I recruited and paid two beefy nephews to come to LA and help me pack up my pod. As soon as they stepped off the airplane at LAX, they said "I'm moving to LA bro" and began to look for apartments in the airport. Not a bad idea: good location, nice food options, great views, lots of hustle and bustle and very walkable.
Anyway, here's my experience of moving:
How to and how not to:
Rent a pod. This was so easy--rented from Uhaul. They would deliver it and park it outside. GREAT! All I needed to do was save a spot on the street. Until they called and said they couldn't deliver when i needed. No problem--I'm a confident driver and i set up to rent a truck with a hitch with a pod on it. I grabbed Simon and we walked to the Uhaul, via Hillhurst to Hollywood, passing Sunset ("Man, Sunset keeps coming up wherever we go"). Simon is a super observant kid. He takes in everything. (Aunt Brag!)
Pod is $80/month for storage?
Truck is I don't know because that wasn't the plan and god I hope I have enough credit to pay for it?
Pre-order boxxes at Uhaul: Don't bother with saving boxxes of random dimensions and sizes: they will never stack well. Just get your boxxes from the U, and they'll buy back any extras (which I need because I have no cash and I'm 48 (I think) and living with my dad with no job, no husband, a dead dog and it's a pandemic and i'm actually kind of happy with the situation it's just on paper that it sounds bad?)
We loaded the truck, and took off. I didn't know how to back up a hitch once we got back to my street but Simon did from observing Tad's trailer skills with the jet ski. He guided me into the spot, we took off the hitch and threw the truck in another spot down the street.
Don't delay packing because it's overwhelming, especially if you have two brawny young nephews you are paying to do the hauling. Um, shit. It's Monday and I have you both for 3 days. FUCK. OK, let's start with the clothes???? Fuck it, let's go have some fun and drive to Beverly Hills and Santa Monica and Venice Beach (Noah: "I see what you mean Aunt Becky, once you've been here, you see it, and you never need to come back. It's not for me" (Which in polite Noah speak means "That place sucked").
God, what else did we do?
Long Beach (drove past the Queen Mary and all the shipping containers, tried to find Smurf's house (from their favorite TV show Animal Kingdom), dropped them at the outlet while I bought tools to disassemble my bed frame (we had called my brother Paul, and he recommended a few tools because the screws were stripped and he said "Those boys will know what to do. They are good little workers"). At the outlet, Noah had high expectations but the reality was a bit different: he didn't find much and they seemed disapoointed. I think he likes to shop, but wants to save $ for Ohio State so he's looking for bargains and they are not turning up.)
Pasadena and Highland Park (I sprinkled some Pickle ashes at my old little apartment. GOD I wish I could rent that place again!) and The Rose Bowl (I believe I already wrote about this but the boys found it a bit old and understated and jumped up and down on the University of Michigan marker, as good Ohio boys are supposed to do they HATE Michigan!)
Hollywood, BelAir, Downtown LA, Universal Studio shopping mall thing "City Walk"?, UCLA, SoFi, The Forum,
Don't plan to cook at home, do go grab fast food but call it "A burger tour" to make it fun. Don't forget that young men eat 3-4 meals a day, and a lot of it. One day early on, they said "We need more food. Can we order a pizza?"
Do drive past houses of YouTubers and see how excited they get.
Don't delay in selling furniture.
Don't get impatient when they ask "What's left Aunt Becky" when you're not sure!!!!
Do love that they still call you Aunt Becky.
Do enjoy the eggs they make, do make coffee for them in the morning, do enjoy sending them to buy eggs and conditioner (I need it for my hair), do enjoy as they pose and take cool LA pics, do enjoy having family help you move after years of being able to afford hiring movers and when you are at the most desperate financial place you've ever been and the A squad of family comes in, and do enjoy when your landlady flirts with the boys and calls them "Real Men" and talks about their eyes and how polite they are.
Don't delay selling furnitute. Every last piece I listed on Facebook got a bit today, after I'm sitting in Elyria. I should have been selling sooner. Oh well!
Don't forget to forget that you had a life here, you cared for a dog, you wrote a lot, you mourned your mother, you found a job and kicked butt at it, you hosted countless friends and family, you read a lot, watched more tv than thinkable, you passed treats up and down a bucket on a pulley, you made a ton of friends, you worked on getting over FOMO and you made it through the hardest year of your life, mostly intact and still believing in life and love and put yourself out there, even when all you wanted to do was cry.
It was a good life and is a good life.
Do ask them their favorite parts so far and enjoy them sharing
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