Homeward bound

I'm starting to get a little freaked out. Here are the reasons (hold your breath, it gets complicated):

1. Friday is my last day of work, when my health insurance and everything else get cut off.
2. I have been unable to determine when my new IU health insurance kicks in, possibly not until Sept. 2.
3. I'm planning on starting the final drive to Indiana next Friday, the 15th.
4. I have not yet begun to pack or even think about packing.
5. I'm flying home immediately after work this Friday to attend my cousin Courtney's wedding, and I won't be back until Monday evening (leaving 3 days to pack all my stuff for IU).
6. When I fly home, I'm also bringing several large bags of stuff to leave there and have my parents drive to Indiana for me, along with my bed and dresser and other stuff from home.
7. I don't know what stuff I'm taking home on that trip, and therefore obviously don't have it packed.
8. Although I'm flying home, I'm driving back to Boston so that I have some way of transporting my stuff here to the Midwest.
9. Driving from Clarion to Boston is a bitch.
10. Driving from Boston to Clarion 3 days later is a double bitch.

So what does this have to do with wedding planning? Well, while I'm home - after going to Court's wedding and before driving 9.5 hrs back to Boston - mom and I are going to check out some potential wedding venues.

Although it hasn't been decided yet, my mom is really running with the idea that we'll be getting married in Clarion. She's been checking out location availability for me and everything, so it makes sense to scope a few of these places out with a discerning eye. It'll be strange, though, because I've been to all of these places before for various reasons, but I have the feeling that these will be totally different experiences. Instead of simply wondering what I'll have for dinner, I'll be examining table set ups, potential dance floor sizing, possible ceremony locations at or near the reception site, picturesque photo staging, how much decoration would be needed on our behalf, and - most importantly of all - freezer space for the ice cream cake.

I'm also going to try to take lots of pictures for Mike, because he can't go home with me this weekend, so I should be able to post pics of anything particularly noteworthy from the trip. In the meantime, though, I'm just hoping to survive the next two weeks...