After landing back in Austin from D.C., I immediately set on the task of moving to a new spot. I was fortunate to have a friend refer me to a friend renting out a 1957 Spartan trailer in the heart of South Austin. I’d been in San Marcos for about 6 years, 28 miles south, and was really excited to get back to nexus of most (not all…but a lot) of my social and gig life.

Things about me:

1. Last time I moved I swore I’d pay someone to do it because I hated it so much.
2. I am terrible at packing. There is no plan, just chaos. Grab a thing, put it in the box. No rhymes, no reasons.
3. I am stubborn enough to ignore No. 1 and decided to do it myself.

Well, dear reader…I still hate moving and vow even harder to hire movers next time. I had the really great blessing of my friends Rod and Sandi and their trailer to haul some big stuff, and otherwise I just back and forthed in my Mustang for a month.

Shawnee was helping me make trailer plans when I first shook hands on the rent, and while we were picking up a pizza to have a first dinner in the new place, I was trying to think of what to call it, because “the trailer” wasn’t cutting it. Then, like a beacon from the heavens, this smoking meteoric gem of a name landed right on the asphalt of my mind:

Traylor Swift

Yeah, it was perfect. And so I have spent the month grumpily hauling stuff and mostly happily getting rid of stuff – a LOT of stuff. I had a pretty good sized one bedroom with a walk-in closet, which is a curse for collecting stuff. The Traylor is spacious but you have to be really careful about what you allow in, so that one does not become a hoarder and perhaps befall a fate of a pile of stuff tipping over on you in the middle of the night. So yeah, basically a whole room full of stuff went to Goodwill. I don’t miss it yet. There’s a lesson there.

Turns out a pandemic is a terrible time to move and a great time to have to nest. What would have probably been 10 trips to Target for little things has been significantly curtailed, though I have gotten a few things shipped. I’m definitely going to be well acquainted with the space by the time we can all leave our houses and roam.

My friend Nichole came over to assemble that sweet green couch (before we had to social distance!) because I can’t assemble anything to any sort of passable standards (it takes a village), and I’ve been puttering a little here and there every day. Stuff is on walls. Things are finding places to live. The stereo is in constant use.

No time for a housewarming before we got a stay-at-home order, but maybe in the fall. Maybe in the winter. Maybe later than sooner. Here’s to home.