Project Exouds, Zero Hour

So much about this has changed since I first began to lay the plans of Project Exodus. I remember lying on a bench in the cool April evening thinking it all out. Change seems to be the keyword to the whole experience. Time and time again project exodus has proven to have a dynamism that is beyond any measure of control. Perhaps that’s what I need… No matter, now is not the time for idle musings.

You may recall that I at first planned to have one roommate, then I was fairly certain that I would be solo, then one again, then two. Well Kevin has returned from the wilderness and in the phoenix’s most recent conflagration he has proposed a new and even grander arrangement then before. My understanding is that Kevin, Adam, Chris, Cattie and I are going to collectively rent a house. While I haven’t met Chris or Cattie I have had some correspondence with them and from what I’ve seen of them I like them. Of those involved I seem to be the one with the strongest sense of peril about the whole thing. I accredit this to the fact that I’m the only one who doesn’t have some clear home base already present in Seattle.

This brings me to my next point. Both of the C’s insist, and I agree, on meeting me before we commit to any form of housing relationship. I don’t think it will be a problem, but it’s a precaution that I can’t pass up. This means that I’ll need a home base in Seattle. In his vast generosity Kevin, who is my most direct link to the rest of the group, has proposed I stay at his house for a brief while. I haven’t talked directly to his parents about this yet, because ultimately it’s their decision, but I’m pursuing it aggressively.

I’ve also begun looking for rentable houses. Once again I’m the one with strongest sense of peril, possibly even dire peril, as peril is wont to be. Since our correspondence is mostly through e-mail, and since I find the internet the best tool when searching for essentially anything, I’ve e-mailed a few links off to the others for their consideration. Part of me fears that I may be pressuring the other members of what I’ve come to call “The Collective” too much, but the protests of that part are generally silenced by the peril.

That really is a great word. It’s also a word that means exactly what I’m trying to convey.

Assuming the various pieces of my plan fall into their appropriate places, causing them to form a complete line, blink and disappear making a clear passage for progress to flow (best Tetris reference ever), this will be my timeline.

August 18th. Fovanov job ends.
August 23rd(ish) Fly to Seattle
August 26th-29th PAX. (Woo!)
August 30th – September 3rd Planning, meeting and moving.
September 4th Project Nemesis Begins.

There are of course a few holes in that plan. The biggest one by far is that the plane ticket that was purchased nearly a year ago was purchased for mid September, with the intent that I would be going back to UW this year.

I’d like to stop and reflect on how far ahead my parents, my Mom in particular, are capable of planning things. I am, of course, ruining their plans with mine, but I’m still impressed that she had the foresight to buy the plane ticket that far in advance. Meanwhile the fact that I began planning a gap year back in April is a monumental achievement for me.

Anyway. Pending confirmation of my potential home stay at the Wilson household (note that Wilson is Kevin’s last name, that’s not a typo of Willson which is my last name) I’ll begin the process of apologizing and reminding that will lead to the air travel schedule change.

The other key hole is my assorted stuff. You may recall the massive financial hit I took on my return trip because of the size and weight of my gear. Well this time I have a new plan. I can manage the various affairs that I’ll need to attend to in those early weeks from my laptop. You may remember my laptop as the one that was eternally frying because the designer gave it enough power to run Doom III but not enough cooling to prevent the video card from changing into a fluid state. I can live readily and easily for a few weeks out of a carry on bag and a laptop messenger bag. The rest of my stuff isn’t worth paying luggage fees on anyway, it’s better to just ship it. Once the collective has a house we’ll have an address. I plan to box up my various errata prior to my departure. Then once the aforementioned address is in hand I plan to once more employ the services of my parents, who have been extremely helpful throughout this whole affair, and have them ship it. A little tricky, but trickery is going to be a necessity if I’m to succeed in this most dynamic endeavor.

I think it will work. I also hope it will work. The recurring problem with project exodus is that I don’t have a lot of fail safes. My father has proposed that the ultimate fail safe will be a parental bail out, but that’s equivalent to losing. So much to do…