Rules for Moving
Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 2:26 am
Sure, I'll move you. Absolutely. Name the time and place, and unless it's just impossible, I'm there. I've never turned down a friend who needed help moving, I don't think: it's part of how I pay back all the favors I've incurred over the years, needing rides to work, places to live, and, yes, my stuff moved.
But there are a few things I need:
• Is everything you own - with the exception of the very largest items - packed in boxes or bags, and in a neat pile in the room closest to your door? No? Then call me when you're ready to move.
• You need to work at least as hard as I do. And when it's moving time, I work hard. I like dumb heavy lifting. Should have been a dockworker. But if I'm flying up and down stairs, while you're drinking a beer with your soon-to-be-former neighbor, I'm going to go home.
• I can't be the only person who moves you. If I'm your only friend, you're going to need to buy some friends. That beer comes in handy. See, I'm really very old, and if I have to move your whole household alone, I'm going to die, and that will make me feel really bad.
• There can't be more children than adults. Kids can be really helpful when moving: they can do little things that it would be a waste to dedicate a Paul or a Bishop to. But if there are eight kids, and you, and me, then I'm going to have to spend 90 percent of my time kid-wrangling, and not much moving's going to happen.
• Don't close my window. Don't open it, either. You can't possibly expect me to move your entire household in four hours. Similarly, if those four hours run out, you can't possibly expect me to call in sick the next day so I can "finish up." Piss-poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.
But there are a few things I need:
• Is everything you own - with the exception of the very largest items - packed in boxes or bags, and in a neat pile in the room closest to your door? No? Then call me when you're ready to move.
• You need to work at least as hard as I do. And when it's moving time, I work hard. I like dumb heavy lifting. Should have been a dockworker. But if I'm flying up and down stairs, while you're drinking a beer with your soon-to-be-former neighbor, I'm going to go home.
• I can't be the only person who moves you. If I'm your only friend, you're going to need to buy some friends. That beer comes in handy. See, I'm really very old, and if I have to move your whole household alone, I'm going to die, and that will make me feel really bad.
• There can't be more children than adults. Kids can be really helpful when moving: they can do little things that it would be a waste to dedicate a Paul or a Bishop to. But if there are eight kids, and you, and me, then I'm going to have to spend 90 percent of my time kid-wrangling, and not much moving's going to happen.
• Don't close my window. Don't open it, either. You can't possibly expect me to move your entire household in four hours. Similarly, if those four hours run out, you can't possibly expect me to call in sick the next day so I can "finish up." Piss-poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.