Monday, March 27, 2006
Relocated
Well, we're here. We've moved. We're in the new house. Wanna hear about the nightmarish moving weekend I had? No? Well, too bad - I'm going to tell the story anyway.
First, Mr. Chick and I talk and pretty much decide we're going to move to Central Oregon. Big, big, decision. Huge. Massive. I'm already maxed out and this puts me into overload. I'm literally shaking, physically shaking, just thinking about getting ready for this move and looking ahead to the next. I was a mess. THEN, U-Haul calls me. I'm thinking it's to confirm my reservation for the big-ass truck the next day. Silly me. They're calling me to tell me that my truck, the one I reserved 2+ weeks prior, is not local. It's in a town 60 miles away. And they're not going to bring it to my town. They're telling me they're willing to knock $50 off the price because of the inconvenience of making US drive 2 hours to get the damn truck. I 'bout lost it right there. Do you really think that I'm able to take that kind of time, not to mention gas, the day before the move, or the morning of, to get a damn truck? You must be crazy. That's what I told them. I was on the verge of short-circuiting when my neighbor knocked on my door offering pizza for lunch and I blurted out to her what U-Haul just did to us. How they fucked us. She immediately grabbed my phone and started calling other truck rental places for me because it must have been obvious I was in no condition for rational thought right then. She found a truck through Penske, but it was going to cost us $150 more. Fine. I'd rather pay more to Penske than give U-Haul my business under those conditions. Helpful Neighbor leaves, more packing ensues. I'm having horrible, bitter thoughts about the FUCKING U-HAUL LOSERS, which doesn't help my fragile emotional state. Let this be a warning to all future movers.
And then I run out of boxes. Total and complete nightmare. I had forgotten that my sister had borrowed a bunch of boxes 15 mos ago for her move and never brought them back. Oops. So now it's dinnertime, my father-in-law is due any minute, and we still have a shitload of packing to do and NO MORE BOXES. My brain was fried. We went out to dinner to re-group.
After dinner a friend and his 5 yr old son arrive. They round out our loading crew. Nicholas and this kid Noah are super-amped up to have a sleep-over together and end up staying up until MIDNIGHT just giggling and squealing in Nicholas's room. I'm in desperate need of rest and can't believe my 4.5 yr old is able to stay awake until midnight. They finally crash and so do I. But only for about 5.5 hrs, and then I'm awake. Wide awake. I can't shut my brain off. Another exhausted day, and it hasn't even started yet.
The guys go get a healthy breakfast of donuts and Starbucks, and check with the grocery store for more boxes. Jackpot. The store had been saving u a bunch of boxes for a "pretty young girl who is moving". That was actually written on a few of the boxes - no joke. But they gave them to Mr. Chick anyway (mistaking him for a pretty young girl? I hope not.). It was *just* enough. I feel bad for the real "pretty young girl" who was also in need of those boxes, but not bad enough to return them. Sorry.
The truck arrives just in time for a utter rainstorm. We're loading the truck and every available car in a downpour. It felt like an omen. It took about 4 hours to get everything on the truck and ready to go. The house is a wreck - I'm scared to go back (which I'm doing tomrrow *shudder*).
The 2 hr drive to the new house was lovely. Blue skies, smooth traffic. Sleeping kids.
We pull up to the house and the sky cracks open again and the rain starts even harder than before. Now I'm convinced it's an omen. Friends arrive to help unload, which goes faster than loading, but probably only because the guys were more interested in just getting stuff IN rather than IN PLACE. Big difference. The garage is now a scary-ass, downright dangerous maze of crap. My living room, for which we have no furniture yet (it's been stored in my sisters basement) was another universal dumping ground. By 7pm I had the kids rooms set up with the beds and dressers. Sheets, blankets and pillows in place. Then we went and grabbed some dinner.
The next day (Sunday) Mr. Chick had to drive the truck back. It was worth the money to drive it back vs. do a one-way move. Plus, he needed to pick up his car which had been left behind. So he drove to our old house, loaded up his car on the car trailer, and took the truck back. He then just had to unload his car and he was all set. He spent about 3 hrs at the house wading through the mess we'd left. He made another run to Goodwill, and collected 3-4 more bags of just garbage. He consolidated stuff that was left to make it easier for me when I go back tomorrow. He even did some cleaning (vacuuming, mostly). Thank God for Mr. Chick! I might survive tomorrow because of his efforts.
While he was down there doing that, I was at home with the kids in the House Of Boxes. With no means of communication. No phone, no computer. And I'm not fluent in smoke-signals or I might have tried. I'm only able to post this because Mr. Chick left me his laptop today and a kind neighbor has an unsecured wireless network. I got the kitchen put together. No small feat. It helps that I'm not unpacking everything and just trying to get by on as little as possible. I don't want to have to pack everything again in a few weeks. No platters, no bakeware. A few coffee mugs and glasses. No wine glasses. So now I can function in the kitchen and have even gone to the grocery store. But I'm left with a bunch of boxes that I can break down because there is still stuff packed in them, and even if I COULD break them down, there is nowhere for them to go in the garage. It's full of stuff already. I got the family room in shape (I LOVE having our beautiful area rugs back!!), and the dining room. I'm not putting the china hutch together, so there are more boxes in the dining room. the living room is still a big fat mess, but I'm addressing it slowly but surely. I'm not unpacking the linens, either. They're in boxes and will stay there. I just pulled out some towels that we'll need and that's it. I'm not letting the kids unpack their books, telling them we'll just go and check some out from the library. I've been making up bedtime stories for them in lieu of reading books to them. My bed is in place, but I wasn't able to put the bed frame together myself so it's just the boxspring and mattress on the floor with the disassembled bed frame next to it. Our closet is full, but only because we don't pack clothes and instead just stack them, hangers and all, in the backs of cars. My shoes are still in a garbage bag. Yes, I was reduced to packing shit in garbage bags. What else could I do without enough boxes??
Despite the nightmare we've endured with this move, it feels really good to be here. Too good. So good it's hard for me to think about leaving. I've met some neighbors and they're great! The next-door neighbor with 7 kids is really nice and brought us dinner last night (salmon, baked potato, Caesar salad, french bread - yumm!), and the neighbor across the street brought over a plate of baked goodies just today. Have I mentioned how much I love our location?? Mr. chick is feeling conflicted about leaving it, too. He was pretty decided he'd take that job in Redmond, but as of last night he tells me he's wavering. He's undecided. Professionally, it's a good move, but at what cost? That's what he's balancing. Being home - here - with friends and family, or moving about 2.5 - 3 hrs away. He's worried if we go it will be hard to come back. Portable business and all that. So this move, if we do it, might be really permanent. But the job market is so super-tight for attorneys that I worry if we stay we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot. What to do, what to do??! We talked more last night and still don't know if we're moving again or staying here. My stomach has been slightly upset for days as a result. I can't get settled for fear that we're leaving again. We'll probably go out to Redmond/Bend again this weekend and start looking at housing options and to get a better feel for the community. That might help. Mr. Chick needs to tell them his decision soon.
So that's me. How was YOUR weekend?
First, Mr. Chick and I talk and pretty much decide we're going to move to Central Oregon. Big, big, decision. Huge. Massive. I'm already maxed out and this puts me into overload. I'm literally shaking, physically shaking, just thinking about getting ready for this move and looking ahead to the next. I was a mess. THEN, U-Haul calls me. I'm thinking it's to confirm my reservation for the big-ass truck the next day. Silly me. They're calling me to tell me that my truck, the one I reserved 2+ weeks prior, is not local. It's in a town 60 miles away. And they're not going to bring it to my town. They're telling me they're willing to knock $50 off the price because of the inconvenience of making US drive 2 hours to get the damn truck. I 'bout lost it right there. Do you really think that I'm able to take that kind of time, not to mention gas, the day before the move, or the morning of, to get a damn truck? You must be crazy. That's what I told them. I was on the verge of short-circuiting when my neighbor knocked on my door offering pizza for lunch and I blurted out to her what U-Haul just did to us. How they fucked us. She immediately grabbed my phone and started calling other truck rental places for me because it must have been obvious I was in no condition for rational thought right then. She found a truck through Penske, but it was going to cost us $150 more. Fine. I'd rather pay more to Penske than give U-Haul my business under those conditions. Helpful Neighbor leaves, more packing ensues. I'm having horrible, bitter thoughts about the FUCKING U-HAUL LOSERS, which doesn't help my fragile emotional state. Let this be a warning to all future movers.
And then I run out of boxes. Total and complete nightmare. I had forgotten that my sister had borrowed a bunch of boxes 15 mos ago for her move and never brought them back. Oops. So now it's dinnertime, my father-in-law is due any minute, and we still have a shitload of packing to do and NO MORE BOXES. My brain was fried. We went out to dinner to re-group.
After dinner a friend and his 5 yr old son arrive. They round out our loading crew. Nicholas and this kid Noah are super-amped up to have a sleep-over together and end up staying up until MIDNIGHT just giggling and squealing in Nicholas's room. I'm in desperate need of rest and can't believe my 4.5 yr old is able to stay awake until midnight. They finally crash and so do I. But only for about 5.5 hrs, and then I'm awake. Wide awake. I can't shut my brain off. Another exhausted day, and it hasn't even started yet.
The guys go get a healthy breakfast of donuts and Starbucks, and check with the grocery store for more boxes. Jackpot. The store had been saving u a bunch of boxes for a "pretty young girl who is moving". That was actually written on a few of the boxes - no joke. But they gave them to Mr. Chick anyway (mistaking him for a pretty young girl? I hope not.). It was *just* enough. I feel bad for the real "pretty young girl" who was also in need of those boxes, but not bad enough to return them. Sorry.
The truck arrives just in time for a utter rainstorm. We're loading the truck and every available car in a downpour. It felt like an omen. It took about 4 hours to get everything on the truck and ready to go. The house is a wreck - I'm scared to go back (which I'm doing tomrrow *shudder*).
The 2 hr drive to the new house was lovely. Blue skies, smooth traffic. Sleeping kids.
We pull up to the house and the sky cracks open again and the rain starts even harder than before. Now I'm convinced it's an omen. Friends arrive to help unload, which goes faster than loading, but probably only because the guys were more interested in just getting stuff IN rather than IN PLACE. Big difference. The garage is now a scary-ass, downright dangerous maze of crap. My living room, for which we have no furniture yet (it's been stored in my sisters basement) was another universal dumping ground. By 7pm I had the kids rooms set up with the beds and dressers. Sheets, blankets and pillows in place. Then we went and grabbed some dinner.
The next day (Sunday) Mr. Chick had to drive the truck back. It was worth the money to drive it back vs. do a one-way move. Plus, he needed to pick up his car which had been left behind. So he drove to our old house, loaded up his car on the car trailer, and took the truck back. He then just had to unload his car and he was all set. He spent about 3 hrs at the house wading through the mess we'd left. He made another run to Goodwill, and collected 3-4 more bags of just garbage. He consolidated stuff that was left to make it easier for me when I go back tomorrow. He even did some cleaning (vacuuming, mostly). Thank God for Mr. Chick! I might survive tomorrow because of his efforts.
While he was down there doing that, I was at home with the kids in the House Of Boxes. With no means of communication. No phone, no computer. And I'm not fluent in smoke-signals or I might have tried. I'm only able to post this because Mr. Chick left me his laptop today and a kind neighbor has an unsecured wireless network. I got the kitchen put together. No small feat. It helps that I'm not unpacking everything and just trying to get by on as little as possible. I don't want to have to pack everything again in a few weeks. No platters, no bakeware. A few coffee mugs and glasses. No wine glasses. So now I can function in the kitchen and have even gone to the grocery store. But I'm left with a bunch of boxes that I can break down because there is still stuff packed in them, and even if I COULD break them down, there is nowhere for them to go in the garage. It's full of stuff already. I got the family room in shape (I LOVE having our beautiful area rugs back!!), and the dining room. I'm not putting the china hutch together, so there are more boxes in the dining room. the living room is still a big fat mess, but I'm addressing it slowly but surely. I'm not unpacking the linens, either. They're in boxes and will stay there. I just pulled out some towels that we'll need and that's it. I'm not letting the kids unpack their books, telling them we'll just go and check some out from the library. I've been making up bedtime stories for them in lieu of reading books to them. My bed is in place, but I wasn't able to put the bed frame together myself so it's just the boxspring and mattress on the floor with the disassembled bed frame next to it. Our closet is full, but only because we don't pack clothes and instead just stack them, hangers and all, in the backs of cars. My shoes are still in a garbage bag. Yes, I was reduced to packing shit in garbage bags. What else could I do without enough boxes??
Despite the nightmare we've endured with this move, it feels really good to be here. Too good. So good it's hard for me to think about leaving. I've met some neighbors and they're great! The next-door neighbor with 7 kids is really nice and brought us dinner last night (salmon, baked potato, Caesar salad, french bread - yumm!), and the neighbor across the street brought over a plate of baked goodies just today. Have I mentioned how much I love our location?? Mr. chick is feeling conflicted about leaving it, too. He was pretty decided he'd take that job in Redmond, but as of last night he tells me he's wavering. He's undecided. Professionally, it's a good move, but at what cost? That's what he's balancing. Being home - here - with friends and family, or moving about 2.5 - 3 hrs away. He's worried if we go it will be hard to come back. Portable business and all that. So this move, if we do it, might be really permanent. But the job market is so super-tight for attorneys that I worry if we stay we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot. What to do, what to do??! We talked more last night and still don't know if we're moving again or staying here. My stomach has been slightly upset for days as a result. I can't get settled for fear that we're leaving again. We'll probably go out to Redmond/Bend again this weekend and start looking at housing options and to get a better feel for the community. That might help. Mr. Chick needs to tell them his decision soon.
So that's me. How was YOUR weekend?
// posted by MP @ 1:34 PM 
Comments:
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Ouch. What a suckass weekend. Not trying to make you feel worse, but definitely feel sorry that you have to struggle with this decision. I do hope and pray that he can find a job locally. Even if it's just something that will pay the bills for now until his dream job comes along. Your neighbors sound incredibly awesome. What a dinner to treat new neighbors to!
The highlight of my weekend? Taking my daughter to a mother/daughter Girl Scout luncheon on Saturday. They had a magic show which involved an older man and his two granddaughters. The girls were around 20ish. One did magic with birds. LOTS of birds. Did I mention birds?.....Her last trick was to produce a giant parrot (not kidding) out of a piece of fabric. The damn thing came flying right at me. I ducked in time for it to ricochet off my back and land on the table behind me. That was the biggest damn freakin' bird I've ever seen in my life! All I saw coming at me were talons and beak and colors. Thank gawd for quick reflexes lol. I'm so glad I could provide entertainment for all my Girl Scouts. Of course at today's meeting they had to give me a play by play of seeing the look on my face when the crazy bird came at me. Nice. Had to laugh or die of embarassment lol.
The highlight of my weekend? Taking my daughter to a mother/daughter Girl Scout luncheon on Saturday. They had a magic show which involved an older man and his two granddaughters. The girls were around 20ish. One did magic with birds. LOTS of birds. Did I mention birds?.....Her last trick was to produce a giant parrot (not kidding) out of a piece of fabric. The damn thing came flying right at me. I ducked in time for it to ricochet off my back and land on the table behind me. That was the biggest damn freakin' bird I've ever seen in my life! All I saw coming at me were talons and beak and colors. Thank gawd for quick reflexes lol. I'm so glad I could provide entertainment for all my Girl Scouts. Of course at today's meeting they had to give me a play by play of seeing the look on my face when the crazy bird came at me. Nice. Had to laugh or die of embarassment lol.
# posted by 
: 4:44 PM
: 4:44 PM 
I think my weekend was WWWAAAYYYYY better than yours, and quite frankly the entire past 10 days or so have totally SUCKED. So your weekend sucked way better than mine.
Christine/MCM
Christine/MCM
# posted by : 5:19 PM
: 5:19 PM
That stinks, really. Moving is the pits. I can't imagine going through all that stress while anticipating doing all over again in a matter of weeks! Here's wishing you peace in your decision.
~Robin
~Robin
# posted by : 6:22 PM
: 6:22 PM
This is the first time I have visited your blog. How refreshing to know that I am not the only one living in complete chaos! My dd had the dream of moving to the East Coast. A year ago we put our house up for sale (my dh didn’t even have a job yet), it sold after two weeks on the market. We moved in with my in-laws in June and my dh was offered a job in July. We moved 3,700 miles to New England for a job for my dh. We were there six months (my dh had enough and I was SO homesick!) and we moved back to the grand Pacific Northwest. Have you spent six days in a car with two children under the age of three for a drive across the United States?? Since June of 2005 I have moved three times-we sold our house and moved in with my in-laws (1), then to our “new house” in New England (2) and now back at the in-laws (3). My dh is in the fire service so jobs don’t grow on trees so I have not a clue where we will one day call home but I do know that it will not be in New England!! Most of my stuff is in storage, my husband is unemployed and I am living with my in-laws but I am thrilled to be back “home” in the Pacific Northwest, the same time zone as all of my family and friends and everything familiar. I know where you are coming from. I can imagine that you feel a huge sense of relief that the fog is clearing and the sun is finally coming out!
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