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Movin' Out 2004-06-17, 11:40 p.m. In three weeks, I have to say good-bye to Kansas City. I am moving on July 10th, and I'm far from prepared - I'm still cleaning, gathering boxes, trying to price trucks and movers, and changing my address, and the reality of the move and new job is starting to sink in. I have lived in this apartment for just over two years, and it breaks my heart to know that I'll be turning in the keys in three weeks. Never mind that the sinks don't drain right, the oven is fifty degrees off, and the refrigerator has two settings: food poisoning and frozen milk. I love this place, and I've worked hard to make it feel like a home for the past two years. I am going to miss the awesome water pressure in my shower, and how it's impossible to properly clean the shower walls since they were obviously installed by a drunken plumber. I'll miss the patio and the deck, and leaving both sliding glass doors wide open on sunny summertime afternoons and letting the breeze whip through my apartment. I'll miss the calming sound of the lake and fountain right outside my apartment. I will miss my crazy neighbors, the lack of good parking after 7 p.m., and the warm cookies that the office staff always bake on rent day. I'll miss the lofted bedroom, and having to stifle drunken giggles when guests are sleeping downstairs. I'll miss the fireplace in my bedroom, having two walk-in closets all to myself, and the built-in bookshelves. I'll miss my laundry room, having a dishwasher, and the drafty front door. I'll miss the ice-cold air conditioning downstairs and the hotter-than-hell upstairs when I'm trying to sleep in the middle of July. I'll miss napping on the couch and watching the neighbors' twins learn how to ride tricycles on the sidewalk outside my apartment. I'll miss the Hy-Vee and the barbecue. I'll miss the Plaza and Westport and Brookside and the River Market. I'll miss my crappy commute and my fortress of an office downtown. I'll miss talking trash about Big XII football with my co-workers who went to KU and K-State. I'll miss Manny's and Margarita's, the dirt-cheap Chinese drive-thru, the Sonics in every neighborhood, the Capital Grille, Hallmark's Crown Center, Fritz's Railroad Restaurant, Chappell's, and all of the rest of the good food I've eaten here. This is where I bought my very first car, had my very own health insurance, and learned about retirement plans and mutual funds. I'll miss staying up all night talking to T, drinking glass after glass of wine, and talking about anything and everything. Most of all, I'll miss T. Kansas City holds so many memories for me – my first apartment after college, the first place I ever lived in by myself, and this apartment has been the site of hooking up and just being friends and falling in love and having my heart broken. It's the first place I called mine, the place where my cats and I became a little family, the place where all my stuff fits and it suits me well, and I've been happy here. I've just gotten used to where everything is in this apartment, and now I have to pack everything up and remember where I put things all over again. I have to make spreadsheets of address changes, and learn a new phone number. I have to hire movers and rent a truck and find a new bank. I need to find a charity to pick up my unwanted furniture, and I need to get my stuff back from T for the last time. I need to leave behind two years of memories and start a new life in a new city. This frightens me beyond belief, but I'm facing it with a new sense of hopefulness – because this new job and new city could mean the most fantastic opportunity, the best decision, and the greatest love affair of my life.
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