10.24.2009

The List (Or, Why I'm Losing My Mind)

The big day is approaching. Wednesday. We're down to less than 100 hours: less than 96, actually. Of course I'm excited; who wouldn't be excited about being a homeowner? But this past week I have come face to face with what I will refer to as The List. My list titled "To Do" and consisting of many tasks that need to be accomplished in the very near future, my list which may or may not be the cause of this week's habitual 5:30 p.m.-I-don't-want-to-think-or-make-decisions-anymore-today-so-I'm-going-to-sleep comas. (Sorry to my roommates that I've been so lame this week.) My list which held me down on Tuesday and tried to suffocate me until I was certain it had knocked a few hours off the end of my life and hooray for the department meeting on Thursday because a diet Coke was just what I needed to get through the day.

Oh, the horrible list. Fortunately a brisk walk and a 30-minute chat with Andrea last night has revived me a little and brought me back down to earth, in a "How do you eat an elephant?"-"One bite at a time," kind of way.

You know, meat has been virtually non-existent in my diet since I started paying my own bills. (It's expensive!) I've heard there are health benefits to vegetarianism, but I am a non-consenting vegetarian. I miss a good steak, so to my Kansas readers (namely, Mom) when I come home for Christmas I'm making a request for meat at every meal.

But for the sake of the analogy:
"How do you eat a freezer full of homemade rice and bean burritos?"
"One bite at a time."

The List


1. Go [back] to USPS and get a change of address packet.  A huge reason I want this packet is for the 10% Off (up to $5000 purchase) at Lowe's.  (Thanks Mom for the link!)

2. Contact State Farm to cancel my auto & renter's insurance.


3. Go to Lowe's and buy a W/D and a deadbolt.
I need one deadbolt and possibly a W/D. I'm trying to find one on Craigslist to save money. I should probably purchase both of these items before I get a handyman.



4. Find a handyman.
If I had the tools, I could totally install the deadbolt myself. But I don't. It might be less expensive to buy the tools than hire someone--I'm sure I'll need tools like that in the future. But I also need a dryer vent installed. I'll be following up on a lead soon.

5. Do a final walk-through
. Happening Monday at 3:30 p.m.

6. Closing. Happening Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in Green Hills.

7. Pick up stove. I didn't think this would happen, but it is happening—Thursday after work.

8. Open Regions account
. My bank is still in Kansas. Long story, short: I'll being doing this probably Thursday over my lunch break.


9. Set up utilities. I know little about utilities. I have a list of the phone numbers I need to call (electric, gas, water/sewer, trash, Internet) but now the question is: when? Before closing? After closing?

10. Change LifeWay direct deposit to Regions account. Apparently I'm supposed to be able to do this online but I can't. So I will need to contact HR. Funny that the page actually tells me to contact HR. Does HR have an e-mail address? Who exactly is HR?  Needs to happen before Nov. 15 paycheck.

11. Square off everything with new insurance. Meeting scheduled: Tuesday @ 3:30.


12. Get refrigerator. Happening next weekend!

13. Setting up house. My mom is bringing me my stuff from Kansas on Nov. 13, but I'm going into this house with nothing. Between living in dorms and in houses where roommates supplied all the essentials, there is a long list of things I will need to live in my house. November will be the month for scavenging for the best deals.

14. Miscellaneous non-house-related tasks. This includes trying to maintain Kansas relationships. I have some letters to write and mail, and I need to find a gift for my engaged friend's Nov. 14 bridal shower I won't be attending.

15. Miscellaneous house-related tasks. Task #1 - buy a tape measure. I need to measure windows for blinds. Also I need to do some cleaning and there are a few random items in the attic and backyard to do something with. I need to rake the leaves from under the tree.

Andrea told me that life continues to get crazy. Great! I mean, I think I'm handling all this fairly well -- most of it is purely internal panic so everyone else thinks I'm handling it well. Can we just review the fact that I'm single and 21 years old? I mean, married people have it easy. If a girl doesn't want to locate a truck and two burly guys, she can totally pass the task off to her husband. Or even a close friend. I haven't lived here long enough to make connections like that. My coworkers and people at church have been great helps though.

Anyway, I'm trying to take this list one day at a time and there's nothing I can do today or tomorrow so here's to the weekend. Next weekend at this time I'll have a house with a stove and maybe a W/D. My insurance will be resolved, and I will have an account at Regions. My list will be much shorter and we will all be happy about that.
d

8 comments:

  1. No worries. It's just a roof over your head, right? My best advice is: involve God in every detail. Talk to him, the One true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, & praise-worthy voice in your head. Let His voice stand out among those screaming at you to buckle under the weight of responsibility. Matthew 11:28-30

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  2. Alyssa, make that direct deposit change sooner rather than later. Sometimes this takes a few days to get implemented!

    Hang in there!!

    Kathy

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  3. "Sooner than later" is NOT what I want to hear! :) I have to open my account first, which should happen two weeks before my next paycheck.

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  4. 9. Get your agent to talk to the seller's agent to find out where the seller pays for his utilities (even if it was a flip) and when he had/or will have his utilities stopped. Then you will know who to talk to - you are paying your realtor good money so make her work for it! Also, talk to your lender about your escrow and homeowner's policy.

    3. Tell Mark to bring his tool kit when Mom visits. Then you may have what you need to install the dead bolts for free. Also, the package may tell you what you need so just tell Mark.

    14. Married life is not easier...okay...maybe the part about making your husband do it!

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  5. Rico:
    9. Basically all utilities are from the city of Nashville. I have a list of phone #s. (My agent has been fantastic with everything.)
    On the escrow, good call. My insurance guy never gets back to me quickly.
    3. Mom and I talked about this. Looking into it.
    14. I know. :)

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  6. 8. Take some extra lunch time and go open your Regions account. There's one on West End. It should take too long. It won't be a big deal if you take longer than normal. You always work plenty!

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  7. Alyssa, it will help to expedite things if your company does their own paychecks and can take care of things right at your own HR department. I'm probably thinking about when direct deposit requests have to spend time in the U.S. mail and then in someone's inbox before being acted upon.

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  8. As far as the marriage thing, after I lost Jim and had to do all this stuff by myself, I learned to 'fess up that I was new at this and asked SO many questions of everyone I dealt with. Kept the questions and answers on a yellow legal pad as my brain was fried by the loss too. Now Jeff lets me continue to make these kinds of calls, as he thinks I'm pretty good at it! SO------just think of all this as a great learning experience!!!

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