Moving Day Part 1

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Today all the stuff we’re taking to LA got packed up. On Monday, the rest of our stuff goes into storage in New Jersey. The guys were amazing. I would highly recommend Move East. They specialize in LA-NYC moves. The guys were courteous, didn’t shout, took excellent care of our stuff, and managed to not piss anyone off in our uptight coop building.

The most harried part of the day was trying to hoist our couch up through the opening in our loft. It’s too big to take out the downstairs door. And when we moved here 9 years ago, the guys had to hoist it down. But at least gravity was working in their favor. It’s a heavy sofa bed and I let out an audible gasp a few times when the guys were shouting and using all their muscle power to keep it from toppling down. Whew. Good drama.

Feel like I should feel more sentimental now, but I’m not. Maybe because I don’t want to over think this move or get sad. Or maybe because I’m actually really, really excited about the change. Or just really pregnant and tired. We all fly to LA next Wed, including Wayne Sanchez who will be safely tucked under my seat.

Heave Ho!

LA Move–House Dilemma

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

My Bathroom I'll Miss

I have never been a suburbs person. Especially a house/neighborhood that is newly constructed, sans trees and character. But now I find myself in a bit of a predicament with this LA move.

When Fia was 2 months old, we moved to LA for a few months. The house we rented on the Internet looked lovely but in reality was a terrible set up, especially with a baby. I was miserable. I couldn’t wait to get back to Brooklyn. So this time Phil is out there looking in person so we don’t make the same mistake. Especially because this time we’ll be out there longer–probably a couple years.

We need to rent a fully furnished house as we are leaving most of our things here in storage and subletting out our apartment. But in renting, we have some very specific criteria. I want it furnished to our taste. I would like to be in walking distance of something. I don’t want dangerous edges and crazy spiral steps/staircase like we have now.  And I want SPACE. Coming from a NY city pad, I’m allowed to be greedy with square footage.

Last week, after much debate, we had a friend check out a house. She gave it a thumbs up, but warned “It’s Ethan Allen-generic.” I decided there are worse problems to have and thus began to embrace the new me. I decided I’ll live like most of the country does, driving instead of  lugging a stroller and toddler down the subway steps. I won’t get a minivan yet, but I’m ready to live in a newly constructed house, devoid of character. And I’ll be happy about it, dammit.

As my Brooklyn friend Courtney said, “When you have a baby, character is the least of your worries. I wanted character and I have a 3^rd floor walk up with no dishwasher or laundry. But I have antique crown molding. Give me a freshly painted white box to live in already!”

She makes a good point. And this house is at least in an old neighborhood, so there are trees. Plus, it’s a 3-minute walk to Griffith Park, which is one of the largest municipal parks in the country. Take that, Central Park.

So now I’m excited about changing my tune. I told Phil, “We’ll bring ourselves. And our art. That will give it more personality.” Plus, with a transsexual cat, Wayne Sanchez, how can you not have character?

Here’s the dilemma:

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