Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Chaos Continues

The movers did eventually arrive and get the container unloaded. This is the scene we found when we opened the container--note the little antique table in the middle at the top of the photo. It wasn't wrapped in protective bubble wrap and is now in several pieces. Note all the small, loose articles scattered around. To say that many of our possessions were damaged is an understatement. The Norwegian movers wrote in permanent black marker on several of our things, including our file cabinet. They also stuck packing tape directly on painted surfaces, so you can imagine how the paint looks now!

This is my favorite example of the craptastic packing job--several things stuffed into a cat bed and wrapped with tape. Seriously, the aquavit must have been flowing when this creative idea was concocted. The insurance adjuster is coming over this morning to inspect the damage I have found so far--the chipped finish on the couch, the mangled Husky tool cabinet, the shattered antique chess table...the list goes on and on.

In the meantime, I am contending with boxes, boxes and more boxes. Sigh. Really, I can't complain--my friend Craig came over yesterday to help me put together my bookshelves and rearrange lots of furniture, his wife Katrina is coming over today to help me unpack more, and last Monday, my mom and my friend Gita helped me paint the entire second storey of the house so the walls would be nice and fresh before the furniture arrived. I have amazing, wonderful people in my life, so in the end, who cares about a broken table or a marred sofa? Not me (not much, anyway)!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Em,
Hmmm...I don't envy that pile of unpacking. Glad your items arrived, but sorry to hear about the damage. When we moved West, we did the "sell everything and the rest give to Salvation Army" moving plan, so as to avoid this mess! Then again, most of our furniture back then consisted of IKEA and we didn't care. Wait - we will have IKEA furniture! ha ha. Seriously, glad to hear you're back; we still need to come and visit upstate NY one of these days. And, did you know Snoop Dog has his own show on E?? Scary. Also, Chelsea Lately is some quality tv time in the evening. :)

Michele said...

Get out! This is unbelievable! I mean, we've gotten used to the low level of customer service in Norway but this is far beyond anything we've experienced. I'm afraid of what you'll find when you start opening boxes. Dude, I'm so sorry about your stuff; I'd be super pissed off as well. I hope the insurance doesn't mess with you...

Your friends are wonderful to help you through this. Of course, you have to be wonderful to have wonderful friends, so I'm not surprised you do.

BTW, "craptastic." Love it! It's my new favorite word. :-)

Emily said...

Kari, don't feel bad, we still have IKEA stuff too! In fact, everyone always raves about our bookshelves and they are shocked to learn that not only are they from IKEA, but they are almost 10 years old.
Michele, yeah, when I think about the fact that we paid the Norwegian movers $10,000 to butcher our possessions, I feel a little sick. Oh well, nothing to do now but get over it, move on, and hope that the insurance company is feeling generous! Emily

K said...

Oh Emily, I'm so, so sorry this happened! I hope you get a nice big insurance check, and then I hope you take yourself on a looong shopping spree.

Site Meter