Honey, I'm Home!

If there's one thing I learned this weekend during the move, it's that I, Martin Lieberman, am quite good with the spatial relations. You see, all was going pretty well Saturday morning. Other than some early-morning mist, the rain mostly held off. The elevator in my building was on the fritz, but somehow it worked until the last load had been brought down, and then it died. The movers got to me a little bit later than expected, but it gave me some extra time to take care of some last-minute packing I didn't do the night before. So it was all good. But when we got to my new place and started to unload the truck, my couch wouldn't fit through the apartment door. The movers tried multiple ways of fitting it through the door, but none worked because the doorway was too thin, the stairway was in the way, and the sprinkler system was inches too low from the ceiling. They were giving up, and the couch was going to have to go down in my storage unit; I would have to buy a new one.

I can be quite stubborn at times (no kidding), and this was one of those times. I was not going to let the couch end up in basement storage. I did not want to have to buy a new one. So I kept looking at it and thinking and finally came up with a solution for how it was going to get inside. I said to the men, "Turn it upside down so the taller part is on the opposite side, lift it over the staircase, then tilt it down and into the door." (Vinny — yes, one of my movers' names was Vinny — called it "planing.") It seemed so simple to me. The men were skeptical and explained the math to me, that the width of the door and the width of the couch wouldn't allow it in, etc. They were also worried that the couch could get scratched or dirty in the process. I said I'd rather have a slightly stained couch in my apartment than a clean one in storage. So for my piece of mind, and to show that they did, in fact, try everything, they said they would try my idea.

And you know what? It worked! In fact, it worked so well and so smoothly that the guys were making jokes that they should hire me. Sure, the couch did get a little stained, but that was on a part of it that's obscured by pillows, and they gave me $100 off the move costs so I could hire a cleaner to deal with it. Awesome! Now, before I make too big of a deal about this, I don't want to make the movers look too bad. They were good guys, and they did try a few times to get the couch in, and this was a company I had used twice before and probably would use again. In truth, I just got lucky. (To put a more sentimental spin on it, the rest of the day I kept telling myself that my plan worked because of Bubby, who was clearly with me in spirit, making sure everything went well.) Regardless, I can't remember the last time I was that happy or that proud of myself.

So now I'm all moved in. Not all unpacked, but what's the rush? After all, I have 30 years to pay off the mortgage, so I'll be here for a while. I've turned in my keys to my old landlord, and I even gave the old apartment a once-over to get rid of all the dust bunnies I had left behind. As it turns out, having two storage areas in the basement was a great idea; I can't believe that all the stuff I've, um, stuffed in there used to be in my apartment. And, get this: a salesperson at Jordan's today suggested an easy way to get the paint stains off the couch — and it worked! Oh, and as if things couldn't get any sweeter, Mitzi and Jason sent me a platter of cookies from Cookies by Design (yum) that will surely keep me stuffed for the next week or more.

Which, I guess, brings me to the end of my moving saga, and means I can now say that I am a Newton resident. I can start orienting myself to my new neighborhood, I can prepare myself for endless commutes on the B line, and I can join the opposition to the $197.5-million school construction project that will surely increase my taxes. It's all good. I know a few of my readers have enjoyed reading about my condo-buying process, and I hate to disappoint, so allow me to make this announcement here and now: tomorrow I begin the selling process on this place and will seek to buy a new condo, just so I can keep having stuff to write about. Just kidding. But if you'd like to see more pictures of my move, just click here. While you do that, I'm going to go unpack some more boxes. Till next post ...