that sound is just me grinding my teeth
I am running into the Irish web conundrum again, which is where a company has a website and purports to allow you certain actions on it, but doesn't actually follow through. Say, a moving company that allows you to request a quote and so you put in an assload of information and all your contact deets and then you sit and wait and no one calls or emails and you just KNOW you're going to end up ringing the asshats, which is what you were trying to avoid in the first place because it is 20damn11 and this shit should be online so I can avoid other human beings, who drive me insane.
Although in fairness, I did just have a very helpful phone call with someone from Aer Lingus wherein he answered all my questions about the logistics of booking the dog's flight. They weren't necessarily the answers I WANTED but they were answers and politely given and not with that tone that indicates the support person may in fact be making the shit up as they go. He even kindly inquired if I was "leaving us for good now?" with well-feigned concern.
So I can't book flights until I have the movers arranged, and I can't get movers arranged if no one gets back to me. One company did get back to me with a quote straight away, but I'm not keen on them. They're UK-based and I can't see how using movers based in neither country involved in the move will be the best plan. They were recommended, though...argh. And when it IS time to book the flights, I have to decide will we gamble on the regular coach fare or will we splash out for a flexifare. See, you can't actually confirm the dog on a flight until 14 days in advance. Odds are that'll be fine, but if someone else snakes in ahead of us and gets the cargo space, or books in an incompatible animal (when we moved over I had to shift my dates because someone had got there first with cats) then we have to change our flight, and that includes change fees and any fare difference. So far the fare difference is low enough that it seems a reasonable bet, but a flexible fare also includes more checked baggage (bringing more things right away = yay!) and lounge access (have to be at the airport really early to check in the dog, so possible yay!)
This is in addition to trying to figure out what to do with tons and tons of our stuff. Obviously we want to keep it as long as we can because we are USING IT, but we also want to get rid of it with as little work as possible. In the meantime I am making biweekly trips to the charity shops with various clothes and books, and planning a big trip to the dump with unsalvageable small electronics and rag-worthy clothing. It's clear at this point that I am going to spend the rest of my life in Boston, dying there happily, because I never ever want to move cities again.
Although in fairness, I did just have a very helpful phone call with someone from Aer Lingus wherein he answered all my questions about the logistics of booking the dog's flight. They weren't necessarily the answers I WANTED but they were answers and politely given and not with that tone that indicates the support person may in fact be making the shit up as they go. He even kindly inquired if I was "leaving us for good now?" with well-feigned concern.
So I can't book flights until I have the movers arranged, and I can't get movers arranged if no one gets back to me. One company did get back to me with a quote straight away, but I'm not keen on them. They're UK-based and I can't see how using movers based in neither country involved in the move will be the best plan. They were recommended, though...argh. And when it IS time to book the flights, I have to decide will we gamble on the regular coach fare or will we splash out for a flexifare. See, you can't actually confirm the dog on a flight until 14 days in advance. Odds are that'll be fine, but if someone else snakes in ahead of us and gets the cargo space, or books in an incompatible animal (when we moved over I had to shift my dates because someone had got there first with cats) then we have to change our flight, and that includes change fees and any fare difference. So far the fare difference is low enough that it seems a reasonable bet, but a flexible fare also includes more checked baggage (bringing more things right away = yay!) and lounge access (have to be at the airport really early to check in the dog, so possible yay!)
This is in addition to trying to figure out what to do with tons and tons of our stuff. Obviously we want to keep it as long as we can because we are USING IT, but we also want to get rid of it with as little work as possible. In the meantime I am making biweekly trips to the charity shops with various clothes and books, and planning a big trip to the dump with unsalvageable small electronics and rag-worthy clothing. It's clear at this point that I am going to spend the rest of my life in Boston, dying there happily, because I never ever want to move cities again.