Minor troubles

I'm down to the last skein of yarn for the baby blanket...and I fear I may not have enough to finish.

When I bought this yarn, a store employee calculated how much I would need. There's more yardage in the four skeins of Plymouth Encore Chunky than three of Lion Homespun, so I don't know why there wouldn't be enough. Stitches per inch were factored into the equation too. Maybe there's nothing to worry about, but it appears that I have a lot of rows to get out of this final skein.

I'm sensing that my college neighbors have figured out that I'm moving out. Either that or they must think I love bananas like nothing else. (I've brought home approximately 30 banana boxes for packing in the past week.) By their thinking, this gives them license to increase their obnoxious behavior. I'm leaving. They're leaving. What can I do about it? Nothing, probably. To be fair, they're not in peak irritation form, but the stereo is noticeably louder than it has been. How I also love being able to feel the force of the doors they slam.

I've kept busy this evening by packing more stuff. The all-too-appropriate listening was a segment about pack rats from today's Talk of the Nation on NPR. My parents' December move and some chats have helped inspire me to let go of a lot of stuff I've held onto, but I could understand where some of the people on the show were coming from. My hoarding isn't as bad as their examples. Still, I'm glad that I might have broken myself of that tendency.

The problem for the pack rat in this day and age can be summed up in one word: eBay. I don't mean from an acquiring perspective, although it's good for that. No, I mean that it leads you to believe that any old crap might have some value there. Somebody might give you something for whatever it is you can't bear to throw away. That may be true, but I'm betting that a lot of it requires more expense in time to post, monitor, and complete the auction than it nets in dollars. Sure, I have some things I'm going to sell eventually, but there was a lot that wouldn't have been worth the trouble to put up for bids.

Nine days until the move and eight until I get the keys to the new place. I plan on carting some boxes with me when I inspect the apartment, so I can get a head start on the 25th. Nevertheless, I'm not going to make a lot of trips in my car when one trip the next day with a rental truck should suffice. Gas at $3.29 a gallon (and certain to be higher for the holiday weekend) dictates that choice.