Adventures in Moving

Yes, we are finally all in here in southern New York. But it was a process. There were times when I suspected some cosmic force didn’t want us to go. Ah, New England. She is a jealous mistress, and doesn’t let go easily!

The first run went pretty well. We rented a truck from U-Haul and got some moving help to load. We were just taking packed boxes on that trip, figuring we could likely get most of those moved and then it would just be furniture and a few last minute things that would be left. The young fellows that came to do the job were great. They packed that truck nose to tail, top to bottom, and got pretty much all of it in there. The guys on the other end were great, as well, although I did feel sorry for them since they were unloading it all on one of those brutal hot, humid days. On to phase two (the final phase or so we thought).

We had arranged to rent a bigger truck this time, knowing we had some big furniture to move. We were supposed to pick it up on a Wednesday morning. I dropped the BaldMan off at U-Haul, and started home. Didn’t get but a few blocks and he called. They don’t have the truck. WTF? We arranged this well in advance. What do you mean, they don’t have the truck. So I turned around and went back to U-Haul. Yeah, the guy who had the truck needed an extension on his rental and wouldn’t be returning the thing until Thursday. The closest they had of the right size would have been a three hour round trip to pick up, and at that point, we couldn’t afford that much time. So, cancel the moving help in MA and NY. Thursday, we go back to U-Haul. No big truck on the lot then, either. I was ready to start tap-dancing on heads at this point, but then the truck pulled in so at least it was there. We get back to the townhouse, and the time for the movers to come passes, and they texted and said they were running behind by about an hour, but would be there. An hour later, they call and say they are not going to make it at all. Again, wtf? Scramble to find new movers, and there is not much choice, but we found a crew. I mean, there were bodies but they couldn’t have cared less about the job. No clue or rhyme or reason to how they packed the truck. Just started on the upstairs and shoved stuff in, one room at a time. Which turned out to be pretty darned inefficient. We had rented 4 dozen moving blankets, and I think they only bothered to open one package. Most of the furniture wasn’t covered or protected at all. It was rainy that day, and they sort of neglected to mention that the bed of the truck was wet, and just plopped boxes and our *mattress* right in the water. We found out about all of this the next day when the excellent crew here in NY were unloading. Scratched, marked up furniture and the front of the freezer. One box so wet the bottom fell out when the mover here tried to get it off the truck. The bottom of our mattress was wet. It was horrible. One of the guys here said if they did a job like that, they’d be fired on the spot. To top it all off, they MA dorks didn’t even manage to fit all of the stuff on the truck, which meant yet another trip back to get the rest! Cue phase three.

We wanted a 15 foot truck for the rest of the stuff, but U-Haul had nothing. Another wtf? (Are you picking up on me being a bit less than thrilled with U-Haul here?) Best they could do was a 10 footer, which we knew was going to be tight, but we absolutely HAD to be out of the townhouse that last weekend in August. Not only was the rent only paid until then, but the place had already been rented out, so there was no way we could extend. The BaldMan enlisted someone he works with to help load, and let me tell you, the Tetris-fu was strong in this one! He took over the loading and I am still not sure how he got it all in there, but he did. Many, many thanks for that. And one last five hour drive into the late night and we had everything here. The BaldMan left about as soon as we got the last stuff on the truck. I did a few last minute cleaning chores so I was a bit behind him and didn’t get here until about 1 AM.

Fun, huh? Yeah, not so much. But it’s done and we are here and surrounded by boxes and piles of stuff. The BaldMan asks: “Where is xxx?” I shake my head and say: “In a box?” And I swear, every time I unpack a box, two more spring up in its place. I think I am dealing with Hydra boxes! But- we can sleep in our own bed, the kitchen is usable, and we have living room furniture to sit on. Things are getting done, if a bit more slowly than I’d like. I am glad all the back and forth is done. It’s a nice house and we are adjusting to the different feel and layout. Good neighborhood and, so far, nice neighbors. Lambeau likes his yard for both running about and relaxing. So far, all is good. Oh, sure, there are things, but there always are, and we are working on handling it all. Life is good.

It was an interesting few weeks, but worth it.

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