the unpacking puzzle.

Apparently a ten foot truck can really fill up a small one bedroom apartment. I had instructed the movers to place most of the boxes in the bedroom, so that we could set up our desk and couch in the living room. The bed somehow ended up in there too, I guess by that time we had run out of room. After maneuvering the ten foot long i-beam that supports the desk into place, and the couch opposite in the living room we sandwiched the mattress vertically against the wall and set in trying to attack the mountain of boxes. The kitchen and bathroom seemed an easy place to start, since the empty cabinets were just asking to be filled up. While I worked on this part, Zach assembled the desk and started setting up things in the living room. At about 10:30, we finally crashed. Since our bed was still pinned up against the wall, we folded out the couch and slept there instead. The cats had decided to try to explore by this time. This was terribly convenient, since we were trying to sleep. Also, they seem to have a new interest in exploring the vertical, a dimension that was never of interest to them in Richmond. After climbing on top of the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, they also discovered that they could scale the mattress, and perch high on top. At one point, I was awakened by Dash jumping from the top of the mattress down on to my sleeping body. Dot has also managed somehow to get into the vertical box springs, and wedge herself in there. I think she feels safe in this small spot. On the other hand, I have trouble finding her, and find myself panicked as to where she is.

Friday and Saturday are also spent unpacking, in a slow fashion. I have managed to get a cold, and am moving quite slowly. I also am worried that Zach will contract this cold. We don’t need for him to be sick on his first day of work this week! We are able to work our way through the boxes, but the process is made more difficult due to the small space. Zach compared the process to working one of those puzzles where you slide the pieces to eventually get them in order. In order to make one move, you must first make three others. I can barely maneuver myself through the bedroom, trying to move boxes just compounds things!

Finally I reach a critical point where the bed and bookshelf can be assembled, and the clothes put away. It seems that we really might just be able to fit our stuff in the apartment. The experience is like when we went to Europe. You pack what you think is critical, realize how much stuff you have, and then get rid of half of it. The problem is that we only made it through the first part of this process. At least this will curb my urge to do any shopping!

Now we’re pretty much settled in, I’ve cooked dinner in the kitchen and we’ve finally figured out where to take our trash. Its amazing how little things like trash you take for granted, I’ve just always put it in a can out back. Instead, it goes in a little room, near the front door. Not the first place I would have looked! We’ve also scouted out the several closest grocery stores; there is one within two blocks of the apartment, as well as the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. Although expensive, that is such a fun place to shop. I get the feeling that there are a lot of lifestyle changes that we’ll be getting used to in these upcoming weeks.