Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Moving Daze: Part 4


Previously on Went From Being Married to Single:

As exciting as it was to have a new place to call my own, I would trade it all in to go back to the life my wife and I once shared... 

I was just going to have to face them as I was and hope it wasn’t some hot chick standing at my doorstep.

Seems like it had only been a week or so since my wife moved out.  Oh wait.  It was only a week or so ago.

I was never going to ask her to marry me nor was I instantly smitten with her but I couldn’t help but have these racing thoughts as I met her. 

In a way, your life is like a movie and the people you meet and become friends with are cast members. 

After my first meeting my new neighbor and the somewhat imagined anxiety that came with it, it was back to the business of moving in.  I spent the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday moving my personal belongings over to the new house. That basically amounted to five trips with my truck packed as high as I could safely manage. 
For the most part, I stuck with my plan of unloading, putting the boxes in the rooms they should be in and unpacking before getting the next load.  The exception was with the items going into my basement.  For those unfamiliar with the term “basement,” it’s like an attic but below your house (and for those unfamiliar with the term “attic,” it’s like a basement but above your house).

Some houses have what is called a “walk out” basement which means there is a door (be it French, sliding or standard) that gives you easy access to said basement.  Most, however, only have access through what is called a Bilco door.  This is basically a double door attached to the back of your house positioned at a slant going down a set of stairs to get to the basement.  Think of the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy’s aunt and uncle, much to the dismay of Child Protective Services, went down into the basement without taking their neice with them when the twister showed up.  Those doors Dorothy was banging on were Bilco doors (which is the actual company name that, like Jell-O and Kleenix, have become uniquely associated with the product).  Unlike running down them when a twister is approaching, it isn’t as easy to take a load of boxes and furniture down them.  Thus, my items have collected (and have stayed) in the garage until I can muster up the energy, desire and need for garage space to move them.  Meh.  Maybe tomorrow.

Speaking of moving, the movers came on Monday to get all the furniture I couldn’t get on my own or wanted to bother friends with to help me move.  Let me tell you, hiring professional movers is certainly the way to go (short of buying all new furniture, I suppose).  I went with the four hour minimum plan with my movers because the entirety of the furniture I had to move equated to a small one bedroom apartment.  That had to be enough time to get everything over to the new place.  Just to make sure, however, when the movers arrived and started working, I started a timer on my phone so I could keep track of their progress. 

Within an hour and a half, they had everything loaded which included several items I didn’t point out a week or so previously when the moving company sales rep came by to do the estimate.  I was still concerned on time, though, because the driveway leading up to my house was the shortened equivalent of climbing Mount Everest…or at least that’s what it feels like.  I thought if they had to park at the bottom of the driveway and cart/carry things up, it was going to take a lot longer because all three of these guys smoked and their lungs probably couldn’t take hitting that incline too many times with the weight of some of my furniture.  I imagined long breaks with a lot of wheezing in them.

Luckily these guys were professionals and they were able to back their big truck up the driveway and keep it from rolling back down the hill.  Awesome!  They got everything unloaded and put in the proper rooms in the time allotted.  I just knew I was going to have to pay extra but I didn’t which was a good thing.

On a side note, I know I was paying these guys but when they were huffing and puffing over a particularly heavy item and asked where it needed to go, I felt guilty about saying, “Um…down in the basement, please,” (see aforementioned dissertation on the basement and bilco doors).  I have one of the last big tube televisions in existence that easily weighs 250 pounds and I know from experience it’s a bitch to move.  This TV is one of the primary reasons I got movers so my guilt didn’t last too long.

After the movers left, I continued to empty the boxes I had, find places for various items and enjoyed the fact that I could finally sit down somewhere besides the floor.  Of course now that I had this comfort, I didn’t get any hot chicks coming to my front door with various forms of house warming gifts, but that was okay.

The next few days were mainly spent doing the following:

·       Putting together the girls’ loft style beds I talked about in Bed, Bath and Bothered.

·       Figuring out which power cord powered which device.  Excuse me, electronic companies?  Is it too much to ask to put the names of the devices said power cord is supplying power too on the actual power cord?  I am not so organized that I labeled everything (mental note for next move: label everything).

·       Constantly trying to turn on the water in the kitchen by flipping on the sprayer.  The faucet knob and sprayer are in opposite sides from my previous residence.

·       Looking at the garage with all the basement stuff in it and going, “Meh. Maybe tomorrow.”

·       Celebrating each successful trek up my driveway.

·       Moving a pile of stuff that I didn’t know where to put from one place to another place.  I think this gave me the feeling I was accomplishing something but in reality I wasn’t.  That pile also grew bigger each day.

·       Five trips to Lowe’s!  I forgot what a pleasure it was to have a brand new house rather than one that is used.  At first I didn’t have the right connections for hooking up the water to my refrigerator (three trips to Lowe’s just on getting that done).  Then I changed the shower head in the master bedroom (needed one that actually went above my head) which required Teflon tape and another wrench to get the old one off (two trips to Lowe’s for that task).
·       A lot of pondering on whether I should paint some of the inside walls or not (I haven’t).


The bottom line is that while I am all moved in, I am not completely settled in.  I am probably farther along than most would be but I hoped to be completely done by now.  As I sit here writing this, however, with the piles of files, books, various cords and computer devices littered about me in my office, it’s very apparent that I still have a long way to go.

Maybe I should get this stuff organized now…or maybe I should move the stuff out of the garage and into the basement?

Meh.  Maybe tomorrow.







Next time:  Pondering the replacement.

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