Moving Out

We got the truck and we're about to pack it up. Although we have full coverage for auto insurance, we got insurance from Budget just in case the truck had to be serviced for more than a day. Our insurance doesn't cover renting the truck while it's being serviced. If we were driving a short distance and we had experience with truck driving, then we would have passed by the extra insurance. However, it was a hefty fee to pay for only 5 days.

We got the 15' truck as seen on this blog. Jenevieve's going to do most of the driving, since I just have enough confidence to drive a compact car. Our friend Nicole will take up the wheel once we arrive in Madison. There we will be driving our new car to our new home with Nicole following with our goods.

Yesterday we tried to figure out how to get our Internet and phone service but didn't come to any strong conclusions. We'll just wait until we get there to get word of mouth. But it seems that Charter may be a monopoly over there. Our cellphones will most likely not be in La Crosse by the time we move in, but I'm sure we'll be able to communicate somehow. I do have a working phone in my office at the university. I don't have access to my computer yet, but my first goal at the university is to get access to it.

The first few weeks in August are very quiet at the university. No students and very little staff. All of my coworkers and my supervisor will be on vacation until August 27th. But I know enough to find my way around and get things done there. I won't worry about university stuff until we're moved in--as early as this week Friday.

In the meantime, we are about to start loading the truck. So I should be going. The next time I blog here will be when we get Internet access either at home or work.

See some of you in Wisconsin!

$21.25

$21.25 is what we made on our yard sale. Not much for 12 hours. It was about as much as I expected, but I didn't think it was worth the effort. Perhaps we only made $21.25 because our new address is 2130 South Avenue in La Crosse. We couldn't make $21.30 because we sold things in increments of 25 cents. Too bad the address wasn't something like 10057.

Yesterday we spent a lot more on new furniture at a famous Swedish home goods store. We bought a bureau for her and a bureau for me, 2 nightstands, and a bookcase. We bought a second taller bookcase too, but it wouldn't fit in the Nelsons' vehicle. So we returned it about 10 minutes after purchasing it. At this point, we seem to have the basics covered as far as furniture.

Our cellphones have been ordered, but they haven't shipped yet. When I originally selected the plans and phones, they said it would be here by yesterday. But our application is being looked over by their credit agency. Perhaps all these huge purchases and the car loan and the new apartment has made our credit look a little wacky. So...we may or may not have telecommunications upon arrival. I don't even know about local calls.

Last night we attended a goodbye party in our honor at Jenevieve's aunt & uncle's place nearby. We had a campfire in their yard with hot dogs and s'mores. Jenevieve told a ghost story that didn't go over well. There were about 15 people from Jenevieve's mother's side of the family there. In fact, I met a few of them for the first or second time.

Tomorrow we are meeting our friend Erica and packing up everything except the necessities for traveling. It will be the last day of not moving heavy boxes for the next week. I hope to blog at least one more time before we set out on the road Tuesday morning.

Furniture

Yesterday we took care of our banking in Maryland. We won't know about our banking in La Crosse until we get there. At least there are no problems on this end.

At the moment our main concern is furniture. We already have a bed and a dining room set that we will take with us to La Crosse. We also have a love seat and are undecided about it. There's a good chance we'll take it although I don't like it so much. We also have one bookcase, but it may not be ours. So we'll have to settle that question later.

What we do need are more bookcases and dresser drawers. Jenevieve's bureau that we had in Maryland fell apart. It wasn't that good anyway. My bureau was too huge and the Nelsons put it to use in their home anyway. It was OK, but moving it in and out of our Baltimore apartment was terrible as it was ridiculously gigantic. That said, it would probably look small in our loft with high ceilings.

We would also like to have a nice frame for our bed. So far we have the minimal frame that keeps our mattress above the floor with wheels. Jenevieve would like the frame to have drawers as well as shelves in the headboard. Time will tell for this.

We also need a coffee table although I don't drink coffee. Our coffee table in Baltimore was terrible because I hit my shins against nearly every time I sat in that love seat. Perhaps that is why I didn't use that love seat so often. We had a nice but expensive coffee table in Korea, but of course we didn't bring that here. And we got our Russian apartment completely furnished, including a coffee table on wheels.

At this point, our apartment would be pretty spartan in terms of furniture--bed, dining set, and one bookcase. There's no doubt we'll purchase a bureau or two this weekend. Who knows about the rest? We will be discussing this today and tomorrow.

Not much else is going on today. Jenevieve is finishing her in-home training today. And I'm not doing anything except blogging and reading books. I'm also trying to spend a lot of time outdoors because the weather is nice. Tomorrow will be more eventful with furniture browsing and obtaining.

Wireless

We have just selected our wireless phones and plans through Working Assets. The phones, in fact, will arrive at our new home before we do. I don't even know what our phone numbers are. But as of August 1, 2007, we can communicate wirelessly.

Today we also took a look at the rental truck we will drive. It seems that it will be more than big enough to contain our junk. Jenevieve is more confident of its size than I am. I am always surprised at how much junk we have every time we move. It doesn't look like a lot until you have to load it all up. That's materialism for you.

We're still looking for Internet service. Jenevieve needs to continue training at home online for a few weeks before she's employable. There's a very good chance that she is employable. As a matter of fact, she's working on her training right now. I can't reveal anymore publicly on this blog.

Anyway, we are hesitant in going with the big corporation, Charter. Their Internet rates are very competitive. It all depends on getting a phone line and cable in addition, which aren't really necessary when we have cellphones. Cable? I don't care about cable. The Internet offers better alternatives to drab cable.

That's where we're at now. Our next decisions will be about Internet service and having a yard sale this weekend.

Step 3

Step 1 was actually finding the place. We visited La Crosse 3 weeks ago and looked at a few apartments. We contemplated on buying a house too, but time was not on our side for that. By the evening of our first day there, we had selected the new Gund Brewery Lofts. The next day we did all of the paperwork besides signing the lease. The lease will be signed when we move in.

Step 2 was buying a car. The following week, Jenevieve and I decided on getting either a Honda or a Toyota. We did some research online and our choices were narrowed down to the Honda Fit, the Honda Civic, or the Toyota Corolla, new or certified used. We wanted a hybrid, but those cars were not in our price range. Because we were shopping around in Madison, the Honda Fit was out of the question--none in town and back-ordered for seemingly years. The Honda Civic was our second choice, but it is the #1 selling car in Madison, so prices could not be talked down. We bought a new 2007 Toyota Corolla for only $800 than a certified used 2007.

Now were on step 3--telecommunications. Today I selected a wireless phone provider, Working Assets for economical and ethical reasons. The plan and phone won't be purchased until Jenevieve and I agree on what's best for us.

Telecommunications have changed since we last lived in the United States in 2002. Back then, a cellphone wasn't as essential as it is now. And our Internet was provided by the University of Maryland because I was a student, and it was dial-up. We didn't have cable because we were dirt poor. Our biggest expense was paying for local calls, about $20/month in Baltimore back in the day. Our long-distance was quite cheap usually, but that was the biggest headache because we switched from AT&T to Sprint to Working Assets.

Now we will have cellphones, Internet (DSL or broadband), and most likely cable. Shopping for these services while not living in La Crosse is daunting. I am taking advice from anyone who will give it to me. My mom's Internet-provider does not serve the La Crosse area. And my in-laws are suffering from a cable-providing monopoly in Westminster. So advice so far has been limited. The large telecommunications corporation in La Crosse is Charter, but I was told to beware.

We hope to have decisions or at least answers before we move out of our temporary home in Westminster. Then it will be on to step 4--acquiring the rental truck. If you have any advice or comments about setting up telecommunications service, please add your comments to the blog or email me.