beyond exhaustion

The last few days have been more difficult than I expected, to say the least.

I tweaked my knee while carrying a box, so even though I now officially live next to the track, I haven't yet been able to run on it. Instead, I get to stare out my window and watch other runners do their speedwork while I eat another serving of Wendy's fries/cold pizza/leftover Thai food because we are not at the point where we are actually cooking in our new kitchen. I feel a like a tire is slowly ballooning around my waist. Also, my lungs are unhappy because moving has resulted in the raising of dust, which in turn has caused asthma attack after asthma attack. Fun!

In addition, the cats have made it extremely clear they feel moving is the worst thing ever, therefore I must be punished because I brought this nightmare upon them. I literally have a scratch on my face (the result of putting Mari in the cat carrier) and had to throw out my bathrobe because someone apparently peed on it. (By the way, the photo is of Mari encountering our landlord's dog. I will probably be punished for this also at some point -- I expect a hairball in my shoe or perhaps a late night/early morning yowling session.)

And then there is the sheer horror of unpacking -- that moment when you open a box and receive the surprise of your life. Ex-boyfriend photos and hideous impulse buys are one thing. But my box of newspaper clips took this to a whole new level. When I opened the box, I discovered a rat had moved in at some point, shredded all of the newspaper, dragged two of Todd's socks in to make a more cushioned nest and then shit, pissed and possibly had a million babies all over the whole thing. (Um, cats? Hello? What the hell were you doing when this was happening?)

On top of all this, there is work -- the normal, every-day stuff that continues, despite the stress that is happening at home. (Or in between homes, in this case.) I think I spent this entire week in meetings.

So I am tired now. And in need of a very long run. And a massage. And a homecooked meal. And a whole lot of sleep.