One thing is that I haven't learned to be with anxiety or boredom -- my initial reaction is to make it go away somehow. To be more constructive, one should learn to accept different self-states, both pleasant and unpleasant, with the knowledge that these states pass and that one cannot make them stay or go away, especially if one is hindered by attachment or aversion.

Yesterday I got contact lenses. I have wanted to get them for a while now, but the idea of putting things in my eyes deterred me. I know I look fine with glasses, but I haven't ever really liked wearing glasses, and the truth is I prefer my face without them. But we'll see how I like walking around with stuff on my corneas.

A weekend in New York without Shane.... Friday night I had dinner with Kristianna, who worked in my office last year; we ate Japanese food and then spent the rest of the evening perusing magazines at a big magazine store. Saturday afternoon I met Josiah, a Columbus friend who recently moved to Brooklyn, downtown for a little shopping and then a potluck at his and his sister's apartment. The food was wonderful; someone made amazing salmon cakes with yogurt-dill dressing.

I don't think I'll have such a leisurely weekend again in a long while. This Wednesday I finish working in the office, and the next day I begin student teaching. I'll have to move house, and then my dad arrives in New York for a visit. It's going to be a bit of a hectic beginning to the school year. I hope that I follow through with my resolve to go to bed earlier every night, so that I can maintain some semblance of sanity for the next four months.