The Move From H*ll; Stage 1

The move from hell; stage 1

You know, if I was smarter (biiiig IF!), I should've timed this story to start on Saturday, July 7th. Get it? Prologue? Stage 1? Tour de France???

Oh well, since I'm not smarter...

The last time we moved we had a "moving company" (down here they call them "removalists") move everything we'd packed. It didn't go well, the boss of the company was there and he insisted on stacking stuff in the truck himself (instead of his helper who was much more experienced at it), and much of our bookshelves, desks, etc were pretty scuffed up. Also, he was working at a snails pace figuring he could milk us for around $2500. After 20 mins I saw what he was doing so I grabbed my own hand truck and started running loads to the truck along with his helper. His helper was a very cool guy and a damned fast worker, he was also pissed at the loading job his boss was doing so he and I loaded and unloaded very quickly. All in all, we got away with $1600.

Also, since I had to really hurry for 2 days (3 HUGE truckloads) I kinda tweaked my back; but that's another story.

Anyways, this time we decided to rent a truck. Me, being a former truck driver and freight tosser arounder, would be able to drive it. I also know how to move large, awkward, and heavy things without killing yourself --as long as you don't rush! It turns out they are pretty darned cheap and come with a liftgate, cool! For 10 days of having the truck (see, I told you we wasn't hurrying) it was just under $800. No worries. The truck was also the EXACT SAME MODEL as one that I used to drive in Fairbanks for 4 years.

What could be easier, right?

Famous last words... Stay tuned for stage 2!



Went to the Egyptian exhibit today. It's the one from the Louvre (in France) that's been on display at our state art gallery for 3 months. It was amazing! Unfortunately, no cameras, darn.

Got to see lots and lots of really neat old stuff. There were even sections of The Book of The Dead on the orginal papyrus! Oh the fun I could've had if I could read heiroglyphics! It would've been neat to see that mummy of a cat come to life and terrorise everyone --WEEHOO!

I'll talk more about the exhibit next time, just wanted to get something about it in today.

Food Stuff:

What's that you say? You're making something and the recipe calls for buttermilk? But, you don't have any buttermilk and the shops just closed! Oh, the horrors! What to do now...??? Have no fear, dave is here!

Buttermilk substitute:

250 mils (8 oz (1 cup)) of skim milk
1 tbspn lemon juice or cider vineger*

Mix the first two ingredients together and stir. Let sit for 5 mins. Wa-La! instant buttermilk!

*don't use distilled vinegar EVER, for ANYTHING --you don't want to know what it's gone through or what it started out as (I'll give you a hint: think yummy, scrumptious leftover heavy crude oil). Always use fermented vinegar.