July 29, 2004

• Bring a deck of cards. Make deluxe houses out of them. Guard against sudden winds.
• And who says a TV is non-essential? Aren't you an American? (shakes head sadly)
• Sex, books and board games. Woo hoo!
• Yup. Get yourself a library card first thing. Check you out some books, and use their computers while you're there to check up on e-mail and get some surfing done. Bone like monkeys in your new house. Take walks. Go take in the sights during the day, if there are any, and if you can afford to see them. Check the paper for low-to-no-money fun. Of course, alcohol provides endless entertainment, especially if you have cats.
• Break in every room in the house! Wink, wink. Nod, nod. Say-no-more, say-no-more.
• "No TV and no beer make Homer something something... no TV and no beer make Homer something something...." I'm starting to twitch already at the thought of being without Teh Intarweb for any extended period of time. I'm bringing a laptop, and I plan on having the cablemodem installation on the first weekday after we arrive.
• Coming from an addict this advice may sound hollow, but try to hold on to the TV-less stage as long as you can, if only as an experiment. If only I had the will to... damn. And it's a perfect time to check wiring and such. Don't know if you're set for it, but now it's the moment to plan up all those power, TV antenna and ethernet/[phone outlets, when there's no furniture to bust a hernia with. Ah, and of course, like everybody had said, do the honors on every one of the empty rooms.
• One of the best decisions I ever made was to stop paying for cable. There are a few things I miss (AMC, IFC, The Daily Show, etc.), but I'm so glad I weaned myself away from it.
• I second middleclasstool's suggestion of getting out and exploring your new neighborhood. Rarely do most people have the opportunity to wander aimlessly for a few days - get out!
• This would be the perfect time to paint, retile, rip up carpet...or at least get the carpets cleaned if they haven't already been. Last time we moved, I spent a day painting the garage before our stuff got here. I'm glad I did because there is absolutely no way I would move everything out and do it now.
• IgnorantSlutn & dheine suggestions are great since they will hand in hand together. {you did say your funds are low}. IgnorantSlutn idea alone, you could scout around window shopping. You are lucky in this situation. I had to move quickly "in"...the previous owner left a big mess. So my unpacking had to wait for me to clean the place up but with all my stuff scattered about
• will go hand in hand together
• Yes, go check out the area - find grocery stores that meet your needs. Scope out the local malls. Find out if there's good pizza or Chinese take out. Go through the yellow pages in your phone book to see what weird and wonderful services are available. It may be a blessing that you have time to become a resident in your new place without the distractions of isolating technology. You might even find places to meet other folks who could become friends. (Advice from someone who finds it necessary to move every five years.)
• A jam box, some cd's, beer, wine, etc...and um...sex! Lots and lots of sex. You might also explore the area, but that would take up sex time. I'm just sayin...
• Yes, go check out the area - find grocery stores that meet your needs. Scope out the local malls. Find out if there's good pizza or Chinese take out. Go through the yellow pages in your phone book to see what weird and wonderful services are available. It may be a blessing that you have time to become a resident in your new place without the distractions of isolating technology. You might even find places to meet other folks who could become friends. it'll seem a lot more like home if you're familiar with your surroundings. (Advice from someone who finds it necessary to move every five years.)
• bring sleeping bags, or you'll have to use the floor.
• Pitch a tent in the living room and pretend you're on vacation.
• The good news is that this place was a mile from our hotel this past weekend so we have had a good chance to scout the location. We already saw all the movies that were out though. I think figuring out the wiring for the cable and ethernet is a great idea. And the whole "christening" thing. :)~ We also went out and bought some good games like cribbage and chez geek and flux.
• Guess who was staying at our house over the weekend and forgot to log out? Hmmm... let's see.
• Get yourself a Go set and learn how to play.
• Hmmm... let's see. I was thinking that comment was slightly odd, but I don't generally comment on people's domestic arrangements.
• BAHHAHHAHAHA! ooops. Tell me this isn't gonna be a whole 'nother pete_best (how many user names can we get?) debacle.....
• BALLLOOOOOONS! fill your place with balloons so you won't feel so lonely. the kitties will thank you!
• Pitch a tent in the living room and pretend you're on vacation. We already mentioned having sex in the house, geez...
• hahahaha!
• Chores! Work on the landscaping and the garden. Rejuvenate and rehydrate all the dried-out areas. Dig up and replace anything dead. Maybe stuff some annuals in the ground for quick color. Figure out your overall irrigation strategy (i.e., find your outdoor water taps and see if they work). Summer's not necessarily the season that you want to do a lot of this, but you have the time right now, and you won't soon enough. It'll also give you an excuse to be outdoors and meet the neighbors. Indoors, do a stem-to-stern crawl. Patch spackling, repair locks, make sure that window latches work. Sand down splintery thresholds. Does your heater work or need cleaning? Do all light switches work? For that matter, do you know what they switch? Basically, help the place recover from any neglect by the previous tenant, if any, while coming up to speed on life in the new place.
• Kegger!
• I moved cross-country with 2 cats and an SO several years ago, and while we were originally told it might be 4 days, we had a TWO WEEK WAIT for our furniture. When the movers finally showed up, both TVs were stolen, but that's another story. We bought an air mattress and re-filled it with the hair dryer each night. Much better than sleeping bags. I know car space is limited, but don't forget a lamp or two. Our living room had no overhead lights. When you arrive, buy two cheap plastic deck chairs and 2 side tables. Sitting on the floor is no fun, and you'll at least have a place to put your drink. Some nights I just needed my comfort food - Kraft mac & cheese. I packed a small pot & spoon for this reason, along with a set of picnic plates & silverware. The cats freaked out at the new place with no furniture to hide behind. We closed off all the bedrooms and camped out in the living room and spent evenings petting them and making sure they were happy. We tried not to leave them alone too much, so one would run errands and get food while the other stayed in. Toys were a big help, but don't expect too much love that first day. Moving requires a lot of planning, and I know you'll be prepared. However, don't expect it all to go smoothly. I don't think we ever fought more in our lives than during that very stressful time. It nothing to do with loving each other any less, but from being in a very precarious state of limbo. So be sure to hug each other as much as you can stand it. It's very reassuring.
• This might not work out with the cats as well as the work situation, but perhaps plan on taking the senic route to get there a day or two later and do some site seeing?
• Accidentally touch eachother and then pray for 3 hours.