zoom, june.

well, it's almost over, June that is. we did our best RB  and I to get this move going in the right direction. I can make an itemized list of all the things I would have done differently for the both of us, and all the things RB was in charge of that he learned a lesson for next time- you know when we move again in 5 years.

the month started out great with a hot trip to Maine, retirement parties, fathers day. birthday parties, and pretty much every weekend being consumed by either family time, OR moving. we closed on the 12th, and that's when the madness set it. I began packing as soon as i could, I can say with almost 100% certainty we have WAY to much crap. -anyone interested in buying some things? I've got plenty to sell- RB packed 3 boxes. -what a big help- my favorite packing moment with him was when he said to me one night, "why are you packing now, we have plenty of time?" it was June 15th, we moved THURSDAY.

I booked the movers, got boxes, packed, and slowly we moved stuff we could by ourselves after closing. RB sat in our new apt waiting for cable/phone/Internet and a locksmith. poor guy sat on a folding chair for 6 hours. I also hired a cleaning lady to help with the mess over at the new place. I knew that the older woman who had lived there didn't live there for three years prior to selling it, and no way she cleaned the way i needed it cleaned. I didn't expect the cleaning person to do it all alone, i was going to clean along side them. Well, moving day came, and the cleaning service called AFTER i confirmed payment, that they service our area, and that they are prepared to clean an empty apartment, to cancel and tell me I was out of their service area. just another added bonus to moving day.

our next bonus came when the movers arrived 30 minutes early and looked around in awe of how much crap we have. of course the actual move was well over the estimated priced surprise, surprise, but at least I didn't have to figure out how to put a hole in the wall of my own hallway, they did it for me.

My mom and I arrive at our new address, to clean up a little, and to our surprise, the place was FILTHY. And when I say FILTHY I mean FILTHY. Turns out in February the boiler broke and there was "blow back" of soot into our apartment and the one upstairs. It happened twice. Now, soot is worse than dirt because it's oily, greasy and sticks to everything, the floors, the walls, inside every crevice of every crack and nook and cranny you can imagine. we did the best we could in 6 hours time, and i'm sure you can't really even tell how dirty everything is because EVERYTHING is dirty. Don't walk around barefoot in here, you'll pick up the soot on your socks or feet.

The AC in our bedroom is as old as I am and barely cools anything down, while the one in the living works well but is so loud I am choosing to sweat than to be comfortable in the NYC humidity. My kitchen is smaller than I remember, and the slope in the floor is worse than I remember. The slope can be equated to the episode of "How I Met Your Mother" when Lily and Marshall move to DOWISETREPLA, yup, its that bad.

This morning RB asked for a frying pan, and I obliged of course, i'll dig one out of a box for you--- because we aren't unpacking due to the fact that we are renovating in about 4 weeks. renovations entail a total gutting of the place, so why unpack just to pack again--- when I went to look for a sponge to wash said pan, I found the sink leaking in the kitchen, ain't I lucky. I couldn't help but to think and feel that the hits just keep on coming. I'm not the type of person who thinks or says things like "Fuck My Life" or Dark clouds only follow me, bad things happen to me, or a giant negative nancy BUT it's hard to stay positive and know that in 10 weeks time all the little annoyances of this new home will dissipate with renovations. But we do have to live here for the time being, which brings me to our last bonus.

we went to contract in October of 2012, we were told it won't take longer than 6 months for us to close,  which made our time lime perfect for closing, renovations and moving in after all the renovations were done. we all know what happened there- we closed 8 months after going to contract and now have to live in it while the renovations are going on, plus we have to wait for the renovations to begin, and they are going to continue while we are away in August. I'm hoping that when we return from our Hawaiian getaway, all i'll need to do is unpack.

OH! I almost forgot! our last apartment refuses to give us back our security deposit, made us pay $1000 move OUT fee, plus $50 because we were moving out prior to 12-noon. the realtor trying to rent our space was an enormous bitch who was nasty and very difficult to work with and continues to harass us because we took our washer/dryer that we bought ourselves 4 years ago and the next tenant doesn't want to pay us the amount we are asking for it. the washer/dryer thing really gets me going because when she was showing our space I said numerous times it's for sale, we will just leave it for $600, now that we have had to move the washer/dryer out with us, she tells us that its an added expense for the new renter and they will buy it for $500 because they have to come and get it. this is one time I will proudly cut my nose off to spite my face. I'd rather sell it to someone I know for less than $600, than sell it for one penny less than the asking price, because that apartment, the landlord, the realtor and the bullshit that went on there is too much for me to sell it for less.

this is one of the first summers i'm angry that i have to work summer school, i haven't been to the beach, and have to live where i live, the way I live. on a better note, our favorite restaurants deliver to us now, loading and unloading the car is easier, we are in more of a neighborhood, where kids are outside playing, and hopefully our renovations will go a little better than our actual purchase and moving in.

I guess it could all always be worse. let the renovations begin, pray for us...