The dearly departed computer, that is.
But I’ll get to that in a minute.
I’m in Omaha, Nebraska, freezing my feet off (don’t laugh, cold weather dwellers–remember, I live in San Diego). Also on the docket? Many, many, MANY boxes. Lots of boxes. A very large number of boxes. And maybe a few pieces of furniture
So, this trip began last Friday… smoothly. We should have known that when we aim to leave the house at 9:30am and are driving away at 9:31, it’s a bad sign. Nothing can be that perfect.
Because we planned to drive my mom’s car out here and fly home a week later, we needed to find a place to store our truck that would be close to the airport when we made it back to California. This meant we couldn’t drive our own vehicle the 2 and a half hours out to my mom’s house the night before we were set to begin the cross-country trip. (Believe me, this overexplaining IS relevant. Hugely.)
The solution: drive the truck the 90 minutes up to the airport. (Yes, there are two other airports closer to us, but we saved a few hundred buckaroos flying into this one. Which, in retrospect, doesn’t matter now, but, I digress.) Park the truck in an airport parking garage, take a shuttle to the airport itself, spend a while hanging out in the USO (LOVE that place!! Humbling, honestly…), hop on a city bus for a 45 minute ride across Los Angeles, THEN board a train (yes! a train! people still ride them! I was shocked too!) which would drop us at a train station about 40 minutes from my mom’s house, where she would pick us up and we’d finally end up at her front door.
Basically, it took us nine hours to make a trip that normally takes two and a half hours. All while toting a two year old, a three year old, two car seats, four suitcases, one back pack, my computer bag, my purse, a Thomas the Tank Engine rolling duffel bag, and a Cars back pack.
People usually describe us as mildly insane. Feel free to join them. Or join us. That works too.
We thought we were doing good. We made all of our connections (no small feat, all things considered) and still had several hours to help pack up at my mom’s house. We were breezin’ right through this thing.
Until we actually GOT TO my mom’s house and remembered that twenty years of living in one house doesn’t lend itself to easy pack up. Let’s just say that even with the help of some friends and family who stopped by throughout the evening (and late into the night) we didn’t quite make it out the door by 4am Saturday morning like we’d originally planned. We also ended up needing an extra trailer for all the, ahem, stuff, but hey, remember? Twenty years??
We still thought we were doing pretty good when we pulled out of the driveway a little after noon on Saturday. We were just cruising right on down the road. (Notice I’m leaving out the part about the actual leaving of the house of twenty years, because, well, you know…)
So we were driving down the road. And I decided I wanted to pick up the knitting stuff I brought along. The knitting stuff which was stored in my computer bag, along with, of course, my computer, my iPod, my phone chargers, the power cord to my mom’s TV, four books, the camera battery charger, the car power adapter and a few other odds and ends.
But I didn’t see my computer bag.
I looked for my computer bag.
I searched for my computer bag.
I called John (who was in the moving truck) about my computer bag.
He didn’t know anything about my computer bag.
We stopped in a parking lot in town to look for my computer bag.
We began to panic about my computer bag.
We called the train station, the police department, and the security company about my computer bag.
I even asked my dad to go over and search the train station for my computer bag.
We searched the car another ten times for my computer bag.
It’s gone. Stolen. Swiped.
We know precisely when it happened, which isn’t in the least bit comforting. Who’da’thunk it could be so risky to stand next to your luggage and let your cooped-up kids climb on some rocks?
So I’m now computer-less, iPod-less, charger-less, camera battery-less, book-less (ok, well, not quite–that could never happen), and knitting-less.
Thankfully, very thankfully, it seems theft of personal property is part of our insurance coverage, so we’ll be able to replace it. Also, most of our pictures are backed up through last spring, contrary to my initial fears, and anything else important is already stored online. Here’s where we do a cheer for Google and its world takeover.
Maybe I could put some of that legion of cardboard boxes to good use, grab some tape and a marker to build myself a pretend laptop. I doubt someone would be so eager to snatch a cardboard computer.
Judy S. @ Just Enough Light says:
Glad you made your destination.
Stinks royally about your computer.
Three Cheers for the Google Takeover!!
We live a couple states north of NE and my husbands feet are cold 11 months out of the year. I think he went the whole month of July without wearing his slippers at all. ;)
[Reply]
November 11th, 2009 at 10:03 am
LeAnna says:
That is just the pits all the way around! Praise the Lord it was covered under insurance, though!
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November 11th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Chantel says:
That is a crazy part of life I think could have been left unlived. *hug*
And… is it my imaginationings, am I behind times, or is this a new or sort of new look?
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November 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am
April says:
Thank the Lord that it’s covered under insurance. And may whoever took it be convicted about it. Yes, huh.
As for leaving the house of 20 years…I know. ::hug::
Wave at me as you fly over the mountains on your way back to SoCal… :-)
[Reply]
November 11th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Chelsea says:
I’m glad you guys got there…I left a comment on your mom’s blog that I was in St. George on Sunday morning too. We were on our way back from Vegas.
I wish I would have known that’s where you would have been and I would have been sure to take you to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory…the greatest chocolate. E.V.E.R.
Anyway…Glad you are all safe and sound (except the computer, of course) Good luck with the unpacking and getting back home!
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November 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Christine says:
What a bummer! As if that whole trek wasn’t already crazy enough! Glad you can replace it all though!
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November 11th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Jamie Lynn says:
:( Ugh, I’m so sorry Ashleigh! I hope your mom’s move went well…I pray for your family every day!
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November 11th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Caroline says:
I am so sorry about your computer bag, but thankful that it is covered under your insurance.
Enjoy the last few days with your Mom. I am just 3 hours from Omaha and love where I live. I know your Mom will love the midwest.
Hugs to you and your family.
[Reply]
November 11th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Nicole says:
Oh my lord… laughing and shaking my head at the same time. Sorry you lost your laptop, dearest. What a pain!! At least you had stuff backed up.
You think Omaha is cold? Where exactly were you planning to move next year??? ;)
Just giving you a hard time. Love you!
[Reply]
November 11th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Carrie says:
Yikes!!!! I can only imagine how thankful you were to find most of your stuff backed up. :)
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November 12th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Abutton says:
We’re actually having incredibly lovely weather here in Nebraska, for November. But after my (first ever) visit to San Diego last winter, I can see why you’re feeling chilly!
Bummer about your computer! On the bright side, you get to pick out a new one now!
[Reply]
November 12th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Amy says:
I gave you a bloggy award over at my blog. Have a great day!
http://jeremyandamywade.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-won-award.html
[Reply]
November 13th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Katherine says:
oh you poor dear! I am sorry about aaaalllll of that!
By the way my sister is moving to NE from TX in about three weeks after her wedding. She and her husband will be living about an hour away from Omaha. What a coincidence!:)
[Reply]
November 13th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Ginger says:
Sigh…big sigh…that is one of my biggest fears. Loosing my laptop! That is so wonderful though that you will get it replaced! So, glad you all made it safe and sound!
Ginger~
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November 13th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Nicole aka Gidget says:
oh no! so sad!! hopefully we can still get together and write when you get it replaced {and note to self: go back up everything NOW!}.
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November 16th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Rebekah says:
I have to admit, my first thought was that I was glad it wasn’t the Thomas the Tank Engine rolling duffel bag, or the Cars backpack, because then there would’ve been a screaming toddler added to the general panic and fuss! However, the loss of the laptop, knitting, etc. must have been horrible. So thankful that it’s under insurance!! Praise the Lord for that! :)
[Reply]
November 17th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Judith says:
Your round-about trip made me smile, because it sounds like the kind of thing my family and I do! :) I’m so sorry about the loss of your laptop, though … ! Praying that your time in Nebraska is blessed. AND that you get a new laptop okay! :)
[Reply]
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 am