Is This Home?

I know I said I was finished, but not yet. I've said a lot of things, heh.

So I'm home and doing the reverse -- opening boxes, finding spaces for things, and so on. I swear it's worse than packing!

On top of that, I'm bored. Mighty bored. I don't know what to do with myself, and am gettin' on L's nerves, I can tell. Things just seem anticlimaxtic. One day everyone wants to know what I'm thinking and doing and who I'm talking to and what I'm saying. Today, no one cares.

Of course, Fox kept their cameras on me as I made my way to TX, and they promised that they'd check in with me from time to time, but they're gone now. And it's just us. We'll adjust, though, just give us time...

Bye for now!

Had the O's and the B's in for coffee this morning. M. brought cookies, which were delicious. They were surprised at the progress we made in packing stuff up since the last time they visited -- most of it was done last night. I gave them a few last-minute tips about WH quirks, and now it's limo time.

It hits me as we ride past the incredible crowds of cheering masses -- I am dog tired. Exhausted. I'm done which is a relief, but am I now a has-been? How will I be remembered? Will I just be forgotten? B. is talking to me along the way, but what he's saying doesn't register.

Now we're up in the stands, ready for the swearing in. So many familiar faces, yet I feel very alone. C. is here in a wheelchair. Turns out he pulled somethin' moving boxes out of his office in the WH. We're definitely going out much different than we came in.

Post ceremony, I'm back at the WH and ready to go. I say goodbye to to the WH staff who have provided exemplary service and support over the past 8 years. I will miss them.

I walk in the Oval Office and it's still there. I've been thinking a lot about it over the past couple of days, turning it over and over in my head -- very unlike me. But now it's clear. I grab the shoe and walk out the door, L.'s hand in mine. I fire up the U-Haul's engine, and start the journey back toward the hot Texas sun.

Extension is a no-go!

B. said no to my plea for an extension. I'm not surprised; he's pretty much acted as if he were the big 'P' from the day he got elected. And maybe the whole Blair House mishap had something to do with it, sour grapes, turnabout is foul play and all that...

It's going to be a late night, maybe even an all-nighter like I used to pull at Yale. Oh well, I don't have to do a whole lot else to do tomorrow morning anyway. Show up, ride in the limo, and stand and smile. I can do it. And at this point I don't even care anymore about the deposit -- I'm tired of moving.

An Impossible Deadline?

We're not going to be ready in time, it's that simple. So many forces conspiring against us! I misun... everything got held up when I took the surprise trip to Iraq, my extra press conference, the ex-Ps' lunch at the WH, and we're paying for it now. I'm gonna have my people contact B's people to see about an extension. Tuesday by noon just isn't do-able. I haven't even finished going through my desk! An extra day or two would probably do it. If he won't do it gratis, perhaps we can do some sort of prorating thing, and he could deduct from the deposit...

Still Packin'!

Still trying to get it all together. Box after box after box after box. Just like clearing brush, it's an endless task.

I still have the shoe I kept from the recent 'incident.' I figured he made it obvious that didn't want it, so it's mine. L. says I should just get rid of it. C. says I should get rid of it. D. says I should burn it. It's worn, not my size, kind of smelly, and I've got only one. Yet for some reason, I am torn.

Gotta Have Direction

On the advice of those young fellas on Saturday Night Live, I went to Google maps to find the 'dopest route.' 20 hours and 20 minutes -- does that include potty breaks for the dogs? Maybe I'll just put them up in Mom's Attic. Heh.

I think we may swing by Little Rock and check out C's library. The guy gives me the willies, but I may get a few good ideas I could 'borrow' for my own. I print out the directions (one way!) and notice that the roof of the WH is blanked out. Strange.

I-Haul

Getting a reservation for a large enough U-Haul truck is a PITA!!! Looks like I'm going to have to pick it up the day before from somewhere all the way out in SW. I'm pretty sure I've never been out there before. And $1,648+ for a one-way rental? It's no wonder the housing market is in the commode.

Containerizing the Mess

Like when we moved in, we started off really organized and systematic -- Dad would be proud. All of the boxes neatly packed and labeled according to category -- work, momentos, books, clothes. We were even organizing by room, and by levels of secrecy. But packing has been a little boring and slow this weekend, and this morning we decided the h*ll with it. We've got to get 'r done, as they say, and L. and I are just stuffing things in boxes now without rhyme or reason. We label if we remember to, but I think we've lost more Sharpies in two days than I've lost approval points over the years. Heh. We've got the rest of our lives to sort this mess out anyway.

B. is getting more antsy as the boxes pile up, nervously sniffing the stacks throughout the joint. I hope he doesn't have a nervous accident.

No longer very worried about the carpet stains. I forgot the new P. brings in their own decor.

The "Real Work" Continues...

L. rented a steam cleaner to try to get up the worst of the accumulated dirt. We go over the worst areas twice. Man, is that water dirty!

Does anything take out reporter blood? It's only a couple of drops, but nothing seems to get it out, not even the steam cleaner. Can't say I blame B. I've had dreams where I do the same thing, or worse. Heh. I tried the salt + water + peroxide recipe from doityourself.com, but it's still noticeable.

C. stopped by to see how things are going and to give us some extra bubble wrap he had left over. He's already packed everything up -- house, office, and UDL. He offers some good advice on the best way to pack up all of my suits, but is otherwise pretty quiet. Are we out of things to talk about? I'm not even sure where he's going next. The carpets were still a little wet, and he left footprints. Oh well, I tried to clean things up.

Our Last Visitors at the Old House?

We pretty much had to put all of the moving on the back burner today as we had a number of visitors to the WH for lunch. It was historic, I guess, for many reasons. It was a little awkward, both for me and the new guy, I think. I always feel a tiny bit on edge when I'm first around Dad, especially since I've been the P. And I think B felt a bit of an outsider too -- like he was the new pledge hanging out with the legacy frat brothers for the first time. I had to shuffle some boxes around for the press photos. I'll bet they had to do some careful cropping on those pics to keep all of the boxes of our junk out!

Had a few questions about whole the Blair House thing. It was an honest mistake, booked months before, long before the I. was on anyone's mind.

I Tried!

In a gesture of magnanimity and good ole Texan Christianity, I called Pepco to see if I could get the 'lectric bill transferred to B's name without him having to go though all of the red tape and the ridiculous off/on fees. Found out it's non-transferable, unlike most of the other stuff he's going to have to be dealing with when he gets here. Heh. I tried. Ditto for cable.

Still putting things in boxes. The dogs know somethin's up.

Day 2 - A Bit of Patchwork

Taking a break from putting stuff in boxes to do a little touch-up so we get back the full deposit. We're going to need it -- the new digs ain't cheap! L. says we should patch, sand, and paint and go to town. I remind her of the toothpaste trick I learned at Yale that works like a charm. We go back and forth a bit about it, and then I reminder her that I'm the D. We'll patch with Crest. They'll never know anyway.

And I'm Off!

Howdy friends and family! Just thought it would be fun to keep a little journal of our trials and tribulations as we prepare for the big move back down south. Hope you like it, and L. and I look forward to getting together with y'all soon at the new ranch.

Filled out the USPS change of address form this morning. Had to do it on paper as the electronic version was rejected -- they didn't think it was for real. It takes some time to kick in; maybe that's why election day and inauguration are so far apart.

Apart from that, things are not going as well as we'd hoped. Even with all of the extra empty liquor boxes I picked up from the World Bank, I still don't think we have enough. We've accumulated a lot in eight years. And L. is getting nostalgic as she packs, looking over every picture, mask, trophy and knick knack in the place before putting it away. It's really slowing her down. Will we be ready in time? We put down a heck of a security deposit on this place -- I don't want to lose it.

L. showed me an early pic she found of all of us from the first hundred days. So young and hopeful and optimistic. Would we have aged as much if we hadn't gone through what we did? Some days I feel like I'm a teenager in a old man's body.

I cranked up some Alan Jackson in hope that it'll get us moving, but the acoustics are so poor in this place due to all of the plaster that it echoes and bounces and sounds terrible. Still, I think it'll get us moving. When "Nothing Left to Do" comes on, it stops me in my tracks. I skip ahead.