August 8, 2007
From the desk of Jane Galt:Moving hell
I've reached that delightful point in my move where enough stuff is now out of boxes that it looks worse than it did when I first moved in. Moreover, my vases, candlesticks and assorted tchotchkes have displayed a remarkable capacity for breeding in captivity. I can't move my furniture until the boxes are out of the way, and if I unload the boxes to get them out of the way, then where is all the glass fruit to go?
This is all made much, much better by the fact that I need things like bathroom storage containers (I have no vanity). However, the big box retailers, which are located outside of the district. Normally, I would just rent a zipcar. However, on move day, while I was in the parking lot of Target, a delightful older gentleman, aged about 86, plowed into the side of my Zipcar as I was turning. His explanation:
I thought you were going to go straight.
I had assumed that by the age of eighty-six, most people had learned that when the car ahead of you puts its turn signal on, they are doing so with the intention, not of going straight, but of, well, turning. But perhaps they hadn't been invented when he learned to drive.
Did I mention that he has apparently gotten into parking lot accidents twice before?
Meanwhile, Zipcar has suspended my account pending the accident investigation. This would normally be a minor inconvenience, but right now, it's a MAJOR hassle. Mr [Name Withheld] was very lucky he wasn't within shouting distance when I realised that I would not be able to get to Target today.
Also, I have forgotten assorted vital things like pillows at my sister's place in Silver Spring--a place I cannot get to because, as we just discussed, I have no car. Or rather, I can get to it, but since I won't be able to carry more than a few things at a time, it's rather like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon.
And Comcast is refusing to hook up my cable because the previous occupant hasn't disconnected it. Their office is, needless to say, thoroughly inconveniently located for one without a car.
On the plus side, my new pad is cool, and the air conditioning works.
All of which is to say, bear with me if posting is light and/or consists largely of complaints about drill bits and Ikea furniture.
Posted by Jane Galt at August 8, 2007 1:01 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksHang in there. It'll get better. Except for the dealing with comcast part. Then it will get worse. And worse.
But, considering the weather today, I am very happy for you (and a more than a bit jealous) that you have working AC. Did I mention that you will *HATE* Comcast?
I'm right there with you in the middle of moving hell (my car broke down the day I was supposed to be moving). Just take a deep breath and tell yourself that this will all work out.
I thought Comcast's office was right off the Brookland metro stop?
Could you not rent a car for a day or two? Avis, Hertz, Dollar, etc...?
That's moving purgatory, at best. I've moved all of my own boxes from a truck to a storage unit on a 90/90 August day in Virginia, knowing full well I'd be back in a month to pick them up, load them into a truck, and unload them at a new house. Fortunately for me, I paid the guys from the gun shop to move my 900-lb safe.
I can; it's just that those places are expensive (for what I want to do) and not particularly convenient.
The fact that you have to walk into a bldg to set up your cable is insane.
There is very little in my life, service wise, that I cannot deal with effectively via the net.
I can top that: January. -10 degrees. Ice storm. Sidewalks frozen solid. Removing stuff from unheated storage locker.
Having no vanity is a positive character trait.:~)
Ack. That sucks. So know that point of unpacking that you're talking about. Good luck!
Although dammit for someone beating me to the "no vanity" joke.
See, I like cold. I march into frozen woods and sit there for hours as a form of amusement.
It was the numb fingers, and the repeated falls on the ice, that made moving so special . . .
Megan,
Twinbrook Metro is a 7 minute walk from a largish strip mall with a Container Store. White Flint Metro has the White Flint Mall about 10-15 minutes walk away. Tenleytown metro is across the street from a Container Store, Best Buy, and an Ace (?) Hardware store. There's also a CVS and a Payless shoes and a Whole Foods (or one of those) right there. Off the Red Line, Pentagon City has a mall right at the station, as well as a Costco a five minute walk away. There's also a mini-mall across the street from the mall that has a Best Buy, a Linens and Things, and a Borders. On many occasions, I've gone to all these places by metro, and then come home either by taxi (from Costco with a trunkful of diapers) or by metro and then by taxi to Georgetown. It's really not a big deal. IKEA at College Park is less accessible, unfortunately, although I've taken a taxi from the metro to IKEA and then called a taxi on the way back, and having IKEA deliver directly to our home. It's worthwhile when one is buying a few hundred dollars worth of furniture.
Ahh, moving. My favorite horror story is when I had a bunch of friends and family help to move. I underestimated the amount of stuff and got a truck that was too small. No problem, let's make two trips. OK, so we pack the truck for the first trip...ooops, someone accidentally packed the truck keys in a box that was now in the bowels of the truck. Two hours, $200 and a visit from the locksmith visit later, we're only half-way there...
Trek down to National and rent a car. You can usually get one for 15 bucks a day.
wait, I thought you had purchased a MINI... so seems like most Ikeas you can rent a van from now... so you cab it there, and bring stuffs home and cab it back. In transit you can use happy van to run a few other errands if needed, and who will care? Having built much Ikea furniture that is still in use after 6 years, the key is wood glue and/or silicone caulk. Because few people actually dissassemble furniture even if it is temporary. So? build it like it's forever, and it is likely to be more sturdy, and last longer. It is generally movement between pieces that causes them to break, so glue 'em up.
and? it can always be worse, Lady. ALWAYS.
cheers, D
For bathroom storage you might also try Logan Hardware on P between 14th and 15th (they even have elfa storage solution stuff), Restoration Hardware in Georgetown on Wisconsin, or Tru Value Hardware on 17th between S and T I believe.
I think there is a Target at the Pentagon City or Crystal City metro...a quick trip on the Orange line which you can catch at Foggy Bottom or Farragut West depending on where in Dupont you are exactly.
The Not for Tourists (NFT) guidebook to DC is worth a look for new arrivals, although their principle for inclusion and exclusion of areas is unclear. The maps are pretty, and they show important businesses and services. I also like the Light at the End of the Tunnel (?) guides, which give maps of the area immediately surrounding metro stations.
I'm moving at the end of the month, and terrified because I'm in the don't-have-an-apartment-yet-and-NY-real-estate-is-designed-to-punish-sinners-and-the-innocent-alike phase of things. Thanks for reminding me that after I find a place, I still have the hell of actually relocating to get through. This will be made even more ridiculous by the likelihood that I'll only be moving a few blocks. But congrats on making it this far. Once the cable-hookup torture is over with, you'll be good to go.
It's a shame we've never met as I have a car, work from home, and would gladly offer to help a fellow NYC->DC transplant settle in.
Welcome to the neighborhood. Enjoy the weather!
I can't wait until the Boomers are all that age, insisting on their right to drive.
Moved two years ago and still get involuntary spasms at the memory. Snowed eight inches the night before the movers came, it was tracked all over the house. Movers spoke very little English, boxes were scattered near randomly. Couldn't get Comcast for another month because it was new construction (still can't get DSL). Couldn't get a landline phone to work because the line was miswired. Couldn't get a cell phone because we only had a PO Box address till we moved in. So no phone, no cable, no internet. Son broke his arm at school the next day, they couldn't reach us at home. Had to tape newspapers over the windows because we couldn't get window coverings delivered for 3 weeks. Battery died in the van, appliance delivery people couldn't find the new street on maps, the list goes on. Moving isn't much fun even when it goes well, wish you the best!
heh, so... megan, sounds like it's time to make a moving horror post...
I can top that: January. -10 degrees. Ice storm. Sidewalks frozen solid. Removing stuff from unheated storage locker.
Ah, helping my folks move in the Twin Cities in January of '94. I remember it like it was yesterday, yet I don't remember your being there. How is it that you describe the experience so accurately?
I can top that: January. -10 degrees. Ice storm. Sidewalks frozen solid. Removing stuff from unheated storage locker.
Ah, helping my folks move in the Twin Cities in January of '94. I remember it like it was yesterday, yet I don't remember your being there. How is it that you describe the experience so accurately?
no, it my wife and i moving out of our house from hell into an apartment, where we lived for 3 months before moving into our (as yet unfinished) new house.
some boxes/furniture went into storage and some went into the apartment. we didn't want to have to pay for two days rental on the truck, so i worked all night long. -10 below, ice everywhere, snow falling steadily, and in the dark.
and, of course, having two toddlers only enhances the experience. i still get an eye twitch when i remember that, and it was over 10 years ago.
In *my* day, we had to walk uphill both ways through twelve feet of snow when we moved. AND cars? Perish the thought!
(The benefit, it turns out, of having not much beside kitchenware, a slew of books and a bed is that I moved the other week in about 4 hours, including the spackle. A quick trip to Target for some furniture and we're good to go. Also, the internet wait isn't a big deal anymore, is it? If you live in a city, surely you can mooch off a friendly WiFi for a few weeks and download your usual shows off a torrent, right?)
I think one of the morals of this thread is "Comcast is horrible."
I just moved too, and the house is littered with boxes that frankly I'm not even interested in opening, let alone unpacking. My poor husband has had to do the lion's share of the work, as I am pregnant and therefore overcome with fatigue and morning sickness most of the time.
And I totally feel your pain on the Comcast issue. We're in a Verizon FiOS community and have had a hell of a time getting Verizon to actually fill our order. And because we pay them through our HOA fee, their typical slack customer service is even more awful. My husband posted flyers all over the neighborhood requesting to hear from similarly affected customers and that got the attention of the HOA liason and eventually the Verizon top brass. Yesterday he had an hour-long conference call with a bunch of Verizon VPs and finally we have the service we ordered 10 days ago!
So the lesson is, don't wait for them to get around to fixing your problem. Make a HUGE stink.
Actually, I've had astonishingly good customer service from Comcast. Whenever I call, I get through quickly and they come out soon and when they say they're going to. Once we had a problem with our underground cable affecting quality and they came out, dug it up and replaced it within a week, doing very little damage to the lawn. Just recently I got a two-tuner HD DVR from them for just $1.00 a month more than Tivo service costs and I didn't have to buy the box, though admittedly their software isn't as good as Tivo's software.
I too have had very good service from Comcast. My only beef with them is that you really can't connect with their service yourself - ie, set-up on line. It seems to require a conversation with tech support. My theory is that they are paranoid on the issue of someone ever using their service without paying so they add the human contact.
I too have had very good service from Comcast. My only beef with them is that you really can't connect with their service yourself - ie, set-up on line. It seems to require a conversation with tech support. My theory is that they are paranoid on the issue of someone ever using their service without paying so they add the human contact.
My moving-day-from-hell story:
Many years ago, we were planning to move from an apartment into a house. We packed all our things ourselves, but had movers lined up to actually do the move. The day before the scheduled move, we had the largest single snowfall in the history of the city, something like 24 inches. Our street was completely blocked for two days. Needless to say, we did not get moved. We unpacked just enough to live on, and prepared for our next moving date, a week hence.
When I was finally able to get out and drive to the new house, I found that a large metal awning running across the front of the house had fallen under the weight of the snow. It fell against the front of the house, tearing off the outside light and crushing the front storm door. The mass of snow, ice and awning completely blocked the entrance. When I tried to clear it, I found that part of the reason it fell was an accumulation of sodden newspapers that had apparently been tossed on top of the awning over the years. These were now frozen into a large rock-like mass. So, the first thing I had to do was to unpack my ax (never know when you need one of those) so I could chop up the mass of ice and newspapers. This allowed me to go in with wrenches in sub-in sub-zero weather to disassemble the metal awning, clear away the mess, and remove the wrecked storm door.
The night before our second moving date, a week later, we dutifully repacked our boxes. When we awoke the next morning, there were several inches of fresh snow on the ground. Very early in the morning the movers called to tell us that, because we lived on a fairly steep hill, they could not get to us, and we would have to be rescheduled again. We unpacked the essentials again.
After another week, we packed up again, in anticipation of our third moving date. Like clockwork, we had several more inches of snow that night. Once again, the movers called to say it was too treacherous to move us. We unpacked yet again.
After still another week of living out of boxes, we packed up one more time. This time when we awoke there was an inch or two of snow on the ground. I fully expected to be put off again, but the movers decided to brave the elements and give it a shot. The move actually went very well. But the whole experience traumatized us so much that we have lived in the same house for 30 years, and live in dread of the thought of ever having to move again.
There is a container store a couple of blocks away from the Clarendon metro stop.
For the sake for us ignorant savages in SUV heaven, what's a zip car?
Could be worse.
You could find yourself living in a shotgun shack.
You could order stuff online from Target and or Container Store.. the choices might be limited, but desperate times call for desperate measures!
We've just moved, and I find myself ordering a lot of stuff from amazon.com. It's so obvious that you might forget it, but it really beats hauling yourself out to a big box store to buy some small item. For optimizing a small living space, I'd recommend Good Housekeeping's book "The Complete Clutter Solution: Organize Your Home for good." It has a lot of pictures of various inexpensive wire doohickies that you might not know that you can't live without. I've read the book about four times and have gotten something from each reading. For instance, I just ordered a couple of "helper shelves" which double can cupboard space.
HAH!
Worst moving story ever! Fortunately, it did not happen to me. A near neighbor spent the late evening and early morning packing all his possessions, with the movers coming in the morning. He finished at about 1:00 AM, with all his boxes neatly stacked in the living room. A very steep side street finished opposite the house.
Roughly 2:30 AM, two drunken 16 year olds came careening down the side street in an Explorer. They crashed through the granite curb stones set as pillars in front of the house, crashed through the front wall, through the pile of boxes, through the fireplace, and came to a rest against the back wall of the house. They were unhurt, except for bruises and scratches. The neatly stacked possessions did not fare nearly as well.
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