Buda Baby: Moving

The Aftermath of the Storm

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:22:02 GMT

People, trust me on this one. Get rid of your stuff. You don't need it. I've been living without it for 2 months, very happily. Now my apartment is in pieces-parts again. And, some boss lady of our building tried to extort $50 out of us for using the elevator. Anyway, so far in the unpacking there has been only one casualty: an Ikea cabinet.

Speaking of cabinets, some of you have seen the Indian rosewood cabinet that we picked out for ourselves as a wedding present. It is a big, heavy piece of furniture weighing at least 400 pounds. If you are a Harry Potter fan, it looks like something in which you might find a dementor. My apartment is on what would be the 6th floor in the US, and this cabinet is too big to fit in the elevator. TWO guys hauled the thing up all those stair. And they were skinny little dudes too!

I have a friend who shall remain nameless but her initials are J.A. I think she must have some kind of mental illness due to the combination of the following two reasons: (A) She and her family have a lot of stuff; and (B) They move every few years. It takes all kinds I guess!

But really, downsize. You can do it. You don't need that knickknack. You don't even like it all that much, even though it is from Great Auntie Frieda. You don't want this to be your house some day:

Who moves to Budapest for the WEATHER!?!?

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:21:33 GMT

We are finally moving! The last few days have been a roller coaster of highs, lows, and glitches. I've seen some of the best and worst of mankind. I do not want to move again for a long time. Even if Budapest winds up sucking (which it won't, but you know what I mean).

Anyway, we leave late this afternoon, and a cold front is moving into San Franciso. It will be in the 20s (F) tonight. Meanwhile, it is in the 50s in Budapest. I wonder if the tables are outside at the cafes?

Revelation: For weeks I've been making fun of the GM of my old company, who moved to California from the east coast. It seemed like all the guy talked about was his move and various moving hiccups. I now totally understand. It becomes all-consuming.

Life's Detritus

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT

We're completely packed and waiting for the movers to arrive this morning.

One room is full of stuff packed up for St. Vincent's. Another room holds the things we are taking to Hungary. My head spins to see our house bare, the life we've built up for the past seven years reduced to bare walls boxes. I told Zoli last night, I can't imagine what his grandmother must have felt when told she had almost no time to pack up her belongings because she and her husband's company was being taken over by the government and they were forced to move to a one room apartment.

We finished packing around 4:00 a.m., putting garbage, recycling, and really junky stuff out on the sidewalk (luckily it is garbage pickup day the day we move). Amazing how many people dig through trash bins all night long in San Francisco. One man's trash is truly another's treasure. You also realize that the stuff that no one takes really is shit!

Well, today will be the day to find out if Hungary approved my visa in time for me to leave on Wednesday. Now that I've quit my job and packed up, I am eager to just get there. I told Zoli we had better like Hungary because there is no f-ing way that I am moving again for a while.