A long awaited update

Yes yes, we know, we know. We've heard your clamoring for a new post, and indeed, the day has finally arrived.

The Move

First of all, I think it's important to note that I HATE MOVING. Now, I realize some of you readers out there may be thinking, "so what, we all hate moving...", but I mean I really hate moving. I mean I hate moving like Mrs. Brisby hates moving.


So in the weeks before the move, as Tahera dilligently worked, it was my job to pack up the house. Needless to say, given that the last time packing up was my sole responsibility I essentially just threw EVERYTHING in one box, my packing skills left much to be desired.

It just bugs me that the more you pack, the messier the house looks, and the more disorganized your life gets. It feels nearly impossible to pack up most of the rooms of your home because you keep needing the crap you're trying to pack up.

At any rate, due to my deep, deep aversion to packing, we found ourselves working late into the night throughout the last days leading up to our commandeering the rental truck (read: behemoth)

When moving day arrived, we had secured a formidable cadre of dilligent helpers to help load, caravan, and unload the entire fiasco. Boy oh boy, will they never do that again...

The morning of the move, myself and my best bud Matt Oldfield (He and Angela made the trip up from Horseheads on her Birthday to help us out) headed out bright and early to secure some space on our one way street for the Juggernaut, then go and pick it up. But, lo and behold, even though we were out of the house during the 0700 hour, all but the last 2 spots on the street were taken, and the end of the street was barricaded off. To what did we owe this unpleasant surprise? Why, The 50th Annual Allentown Art Festival, of course! Yes, to keep things interesting, I would have to navigate the the truck past 1000s of merry Buffalonians flocking to downtown for this incredibly popular event. Yay.

No big deal though; I had decided on the diminutive 24' truck from Budget. Now, for those who haven't recently moved, Here is are some helpful pics illustrating how big this damned truck is:


















Or another way...

So after a few delays with getting the truck and parking it, we began packing.

And we continued packing...

















And dear friends who swuing over to say goodbye were recruited into the packing...

















(We would've needed 2 trucks if it
wasn't for Chris...)

















(Thanks for the arms with the piano, Dennis!)

Then neighbors were recruited into the packing...

Finally TOTAL STRANGERS were recruited into the packing. ("Yeah, you can check out the apartment. And hey, why don't you grab a couple boxes on your way down...")

And eventually as evening approached, several hours behind schedule, we got every last thing loaded into the truck.

Everything that is, except for our incredibly freaked-out cat..














Oh yes, and she remained freaked out the entire trip to Pittsburgh; Huddled in Tahera's lap, unloading in every way possible. Gross.

And what a trip it was: Steamrolling down the highway with the turbodiesel engine of the Juggernaut screaming in all it's fury; doors rattling, mirrors buzzing, cat yowling, pedal to the floor for a top speed of 70mph downhill with a tailwind... it's a miracle it only took us until 12:45 to pull into Forest Hills.

And wake up all the neighbors....

Forest Hills is a quaint little suburb just outside of Pittsburgh. Built on a network of aging mineshafts right beside a decomissioned Westinghouse "atom crusher," it's residents seem to have developed a "seen-it-all" kind of attitude which comes in handy when being ripped from slumber by a mammoth diesel and a piercing beep of a delivery truck in reverse at 1:00 in the morning.

In the face of such a commotion, my dear neighbors did what anyone else (inlcuding myself) would do in the wee hours... they went out to their porches and watched the whole fiasco unfold. After all, if you were woken up by a band of idiots at one in the morning, wouldn't you go outside to watch them suffer?

And suffer we did. it took nearly a half hour to finally coax the behemoth down the absurdly narrow back alley and get it tucked away for unloading.

All said and done, we unloaded over 50% of the truck during those wee hours, and then finished the job after a few well deserved hours of sleep.

So, without further ado, here are some better pics of the house. Our House. Still gives me chills...

First off, the damage. My crack team of movers did a phenomenal job of packing and positioning to ensure nothing would be destroyed on the trek. However something, somewhere, always has to give. Interestingly, it wasn't the drawer filled with absurdly delicate christmas tree ornaments that had absolutely no cushioning (I hate moving)...

Rather, it was a corner of the house.






















I've given this a lot of thought since it happened, and I've concluded that it must be karma. Though I don't have any pictures of this event happening, It bears an uncanny resemblance to a blog post I did in November 2005. Indeed, this is cosmic payback for "The Madison Incident"

The Madison Incident you will recall, included the following pictures which actually tell the story of what happened here pretty well:




































It's true what they say, payback is indeed a bi***. Somewhere, I'm sure Sarah Madison is filled with delight at our belated comeuppance. Yeah yeah, I know... I didn't measure either...

Anyway, for those of you still reading, here's the much awaited pictorial tour of the house:





















Our Front Door

















The Living Room

















The Family Room





















Kitchen























Stairs from Living Room to 2nd Floor






















Master Bedroom with separate Bath and Walk-in Closet























Walk in Closet from Master Bedroom






















Hallway Bath





















"Study" (a.k.a. Project Room, a.k.a. guy room (yeah right...) )






















Hot Pink Room (a.k.a. Guest room)

















Front Porch


















Back of the house (and My Lawn)

















Detached 2-car garage
















Big-Honkin Basement complete with work bench, storage/work surfaces and washer/dryer.

Well folks, as you can see from the pics above, there's still plenty of work to be done, as well as an ever-growing list of projects to take care of. I'll be starting my residency training next week, but will try to keep you all updated regularly with all the adventures we're having in our new home.

But even better than reading about it in a blog is to come and see it firsthand! We can't wait to have each and every one of you over to visit so we can show you around in person!