I don’t move often, but when I do, I apparently try to make it count. I’ve moved countries, moved from an apartment at one end of the complex to one at the other end without packing anything, and most recently filled my Prius full of my stuff and drove 16 hours from Portland to LA. After almost a month, I’m starting to feel a little more settled, but not after experiencing some tribulations. Overall the process has made me realize the following about moving and myself.
1. No matter how much time you spend methodically packing up your stuff so it’s highly organized, you will have way more things than you originally anticipated and end up just throwing it into boxes haphazardly without labels.
2. You will spend an inordinate amount of time going back and forth between stores buying things you either purposely didn’t bring, or forgot to bring.
Especially Ikea. Where it’s entirely plausible that you have a similar experience:
a) Find a bed frame that you like on the display floor, find the boxes for that frame in the merchant area, buy it and other various items and head home feeling victorious at your short and sweet Ikea trip.
b) Find you bought the wrong size of bed frame.
c) Take it back and return it for the right size.
d) Discover that slats do not come with the frame and you needed to buy them separately.
e) Back to Ikea for the slats.
f) Get home, only to realize you are also missing the middle support beam.
g) Back to Ikea again.
h) Middle support beam (and ice cream cone for new roommate’s morale) acquired.
i) Cede what’s left of your dignity and accept defeat.
j) Repeatedly ask Ikea staff if there are any other missing elements you need to buy separately. Don’t believe them when they assure you that you now have everything you need.
k) Ask if they also sell dignity.
l) Set Ikea on fire and go home (just kidding, but I do refuse to go back to Ikea until AT LEAST after New Years).
3. You plan to finally hit up the beach on your day off, weeks after you’ve unpacked most of your things, to find that all of your shorts are probably at your parents house. Except for the pair that don’t fit you. Way to go Em, way to go. Seriously though, super kudos to Colleen for taking my unprepared butt to the beach and imparting her LA Transplant wisdom to me.
4. Decide to make cookies, but have to bake them on an upside down pot roast pan because you don’t know where the baking sheets are. Good news is they ended up being pretty tasty.
5. I am probably the only person who has a shorter commute after moving to LA. Which is probably why I find that…
6. Driving in LA isn’t really that bad. Finding street parking on the other hand, can be a whole different story.
7. If parking is really bad, you can double park in front of your place, pick up your roommate’s dog, then park down the block and have company while trekking home.
8. Not buying something at the store because you are adamant that you already have it, only to get home and realize that you gave it to your friend before the move. Repeat this for approximately 9 times until you add it to the list of ‘THINGS YOU REALLY NEED TO BUY’.
9. After making the above list of remaining household goods you need to function, you’ll be surprised how long you can drag out actually buying those items. Simply because you don’t want to leave the house after you’ve gotten home. Your inner MacGyver comes to life and you can put off that Home Goods / TJ Maxx run for weeks.
10. There is little sweeter than coming home to a place you love, from a job you love, in a life you’ve worked hard to get to. Especially when you get to do so from your porch, with a glass of wine. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t progress as fast as you’d like them to, just don’t give up and keep doing what’s best for you – things will fall into place eventually.
♡Em
