House moving tales from the dark side
Everyone keeps asking me what I did for New Years. And then regretting it.
My Holiday was spent moving. (And moving.) And although I’ve always wanted a clone, now that there actually may be a second “me” running around I’m not so sure it’s a great idea. Particularly if that other “me” has extravagant spending habits … In short, I had one of those run of days that makes me stop, take a look around, and make sure the world hasn’t stopped on its axis and started spinning in reverse. Based on my recent experiences, I’ve developed a nice little pocket guide to moving. May you never need to use it.
#1: Ask stupid questions
I found my dream house last week. However, these seemingly odd but relevant-down-the-road questions would have saved me some time:
Will I be able to utilize the property’s mailbox?
Will the ceiling fans I saw when inspecting the apartment remain in the unit, or will you remove them after I sign the lease and not replace them with anything?
Do you plan on cleaning the unit after your current tenants vacate?
Eventually, all the answers to the above would surface as “no.” The last tenants mildly trashed the unit, didn’t clean, and left us with a rather undesirable situation that was conveniently unnoticeable during the evening-- until we had all our stuff moved in and the daylight came. Additionally, the tenants that moved out two days prior shut the utilities off and they were never put back in the landlord’s name. Meaning, come the evening of the 31st, we had no heat and no way to contact any of the utilities until the 2nd.
#2: Remain calm
I lived with my ex-roommate for six months. Near the middle of that he began steadily progressing more and more into Weirdoville, but I’d never had any “major” issues with him. In actuality, I would have considered us friends … until -- while I was moving items into my new house -- I realized he’d gone through my file cabinet the night before and taken several documents including my passport, social security card, birth certificate and a copy of my license. Keep in mind this is a guy that I’ve invited to family Holidays since he has no relatives here. (And he attends them.) I know what you’re thinking, but there’s no one else that had access to the items. And (if this gives you any insight on things) he has enough cameras outside AND inside his house that the intruder alibi just wouldn’t fly.
The only people with that many cameras live in Weirdoville. Which probably borders Illegalville. Which means I now have to find some time to file a police report.
Precocious entrepreneur, workaholic and a rabid perfectionist Crystal Starlight knows a thing or two about getting ahead at a young age. Email her at [email protected]