I don’t think moving is very popular. Some people enjoy parts of the process, sure, but it’s a rare breed that actually likes everything from start to finish. And as Scrubs taught me, “Helping someone move is like oral sex. You do it once and they owe you for life.”

For me, that’s never been a problem. I enjoy looking for new places to live. I like envisioning a layout and figuring out which rooms will be useful for which purpose. I don’t mind loading and unloading a moving truck (although my back occasionally has other ideas). Unpacking’s great, and even packing isn’t all that bad.

One of the things I was always pretty good at growing up was spatial relations. I have a good idea for the way certain items will fit into a box, or the best way to fill up a moving truck to get everything on board. That dates back to logic puzzles and other brain-testing activities in grade school. It’s actually a little surprising to me that I don’t enjoy games like Tetris more.

Still, just a little over a year after we journeyed across town to a new apartment, the time has come to move again. Some folks would probably be upset about having to go through the entire process again, but not me. I see it as another challenge. It certainly doesn’t hurt that we’re moving into a house instead of an apartment, one with considerably more space, a garage, etc.

Something that has always stood out to me about moving is that it’s a chance to take stock of where you are in life. It’s kinda like a grocery store taking inventory — I have the opportunity to account for the possessions I’ve accrued to this point. Look at that collection of video games I’ve managed to build over the years! How is it possible that I own three couches and three beds? Do I really need to keep this commemorative plate from an old job, or should it be tossed away? These are the types of questions that don’t come up much in everyday life, mostly because there isn’t much time for them.

So the process of tossing everything into boxes has begun. Within a couple weeks, we’ll have a new place that we can call home. And more importantly, it’s a bona fide house unfettered by incompetent management or restrictive policies. There’s no one to tell us we can’t put a satellite dish on our rooftop for TV service. There won’t be a tow truck coming at 2 in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving to take away one of six cars in the entire parking lot because it doesn’t have a freaking sticker. If these seem like oddly specific examples, well…let’s just say that they might have occurred to people living with me over the years.

I don’t really need extra incentive to move, but if I did, it’s all here. So consider me ready for the challenge — the finish line is within sight.