Friday, May 19, 2006

We're all fine here...just fine...really... fine

Did you ever feel like things were so out of control that there was nothing left to do but go somehwhere and scream? Or curl up in bed and sleep? The activities surrounding this move have not been going well. Nothing ridiculous has happened I guess, but no aspect has gone without a hitch, at least not yet. Here are some highlights...

Our flight out: I was flying out to Connecticut to stay with my in-laws with Sam on Tuesday afternoon. I had two seats for us so that he wouldn't have to sit on my lap the whole 3 hours. I was told I would have assistance transporting the car seat to the gate from check-in. When I called the day before to arrange for this assistance I was told that "they don't do that." Skip to the end of that argumentative conversation. I was told that if we arrived early enough we could potentially get a pass that would allow Hubby to come with us to the gate to help with the stuff. We arrive super early only to find out that the parking lot is full and we would have to park in the "Remote Parking." By Remote they mean so far away you shouldn't have bothered to drive. We would have had to take the shuttle after backtracking and by the time we got there the whole get there early thing would have been moot. Fine. I'll work it out and get to the gate on my own. I'll rent one of the little cart things. Hubby comes in to at least help check the bags before pulling away from the curb. I am off to security check. Hmm...no carts. Ok. I'll drag the car seat while pushing Sam in the stroller while carrying the backpack. And that is what I did, all the way to the gate, where we had arrived 2 hours early (remember the whole "get there early" thing? Well, we did) leaving me to entertain Sam at the gate before the flight had even boarded. I speak to the check in lady and am told there is no early boarding so that I can install the carseat. Again, not what I had been told before purchasing the tickets. Fine. Can I get help transporting the car seat onto the plane? No. Fine. How about holding the baby while I install the car seat? No. Fine. Has anyone person helped me at all? No. Ok, after an intense battle as I buckle in the seat while holding Sam on the other seat with my knee we're installed. Sam is done screaming. Surrounding passengers are done moaning and then, "I'm really sorry to do this to you, but I need you to change seats. You see, we can't have a carseat installed in the rows before or after the exit row, so I need you to switch with the people behind you and reinstall your seat." F.I.N.E.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago: Hubby was dealing with the movers and then driving to Philly with our 2 cats before driving on to CT to join us at his Dad's. (That's right, I stayed with my Father-in-law, just us, for 3 days. Awkward? Um, yeah, I'd say so.) While I don't know all the details I do know know of a few little tidbits, the best of which is as follows. Hubby packed the keys to our storage unit in one of the boxes. This is the storage unit we rented so that we could start packing our stuff 2 months ago and get it out of our apartment. It was totally full. The keys were packed and loaded onto the truck. He doesn't realize this until it is time to take the movers over to the storage place. That's fine. Hubby goes to Home Depot and is told he needs a hack saw to cut through the lock. Fine. Comes back with hack saw which does absolutely nothing. Fine. On to Ace hardware where, after being given a hard time because his license doesn't have his current address, he rents huge cutters, which do the trick and then need to be returned. He doesn't get out of the city until 4:30 that afternoon with cats yelling and puking in the car and who need to be snuck into a Best Western in Ohio that night.

3 days later, in CT: Today we find out that our apartment manager in Chicago wouldn't hand over the keys to the subletter we found at THEIR REQUEST because we hadn't signed some form, even though we had already been told that we had done everything they needed us to do. So now we are faxing and signing and causing grief for this poor subletter who isn't being given the keys to our place. This process gets delayed because in its midst we also happen to put a little call in to our moving company to find out if they have a better sense of when our stuff will be arriving in Philly. Well, you see, it didn't get onto the truck that was supposed to take it yesterday because they misjudged how much stuff someone else had and ours wouldn't fit. It's in their warehouse still. She'll check and see when it can be reloaded onto a truck and taken over. The answer: Monday. Our stuff has been in storage since Wednesday and will get out and BEGIN the trip Monday. It will arrive...SATURDAY, as in a week from TOMORROW. Hubby's Bar review class begins this Monday, that's the whole reason we did the move so soon after his graduation. So now we get to choose between staying here for another week while he misses a week of his classes and our cats sit in an empty apartment, or we can all go and live in the empty apartment together for the week. Oh yeah, and Sam has a fever again. Please excuse me as I try to find a helmet strong enough to hold my head together.

11 Comments:

Blogger Mall Worker said...

Holy crap! I got stressed out just reading that! I really hope things settle down for you and that Sam gets better soon. Hang in there!

6:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh dear, I hope things get better quickly! Hopefully everything gets on track and Sam doesn't develop any sort of sickness. I will send good thoughts your way!

6:20 PM  
Blogger Brooke said...

I feel so sorry for you! Is a hotel for a week out of the question? Maybe the moving company can pay some or all of it since they were the ones lacking judgement.

I'm glad you are ..fine, though.

7:39 PM  
Blogger beth said...

Oh wait. I forgot one really excellent detail: I got my period on the plane when alone with Sam. Picture it. Airplane bathroom, 1 year old, menstruating mommy.

8:20 PM  
Blogger Mama D said...

You sounded pretty patient though all of that. I think some heads would be rolling on that airplane...

I really hope that things go smoothly from this point on.

Sheesh, I thought getting my period at my inlaws was bad. You win!

11:57 PM  
Blogger kate said...

oh MY. you poor thing. what the hell airline was that where everyone was being so incredibly UNhelpful??? i'd say you should give them an earful, but will they even hear you? they've got their heads so far up their hineys.

i have had bad moving experiences, too, but man, i didn't have a baby at the time. chin up!!! sending good juju!

k

9:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, Beth. What a nightmare. I'd stay something about how the day will come when you will laugh about it, but my mom is still mad about a moving experience our family had 29 years ago.

Moving is one of life's big stressors. I hope it all comes together soon.

4:57 AM  
Blogger owlhaven said...

Oh, my, what a story. Here from Lifenut.

Mary, mom to many

4:43 PM  
Blogger Nicole said...

Good luck finding that helmet..
What a mess!! I am so sorry your plane ordeal was such...dont' you love the different answers you get from different personnel? We had a similar round-a-bout collection of conversations on a trip to Canada a few years back...we were on a layover and sent to so many different 'help' desks it wasn't even funny. I wish you luck in the weeks ahead as you unpack...

5:04 PM  
Blogger Jenn said...

I haven't read this whole post, although I was giggling over your title. Another tribute to entertainment. Han Solo couldn't have said it better cause We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?

3:04 AM  
Blogger beth said...

You know, I actually hadn't made that Han connection. At l east not on purpose. Perhaps it was subconscious...he's infiltrated my mind.

10:53 PM  

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