Update from the Capitol (of CA that is)
I know it's been a long while since I have posted, but I hope to post more now that all my friends are hundreds of miles away.
Well, we made it here safely with a few bumps along the way. This was the most stressful move I have ever been through. Squeezing a four bedroom house into a three bedroom apartment has proven quite a feat. I did get rid of a bunch of stuff before we left...and boy am I glad I did. So, without further ado, here is the saga of the moving day...
All started out well, the truck was picked up by Eric and my dad and they started moving some of the big furniture out of the house...mainly the bookcases. It was then that we realized that UHaul hadn't given us the rope that we had ordered, so I decided to make a quick jaunt to Target to get some along with some other odds and ends we needed. We had made arrangements for a charity to pick up the washer and dryer and one of the refrigerators (I had a buyer for the big one in the kitchen...more on that later). Well, en route to Target..I realized that I had left some clothes in the dryer, so I called home and that's when I realized they had turned off the phone...not a big deal since I had scheduled it for that day. So, since Eric does not have a cell phone, I called my dad and told him to have Eric take the clothes off the top of the dryer and from inside it. Well...he only heard the part about the clothes on top of it. By the time I got back, they had picked up the dryer along with the clothes inside. Okay, not a big deal, it was only a few t-shirts and I could find time to pick them up, right? Wrong. It was about then that my Dad announced that the moving van wasn't going to be big enough for all my stuff and we would have to rent a storage unit. Now, mind you, I hadn't slept much over the last few days, and I almost lost it. But, I took a few deep breaths and said "ok". I still had some furniture and general crap left over from the garage sale, so I loaded it up and my sister and I headed to the nearest thrift store to donate it. Well, long story short, they took all the boxes of general stuff, but would not accept any of the furniture. Now, it was getting late and I still had to rent the storage space and take back the cable box. We did both and by that point, all the thrift stores donations centers were closing and we only had a couple hours before they would lock the gate for the storage place. So, we headed back home, took out the stuff from the truck and then began loading it with stuff to go to storage. They had to make two trips and it's a good thing they did because by the time we had loaded up the moving van and the truck, there wasn't an ounce of space left. Oh, yeah...the refrigerator. I had posted it on Craigslist hoping to get at least a bit of money from it. Well, I had a couple bites, the first one fell through, and then the second one seemed to really want it. Well, he kept putting off picking it up, until finally we were down to the wire on Friday. He said he would be down to pick it up later in the day. Well, it was about the time that I was meeting up at the bank with my Exchequer replacement that I got the call that he was backing out. Just what I needed. This was already AFTER the charity had picked up the other appliances. I had no desire to move that sucker at all...and where would I put it....so...we left it there. I know...horribe isn't it. But, I contacted the new owners and we arranged for a charity to come and pick it up the following week. Luckily they were quite understanding about the whole thing. So, after all that, finally my brother in law shows up and my other sister and her boyfriend. I must say that I am amazed at how much they were able to fit into the moving van...they had every nook and every cranny stuff with something. And even more amazing is that there was only one candlestick that broke in the move. By the time we had everything loaded in it was 10:30 and all the trashcans were overflowing. Oh, yeah...the furniture that charity turned down...well, since we had no where to put it, we took hammers to it and threw it in with the debris that the new owners had made in their teardown of the fence. So, everyone piled into their cars and headed home.
Eric and I slept on the floor that night, in our empty house. We decided that was best since we have four cats and didn't want to subject anyone to them and that would only increase the cat's stress. So, I was supposed to be up and at my sister's at 5:30 to head out. Well, I woke up at 5:15 and called her...no answer...called again...no answer. I was a bit worried since my sister never oversleeps and is always on time. (yeah...my sister...go figure). So, I jumped in the shower and then tried again, still no answer. Finally, at 5:35, my phone rings and it's my frantic apologetic sister. I explained to her that it was ok since I had overslept as well and still had to load up the cats...the cats....where were they? They were around last night, but I hadn't yet seen them this morning...and it was then that I noticed the slightly ajar back door. It hadn't been locked in all the chaos of the previous night and the Evil Cat that is Hunter knows how to open it. Well, I panic a little and then start herding them up. Luckily, they hadn't made it too far and I was able to round them all up and into the house. Finally we get everyone loaded into the car and we pick up my sister and stop to get morning caffeine...and by the time we get on the road, it's 6:45. Yikes. My parents had left their house in the moving van at 4:30, so now we were well behind them. The drive itself went smoothly, except that poor Eric had to listen to whining cats the entire 7 hour drive...and my parents got a flat in the moving van. Luckily, UHaul came out and had it fixed in less than an hour and it gave us time to catch up with them.
Then we get here and go into the office to sign the lease and guess what? The lease isn't ready and the woman that I had been workign with had quit and today was the first day without her and the poor girl working that day had no clue how to handle it. So, turns out they messed up and had us moving in the following week. I was so tired and cranky, all I wanted to do was strangle her...but, I took a deep breath and we went away for an hour while she had someone walk her through putting the lease together. So, by the time we got the key, is was about 4:30 and so we had to hurry up and get everything unloaded before it got too dark. So, it was Eric, my Dad, my Sis, my Mom and me...any other help that we had, had been lost in the two and a half hour wait to get the key. My mom is handicapped and can't lift anything heavy, but she did what she could while Eric and my Dad did most of the heavy lifting and my sis and I fcused on the boxes. Then came the couch...which would not fit through the door. So...I said fuck it, let's get rid of that and the big ass desk. Eric was quite pleased with that decision (the desk was a hardwood desk with a return and it was HEAVY) since it meant that he did not have to shlep it up the stairs. So, we set them aside, unloaded everything else and then finally headed out to eat.
So, that was the saga of the move. I still have many boxes to unpack, but we are making progress everyday. I'll post some pics of the new place as soon as I find my camera. :P
So far, we are liking it here. It's been beautiful with all the trees changing colors and dropping their leaves. We've gotten lost many times trying to find places, but we are finally starting to know our way around. And, we've noticed that the people here don't seem to have the "attitude" that is so prevalent in So Cal...so it's kinda nice. We do miss everyone though and I know there have been a couple times that I have felt quite lonely and isolated.
Well, we made it here safely with a few bumps along the way. This was the most stressful move I have ever been through. Squeezing a four bedroom house into a three bedroom apartment has proven quite a feat. I did get rid of a bunch of stuff before we left...and boy am I glad I did. So, without further ado, here is the saga of the moving day...
All started out well, the truck was picked up by Eric and my dad and they started moving some of the big furniture out of the house...mainly the bookcases. It was then that we realized that UHaul hadn't given us the rope that we had ordered, so I decided to make a quick jaunt to Target to get some along with some other odds and ends we needed. We had made arrangements for a charity to pick up the washer and dryer and one of the refrigerators (I had a buyer for the big one in the kitchen...more on that later). Well, en route to Target..I realized that I had left some clothes in the dryer, so I called home and that's when I realized they had turned off the phone...not a big deal since I had scheduled it for that day. So, since Eric does not have a cell phone, I called my dad and told him to have Eric take the clothes off the top of the dryer and from inside it. Well...he only heard the part about the clothes on top of it. By the time I got back, they had picked up the dryer along with the clothes inside. Okay, not a big deal, it was only a few t-shirts and I could find time to pick them up, right? Wrong. It was about then that my Dad announced that the moving van wasn't going to be big enough for all my stuff and we would have to rent a storage unit. Now, mind you, I hadn't slept much over the last few days, and I almost lost it. But, I took a few deep breaths and said "ok". I still had some furniture and general crap left over from the garage sale, so I loaded it up and my sister and I headed to the nearest thrift store to donate it. Well, long story short, they took all the boxes of general stuff, but would not accept any of the furniture. Now, it was getting late and I still had to rent the storage space and take back the cable box. We did both and by that point, all the thrift stores donations centers were closing and we only had a couple hours before they would lock the gate for the storage place. So, we headed back home, took out the stuff from the truck and then began loading it with stuff to go to storage. They had to make two trips and it's a good thing they did because by the time we had loaded up the moving van and the truck, there wasn't an ounce of space left. Oh, yeah...the refrigerator. I had posted it on Craigslist hoping to get at least a bit of money from it. Well, I had a couple bites, the first one fell through, and then the second one seemed to really want it. Well, he kept putting off picking it up, until finally we were down to the wire on Friday. He said he would be down to pick it up later in the day. Well, it was about the time that I was meeting up at the bank with my Exchequer replacement that I got the call that he was backing out. Just what I needed. This was already AFTER the charity had picked up the other appliances. I had no desire to move that sucker at all...and where would I put it....so...we left it there. I know...horribe isn't it. But, I contacted the new owners and we arranged for a charity to come and pick it up the following week. Luckily they were quite understanding about the whole thing. So, after all that, finally my brother in law shows up and my other sister and her boyfriend. I must say that I am amazed at how much they were able to fit into the moving van...they had every nook and every cranny stuff with something. And even more amazing is that there was only one candlestick that broke in the move. By the time we had everything loaded in it was 10:30 and all the trashcans were overflowing. Oh, yeah...the furniture that charity turned down...well, since we had no where to put it, we took hammers to it and threw it in with the debris that the new owners had made in their teardown of the fence. So, everyone piled into their cars and headed home.
Eric and I slept on the floor that night, in our empty house. We decided that was best since we have four cats and didn't want to subject anyone to them and that would only increase the cat's stress. So, I was supposed to be up and at my sister's at 5:30 to head out. Well, I woke up at 5:15 and called her...no answer...called again...no answer. I was a bit worried since my sister never oversleeps and is always on time. (yeah...my sister...go figure). So, I jumped in the shower and then tried again, still no answer. Finally, at 5:35, my phone rings and it's my frantic apologetic sister. I explained to her that it was ok since I had overslept as well and still had to load up the cats...the cats....where were they? They were around last night, but I hadn't yet seen them this morning...and it was then that I noticed the slightly ajar back door. It hadn't been locked in all the chaos of the previous night and the Evil Cat that is Hunter knows how to open it. Well, I panic a little and then start herding them up. Luckily, they hadn't made it too far and I was able to round them all up and into the house. Finally we get everyone loaded into the car and we pick up my sister and stop to get morning caffeine...and by the time we get on the road, it's 6:45. Yikes. My parents had left their house in the moving van at 4:30, so now we were well behind them. The drive itself went smoothly, except that poor Eric had to listen to whining cats the entire 7 hour drive...and my parents got a flat in the moving van. Luckily, UHaul came out and had it fixed in less than an hour and it gave us time to catch up with them.
Then we get here and go into the office to sign the lease and guess what? The lease isn't ready and the woman that I had been workign with had quit and today was the first day without her and the poor girl working that day had no clue how to handle it. So, turns out they messed up and had us moving in the following week. I was so tired and cranky, all I wanted to do was strangle her...but, I took a deep breath and we went away for an hour while she had someone walk her through putting the lease together. So, by the time we got the key, is was about 4:30 and so we had to hurry up and get everything unloaded before it got too dark. So, it was Eric, my Dad, my Sis, my Mom and me...any other help that we had, had been lost in the two and a half hour wait to get the key. My mom is handicapped and can't lift anything heavy, but she did what she could while Eric and my Dad did most of the heavy lifting and my sis and I fcused on the boxes. Then came the couch...which would not fit through the door. So...I said fuck it, let's get rid of that and the big ass desk. Eric was quite pleased with that decision (the desk was a hardwood desk with a return and it was HEAVY) since it meant that he did not have to shlep it up the stairs. So, we set them aside, unloaded everything else and then finally headed out to eat.
So, that was the saga of the move. I still have many boxes to unpack, but we are making progress everyday. I'll post some pics of the new place as soon as I find my camera. :P
So far, we are liking it here. It's been beautiful with all the trees changing colors and dropping their leaves. We've gotten lost many times trying to find places, but we are finally starting to know our way around. And, we've noticed that the people here don't seem to have the "attitude" that is so prevalent in So Cal...so it's kinda nice. We do miss everyone though and I know there have been a couple times that I have felt quite lonely and isolated.