Ready, Set, MOVE!

So, we learned on the morning of Tuesday, January 24 that we would be flying out on Wednesday, February 1. Not only did we receive a mere week's notice of the relocation date, we also had only one hour before movers arrived to assess what needed to go or be stored. The moving manager then announced that a moving team would be arriving the next morning to start packing up "stuff we weren't using, that we wouldn't need for the week."

Of course, when the movers arrived 20 minutes early the next morning, they had had no such instructions and wanted to pack as much as humanly possible. This they essentially did. We spent the next couple of days surrounded by white boxes, until Saturday morning when a completely different moving team showed up to finish the packing and move everything out. Not surprisingly, switching moving crews mid-move lead to a few problems - the movers label each box with their own initials and the contents of the box, along with where it was packed (master bedroom, etc) and where it's headed (Peru, storage). Sounds great for accountability, right? Well, the problems begin when they mislabel what's inside a box, and when the crew manager subs in someone else's intials when entering all this handwritten stuff into the computerized inventory "because Joe hasn't been registered in the system yet." So much for accountability. I had them open one of the boxes that was already in the truck, because it appeared that something was going to storage that should be coming to Peru. The box was mislabelled. Just for fun, we went to a used book store on Granville Saturday morning while the crew were finishing up and played "How Many Books Can You Buy in 10 Minutes?" The answer is somewhere around 40, and they're apparently joining us with the air shipment.

We spent the next four days living in a mostly empty apartment, not even surrounded by white boxes. On Monday, a cleaning team and a carpet washer came in and spiffed the place up so that the property manager wouldn't be too shocked when called in to inspect the apartment on extremely short notice.

Voiceless in Vancouver

I noticed I was getting sick Friday afternoon. Saturday I generally felt a bit better, but very run down. Sunday morning I felt terrible, but I rallied and we hosted a farewell party that afternoon. Sunday night I felt as bad as I had when I woke up, but Monday and Tuesday basically finished me off. Tuesday my throat was extremely sore, a condition which continued through Wednesday and Thursday, and I had no voice at all. I got a bit of packing done, with the tireless assistance of my friend Sandra (to whom I am much indebted), but I wasn't up to packing us out. In the end, Aaron came home from an extremely busy work day and sent the kids and I with Ava to the airport to check into the Airport Fairmont while he finished packing and moving us out.

When we got to the Fairmont, Joffre was asleep. Alec and I went to check in while Ava helped the bellboy get the first installment of our many, many bags from the car. The trouble with relocating to Peru, in terms of packing out, has been that we are hesitant to part with the toys, books, comforters, and innumerable other items that provide a reassuring environment for the kids. So, we were travelling with the maximum allowable luggage in First Class, which was really ridiculous. Joffre woke up as Ava brought him into the building, and when we were reunited in our hotel room, Joffre checked out his new digs and laid out a game plan: "First, I have bath in my new tub. Then, pyjamas. Then some food and a movie. I happy here! I like my new house!" Poor kid, having to be informed that a five star hotel was not in fact his new abode.

Since I was speechless, Ava ordered room service for dinner. Joffre got scrambled eggs and hash browns off the children's menu, and was very excited about getting breakfast at night. Aaron arrived, Ava went home, and we got both kids to sleep. Actually, I got Joffre to sleep just as Aaron was arriving, and then he dealt with a fretful Alec while I shivered feverishly in bed, trying not to swallow, and wondered if the flight crew would deny me entry into the plane, since I was so sick.