As I mentioned in my first column which appeared in the inaugural edition of the Lacombe Express, my girlfriend Lisa and I recently moved into our new condo in Lacombe. While we are both very happy with our new place and I’m glad to be finally living in Lacombe, I have to say moving is a pain.
First, there is the packing, which I loathe. In fact, I don’t think anyone really enjoys it. The first time I moved after graduating from university, I had a mere 25% of my stuff packed before mom and dad showed up to help. The second time, 33%. Needless to say, both times my parents were quite miffed that mom had to pack up my entire kitchen while dad disassembled all my furniture and I frantically stuffed things into boxes while my parents berated me for my not packing everything up before they got there.
Thankfully, this time I had at least 55% of my stuff packed before even my girlfriend showed up the week before I moved and once mom and dad joined it took only a few hours to pack up the remainder of my belongings and load them all into the U-Haul.
Then, there is the fantastic unload/organization/moving in stage.
Even though Lisa and I officially became residents of Lacombe last Saturday, at time of writing we are still living amongst a maze of half-unpacked boxes and even some partially constructed furniture. Thankfully, we have been able to dispose of most of our unwanted, empty moving boxes by now.
Unpacking a house is also kind of like constructing a puzzle.
You can’t unpack certain boxes until you unpack others, because the stuff from box A needs to go with the stuff from box B and you can’t unpack box B because it’s underneath boxes C and D.
You can’t unpack boxes C and D until you have enough room in the bedroom, but to do that you first have to make enough room in the bedroom by unpacking, because right now it’s full of boxes, etc., etc.
Even after everything has been unpacked, it is imperative to make sure that everything really is unpacked and you have everything you need.
Certain household items should not been gone without for long and once you find out you need them, it’s usually too late. A lot of the things in the bathroom fall into this category, for example.
But, there is a fun side to moving too.
There is always an element of excitement when moving into a new place.
You get to put whatever you want in it and set it up just the way you like. It’s something like taking a blank canvas and turning it into a beautiful work of art. Ok, so, maybe not quite that inspiring, but I still think that setting up and decorating your own place can be a way to express yourself.
You get your family and friends to help you and it becomes a social event.
A hardworking, inconvenient and often annoying social event but a social event nonetheless. Some of the best visits I have had with my parents have happened during moves. I’m not sure how they feel about that, but it’s as good an excuse to get together as any if you ask me.
One of the good things about this move that is different than any other I have done is that I am moving in with my girlfriend.
While I know there will be some bad with the good in this situation, (no, we haven’t started fighting yet and I don’t know why everyone keeps asking me that) we are both excited for the new adventures this will bring.
All in all, we are both very happy to be living here and are excited to become part of this community.