I Could Never be a Nomad

Over the course of the past month and a half, I have moved twice. Considering the fact that I lived in the same house until the day I left for college, and then simply rotated around campus (except for the 9 months when I lived in a house off campus) until I made the great trek west to California, I see myself as a moving novice. That being said, I do feel the need to share the lessons I have learned over the course of the past few weeks.

Now that I am pseudo-settled in my new apartment, I have spent at least 15 minutes reflecting upon the process of schlepping my stuff from one place to another and have come up with a top-eight list (I'm too lazy to come up with ten) of things everyone should now about moving:

1) You have way more crap than you need. Seriously, why do I have three sets of silverware, and how come none of them are complete? And four flathead screwdrivers? And a dresser-drawer full of t-shirts that I claim have sentimental value but really just end up crammed in the back and keep the drawers from closing correctly?

2) Despite no. 1, you always have to buy more crap for your new place. Just 'cause everything fit like a puzzle in your old home or looked good doesn't mean it will work in the new place. In fact, you can bank on the fact that it won't. So now you have even more crap than what you started with.

3) Labeling boxes is an exercise in futility. I have discovered that the description "miscellaneous/stuff" is not very helpful when trying to unpack and get settled.

4) Packing, and unpacking for that matter, always takes longer than you think it will. Why, see no. 1.

5) You are going to loose things. How this is possible, I do not know. You would think that putting everything you own into boxes until the whole place is empty, then moving down a hill to an apartment less than a mile away wouldn't be an issue, but for some reason, I cannot find the remote to my DVD player. At least I have my four screwdrivers.

6) Always leave out a pair of scissors or some sort of cutting instrument. You can always opt for using your car keys as means by which to open boxes, but when your car doesn't actually have a traditional key, this proves to be rather difficult.

7) Make friends with people who drive trucks or large vehicles. This one is self explanatory. It also helps to bribe them with a free meal.

8) Everyone is going to have an opinion about how you should arrange your new home. Just be prepared.