Friday, September 26--Move In--Part 2

Yesterday, they came and removed all of our temporary furniture, with the exception of the bed, to make room for today’s delivery of our VERY OWN STUFF!! Any of you who have experienced a move in the States will not believe me when I tell you the movers were in and out in four hours. Yes, FOUR HOURS. The Pegasus moving company’s crew of three arrived right around 8:30 a.m., took a quick tour of the house, then began opening crates and unwrapping our possessions. As they flew by me in the entryway, they called out the number from the sticker so I could check it against the inventory, and hustled the item to its correct room. They manhandled the over-sized sofa and loveseat down the Japanese-sized hallway, around the corner, and into the living room without touching a single wall. The movers who packed us out in the States were fairly competent, but I guarantee they’d have gouged the wallpaper on at least three walls trying to get that furniture in there. They assembled the kitchen table and queen-sized sleigh bed in a matter of minutes. I’ve lived with both those items for three years and know what they are supposed to look like when assembled, and I still don’t think I could have done it as quickly as they did, sight unseen (the bed, especially, was in a lot of pieces!).

Once everything was off-loaded from the truck, we began opening boxes so that the movers could take the boxes and packing material with them when they left. Jim and I helped with this part, and in under an hour, every single thing we brought with us was unpacked, and all of the boxes and papers were bundled up and back on the truck. Holy whirlwind, Batman! At 12:30, the three-man Pegasus crew was back in the truck and pulling out of our street. Of course, the house looks like a bomb went off, so to preserve our sanity and to fuel up for the job ahead, Jim mandated an off-site lunch break before we jump into the clean-up operation. About an hour after we returned, the doorbell rang—it was the inspector from the housing office who comes during a move-in to make sure everything is going smoothly. He was very disconcerted to find out he was about three hours too late!! He’s been doing this for years, and even he was surprised by the speediness of our crew.

Now, the real fun begins. When we packed out, we were separating belongings to go with us or go in storage, not necessarily leaving them in the rooms they should go in. So now we have clothes in the living room, DVDs in the bedroom, and shoes in every room of the house. It will take me much longer than four hours to get everything sorted and the house in living condition. First order of business…find the sheets and make the bed, because I am going to need a soft place to fall this evening!