Moving Day!

Just when I thought the city couldn't get any better . . .
Friday was moving day, and while there were a couple hiccups, I am so happy to be in the new place.  The apartment is huge (probably one of the biggest I've ever lived in), inexpensive, and I ADORE the neighborhood!  There's still quite a bit of work to do, as the apartment was left a little too dirty for my taste, but most everything is now unpacked and I can start enjoying my new home.  All I have left to do is hang pictures and unpack the bedroom.  Not bad for two days of work! 

On Friday, when Eric dropped me off to get the UHaul, I quickly discovered what moving in the city was REALLY like.  They had originally given me the truck for TWO HOURS (two hours? seriously?), and upon making it clear that there was no way in hell I could have it back in that amount of time, they extended the rental until 1:00PM with a $50 fee for each additional hour (how nice of them).  The only problem was I couldn't get the keys to the new place until noon and the movers were coming AT 1:00 to unload.  After a few phone calls and much begging and pleading, I got the keys and the movers rearranged to about 2 hours earlier than originally planned. 

Joy, Chris, Eric and I hustled all morning and had the truck loaded and ready to go in about an hour and a half (have I mentioned I love my new friends?).  And off I went, arriving at the new apartment at about 11:45. Upon my arrival, I found the maintenance men in the kitchen replacing tiling with the radiator and stove unhooked and in the next room.  They promised to come back in two hours and finish up so that I could get move in easier. The movers showed up quickly, and after a promise of $20 each if they could get the truck unloaded in an hour, they started hustling and I was headed back to UHaul by 1:15. 



Here's when I began to realize that in the city you definitely get what you pay for.  Below are just a few incidences that have happened over the past two days:

• The apartment was FILTHY, and it looks like it hadn't been painted in about five years - not even spackled to cover up the holes in the walls.  In two days I have gone through 1/2 a bottle of spic and span.
• They moved the stove out to finish the tiling with the promise of returning in two hours, however I got a call saying an hour later saying they weren't coming back until MONDAY.  What the what? 
• Apparently the dishwasher and microwave cannot be ran at the same time because the entire kitchen is on the same circuit, with the circuit breaker locked in the basement.  It took them TWO HOURS to switch the circuit breaker so that I could have power back in the kitchen.  
• The toilet flooded for absolutely no reason at about 3 AM Sunday morning.  I guess I had used all my flushes for the day.
• I am now the dungeon master, as I received EIGHT keys on Friday just to get in and out of the apartment and building.  Yup, you heard me, EIGHT keys.  

I have a feeling this is going to be a great place to live, but that I am totally on my own in terms of minor repairs.  After unpacking, I will definitely be taking pictures to document the damage that is already done to the apartment so that I don't get fined for it. 

However, all that being said, I LOVE this neighborhood and cannot wait to discover more little hidden gems as I explore further.  I can see myself staying here for a very long time.