Hey Everybody!
Sorry I’ve been silent for the past week and a half-ish. I
was doing so well with the consecutive posting, but I had training for work
this past week and things got really busy. Never fear, I’ve got a new post for
you guys detailing the move-in and the days that followed.
As I said in the last post, if you can remember back that
far J,
September 8th finally arrived. Mom and I loaded up the hotel cart
with all of our things, laughing the whole time because we knew we looked SO
ridiculous. Standing on the curb with our trolley, we waited for our Uber
driver to arrive. His eyes literally BUGGED OUT when he saw how much crap we
had! And the poor guy wouldn’t let us help him load the stuff up! Once we got
it all in, we headed off for my apartment.
After I signed my lease the week before, the real estate
office gave me a key to my building, but told me I’d have to get in touch with
the building superintendent in order to get the key to my actual apartment. I
called him that afternoon, but only reached his voicemail where I left a
message. The next day he called me back and we had a brief chat. My apartment
had been undergoing renovations and he informed me that installing the kitchen
countertop was the only thing left. He followed that up by saying it wouldn’t
be finished until September 9th because of the holiday weekend. (If you
remember, move-in on September 8th…hmmm) I said I didn’t care if it
wasn’t there when I moved in and he said okay. We decided I would let him know
an hour before Mom and I planned to arrive at my building so he could meet us
there on move-in day.
Now over the course of that weekend, after our initial
conversation, I tried to reach him several times with no luck. When I was
ordering my bed at Macy’s, they asked if I knew whether my building allowed
weekend deliveries….because apparently that’s a thing…buildings don’t want
their tenants being disturbed by furniture being moved on the weekends so they
sometimes restrict it. I tried to reach the super to ask about this, but received
no response…not even the next day…or the next. Needless to say, I was extremely
frustrated.
So, when Tuesday morning rolled around, an hour and a half
before we’d decided we would arrive at my building, I gave the super a call.
Not surprisingly, I reached his voicemail where I left a message. After an hour
went by without hearing a confirmation from him that he would be there to meet
us, we called him from my mom’s phone and what do you know, he answered! He
said he didn’t get my message and he couldn’t be there to let us in until 1:00
PM…it was currently 10:00 AM. Annoyed.
Now let’s get to the good stuff. Our Uber driver dumped us
outside of my building with our wares around 12:45 that afternoon. My building
has this small courtyard so we were able to chill in there while we waited for
the super, rather than be right out on the sidewalk for all the world to see.
When 1:00 rolled around, there was no sign of the super. We
gave him a few more minutes, and he finally showed up. They had to change the
lock on my door, but then I’d be good to go. After meeting my super in person,
he was very nice and I was a little less annoyed by the fact I couldn’t reach
him all weekend. The super had some guys that work for him there that day, and
they offered to help us carry my stuff up.
Have I mentioned that I’m on the fourth floor? But really
it’s like the 5th floor because there are no apartments on the
ground level, so the second floor is technically considered the 1st
floor. This means, four flights of stairs to get up to my place. Steep stairs,
might I add. (I just keep reminding myself that I’ll have a great butt thanks
to all these stairs…it’s what gets me through!)
We were thankful for the help but felt SO BAD for the guys.
They chose to carry up the two overweight suitcases. And we know it was a
struggle for them! Mom and I made about two trips up and down ourselves,
carrying up the remainder of my stuff.
Finally, after almost TWO weeks of living in New York, I was
in my very own place!!!! The place I would be calling home for the next year,
at least. It was so exciting!
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| Just Moved In! |
But Mom was on a mission to get me the rest of the things I
needed. Almost immediately after getting all of my stuff up, she was ready to
set off! So, to K-Mart we went. We did some shopping there, then grabbed an
Uber back to my place because there was no way we were going to be able to
maneuver the rush hour subway with all of our stuff.
Once that load was done, and our stair climbing count was up
to…ummm 4, Mom looked at me and said, “I think we should just go ahead and go
to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and get the last few things…” I sighed heavily,
because the day had just been seriously exhausting, but I agreed and off we
went to get MORE things!
There is one big window in my apartment and there were no
blinds, so it was just wide open. I wasn’t too bothered, but Mom was NOT a fan.
She made me buy some paper shades to put up in the window. I was talking to my
dad later that night and he laughed, saying my mom was a huge fan of paper
shades and it didn’t surprise him at all. Whatever. I had to balance on the
window sill to try and tape them up so that we could have the privacy my mom
desired. (Sidenote: the paper shades are still up…but you can’t really tell
because there are curtains covering them…hahaha)
That night, Mom and I slept on air mattresses. It’s a great
memory and I’ll always remember sleeping on a blow-up mattress in my very first
apartment with my mom!
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The next morning, I got a call from IKEA notifying me that
my furniture delivery window was set between 5:00 and 9:00 PM. Of course. I had
requested some time before noon, if possible. Something I learned on this move
was NEVER to expect things to go the way I wanted them to. Because they just
wouldn’t!
So, we kind of took our time that morning getting ready and
we ran a few more errands, like going to Pier One and getting my new dishes and
some fabulous curtains! Everything was on-sale, which was a real treat. We
followed that up with ANOTHER trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond…like, seriously, I
am so over this place. As I write this, I’m already thinking about the fact I
need to go tomorrow to get a couple more things…ugh!!!!!
Once we got back to the apartment, we settled in to wait for
the IKEA delivery. In order to make sure we were ready for a night spent
assembling furniture, Mom and I ordered Patsy’s for dinner, having them deliver
a pizza, some pasta, and a salad. We sat on the floor, with our dinner spread
out in front of us, and ate it on paper plates. Another great memory.
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| Yummmm!! |
While waiting on the delivery, I washed all of my new dishes
and everything…in the bathtub. My kitchen countertop didn’t end up getting
installed on the 9th like I’d originally thought. Instead, it was
the next day. I wanted to get all of my dishes put away…so I settled for the
bathtub. You just have to make do sometimes!
I don’t think I mentioned the laundry. So, my apartment
doesn’t have a washer and dryer in the unit, nor does it have a washer and
dryer in the entire building. So, I’m going to have to drop my laundry off at places
to have it washed, or go to a laundromat, whatever is most convenient. The day
before I dropped off all of my new towels, sheets and two weeks worth of dirty
clothes to have them washed at a little place down the street. Mom went and picked
those up for me before the IKEA delivery. I will say, the whole drop your
laundry off and have someone else wash and fold it for you is kind of nice. I
picked up a load yesterday and it was just so easy!
So FINALLY at about 8:00 PM, the IKEA delivery showed up!
There was only one guy delivering several HEAVY boxes. Mom and I couldn’t
believe it. He also couldn’t get the whole box with the couch pieces in it up
the stairs, and we had to convince him to take them out of the box in order to
get it up the stairs.
Once everything was inside, we got started. First, came the
loveseat, because it was the easiest thing to put together (it had the fewest
pieces). While Mom ironed the loveseat cover, I began work on the 8-drawer
dresser I’d purchased. I don’t even know how many pieces there were but just
know that there were a LOT of parts. Slowly but surely, we built that dresser
and by the next morning, it was complete!
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| Not too shabby! |
The next day, sadly, it was time for Mom to go home. I’m so
SO grateful for the time we spent getting things for my apartment and getting
it all put together. My mom and dad have been so supportive through this entire
process, even though I know it was hard for them to watch their little girl
move across the country. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their help.
Love you, both!!
Mom and I managed to say goodbye with no tears this time! As
she was leaving, the workers came to install my new kitchen countertop and
sink. They also hooked up my stove, which I hadn’t even realized wasn’t hooked up.
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| My Kitchen |
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| My Bathroom (It's bigger than it looks in the picture, I promise!) |
That Saturday my bed was delivered. Of course, that didn’t
go as planned either. The delivery guys couldn’t get the box spring up because
the ceiling on the first floor is too low. So, I was left with a bed frame in a
box and a mattress resting on the floor. The next day, I went to Macy’s to
order a split box spring and of course, that delivery wasn’t going to be able
to happen for almost two weeks!
On Monday, September 14th, I started my first day
at work. The first day of my career, as my dad put it. I spent the first week
going through orientation and then a few days of training. The next week, I
went back to Texas for more training. That’s where my firm’s training facility
is located. It was like being on vacation, except I was working every day.
Of course, my room had an amazing view of the countryside
and it made me miss Texas even more than I already did. Overall, the transition
has been going well. If I’m being honest, I’ve definitely been more homesick
than I thought I would be. I think that’s only natural though, as I continue
settling in.
I’ve already made some great friends at work and I can’t
wait to see what’s to come!
I’m hoping to try and post as much as I can, especially when
something exciting happens.
Please keep me in your prayers as I continue getting used to
life in New York City!!
XOXO,
Alex
P.S. This past Saturday my split box spring was delivered
and I finally have a whole bed to sleep on! And oh, is it heavenly!!!
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