Sunday, February 08, 2009

First Week


So the first week here has been quite eventful. Work on Monday was great. New faces, new environments, new tasks, a new job. The rest of the work week was a bit tedious because I'm trying to get caught up, and that means reading papers and briefs and code for 9 hours a day. But I'm getting there and soon I'll be interacting and developing and contributing. So I'm excited for that.

On Tuesday, the movers came with our stuff! BUT, the second they arrive he informs me that we will owe a "long carry" charge. A "long carry" charge is due if the back of the truck is more than 75 feet from the residence. Well, since we lived on the third floor, he said it was due. The charge is $75 per 100 cubic feet. We had 500 cubic feet, and hence owed them $375 in cash or else they were taking our stuff away! WHAT! Well, I told Celeste and she busted out the contract and found a clause that said they DID NOT charge for hauling up stairs (up to 3 flights). The guy tried to dispute that clause and eventually Celeste got him to agree to charge us half. So we owed $185. That was more reasonable, and we wanted them to start moving our stuff in, so we agreed. I was very objectionable to the whole thing, because the distance from the truck to the first step did not look like 75 feet. No way did it look that long. But the guy swore it was and I slightly trusted in his experience. I went to get the money from the bank, and--wouldn't you know it--we only had one debit card and we lost the pin number. AAAHHH! So I had to take a cash advance on my credit card (ICK!) to get the money. So I go home, drop the money off to Celeste and leave to go to work. I called Celeste and urged her to make the guy measure the distance to double check if it was indeed 75 feet from the truck to the first stair.

So, after the move was about 2/3 over, Celeste asks the movers to measure the distance. They tried making her pay the full amount if it turned out to be 75 feet, but she refused since we'd already agreed on half. Well, reluctantly, the movers measured the distance and it came up to 72 feet. (Celeste actually saw them measuring and swears it was only 62....) Well the guy still wanted us to pay! But Celeste refused to pay anything since it is LESS than 75 feet. Celeste walked away victorious and didn't give them any more of our money. They finished the move and they are out of our lives forever! E-Z Movers based in Chicago. NEVER USE THEM! And that's that.

The rest of the week went by without a hitch. Over the weekend, my brother Aaron stopped by for a visit. It was so great having him here and gleaning all that older brotherly advice. We shopped at the mall, ate out for lunch, and had some delicious homemade ice cream. It was tons of fun.


Saturday night, after Aaron left, we resumed some car shopping we had done on Friday....and ended up buying a car! We got a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country Touring. We got a great interest rate (after some fine haggling by your truly), and we're excited to have a van. It's a little surreal financing such a large amount, but we feel like grown-ups. Life's just moving right along. The next major purchase is gonna be a house. More debt. Huzzah.

10 comments:

Aqualung said...

We need to send Celeste to negotiate the treaty between Israel and the Arabs. The whole story brought tears to my eyes. I'm so proud of my daughter standing up to the evil movers and refusing to cower to their demands. Way to go Celeste!!! and congrats Brad on haggling down the interest rate on the new car. You guys are great.

Monica said...

We hate E-Z movers for you. Good job Celeste in saving you money (way to earn your keep).

It's so funny that you are grown-ups now. I can't wait to grow up. And we still miss you.

Spitzer Family said...

Good job negotiating and Good luck on the new job and new location! We are living the same life at the moment! It's nice to finally get a little unpacked and feel like I am at home. Good Luck unpacking and everything! I hope you guys like Maryland.

Bryce and Marcia said...

You can't really blame the movers. Maybe their measuring tape is broken. And there is a recession on, so they are just trying to get a buck where they can.

congrats on the minivan! thats awesome, why don't you take a road trip to come visit us?

Unknown said...

a mini van...really? oh guys...:) Glad to hear you guys are rockin it out there though! :)

Unknown said...

Glad you guys were able to get a car. I still can't believe that about the movers. It's such a complete opposite experience from what we had with ours. And thanks for entertaining Aaron! He had a really good time with ya'll.

Aaron said...

Hey Celeste, per our conversation about nursery bedding, check this out.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9870628

Megan said...

yay for you guys! Don't you just love it when annoying situations end up the way you want it to? Nice new van too! Maybe we will be seeing you soon enough!

David said...

Your fight with the movers sounded like the final exam for my contracts class. Go Celeste! That's impressive. (You too, Brad. Hope that 1/10th of an interest point makes a difference ;)

So how far are you guys from the DC temple?

Debra Darling said...

I (TJ typing as Deb) just read an article about moving companies holding people's stuff for ransom. There are actually numbers you call when this happens and people from the state come out and "catch the thieves in the act" as it were. I advise everyone considering a move to look up these numbers before they head out. If I find the time, I'll track down the article again, but I'm sure a quick google search will get you there. Sorry we didn't pay attention enough to see that you were moving or I would have mentioned it before. Well done warding off the sharks on your own, though.