inside my head

Sunday, June 1, 2003

MOVING OUT, MOVING IN
All in the space of less than a day, Kathy and Tim changed their entire environment: i.e., their lifestyle, their neighborhood, their shopping area, their work commute, and most importantly, their home.
From 9:00 in the morning until 1:30 on Wednesday, 98% of their entire household was packed to the hilt into a 24 foot Ryder truck to be hauled to a brand new two-story house. Then all had to be put on hold.
The move was slated to begin on Tuesday. When Robert and I arrived at 9:15 Tuesday night, Kathy and Tim were sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They had packed up everything as much as possible short of having a moving truck. The key for the new house had not materialized at 5:00 as promised. They were told due to paperwork hang ups, the holiday weekend delaying procedures, and poor communication between involved parties, the key would not be available until at least Wednesday morning. They had been forced to reschedule the renting of the truck one day forward.
Tuesday morning, bright and early, Tim and Kathy picked up the truck counting on that key really being theirs soon. After lunch, still no key. There we were, the truck all packed and nowhere to go. More calls were made and the word was if it was going to happen, it would be relinquished just before five o' clock. Kathy made the decision to go for it. She explained, "If there is a key, we won't have time to get over there to pick it up before the sales office closes. The worse thing that can happen, if there is no key, is we will have to bring everything back to the townhouse."
At 3:30 Tim packed up all the perishables from the refrigerator and freezer. At 4:15, along with the bulging Ryder truck, our car, Dennis and DeeDee's car, AJ's truck, Kathy's car and Tim's truck filled to the hilt with close to all of the last of the house belongings and three dogs, we headed over to sit in front of the locked up new house, all of us with our fingers crossed that a key really would materialize.
All the way over, Tim and Kathy were on their cell phone checking on the status of the key. As soon as they got to the new house, they jumped out of their cars and took off to the sales office. At 4:45 they walked back with the key in hand! Talk about elation. The thought of having to drive everything back and spend another night in the townhouse was squelched with great relief.
Having Dennis and DeeDee, showing up mid-afternoon to help with the unloading thus bringing the total of helping hands to fourteen, the unpacking of the truck and cars flew. In less than two hours, all was unloaded. We all gathered in the new spacious kitchen and great room to enjoy beer and pizza to celebrate the accomplishment!
In retrospect, we all decided not having the key probably didn't make a whole lot of difference in the timing of packing of the truck. We would have just gotten it unloaded a little sooner in the day. Where it did make a difference however is in the scheduling of deliveries and services. On Wednesday, Sears was to deliver a new refrigerator and the cable and phone company were going to hook up services. Consequently Kathy and Tim were without a refrigerator when we left yesterday morning and will be without Internet or phones until tomorrow (Monday). Turns out getting phone service is important, there is no cell phone reception in their new neighborhood. Every time they want to use a cell phone they have to hop in their car and drive several blocks away to make calls.
Because of the fast move, there was time in the next two days, while we were still there, to see some household organization unfold. Thursday, after one more trip by Tim, Kathy and Robert to the townhouse to bring the last bit of belongings back to the new house, Tim set up the office and had the computers up and running in no time (sans Internet of course). Kathy had a working kitchen soon enough to serve Friday night dinner and Saturday morning breakfast. Robert hooked up the gas dryer, installed a ceiling light in the guest bedroom, inspected a misplaced outlet box in the family room, and rewired a number of switches. Tim hooked up the entertainment system. Kathy and I even found time to work on one of her wedding projects.
Robert and I love Kathy and Tim's new house. It is so much larger than the townhouse and much more comfortable. We enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of this very special transition in their life. They have so much to look forward to, decorating, furnishing and landscaping, all new adventures. We are excited for them and look forward to watching this new house transcend into their very own spacious home sweet home.



		Sunday, June 1, 2003 MOVING OUT, MOVING IN All in the space of less than a day, Kathy and Tim changed their entire environment: i.e., their lifestyle, their neighborhood, their shopping area, their work commute, and most importantly, their home. From 9:00 in the morning until 1:30 on Wednesday, 98% of their entire household was packed to the hilt into a 24 foot Ryder truck to be hauled to a brand new two-story house. Then all had to be put on hold. The move was slated to begin on Tuesday. When Robert and I arrived at 9:15 Tuesday night, Kathy and Tim were sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They had packed up everything as much as possible short of having a moving truck. The key for the new house had not materialized at 5:00 as promised. They were told due to paperwork hang ups, the holiday weekend delaying procedures, and poor communication between involved parties, the key would not be available until at least Wednesday morning. They had been forced to reschedule the renting of the truck one day forward. Tuesday morning, bright and early, Tim and Kathy picked up the truck counting on that key really being theirs soon. After lunch, still no key. There we were, the truck all packed and nowhere to go. More calls were made and the word was if it was going to happen, it would be relinquished just before five o' clock. Kathy made the decision to go for it. She explained, "If there is a key, we won't have time to get over there to pick it up before the sales office closes. The worse thing that can happen, if there is no key, is we will have to bring everything back to the townhouse." At 3:30 Tim packed up all the perishables from the refrigerator and freezer. At 4:15, along with the bulging Ryder truck, our car, Dennis and DeeDee's car, AJ's truck, Kathy's car and Tim's truck filled to the hilt with close to all of the last of the house belongings and three dogs, we headed over to sit in front of the locked up new house, all of us with our fingers crossed that a key really would materialize. All the way over, Tim and Kathy were on their cell phone checking on the status of the key. As soon as they got to the new house, they jumped out of their cars and took off to the sales office. At 4:45 they walked back with the key in hand! Talk about elation. The thought of having to drive everything back and spend another night in the townhouse was squelched with great relief. Having Dennis and DeeDee, showing up mid-afternoon to help with the unloading thus bringing the total of helping hands to fourteen, the unpacking of the truck and cars flew. In less than two hours, all was unloaded. We all gathered in the new spacious kitchen and great room to enjoy beer and pizza to celebrate the accomplishment! In retrospect, we all decided not having the key probably didn't make a whole lot of difference in the timing of packing of the truck. We would have just gotten it unloaded a little sooner in the day. Where it did make a difference however is in the scheduling of deliveries and services. On Wednesday, Sears was to deliver a new refrigerator and the cable and phone company were going to hook up services. Consequently Kathy and Tim were without a refrigerator when we left yesterday morning and will be without Internet or phones until tomorrow (Monday). Turns out getting phone service is important, there is no cell phone reception in their new neighborhood. Every time they want to use a cell phone they have to hop in their car and drive several blocks away to make calls. Because of the fast move, there was time in the next two days, while we were still there, to see some household organization unfold. Thursday, after one more trip by Tim, Kathy and Robert to the townhouse to bring the last bit of belongings back to the new house, Tim set up the office and had the computers up and running in no time (sans Internet of course). Kathy had a working kitchen soon enough to serve Friday night dinner and Saturday morning breakfast. Robert hooked up the gas dryer, installed a ceiling light in the guest bedroom, inspected a misplaced outlet box in the family room, and rewired a number of switches. Tim hooked up the entertainment system. Kathy and I even found time to work on one of her wedding projects. Robert and I love Kathy and Tim's new house. It is so much larger than the townhouse and much more comfortable. We enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of this very special transition in their life. They have so much to look forward to, decorating, furnishing and landscaping, all new adventures. We are excited for them and look forward to watching this new house transcend into their very own spacious home sweet home.