It is done!

Not that we wait until the last minute or anything, but Karen and I are finally...FINALLY certified massage therapists. We finished our 55 hours of out-of-class practice this week and got our certificates from the instructor last night. Which is good, since it's the last time we'll probably see him for a good few years.

If you had told me three years ago that I would now be a massage therapist, I would have either A. doubted your prognosticative powers or B. rethought my planned move to California.

It's still a hard thing to explain to people who don't know us well. Hell, for that matter, it's hard to explain to close friends and family. I largely did it because it was part of my jujitsu studies, but I could have put it off until I was further along in my training. Most schools in our system don't seem to teach massage until the student is advanced in the martial side of the art.

But ask yourself this. What's a more likely scenario:

• I'm surrounded by armed thugs in a Hong Kong marketplace, and only my secret ninja powers will save the day.
• A friend gets a sore back.

Don't get me wrong. I'm so ready for the marketplace thugs, but I just have a feeling that my massage training will come in more useful in the course of my domestic life.

The gratuitous move update of the day:

It's packin' day! Of course, we've been packing for weeks, but we load the truck tomorrow morning, so everything needs to be done today. We've been up since 7 a.m. getting the place stowed, and it's actually going pretty well. Tonight we'll probably just get some drinks with friends and relax as we get the last stuff done.

Here's the rough schedule:

• Saturday: Load truck
• Sunday: Clean house from top to bottom
• Monday: Start the trek, hopefully making it to Ely, Nevada.
• Tuesday: Make it to Grand Junction, Colo.
• Wednesday: Get to Denver and spend half the day visiting friends.
• Thursday: Get to Kansas City.
• Friday: Get to Nashville.
• Saturday: Arrive in Birmingham by mid-day. Unlock truck, tell family not to scuff the nice furniture, and go eat nachos while they unload it all. OK, OK. I might share the nachos.