Goodbye Arlington!

Monday, August 13, 2012

So, it’s really happening…

and, as is Murphy’s Law, the HVAC guy and the movers showed up at the Arlington house at the same time on Monday, August 13^th.  It was a struggle to keep the workers in the Arlington County vehicles – who were installing 4 new sidewalk corner curbs at the 4-way stop at South Quincy and South 8^th - away from the tantalizingly long curb along the front of my property line.  I sacrificed my car, the recycle bin, the trash can AND my own body in the hopes that these workers with obviously very low SAT scores would get the idea that they should park elsewhere.  As it was, one or two of them insisted on trying to squeeze in there – but they obviously did NOT realize who they were up against in claiming this valuable real estate.

When the moving van arrived I was bowled over by its size – there was enough room on that truck to hold 5 homes’ worth of furniture.  And, truth be told, I suspect that when the guys pulled away to head down to Woodbridge to get the rest of my belongings, they pulled down a power line or telephone line at the end of the nearby cul-de-sac. (It’s still lying on the ground next to the NO PARKING sign with a piece of that yellow police tape hanging from it).

So, here is what I’ve learned from my first long-distance move…

Like redoing your kitchen, a move takes longer to do than predicted; costs more than originally estimated; and has some serious limitations (no fuel containers – even if they are empty; no plants; and essentially no liquids – cleaners, etc.).  And, like a kitchen renovation, once in a lifetime is more than sufficient.

My 3-man crew worked from about 9:45 AM till 7 PM – counting the travel time from Arlington to Woodbridge.  I was exhausted just watching them, so I can only imagine how exhausted they were.  Since it was too late to start driving down to my condo in Venice, FL, I decided to crash at Tammy’s and drive down the next morning.

Here is another thing you may not realize about long-distance moving…your belongings do NOT travel solo.  They usually have the company of at least 2 or 3 other households.  So, like the yearbook business, you never know the order of loading/unloading until it happens.  And, like waiting for the cable guy or any other contractor who has a 4-hour window to show up, you NEVER get to be in the first time slot.

Tuesday, August 14^th

14.5 hour drive to Venice, FL condo – not much happening on the way down – thank God

Wednesday, August 15^th

Enough laying around and resting.