Ob-la-di

Oh, I've been away so long I don't know where to start. I have a similar problem in my everyday life, actually: so much to do, and no obvious way to prioritize it all so that it gets done. I could spend all day just trying to make a to-do list. Here, then, in no particular order, are some of the things on my mind this week...

Moving to a new location Now that I'm married, I find myself moving, yet again, from one Manhattan apartment to another. Of course, this time the most painful part of moving -- finding a new apartment to move to -- was taken care of years earlier by my wonderful, forward-thinking husband. So it's just about the easiest Manhattan move I could ask for. Plus, my new digs are already furnished, and our recent deluge of wedding gifts means I can finally leave all my secondhand housewares behind. That yellow plastic strainer I found in a box in the basement of my parents' house when I was moving to my first apartment? The one that might be older than I am? It's been a good friend, but the time has come for me to say goodbye. There's a brand-new shiny metal colander waiting for me in Hell's Kitchen. Now I get to be the one handing things down!

Change of address Did you know you can arrange to have your mail forwarded online? Woo! Cross "go to post office" off my list of likely-to-be-miserable postwedding errands! It's fairly simple to do, but you are required to click through a lot of slightly sketchy advertising before they'll process your request. First comes a page where they remind you that they won't forward your catalogues, unless you specifically tell them to. But they don't just ask you which catalogues you'd like to have forwarded. They also supply an odd (and not at all comprehensive) list of retailers and invite you to "click NEW for catalogues you did not receive at your old address that you would like to receive at your new address." Does anyone ever take advantage of this opportunity? "All my life I've been dying to receive the J.Crew mail-order catalogue, and now, at last, I've found a way to make that dream come true!" I think not. Then you have to go through the usual "exclusive savings for movers" crap, and finally they give you the opportunity to choose a few magazines from their (again) odd and not-very-comprehensive list to which you'd like to subscribe, while you're at it. What? One of the best things about moving to a new address is that you leave all your junk mail behind you. It's a chance to start fresh! Escape the mess you've made! Evade those stupid charity trinkets for just a few months! And it only costs a dollar! Why would anyone, at this point in the process, opt to increase their intake of junk mail? And do people really subscribe to magazines this casually? For me it is a serious process, a decision to enter into a committed relationship. It is not something I'd trust myself to handle spontaneously, while in the middle of moving.

Speaking of magazines I let all of my subscriptions lapse in the weeks leading up to the wedding, since I was too busy to keep up with the reading, and I knew I'd have to change the addresses eventually anyway. (None of my journals of choice were listed on the USPS site, by the way.) Right about now is when I thought I'd be resubscribing -- but Lent starts this week, and it occurs to me that putting off my magazine reading another 40 days might be a good sacrifice. Once I subscribe to something, I feel obliged, almost morally, to read it as soon as it arrives. Not having that obligation in my life has been liberating -- I've actually read books! -- and I think it will be spiritually edifying to keep the noise level down a bit longer, especially while the rest of my life is still so far from quiet. So I guess what I'm saying is, if any journalists want to publish any dull and lifeless profiles of any former Beatles, the next six weeks would be an ideal time to do that, because I probably won't be reading.

And speaking of Beatles While I was away on holiday, a group blog came into being, dedicated to the geeky discussion of all things Fab. Though likely to be the least erudite contributor, I am nevertheless honored to participate in the awesomely named Hey Dullblog. And as I settle into the mundanity of married life, I hope to be writing lots -- here, there and everywhere.