Moving day continued

Eegads what a long day. It's 8:03pm, I have been up since 5am, and have half the kitchen put away and the bed made. I had a sourdough bacon cheeseburger plain and dry at about 2:30 with my brother Tom, and that is pretty much it today, beyond water. I know I smell, and I can't find my cats.

Pros of the day:

- Let's be honest here - I didn't start packing until I got up this morning. So I managed to pack 99% of the whole apartment by 10am (about 4 1/2 hours).

- The kittens don't mind driving in the car, they really like their carrier. I moved them over first and that was the least pain of all (for me, I should say).

- After having had my cable turned off a day earlier, I was leary of my scheduled 12-2pm appointment window, but he showed up at 12:30.

- I had a tiny window between cable guy and U-Haul to eat solid food.

- U-Haul pickup was quick and the movers were on time (more or less. 3:20, but they are not from the west side so they got lost).

- I didn't have to drive the truck.

- They moved me out of my apartment in an hour and a half and into the new one in less than an hour.

- It's 92 outside but it doesn't feel like it at all in here, it feels nice.

Cons:

- The cable guy was on time and all that, but the dang CSR that set my appointments and mishandled my disconnect day ALSO didn't have me set up for the transfer properly, causing the cable guy to have to call and have them fix it and so he took an hour and a half. He was sad. I was pissed that I sent an email to the CSR's supervisor saying how impressed I was with him on Wednesday when I scheduled the whole thing.

- I broke 2 wine glasses and 2 water glasses. Big deal.

- Seriously, I can't find my kittens. I am hoping they are hiding up in the bed. Because they are NO WHERE else.

- I officially hate the closest supermarket to me, the Safeway in Murrayhill. They don't have anything that I buy.

- I can't think really of any other con besides the fact that I have a lot of unpacking to do.

The best thing to happen to me all day? So the U-Haul cost $29.95 for the day, plus .69 per mile. My move would be roughly 8 miles total - from the U-Haul to my old apartment to my new one to the U-Haul place. The clerk told me when I picked it up that I had to calculate my mileage (the truck gets 8 miles to the gallon) and ask the gas station to put in that many gallons. Okay a) here's me at the gas station - Hi Can I have ONE GALLON of regular? and b) there is no way I am driving that truck even the block from the gas station to the U-Haul place. Then he says, if you don't put gas in it, we will charge you a $30 re-fueling charge plus $5.50 a gallon we need to replace. Oh yeah also, don't break the seal on the blankets in the truck or you'll be charged $7 to rent them.

I neglected to tell the movers about the blankets, so really it was my fault that they broke the seal. And when they said they would just bring the truck back and didn't need me to come with them, I thought, well, maybe, but then decided that I should go and get the key from them (assuming the U-Haul was closed at 4pm like it said on the website). So I followed them back to the U-Haul and sure enough they were still open at 6pm. The movers leave, and one of the U-Haul guys starts checking me in. I told him right away I did not re-fuel and was ready to take on that charge, and then I told him the seal was broken on the blankets and I was prepared to pay for that too. He told me he wouldn't charge me for the blankets because he thought that the re-fuel fee was ridiculous, so I thanked him, and took my little slip back into the office area. The counter guy and me were the only people in the joint, so when he put in the information on the slip from the guy outside, he said, do you want it on the same card you reserved it with? And I'm thinking, yeah, it will be about $65, I will. I said yes, and he said, that'll be $26.95, then. I looked at him, like, really? And he goes, were you expecting more? And I said, very quickly and short-like - No. Then he smiled and said, you're mileage may have been off when you checked it out. I go, oh, yeah, I hear that happens... So somehow I managed to SAVE $3 on the whole U-Haul experience. I am pretty flipping happy about that, let me tell you.

Wow this turned out long! I can only IMAGINE how I smell NOW. I'm off to hose off for everyone's sake, or at least the kitties...