Like living in a warehouse

So, when I said packing sucked, I was just kidding. What actually sucks is moving.

Torsten and I thought we could do it in three hours. We had a pickup truck borrowed from a friend, Torsten's freight elevator reserved from 3-5, and my freight elevator reserved from 4-6. We had a couch, a mattress, a coffee table, a desk, a piano (an electric one, not an upright), a giant ironing board, an extremely long and unwieldy projector screen, an upright Japanese screen, five large suitcases, and approximately ten boxes.

It took eight hours. Seriously. We started at two and we finished at ten. Torsten's freight elevator gets locked promptly at five, so when we realized how long everything was taking, we ended up having to haul all of Torsten's stuff down the freight elevator into the parking garage at once. Then once it was down there, we made trips to my building (about a fifteen minute drive each way), where we left stuff on the lawn while we went back for more. Yes, a bird shat on the couch (Torsten managed to wipe most of it off). Yes, we did have to convince a neighbour to help us get the couch into the bedroom (there is no room for it in the living room as I already have a couch, an armchair, a desk, a coffee table, a bookshelf, and a big entertainment center in the living room, and we need to leave a wall empty to use Torsten's projector). Yes, we did have to remove the doors from the hall closet to get the couch into the bedroom. Yes, even with the extra closet space for maneuvering, we did scrape paint off the door frame with the couch's feet. And yes, when I said "we" in those last two sentences, I really meant "Torsten and our neighbour."

It was horrible. And now it's over only in the most literal sense of the word. All of the stuff is in my apartment. But it's piled everywhere. I was late to work this morning because it took me about fifteen minutes to find things like the toothbrush and work-appropriate clothing.

So now comes the unpacking/organizing. The goal is to have it done by the end of the weekend. It can't be any worse than the moving, right?