Moving Day!

The packers are done and as I type (on the floor surrounded by boxes) they are loading up a small truck in the basement, to take our stuff to a bigger truck, to deliver it all 10 minutes away from our house. It's all very Singaporean.

Since we were forced out of our current place, Accenture paid for the move and they contracted with the same company who moved us here two years ago -- KC Dat Asian Tigers. I cannot say enough good things about the service we have received from the very beginning of this process. A charming Singaporean man came to provide the initial quote and after we were done discussing business, we ended up chatting for quite awhile as he recommended a particular coffee shop in our new neighborhood and encouraged me to take tai-chi classes while living here. It was definitely not a typical moving company transaction.  My current theory is that if you are on the go in Singapore, either by moving or flying, you'll receive great customer service. With every other type of business, you're probably out of luck.

The movers have been awesome and I have barely lifted a finger in the process. Of course, it would have been a good idea on my part to separate a few more essentials before the packers started: scissors, tape, sticky notes, the key to the bicycles lock, a pencil so Megan could do homework last night...

I also didn't realize they would pack our food. I expected them to take the canned goods and baking stuff but when I went to eat lunch yesterday, the pantry was empty. They had already wrapped up our Goldfish crackers, tortilla chips and cereal. The movers will even transport all our refrigerator and freezer items in ice chests and when we get to the new place, they will unpack all our items and clear away the boxes for us. The moving company removes all the nails and patches the walls in our current place and then allows me to make an appointment after we move in to have someone come hang all our pictures at the new place. The service definitely makes moving more bearable.

The only hiccup in this entire process was due to a certain consulting company to remain nameless that was late paying the deposit to the landlord. Thankfully it all worked out at the last minute and our moving plans were unaffected. I just have a few more gray hairs now. We received the keys to the new condo last night and I'm excited to get everything unpacked in our new home and make it ours. We will sleep there tonight and the girls will ride their new bus in the morning that will pick them up 10 minutes later. Yea!

And here's the rest of the story with the Christmas tree. At the end of the first day of packing, the foreman pointed to the tree and asked what they should do with it. After listening to 6 men converse about the subject, I offered to take the ornaments off the tree if they could keep the tree intact to move it. They agreed, although I'm concerned this means they will be carrying the tree down 10 flights of stairs because I doubt it will fit in the elevator. And just as Brian thought, our tree is now wearing a shiny coat of shrink wrap. I wonder if it would look pretty if I could turn the lights on under that?

 So that's my last post from River Place. It's been a nice home for us for the past two years and I'll miss our neighborhood. At the same time, there are plenty of positive aspects to our new address as well and I look forward to sharing our experiences at our new home. But, first, let's unwrap the poor tree!