As I mentioned in a comment on Lauralea's blog, since everyone else is posting about change, I think i'll follow suit.
However, this won't be the philosophical treatise of lynette on the meanings and implications of change that i had first envisioned, but instead, it will be an update on the changes I have experienced as of late.
We have officially moved into our new home, and are finally done with the old place. It was quite the process...the move itself went very well, thanks largely to my mom and mother-in-law who spent many hours helping us pack, and also to all the friends and family who came out on moving day...I was amazed that it only took 2.5 hours to move ALL our stuff from the old place to the new one.
Then the fun began. Unpacking was a bit overwhelming, as I moved into a slightly smaller kitchen with much less cupboard space than I had previously had. But somehow it worked out, it just took some cognitive restructuring of the setup of the kitchen, and some physical restructuring as well. Thanks to my dad, who used his amazing carpentry skills to renovate the cabinet above the fridge (turns out we needed 3" more clearance than what was there to fit the behmoth in there), and who is also constructing me a new cutlery drawer out of two smaller drawers, which will make my joy complete in the new kitchen setup, as I currently have no drawer big enough for my cutlery except the one that doesn't open all the way due to the dishwasher being there.
Unpacking is actually going quite well...we are doing a bit at a time as we feel motivated....the next job is to move our bedroom from the basement where it was initially set up, into the master bedroom. We got carpet installed in there the week after we moved, so we just stayed downstairs until it was done, but have not yet had a chance to move upstairs. Hopefully, 95% of the unpacking will be completely done by the 14th, so you're not all tripping over boxes as you tour the place (this is the official housewarming date for those of you who were previously unaware).
We have also been very blessed with furnishings and supplies for our house...a friend was selling a used-but-good couch and a couple tables, which color-co-ordinate perfectly with our downstairs rec room :), and even was willing to deliver them for us! And we talked to our realtor last night, who is connecting us with a couple of his current clients who are moving from houses to apartments and have yard equipment (such as a lawnmower) for sale. Woo hooo!
Despite all that went (and is going) very well during this time of transition, it was not without its difficulties and frustrations. One of the main ones stemmed from the new tenants moving into our old place....they were bound and determined to move in early, no matter what we said. They stopped by one night while we were cleaning the old place, and told us they wanted to move in by Thursday (for the record, we had paid for the place until the end of the month, which would be Saturday midnight). We explained that because we were not taking any time off work, that we were unable to have the place cleaned (specifically the carpets which our landlords had requested we do) before Saturday. They kept stopping by and leaving messages all week, and we kept saying NO. So I was feeling greatly under pressure from them, which added to my stress level (physical exhaustion, emotional upheaval from change, and bad days at work weren't helping the situation).
So it all came to a head on Saturday. I went early to get a steam cleaner for the carpets, finally found one at the third place i went to. While driving, i noticed that my car was smelling nice and fresh and lovely inside.....then realized it was from the bottle of bleach that had spilled all over the back (thankfully it was on the floor, not the seats). Sigh.
So I got the carpet machine, went to the house, did the carpets.... and then waited. We had arranged for the landlord's son to come and do a walk-around to check the place for cleanliness and damage so that we could get our damage deposit back, and he said he'd meet us between 1 and 2, so I told the new tenants to come around 2, as we would be done and out of there by then and they could have their wish to move in early... Well, the nice man did NOT show up at 2. By 3 pm, everyone was antsy (and it was miserable sitting out in the cold and damp) so I went to find his cell number to try to locate him. I found it, and called, and he was out for lunch, so he said he'd come by at 4. So I went back to the house and told the grumpy people who were unloading stuff onto the lawn that they wouldn't be able to get in until about 4:30. grumble grumble, tough luck, that's the way it worked out for you.
So THEN, as I'm pulling out of the driveway to head home, i totally nailed another car that was driving by...didn't see her coming at all (probably due to my frame of mind at the time...). Ripped the back bumper half off the car (the same car, incidentally, whose engine service light came on on Friday....grrrrrrr). Fortunately no one was hurt (except my ego), and the other car had only a couple scuffs, no major damage. And she was very friendly and nice about the whole thing. So she and I stood in the street and ripped the rest of the bumper supports off so that i could remove the thing and put it in the trunk to get home. Sigh. But thank goodness for package policies.
So THEN, anthony headed back to the old place to meet the GUY, and he finally showed up, and said 'house looks great, good job..." BUT then he informed us that his parents (the landlords) had decided that because they paid the utility bills at the house, that they should have received the rebate which we (and all other saskatchewanites) received on our phone bill in January. Something about that rebate being for the utility services, not just for the phone bill. And that they were going to keep part of our damage deposit to cover that. Sigh.
Anthony talked to them on the phone, and explained that the rebate was for telephone services, and that the government specifically decided to put it on the phone bill to reach as many individuals/families as possible, and that it was NOT tied to who owned the property or who paid the rest of the utility bills. They kinda agreed at that point, but we still don't have our money back from them so we'll see if we get it all or if they try to hold some back. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but a damage deposit is the tenant's money, held in trust by the landlord to offset the costs of repairing any damage or cleaning any messes that the tenant leaves behind upon exiting the property. So as far as I can tell, they cannot legally take any of that money because they deemed our place clean and un-damaged. We plan to go to the rentalsman if they do not refund our full amount. And thankfully i thought to take pictures of the clean place before we left, so that if we need to fight it, we at least have some visual proof that no money should be deducted for damage/cleaning.
The part that frustrates me the most was that we were very good tenants for them for 3 years. We took good care of the place, and we had a good relationship with them. And we left that place spotless. And they didn't mention anything about the rebate when it first came....just now that we moved. So why on earth are they now treating us poorly? Every single set of guys who moved out left the basement in a mess, and the landlords had to come and spend hours cleaning it, but they all got back their full damage deposits! Why are they trying to do this to us then?
Sigh.
So there is my story. If you've gotten to the end, you know that most stories end with a lesson learned or a principle to apply. However, I'm not that far along in processing all of this yet. But I do know this. Most of the change (and the change process) has been positive. And I've only had 2 complete freak-out/meltdowns in this whole thing, which for me is very very good. And the negative/frustrating parts of the process are still quite small in the grand scheme of things - mostly involving money if they are to be analyzed. And Money is just Stuff. And Stuff is not important, it will come and go. So we will get by. And we love our new place, and look forward to creating many wonderful memories there, and sharing it with all of you.
