A moving experience
There’s nothing as nice as watching someone else do all the heavy lifting and carry in boxes.
Heather, my new roommate, got here on Thursday. And her stuff got here today, ahead of schedule.
It was nice to see someone else do the work, and I think if I were to move again across country, I would do it that way. Have someone load and unload. (And no grumbling orders, Dad.)
The best part wasn’t the bringing in stuff itself, though. The shopping cart guy struck again.
Heather brought me home from work the other night, and as we approach the apartment, she says, oh, I forgot to tell you, there’s a couch there now.
The shopping cart has become a familiar fixture. Like a quirky nuisance that eventually becomes part of the background. Except for when you can smell it.
The man next door had installed a couch, upside down. Between the cart and the couch, we’d have to manuever around to get into our door.
It was still there the next day, and it had rained, and the bottom of the couch was starting to get ripped.
That night, there was a chair installed on top of it.
We knew the movers were ahead of schedule, that they were supposed to be here today.
And the couch was still there.
Heather, thankfully, has a lot more courage than I did, and politely went and asked him to move the couch. He was very nice, she said, and he had no problem moving it, and in fact was just waiting for a friend to come and help him move it.
When I came back from helping the truck driver get in the gate, the couch was dumped on the lawn.
But then we later saw the shopping cart guy and his friend moving the couch somewhere else.
I think I need to be more charitable to the shopping cart guy. I at first thought he’d just picked up the couch from the rubbish pile where appliances are dumped temporarily, presumably then picked up by some hauler later.
And instead, maybe he was getting rid of that couch. And he was nice.
When I had been on the verge of complaining to the complex. And would have, if the complex office had been open.
That’s fantastic news about Heather joining you! When you get a chance, let us know whether she has found a job, etc. Tell her–well, I know she reads your blog–that she can blog about it if she wants: we have lots of free memory left here.
Anyway, this shopping cart guy is a bit intriguing narratively speaking. He sort of operates as a center that your “story” here can’t quite get rid of. Maybe you need a blog just for him in which you accrue all of your observations, experiences, and whatever else you learn about him. I’m sure lots of people would talk.
Oh, are you off the copy editing job yet? I want an update
Todd,
Actually, Heather wouldn’t come out here unless she got a job. So she got a job at the Bee, same as me, and will start in a little bit. I’ve told her I thought you’d give her room for a blog, but she didn’t sound like she wanted to. But at the same time, she’s excited about being here, and wants to take pictures. Bah. I’m talking for her.
Anyway, about the shopping cart guy — he is a common thread, yes. I’d actually considered doing a separate blog for shopping cart sitings, much like your kid, bellona differentiations.
But I need to make sure I take my digital camera with me, and it’s not very good. In other words, I’ve been dragging my heels.
I actually talked about wanting to get to know him at work, and they thought I was nuts and said, please don’t.
No, I’m not off the copy editing. But I’m moving that way more this week. And then Heather will be sucked into the same mire shortly after me.
Good to hear you have at least one familiar face out in CA with you now! Give Heather my regards. We’re still planning to be in San Diego over Easter weekend. I know that’s gotta be some distance from where you’re at, but maybe we can work something out?
Todd’s been preparing an application for a college in San Diego today. . . probably too conservative for us, but why not try? Besides, my old college writing prof/mentor teaches there now, so it can’t be too bad, can it?
We’ll figure out something. Meet in between or something. And if San Diego is too conservative, why did Todd try for Calvin College?
Todd and Dawn: Thanks for your regards. And thanks for the offer of a blog. But I don’t think anyone would want to read a blog of mine–would probably contain too many ponderings on violin and video games.
How is San Diego too conservative?