Living in a Parallel Universe

We were having a conversation this morning regarding our move back to California.  We both know that Stephen has to continue working at his warehouse club job and that I have to keep looking for film industry work.  We both know that downsizing, for us, doesn't ONLY mean giving/throwing our possessions away, but that A LOT of what we redistribute will be SOLD.  We both feel like we're living parallel lives.

One life is happening in the here-and-now.  It's the JOB that he goes to and the domestic activities that I participate in.  It's any writing that either of us do; it's meal-prep and cleaning and checking the mail and getting gas or groceries and paying the rent.

The other life is currently ethereal.  We know that we need to take both vehicles to CarMax to see whether we'll be taking either of them across the country or using the offers to build the coffers.  We know that we need to get books and comic books and other small items listed in our Amazon "store" ("Nixon's Stuff").  We know that we need to get rid of big items, like couches and bookshelves, and we haven't yet decided whether craigslist will be the best route for that stuff.  We know that we need to decide HOW we will transport any of the items that we DO decide to keep; how much we'll decide to keep, based on the size of the transport; WHERE we will actually end up living.

What makes living parallel lives so interesting, or confounding, really, is the space-time continuum, if you will.  We had said, during the holidays, that we would start selling stuff after the holidays, because no one who is shopping for Christmas cares about used books (or anything used, really) for their own collections.  And here it is, January already, and we've got two books listed for sale, and they haven't SOLD yet!  It's January!  We're running out of time!  (You see the conundrum, right?  It's ONLY January 6th.  There's PLENTY of time).

When we were younger, time dragged its feet.  It took FOREVER to get from summer break to Christmas!  And then it took FOREVER to get from Christmas to summer!  This is no longer the perception when you're out of school, and "old" - our six-month schedule is going to FLY by if we don't find ourselves keeping pace with building coffers, downsizing, and actually MOVING.  On the other hand, if the downsizing results in coffer-building and feels like a good, steady pace (or possibly a momentum-building one), there is the chance that this will be one of the longest winters of our lives, because we'll continue to see ourselves living and working and DOING all the things that need doing, here, on the wrong coast.

Have you ever found yourself aware of the parallel life you were living?  It's fascinating, and scary, and exhilarating, and frustratingly DULL.  I highly recommend it. ;)