Oh my god. I am not moving again without professional help. This story is not over - our stuff must still arrive safely at our door. But in the meantime, here is what has happened so far.
Moving across the country is not cheap. We decided to let someone else drive a truck containing our stuff for us after we packed it carefully on the truck ourselves, as a way to save time and money. Plus, who wants to drive a moving van for 5 days? They are not easy to handle! So, we had a 28 foot trailer delivered to our apartment complex last Friday morning, and were initially excited to find that it only took up 2 parking spots. Our enthusiasm quickly faded when the apartment manager called, said trailers were not allowed according to our lease (which is true), and asked us to remove it. Well, it was staying until Monday. Even if we could have packed it up that afternoon, the company wasn't coming back that day or on the weekend. So let's hope we get our security deposit back.
Jason and I spent about 12 hours over the course of Friday afternoon and Saturday morning carefully packing everything in sealed and labeled boxes. The boxes and furniture all had to be inventoried for an international move. This process is excruciating, especially when sick with the flu. We ended up throwing a ton of stuff away. I feel so wasteful now. This process really, finally, taught me not to buy what I do not need and to let go of things we do not use.
The actual packing of the van went wonderfully, thanks to the help of really great friends. We couldn't have done it without you and will forever be in your debt. We also used 3 less feet of space than we asked for, so it should be cheaper than expected!
But, with everything packed, we were reduced to sleeping on the floor, eating TV dinners cooked in the stove, and listening to the radio over the laptops. Not a lot of fun, especially when we realized we did not have a way to donate the TV and kitchen table and chairs - no one was returning our calls for a charity pick-up, and the truck was already sold. So we put them on Craig's List for super cheap and poof! they were gone. It was totally like magic. Jason sold the TV in 15 minutes, and it was picked up an hour later, after months of worrying about it. And I think both items went to loving families. That table and chairs had been in my kitchen(s) for at least 25 years.
Monday morning saw us throwing the last of the stuff in the van and trying to rig the half-broken bulk-head in place and then waiting, waiting, waiting for the truck to be picked up. The apartment complex called again. We called the company again. They finally came, but didn't get the paperwork from us! I feel bad that the driver had to come back and get it, but the inventory has to go with it...
The truck should arrive next week at the company's base near here. We then arrange to meet the customs agent at the truck, check everything out, and then, at long last, the truck will come to our home. We are hoping for a "live" drop-off where the driver waits while we unload to avoid any parking issues here. The truck can be dropped in the lane by our house, but this makes Hedgehog Guy ultra-nervous, so hooray for hired help! Keep your fingers crossed. I can not wait for life with a real bed, a microwave, an iron, and more than 4 plates again.
February 26, 2009
February 25, 2009
Last day on the East coast
So here we are at the Philadelphia Airport about to fly to Chicago and then Vancouver. We don’t have anything left here, physically, in Delaware. It is a bit disturbing to have all your stuff in a city across the continent or on a moving van that you hope is well packed.
We had some trouble finding the hotel we had picked to stay in for our last night in Delaware as it was in an area on the side of town we rarely explored. We both found this situation ironic since the very first time we drove up to Newark from Florida to look for a place to live, we couldn’t find our hotel either. Fortunately, we found the place, and it turned out to be so nice and cheap we were sorry we hadn’t found it earlier (Staybridge Suites)! Sleeping in a bed and sitting on a couch were heaven after two days of sleeping and sitting on the floor.
It just seems a bit harder to leave this time around, I don’t know why, maybe because there is isn’t anything permanent to come back to. We sold the truck, it will belong to someone else here soon. We spread Freeway's ashes in White Clay Creek. He isn't coming with us anymore. The hardest has been to leave our friends here. Hedgehog Best Friend was the hardest to leave. It is like the "Years of Rice and Salt" where each person belongs to a group of souls that are reborn and live together and must help each other to succeed in order to move up in the afterlife. We met some of our group here, and we will find them again, soon.
February 23, 2009
A BIG week
I have a ton to update everyone on, but the details will have to wait until we get back to Vancouver. Here's a brief list of this past week's biggest events:
Jason successfully defended his dissertation and is now a doctor of chemistry
We packed up all of our stuff, labeled every box, and stuffed it into some ridiculously small space in a moving van which our apartment complex complained about
Hedgehog Gal had a fun weekend in Whistler with her lab group - first time on skis!
Tomorrow we leave the US for a while - saying good-bye was harder this time around.
Jason successfully defended his dissertation and is now a doctor of chemistry
We packed up all of our stuff, labeled every box, and stuffed it into some ridiculously small space in a moving van which our apartment complex complained about
Hedgehog Gal had a fun weekend in Whistler with her lab group - first time on skis!
Tomorrow we leave the US for a while - saying good-bye was harder this time around.
February 10, 2009
Mouse in the house
I do chores. As in I clean regularly. The only thing I do not do is dust. Living in the new house has been great because I have no chores - no furniture, no carpet, one bathroom, one person's laundry & dishes, dog washed once monthly.
But the mouse (maybe mice?) arrived anyways.
One day in December the dog alerted on the dishwasher, I was like, "You are crazy, eat a bone". Then last week there was a huge crash in the kitchen during the night, and a bag of rice had been pulled across the counter and a little hole gnawed in it. I bought two "live" traps, baited them with peanut butter and waited. Nothing.
Until last night, when I heard a trap smack shut. I was thought, "Great, now where will I take this mouse?" No worries, it got out. Evaded both traps and crapped all over the floor - must have scared the shit out of itself. I know it (they) is coming from under the house where the floorboards do not meet the wall under a heating vent in the kitchen.
All my food is now in the fridge or inside bags inside plastic containers. The dog just huffs, they must be friends. Tonight we go to round 2: Deathmatch. I'm afraid I'll have to get real mouse traps...
But the mouse (maybe mice?) arrived anyways.
One day in December the dog alerted on the dishwasher, I was like, "You are crazy, eat a bone". Then last week there was a huge crash in the kitchen during the night, and a bag of rice had been pulled across the counter and a little hole gnawed in it. I bought two "live" traps, baited them with peanut butter and waited. Nothing.
Until last night, when I heard a trap smack shut. I was thought, "Great, now where will I take this mouse?" No worries, it got out. Evaded both traps and crapped all over the floor - must have scared the shit out of itself. I know it (they) is coming from under the house where the floorboards do not meet the wall under a heating vent in the kitchen.
All my food is now in the fridge or inside bags inside plastic containers. The dog just huffs, they must be friends. Tonight we go to round 2: Deathmatch. I'm afraid I'll have to get real mouse traps...
February 04, 2009
Dissertation In!
Hedgehog Guy sent his dissertation off to his committee members today! A big congratulations to him as he hits the two week 'til he's a PhD mark. I know being reminded of this will only make him nervous and depressed, but it's a big deal. Half of getting a degree is going through the motions of writing and submitting and correcting your dissertation and then publicly defending it. The hard part, enduring the last 6 years, is already over. Hope he's already plotting where to put the carrot patch in the new yard.
Oh yes, and we'll take any donations for alcohol research...
Oh yes, and we'll take any donations for alcohol research...
February 01, 2009
This week
So this week has been hard to write about because there have been lots of ups and downs. Like I hesitate to write about it because it bothers me, but then I think that maybe someone will read it and see that others struggle too.
Monday was surreal. We got our travel plans worked out for me to fly to see Hedgehog Guy's defense and then for both of us to fly back to Vancouver for good. We got the moving van reserved, meaning only 15 more days until we are together again in the same city for good (outside of usually sampling trips and conferences). I got good news from immigration that Hedgehog Guy could get his work permit at the airport when we arrive and not wait 73 days for a mail version. Tuesday was going great until I essentially broke a very expensive piece of equipment at work (as in it costs half my annual salary). It's my fault for doing it, but the equipment company's fault for sending me the wrong stuff. I was totally devastated. I hardly slept or ate for two days until something snapped on Thursday, and I decided there was nothing I could do about it. I think I might have been in a constant state of panic attack with heart racing and hard time breathing for two days. I had to teach all three of my boss's classes this week, with Wednesday's lecture being the best, probably because it was a discussion class and not a real lecture! Friday we found a couple more post-docs for Hedgehog Guy to apply for, and I had a really good time at dinner with the labbies. Saturday was SUNNY after weeks of fog, rain, and snow, so I went to work, did errands, took the dog for a walk and gardened.
Today it rained again, and I cooked. Giving me time to think. I'm still down about the thing at work, and worried about Hedgehog Guy. This is such a stressful time, yet I am so excited for Hedgehog Guy to be almost a done after years of agony and to be with him again. I still need to work on driver's license and car importation - don't even get me started on that situation. I know it will be better after the defense and move, but then have to worry about work and money. It seems never ending. I say constantly that I can't wait to retire. Run a cross-stitch shop and a home for run-away dogs in a bungalow by the water. Even the dog is upset since I took away the mattress he's been laying on in an attempt to keep it a bit dog hair free before selling it.
Then I remember that I really shouldn't complain. It could be way worse, just have to try to not let it become that way. Here is a Hedgehog Dog pic for cheering you up:
Monday was surreal. We got our travel plans worked out for me to fly to see Hedgehog Guy's defense and then for both of us to fly back to Vancouver for good. We got the moving van reserved, meaning only 15 more days until we are together again in the same city for good (outside of usually sampling trips and conferences). I got good news from immigration that Hedgehog Guy could get his work permit at the airport when we arrive and not wait 73 days for a mail version. Tuesday was going great until I essentially broke a very expensive piece of equipment at work (as in it costs half my annual salary). It's my fault for doing it, but the equipment company's fault for sending me the wrong stuff. I was totally devastated. I hardly slept or ate for two days until something snapped on Thursday, and I decided there was nothing I could do about it. I think I might have been in a constant state of panic attack with heart racing and hard time breathing for two days. I had to teach all three of my boss's classes this week, with Wednesday's lecture being the best, probably because it was a discussion class and not a real lecture! Friday we found a couple more post-docs for Hedgehog Guy to apply for, and I had a really good time at dinner with the labbies. Saturday was SUNNY after weeks of fog, rain, and snow, so I went to work, did errands, took the dog for a walk and gardened.
Today it rained again, and I cooked. Giving me time to think. I'm still down about the thing at work, and worried about Hedgehog Guy. This is such a stressful time, yet I am so excited for Hedgehog Guy to be almost a done after years of agony and to be with him again. I still need to work on driver's license and car importation - don't even get me started on that situation. I know it will be better after the defense and move, but then have to worry about work and money. It seems never ending. I say constantly that I can't wait to retire. Run a cross-stitch shop and a home for run-away dogs in a bungalow by the water. Even the dog is upset since I took away the mattress he's been laying on in an attempt to keep it a bit dog hair free before selling it.
Then I remember that I really shouldn't complain. It could be way worse, just have to try to not let it become that way. Here is a Hedgehog Dog pic for cheering you up:
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