Do you wanna make a bet?

Ever hear of Del Rio, Texas? From San Antonio, you head due West through nothing on your way to nowhere until you hit the Mexican border. And there you are. It's more Mexican than American, so the "manana" attitude abounds. Manana is great if you are at the beach at Cabo. Not so great if you need to pick up your dry cleaning. I'd often see a sign like the one above. The problem was, you never knew when the minutes started. So, if it said 30 minutes, you'd have to come back in 30 minutes. Even when you came back, the business may or may not have opened as promised. 

Why do I bring this up? They come to pick up our first shipment in the AM, which means my precious IMac will be packed away. I had hoped I could still blog until our flight out of the country on August 1st. But, we're staying with my mom and she has DIAL-UP! Why torture our political detainees with waterboarding? Dial-up would be much crueler and more effective. I've had to face the hard facts that my blogging days will be temporarily suspended.

Here's where the betting part comes in. When do you think our shipment will arrive in Jordan? I can't blog until I get my computer. The estimate is that we'll get our stuff August 25th. But before you place your bet, let's review how this move has gone so far.

1. My SP was offered the job in April. HOWEVER, there was no actual money to move us. It wasn't until late June that they 'found' the funds, which means we have had 6 weeks to try to get this move together.

2. I was informed today that it will take over 2 months to get my car. Let's see. That means 2 months with no way to get the kids to school, to get to the grocery store, to go to the gym or to just get out of the house. This is important to remember because the shipment will contain everything that would otherwise entertain me. Without the shipment, I will have no TV, no computer, and no bakeware. Now, we're hoping we can just rent a car or get a driver for a few months, but I definitely think that the lack of anything to entertain me while I'm stuck at home will have an effect on the date the shipment will arrive.

3. We sold "JET BLACK. Finest truck in all the land" to my personal trainer back in May. He told us we could hold on to the truck until it was time for us to go. Then it looked like we weren't going to go, or maybe we just couldn't go until October....in the meantime, he needed to make other arrangements. Of course we understand that. So now, in addition to this week of moving, the dentist/doctor/haircut appointments we still have, and the shots I still need to get, we now need to figure out what to do with JET BLACK.

4. I won't have my two dogs with me. I can't keep our overactive Vizsla in an apartment. He would suffer. We thought about bringing our little beagle/lab, but when I brought her to the vet last week, she thought since she would be 12 when she would be brought back, and given her chronic health problems, we shouldn't bring her. We brought the dogs to live at my in-laws tonight. I've already had a taste of how lonely it is to come into a house with no dogs to greet me. This will without a doubt have an effect on how long the shipment will take. I won't have the distraction of unpacking boxes until my shipment comes.

5. Finally, I personally suspect the date will be around September 11th. That is the day I head to France for 10 days with my mom, making it the most inconvenient time for it to come. And I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law.

So now that you have all the information, what is your bet? When do you think our first shipment will arrive? The winner with the closest date will receive both an award and recognition. I'll be presenting both from Amman when my IMac and I are reunited. 

Until then, you will all be missed. But, I do hope to use my in-laws computers to at least check up and read about you! Be well.