Monday, July 28, 2008

Like, OMG, I'm a Valley girl again!

We are now residents of beautiful Burbank, CA.

The move is complete. I had the brilliant idea on Thursday evening to rent a U-Haul, rather than transport everything on my dad's truck and my sister's Suburban. It truly was a brilliant idea. We got everything but the hanging clothes in one truck-load and had everything unloaded by 11:30 a.m.! My sis, her hubs, and my nephews were a great help. My dad showed off his real-life Tetris skills by maneuvering everything to fit properly in the truck, and all items survived without breakage. At least, all items I've unpacked so far.

I did have to go back on Sunday with the girls to get all the clothes, and that could've gone better. But, overall, the hardest part of the move ended up being the smoothest.

I've found that expecting the absolute worst of any situation, and dreading it with everything you have in you up until the event in question really helps it all go so much better!

I believe I have notified everyone that needs to be notified, save my 2 magazine subscriptions (for the curious, those are: Entertainment Weekly and the New Yorker). The only things left to deal with are the girls' school situations. I'll talk about that in a few more weeks.

The kitchen is completely unpacked, the bathrooms are done, and enough clothes are unpacked and put away to get us through quite a while. Of course, that's not everything, but all the essentials are done. I'm still commuting for the next few weeks, as I want to keep the girls in the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club for the rest of the summer. Sylvia was asked to join the Swim Team just a couple of weeks ago, and we both want her to keep doing that.

My sweet cat, Bobbie, survived the move quite well. I think this is her 19th. My dad freaked out because he went to the condo after we dropped off the U-Haul to get some of the big stuff I was getting rid of (I bought a new, awesome couch - Costco rocks), and he couldn't find her. Bobbie hates my dad. She only seems to come in contact with him when I'm moving or some other traumatic event is happening so she won't come out for him. He eventually found her hiding way back in one of the kitchen cabinets. And she cried that painful cry the whole car ride to our new digs. But once she got a chance to explore, she was fine again.

The girls seem really happy, too. We had a few scenes yesterday as we were moving the clothes, but I guess some chaos should be expected during a move. We haven't made any new friends yet in the complex; everyone seems to keep to themselves. Which is nice, in a way, but I'd like to make friends with at least one neighbor. Even the little girl we saw didn't say hi or anything when we passed her. But we've only been there since Saturday. All in good time, I guess.

Work has calmed down some (as of now, anyway). The temp we got last week is SO much better, and has helped ease some of my workload.

Now all that's left is to get the living room, bedrooms and office in order. (I will not have online access at home until Thursday so if I disappear for a while, that's why.) I've made a vow not to stress or give myself deadlines on this. One box, one bag at a time.

Oh, and one more thing: I've joined the ranks of those without a home phone anymore. I've ordered standalone DSL service and between my cell phone and Sylvia's, I think we're covered. NPR did a story on this last week. They said phone companies really look down on this, but I have to give credit where it's due: AT&T gave me no trouble about it. Given that 75% of my calls at home were telemarketers, I think we'll be fine.

Thanks for all your well wishes! The 200 post is coming so if you have any questions for me, bring 'em on!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh Burbank! I spent a lot of time in that area when I lived in Rancho Cucamonga. I had dreams of moving to Studio City or Burbank.

Glad the move went well. I've been in my complex for eight months and I can count on one hand the number of people who have actually said hello to me (it usually happens in the gym).

Anonymous said...

Oh, and one more thing. I'm curious as to what your stance is on that recent New Yorker cover, since you read it regularly and all. I *got* it, but what I find interesting is that so many people (on both sides) didn't get it at all.

BusyDad said...

You have left the SGV! That leaves on ly me and Miss to represent. But yeah, I'd move too not have to DRIVE. That is beyond awesome. Best of luck settling in and congrats on your pending 200! My question: what's the best and worst part about living in LA?

Anonymous said...

I'm SO HAPPY your move went well! Yeah!!!!

Glad the new place is working out. Hope your good moving karma heads my way, too!

Tara R. said...

Congrats on the smooth move... had to be said. Good to hear everything seems to be falling into place nicely. Great news on the temp. *whew* Enjoy the new digs.

Amy said...

Glad to hear it was a smooth move. It's never worked out easy for me. But hopefully, we've finally found a place to stay!

FreedomFirst said...

Congratulations! I'm glad everything is going smoothly (relatively) at the moment. Have fun in your new place!

MarĂ­a said...

I've never been to Burbank I don't think, but now that I have somewhere to crash I'll be visiting soon! :)

Kori said...

Yay! You don't need to respond to my email npw unless you want to, because it was basically asking about the move. Glad to hear that the uhaul was a big help, and that you are getting settled!

Anonymous said...

Yeah...congrats on a successful move. My sister lived in Burbank for about 4 years before they moved to San Diego. I hope you enjoy it.:)

Single Working Mommy said...

I'm glad the move went fairly smoothly. And you found your cat.

I was going to get rid of my home phone line, but then they reduced the cost so much that I just kept it. It's helpful to have a phone that has mute for conference calls when I work from home. But if you don't need it, I say hellz yeah get rid of it.

Anonymous said...

Hahah you went all 818 on me! Congrats on the smooth move, and joining the ranks of DSL/Cell phone only folk (yeah, the phone company hated me for that). I think its funny you also subscribe to the New Yorker AND Entertainment Weekly. Gotta have East and West coast represented! Gotta have intellectual stimilus and the social gooberfest too...hehehe.

Shiona said...

Glad to hear your move went well. Wow you got quite a lot done. I would've just crashe out on the floor. I'm glad you found your cat as well. I also got a UHAUL to help my sis get her stuff out of storage. Although driving it from Vegas to Lancaster and getting stopped at the agriculture checkpoint was embarrassing, it was very smooth.

Me. Here. Right now. said...

I still have 48 hours to go in my countdown. Painted three rooms and have everything packed except the stuff I need until the last minutes. Briefed the kids by phone today about their fun, fun night when they get home - loading the first run for the truck.

Good times! Glad you made it through and glad you are already settling in.

Jeff and Charli Lee said...

Moving is a double-edged sword. It's always fun to set up camp in a new place, but it's a pain in the ass to get there. Glad you're all settled in. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you're all moved and somewhat settled!!!

(seriously hoping you're okay from the earthquake . . . .)

OHmommy said...

The cat's 19th move. Wow.

Glad to hear that the move was smooth.