Moving to Los Angeles: part 1 leaving oregon

We got up on Monday, threw on some clothes and drove to the Budget truck rental place. Addy had made a reservation, so we figured it would be in and out in 30 minutes, tops. We were renting a 16ft truck and a car dolly to pull the Honda. We had to wait for the ONE GUY in the shop to finish helping one customer, so I ran to get some coffee. While I was on the way back, Addy began getting helped, but needed her ID (which I had). We got things underway when I got back, but found out quickly that they did not have the car dolly (that we had reserved). There was not much he could do, he called and found one at a "nearby location" and gave a us a discount. So, we signed all the papers and the guy ran out to get our truck. He drove it to the front of the shop, stopped, and then hauled-ass around the corner to the back of the lot. We had no idea what was going on, until he came back in and told us that was his only 16ft truck and the check engine light had come on. So, now he had to call and find a 16th truck. We ended up having to drive up by the airport to get both the dolly and truck. The guy gave us the most discount he could, but it still seemed ridiculous that we were having to drive somewhere else to pick up the equipment Addy had reserved weeks ago. When we got to the other shop, we asked if they could throw in some furniture covers and a handtruck as well. They did, without much fuss, since we had driven across town. I finally drove home with this huge truck and the tow dolly. The whole ordeal ended-up taking 2 1/2 HOURS! This was a big set-back for our timeline for the day, as we were scheduled to do the walk-thru with our new tenet at 1 pm and wanted to leave town before traffic started backing-up.

We got to work and started packing the furniture in the truck. We were taking the fridge from downstairs, since we had found out that some apartments in LA don't come with one provided. (That's what we needed the handtruck for) Everything went in easily and fit snugly. We put the boxes under or on top of the furniture and made sure everything was protected and stable. It took longer than I thought it would, but we did a good job. Our new tenet showed up at 1 and walked around for a minute, before deciding to grab some lunch and let us finish packing. That was really nice of her, because we were frantically trying to get everything packed up and Addy was finishing cleaning the baseboards and a few other last minute touches. When she came back, we were pretty much ready and she did the walk-thru with Addy and was satisfied that everything was in good shape. She left and wished us luck, saying that she was really excited to move in. It is definitely a weird feeling to give your house keys to someone else and realize they are the ones that will be coming "home" to your house for the next year. She seems great and I'm sure it'll all be good, just a weird feeling. Another weird feeling is packing up your whole "life" into the back of a moving truck, which we finished soon after she left. Those that know me, know this isn't the first time, by a long shot, that I've done this. But just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you don't still have a weird feeling about it.

I got the Honda (which was also full of stuff) on the tow dolly (following the directions to the letter) and Addy got the pets loaded into the Corolla. We said goodbye to our home and hit the road, around 5pm. I started out driving the truck really conservatively. The tow dolly said not to exceed 55 mph. I followed that for the first 2 hrs, then as I got more comfortable, I was able to go a little faster. Just had to keep it under control and stay comfortable. We had decided that Addy would just drive like normal, not waiting for me, so that she could spend some more time with her folks. We would not be seeing them for a while and it was the first time she was moving this far away, so I wanted to give them as much time together as I could. We kept in touch via phone, but everything went fine. I listened to a bunch of music and focused on driving the "big rig". I got to her parents house around 11pm. They were all up, hanging out. I got a drink and had some supper, thanks to her mom. She always has food ready for us, she's so great. We got to talk and hang out for a little bit, but it was late and we wanted to get an early start in the morning, so we called it a night.

We got up in the morning, had breakfast and lots of coffee and hung out with Addy's parents, enjoying our time together. Then Kim had to go to work and it was time for us to get going. Mark helped me try to back the truck and trailer out of the neighbor's drive, which we ended up not being able to do. We realized that there were too many pivot points for my level of expertise. We ended up having to unload the Honda and re-hook-up the tow dolly by hand. We went inside and found Addy about to freak out, because she couldn't find Ciara, our cat. We let her out in the bedroom for the night and now couldn't find her. Just as Addy was about to start getting emotional, I found her under the bed, in the box spring. I finished packing the cars and getting all prepped to go as Addy fought Ciara to get her out from under the bed. Finally, we were ready to hit the road. So, with a final round of well-wishing and hugs, we got in the car and headed to California.

The Move to Los Angeles 9/09: The Prequel

So, if you haven't heard already, Addy and I have moved to Los Angeles. I know I'm WAY behind on my blog (as some of you keep reminding me), so this is where I'll start. This whole adventure started when I was making plans for our summer trip to SoCal. I was talking to my buddy, Bowman, about getting to see him when we were down there, since he lives in Newport Beach. As we were talking he jokingly asked if I wanted him to set up an interview for me with his boss at Toys R Us. This was in June. Later in the month, he brought it up again. I agreed to it, thinking that I had nothing to lose and maybe something great to gain. You see, Addy and I had talked about moving to California before. We both love the sun and the beach. When we vacation, its either to a beach or to see my friends and family in the Midwest. Therefore, why not always have the beach and move to Cali, right? Also, one of Addy's items on her life's to-do list is to live in another state than Oregon, since she had always lived there. This opportunity with Toys R Us, would make it possible for us to move to Cali and fulfill those wishes.

Needless to say at this point, I got the job at Toys R Us. But I'll still tell you the story, since the events that fact put into motion were interesting to juggle. I had an interview with the DM of RUS on Aug 17, the day after Bowman's wedding. It went well and he said that he was very excited to have me on his team. I then had to fill out an online application and when that was completed, I was scheduled to have a phone interview with the district HR. After a long game of phone tag, on both of our parts, I was able to have the interview on September 2nd (for those of you in the know, you may realize that part of the reason for the phone tag was that I was participating in Hood to Coast the weekend of Aug 28!). But she called me when I was at work, so I ended up taking the call in my car, in the parking lot. Again, it went well and she told me I would be hearing from the recruiter for an offer. I wanted to leave Target on good terms, so I was going to work 2 whole weeks after receiving an offer from RUS. Time was of the essence now, because of our housing situation. As you know, we bought a house last summer. As we were planning for this move, we decided we did not want to sell. Not that we even could have, if we wanted with the market the way it is. But we really like the house and would like to have it available if we were to move back. So, we decided to rent it instead. Addy took the initiative and put up a Craig's List ad and after a few showings, found someone who wanted to rent it for at least a year. They needed to move in by the 1st, so we needed to be out, obviously. To make everything fall into place correctly, I needed an offer by the 11th, at the latest. Not to say that would be easy, but it would at least work. On my way to work on the 11th, I got the offer. And after talking it over with Addy, accepted. Once I got to work, I gave my notice. My boss and boss's boss were both disappointed and tried to change my mind. It was nice to have them try to dissuade me and they said they would take me back, if this didn't work out.

Now that the timing was set, all we had to do was execute the plan. The plan depended a lot on Addy. I was still working 55 hrs/wk at Target, and to get everything ready to go, Addy stopped selling insurance. She worked on getting everything together for the move, from setting up our stop date on utilities, to getting a lease together, to packing, to selling things we didn't need anymore, and probably a hundred other things that I don't even know about. Oh yeah, she even traded-in her car. She had leased a 2009 Acura TSX (it was sweet. the first new car either of us have ever "owned") the summer before. She traded it in for something more utilitarian and affordable, a 2007 Toyota Corolla. We had 2 yard sales, sold a bunch of stuff on craiger's (including our bikes and our bedroom furniture), and donated LOTS of stuff to Goodwill. Besides working frantically to get everything ready for the move, we spent time in the city that we loved and with our friends that we were leaving behind. If you didn't know, Addy's got her own blog going. You can see what she wrote about the end of our time in Oregon here:

http://addylynn.blogspot.com/2009/10/last-days.html