The frenzy of cleaning, packing, and all the love-filled goodbyes dissolved as soon as we boarded the plane. We flew across Australia with serene anticipation of our new life in Adelaide, painted on the canvas of our imaginations with soft charcoal lines and delicate watercolors. We settled into our cozy temporary apartment and enjoyed a pizza before drifting off to sleep.
Then morning broke, literally, and the harsh realities of landing in a new city flooded away all the pretty paint.
We went to pick up our car, only to be told it had not yet left Sydney.
“Then why exactly did you pick it up 8 days ago?”
“Aw, look, it had to go into the queue for the truck. It’ll be here in two days.”
Two extra days of a rental car. KA-CHING.
We retrieved the cat from JetPets without too much drama. Then she promptly disappeared into the kitchen ceiling.
House hunting had all the expected frustrations: agents who don’t return phone calls, completely misleading photos, apartments that have been let yet not removed from the web. No units in any of the suburbs we liked, perfect places in the middle of hell. Through a combination of perseverance and compromise, we managed to find a suitable dwelling. A bit out of budget, but we will be most comfortable. KA-CHING.
Then I called our removalist company to arrange delivery of our household goods which had been sent to storage in Sydney until we had obtained a destination.
“Aw, look, I don’t have anything else going to Adelaide at the moment.”
“Well, when can we get our stuff?”
“I dunno. I don’t have anything else going to Adelaide at the moment.”
“Yeah, but when can we get our stuff?”
“I just told you, we don’t have anything else going to Adelaide at the moment. If you want, we can send a whole container, but it will cost you an extra $3,500.” KA-CHING!
“Excuse me, I have to hang up and go cry now.”
I can’t be bothered to bore you with all the painfully dramatic details, but after a hundred phone calls and a thousand e-mails (and ten thousand more tears), we managed to arrange delivery of our stuff 15 days sooner than expected for less money than we had been originally quoted. CHING-KA!
Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed through the weekend that Carlos – some guy Kevin found on the internet – actually delivers our stuff!
I don’t understand why people always feel compelled to tell me how much they hate moving. It’s one of the best weight loss programs I know!
Now if I could just get the cat out of the ceiling…
3 comments:
Well Audie I really lead a boring life but after reading your story I'm glad I don't have to move across the country, any country. I hope all your things get to you in one piece or I really hope you get it at all!
Love ya and good luck....xoxox Nance
Oh jeeze. Customer-fucking-service in Australia = "service with a snarl."
Well done for sticking it out and doing deals to get your stuff. What a pain in the arts tho!
When I moved from Oz to the US, half of my shit went missing. My boxes were swapped for a Christian's boxes. I knew that b/c he read Christian books which fell out of their boxes. I was told those boxes were mine.
I. DO. NOT. THINK. SO.
It took the Oakland-based facility a few days to sort it out, but we got there in the end.
I did not get skinny in the process of moving tho. Perhaps I should try it again, this time with music? Hmmm.
caw xxx
Did you burn the books? You'd be doing him a favor. I'll bet he was just as surprised and bewildered to get your books!
All our stuff arrived, more or less intact. There are always a few casualties: the fridge got scratched, the bed got dinged, and Darth Vader lost his light saber. I will use the force (of glue) to fix it.
Your guest room awaits!
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