I have no internet at home yet. Apparently I'm an internet addict, and I NEED MY DAILY FIX!
Stanford will be providing DSL, but I don't know how long that will take. I asked a neighbor for his wireless network key today, but he didn't know it, as a friend set it up for him. I will have to keep polling other neighbors for a key. The DSL visit isn't even scheduled yet. Sigh.
I keep going in to work, even though I haven't started yet, because I've had various things to do online. Plus, the weather is great and it's a good excuse for a short bike ride.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
made it to california
Thanks to my friend Gericke, we all (myself and the cats) got here yesterday without mishap or undue freak outs. Gericke petted Shindy in her carrier the entire trip from Fort Collins to the Denver airport, and Shindy only yowled when Gericke stopped petting her. Delilah was a little lamb, of course. The hardest part was getting them in the carriers in the first place (my job) and getting them out to go through security (Delilah for me, Shindy for Gericke).
My apartment still seems nice. The kitchen turned out very well (from the renovations). (I think I need more parenthetical comments.) It's not exactly a great place to spend a lot of time, given there is no furniture to sit on. I supposed I could read in the bathroom ...
There's also no internet access yet, which is perhaps even more significant to me. That will change soon ... but not soon enough for me. My car is already here; my furniture will be delivered Monday morning. I've found my way to CostCo, IKEA, Whole Foods, and a cool local home depot sort of store.
It hasn't yet sunk in that I'm really going to be living here in California now. It will probably be more real when I have my furniture and when I can ride my bike around instead of driving.
I already signed the closing paperwork for my Fort Collins house, but the actual closing is Wed Mar 19. This is good, as my bank account is low: too many moving expenses, etc. that aren't going to be reimbursed for a bit.
Thus goes the move.
My apartment still seems nice. The kitchen turned out very well (from the renovations). (I think I need more parenthetical comments.) It's not exactly a great place to spend a lot of time, given there is no furniture to sit on. I supposed I could read in the bathroom ...
There's also no internet access yet, which is perhaps even more significant to me. That will change soon ... but not soon enough for me. My car is already here; my furniture will be delivered Monday morning. I've found my way to CostCo, IKEA, Whole Foods, and a cool local home depot sort of store.
It hasn't yet sunk in that I'm really going to be living here in California now. It will probably be more real when I have my furniture and when I can ride my bike around instead of driving.
I already signed the closing paperwork for my Fort Collins house, but the actual closing is Wed Mar 19. This is good, as my bank account is low: too many moving expenses, etc. that aren't going to be reimbursed for a bit.
Thus goes the move.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
blown away
My board gaming friends here had a good-bye "do" for me on Sunday. I figured we'd do the usual: play games, chat, eat, enjoy. And of course we did all those things.
But my friend Lenny had a surprise in store for me. He and Matt are both millwrights. Lenny took it upon himself to create me a gorgeous handmade chessboard. It's about 2 x 2 feet. The squares are maple and walnut, and it has a wonderful bloodwood border. It's also inscribed. Many said that they would make it into a table. Or I could hang it on the wall. It's simply unbelievably beautiful. Lenny and Matt work together in their day jobs. Gericke (Matt's wife, also a friend, and my cat transport person) informed me that Lenny made it and Matt supervised and performed quality control.
There's a great story and photos posted on boardgamegeek.
But my friend Lenny had a surprise in store for me. He and Matt are both millwrights. Lenny took it upon himself to create me a gorgeous handmade chessboard. It's about 2 x 2 feet. The squares are maple and walnut, and it has a wonderful bloodwood border. It's also inscribed. Many said that they would make it into a table. Or I could hang it on the wall. It's simply unbelievably beautiful. Lenny and Matt work together in their day jobs. Gericke (Matt's wife, also a friend, and my cat transport person) informed me that Lenny made it and Matt supervised and performed quality control.
There's a great story and photos posted on boardgamegeek.
possessions on the move
I have been renting an apartment in California since mid-February. Now it has a car to keep it company! My friend Bob took delivery of my car this morning, and it is now in its new home: space #3 in the carport.
My furniture and most of my belongings were loaded on a truck today. They'll arrive at my apartment early next week. The movers were great - they wrapped all my furniture very carefully. Husband and wife team -- that's one way to have a relationship when you're on the road most of the time. They've been working for Allied for about three months. They worked for United for about four years, and said "United sucks." I gather United has not been treating its drivers well.
Everyone is asking me: "when are YOU leaving?" Friday. With the cats. Including a cat-toting friend. By plane.
My furniture and most of my belongings were loaded on a truck today. They'll arrive at my apartment early next week. The movers were great - they wrapped all my furniture very carefully. Husband and wife team -- that's one way to have a relationship when you're on the road most of the time. They've been working for Allied for about three months. They worked for United for about four years, and said "United sucks." I gather United has not been treating its drivers well.
Everyone is asking me: "when are YOU leaving?" Friday. With the cats. Including a cat-toting friend. By plane.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
experience counts
Just the car, mind you, not me. I didn't want to drive out for a few reasons. First of all, it's March and the Rockies and the Sierras are between here and San Francisco. Bad weather in the mountains is entirely possible, and I wouldn't enjoy it. Second, and perhaps more important, is that Shindy REALLY doesn't like being in a carrier in the car. She expresses this vocally, and loudly. On a scale of one to ten, her cries are about an eleven. They hurt your ears. 2-3 days of this, plus the in and out of motels/hotels that allow pets in which the litter box needs to be crammed in the room ... not fun. I was thinking of having a cat experienced friend drive out with me and letting Shindy roam free in the car (the friend ensures she doesn't interfere with the driver), but with the weather and hotel rooms ... nah.
You can have the movers move your car, but what they do is load it on the truck, and you pay by the pound by the mile. Not economical.
If you can find a driver, then you can have them drive your car for you. I asked one of the students that works for my department at CSU, and he thought about it, but decided against it. He is an older, non-traditional student. I wasn't comfortable asking random people.
The other way to move a car is with a "car carrier." There are a bunch of options. "Open" means your car is one one of those trucks you see on the highways with about 10 cars on them ... I always worry that a car is going to fall off and hate driving behind them. This is the cheapest. You can also opt for "Closed", but no need for special treatment for my car.
The way it works is there are companies that act as intermediaries between you and the drivers. The companies post the requests on the "national board" and drivers or other companies choose requests that make sense for a route. Price the request too low, and it will sit on the board for a long time. So if you want your vehicle to get picked up within a narrow window, it has to be priced right. When I shipped my car from Ithaca (4 days of driving at the beginning of March), I took the lowest priced quote. The car was picked up a week later than they told me, and the driver was a ditz. This time, I got quotes and used the company that sent a long email explaining how it worked and why you needed to call them to get the quote. When I talked to them on the phone, the guy looked up something and was able to say 'the going rate from where you are to San Francisco is $500. right now. I told him I wanted the car picked up before I left Fort Collins, and he said he thought the request would get snapped up quickly, as Fort Collins is off of I-25, a major north/south highway, and very close to I-80, the main way to get to San Francisco from around here. He talked about how far ahead to post the request "just in case" and posted it about a week after I was talking to him, as agreed. The request was snatched up the first day.
The company that took it gave me a two day window for pickup. When I called for more information, the woman explained that the driver needed to be further along before they could get more specific. When I asked for a pickup "no later than" she was accommodating. Then I got a much smaller pick up window, and the driver arrived here about an hour early. Really nice guy, Polish. I feel VERY comfortable with this driver. What a difference.
I also was smart enough this time to take advantage of the allowed "100 pounds" of stuff in the car. Moving liquids is always dicey, as movers toss your boxes around, often turning them upside down or whatever. So I put a box of liquids in the trunk. Also a box of the jars I like to use for storing grains and such ... they're not worth the effort of packing, but I'd like to keep them. And they'll be fine in a box in my trunk. I also sent out a bunch of cat stuff so it would be there when I arrived. Litter, litterbox (cleaned), cat food, cat toys ... stuff to make it easy to be in the apartment before my stuff arrives. I probably should have sent along a bathroom kit, too: towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, pillow, sheets, etc. I did remember toilet paper and paper towels ... the rest will be in my carryon, or borrowed from a friend who lives out there. He's already loaning me a nice air mattress so I don't have to stay in a hotel, and so I can be there with the cats to ease their transition.
Packing is coming along very nicely. As last time, I am having the movers pack the kitchen. Let them deal with all the breakables.
You can have the movers move your car, but what they do is load it on the truck, and you pay by the pound by the mile. Not economical.
If you can find a driver, then you can have them drive your car for you. I asked one of the students that works for my department at CSU, and he thought about it, but decided against it. He is an older, non-traditional student. I wasn't comfortable asking random people.
The other way to move a car is with a "car carrier." There are a bunch of options. "Open" means your car is one one of those trucks you see on the highways with about 10 cars on them ... I always worry that a car is going to fall off and hate driving behind them. This is the cheapest. You can also opt for "Closed", but no need for special treatment for my car.
The way it works is there are companies that act as intermediaries between you and the drivers. The companies post the requests on the "national board" and drivers or other companies choose requests that make sense for a route. Price the request too low, and it will sit on the board for a long time. So if you want your vehicle to get picked up within a narrow window, it has to be priced right. When I shipped my car from Ithaca (4 days of driving at the beginning of March), I took the lowest priced quote. The car was picked up a week later than they told me, and the driver was a ditz. This time, I got quotes and used the company that sent a long email explaining how it worked and why you needed to call them to get the quote. When I talked to them on the phone, the guy looked up something and was able to say 'the going rate from where you are to San Francisco is $500. right now. I told him I wanted the car picked up before I left Fort Collins, and he said he thought the request would get snapped up quickly, as Fort Collins is off of I-25, a major north/south highway, and very close to I-80, the main way to get to San Francisco from around here. He talked about how far ahead to post the request "just in case" and posted it about a week after I was talking to him, as agreed. The request was snatched up the first day.
The company that took it gave me a two day window for pickup. When I called for more information, the woman explained that the driver needed to be further along before they could get more specific. When I asked for a pickup "no later than" she was accommodating. Then I got a much smaller pick up window, and the driver arrived here about an hour early. Really nice guy, Polish. I feel VERY comfortable with this driver. What a difference.
I also was smart enough this time to take advantage of the allowed "100 pounds" of stuff in the car. Moving liquids is always dicey, as movers toss your boxes around, often turning them upside down or whatever. So I put a box of liquids in the trunk. Also a box of the jars I like to use for storing grains and such ... they're not worth the effort of packing, but I'd like to keep them. And they'll be fine in a box in my trunk. I also sent out a bunch of cat stuff so it would be there when I arrived. Litter, litterbox (cleaned), cat food, cat toys ... stuff to make it easy to be in the apartment before my stuff arrives. I probably should have sent along a bathroom kit, too: towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, pillow, sheets, etc. I did remember toilet paper and paper towels ... the rest will be in my carryon, or borrowed from a friend who lives out there. He's already loaning me a nice air mattress so I don't have to stay in a hotel, and so I can be there with the cats to ease their transition.
Packing is coming along very nicely. As last time, I am having the movers pack the kitchen. Let them deal with all the breakables.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
all systems go
My realtor called just now and let me know the house appraisal was at the value needed for the buyers' loan to go through. So at this point, it is highly unlikely the sale won't go through.
Yay! No more living in the furniture showroom! I already have boxes and packing paper all over the family room.
Found the rest of the documents for taxes -- I had pulled them to show proof of financial solvency when apartment hunting in California. Taxes are done, paid, sent.
Took the cats to the vet today to get their health certificates as needed for plane travel. Delilah was hiding from me under the covers of my bed. Not very effective, as there is always a telling cat-sized lump.
Talked to the movers yesterday and got them to pack the kitchen. Whew!
I've participated in two phone meetings so far for Stanford. If my possessions aren't delivered on Tuesday the 18th, there's an all day retreat for the Stanford group that I should attend. And today I learned they're trying to set up a half day session they'd like me to attend that week. My start date is March 24 ... this is some serious good will in the bank. At some point I will need to unpack and settle into my digs, or I might just take a long weekend to catch my breath.
Yay! No more living in the furniture showroom! I already have boxes and packing paper all over the family room.
Found the rest of the documents for taxes -- I had pulled them to show proof of financial solvency when apartment hunting in California. Taxes are done, paid, sent.
Took the cats to the vet today to get their health certificates as needed for plane travel. Delilah was hiding from me under the covers of my bed. Not very effective, as there is always a telling cat-sized lump.
Talked to the movers yesterday and got them to pack the kitchen. Whew!
I've participated in two phone meetings so far for Stanford. If my possessions aren't delivered on Tuesday the 18th, there's an all day retreat for the Stanford group that I should attend. And today I learned they're trying to set up a half day session they'd like me to attend that week. My start date is March 24 ... this is some serious good will in the bank. At some point I will need to unpack and settle into my digs, or I might just take a long weekend to catch my breath.
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