Settling in.

Settling in.

That was a really brutal move. What was supposed to take six hours took over eight and ended up costing almost twice as much as we were quoted. The crew we had were polite, but overdid it on packing stuff and charging us for it -- my drums really didn't need to go in boxes, they never had before -- and I don't feel they really worked quickly. The last time I moved it was with the help of two friends and WE got it done quicker than a team of four professional movers? We will never be using Golan's movers again.

Despite my previous fears about our new place, it's turned out to be almost perfect. It turns out there IS more space than we thought there would be, everything fits where we want it to, and the use of a full basement is absolutely a life saver for a dude like me that owns so much stuff. GalPal and I have woken up in our new bedroom the past few days feeling happy and positive and the new digs just seem to be having an overall positive effect on our general outlook.

Of course there is unexpected stress. Money is tighter than I wanted due to the additional moving expenses along with all the other little things like scraping together a security deposit, renting cars to move us and the pets, running out to get incidentals for the new place the old one didn't have. The timing is terrible with the holidays coming up, but what can you do? The situation is what it is and I'll just have to rebuild that financial safety net over the next few months.

Overall though I'm glad we moved. The neighborhood is quieter than I'm used to but that's great. There are countless restaurants all around us and a pretty excellent independent grocery store a three-minute walk away. After living in Humboldt Park where the only things near you are gas stations and fast-food restaurants and gangbangers this place is a positive shock to the system.

Change is good.