The Promised Photo

Remember when I wrote that long typo-filled blog about moving?

I mentioned how terrifying the movers' handling of our fragile stuff was. You see, we had them pack the most fragile of the fragile items to ensure no breakage. I had packed a lot of Pyrex and stoneware myself, since I'm Grandpa's granddaughter and I know how to wrap every Corelle mug in newspaper and jam the box full of plastic bags to make sure nothing can move. "Still," we said, "let the movers pack the china."

I am so glad I didn't see them pack, because when I unpacked, this is what I found:

I would like to emphasize that this is exactly what I saw when I opened the box. I didn't take anything out to give you a better view, or anything like that. Granted, this was the worst-packed box I opened (which is why it was selected to be photographed), but it is totally illustrative of their packing methods. And yet... notice the unsmashed light bulb. I am still amazed.

***

Seriously, though, there has to be something else going on.

Husbinator had seen the movers throwing boxes of books on top of boxes marked fragile, so he was exceedingly nervous about breakage and was on pins and needles about calling the foreman to tell him we wanted to be reimbursed for breakage.

Thus, when I picked up a box and heard what could only be the tinkling of a very lot of shattered glass, Husbinator begged me to call the movers right away to ask them what to do: take before and after photos? (This was before I had unpacked anything that the movers had packed.) So I called the foreman before opening the box, and told him that something had clearly broken.

"No," said Chaim, not sounding belligerent or accusatory, just as if he were unable to understand what I was saying. "It can't be."

"Umm..." I answered, "There's only one thing this sound can possibly be..."

"No," Chaim repeated, dazed. "It can't be."

"Listen," I answered, "I'll take a picture when I ope--"

"Oh!" laughed Chaim. "It isn't yours!"

"What?"

"I know what it is!" Chaim continued in relieved triumph. "You're right, you're right: there's that one box. But it isn't yours, it was supposed to stay on the truck, one of the guys brought it in by mistake... Listen, just open it! It's fine."

This was a bit much, but his tone of voice didn't sound like he was trying to weasel out of anything, and even if he were, what kind of stupid plan was this?

So I opened the box. It wasn't ours.

Oh, Chutznikim

We moved... my goodness, over a month ago already!

As you may have guessed, moving was totally nuts: there was lots and lots of stuff to do, most of it urgent. And no, it's not all done yet.

We had to prioritize, and since there was so much that had to get done, not everything that was really important could get done right away. Among our many tasks was hanging mezuzot: usually when Jews rent to Jews, mezuzot stay up between tenants, but for reasons not entirely clear to us, this house only came with one mezuza on the front door.

Husbinator spoke to the landlord about it, who said he would reimburse us for buying and hanging all necessary mezuzot (which will now belong to the house, as is standard). Husbinator and I, being reasonably knowledgeable in Jewish Law, triaged this task as Very Important, but Something That Can Wait for Up To Thirty Days. Because that's one of those odd little nuggets of halacha that are common knowledge: you really should hang up mezuzot ASAP upon moving to any permanent dwelling, but you get a 30-day grace period (perhaps because moving is so hectic?).

So Husbinator kept his eye on mezuza prices, and after a few weeks asked Rabbi Leader to make a house call and tell us which weirdly-shaped entrances and oddly-sized porches did and did not need mezuzot, and where to hang mezuzot on the doors that have equal traffic both ways and don't actually have doorposts. Standard stuff.

Rabbi Leader was surprised we had pushed this off. Husbinator explained the triage system. Rabbi Leader still was confused. Husbinator reminded him of the universally known 30-Day Automatic Extension. "But that doesn't apply in Israel!" Rabbi Leader said.

And so it doesn't! Shulchan Aruch 286:22 clearly writes down the 30-Day Extension which we all know and love. But then he continues with the slightly lesser-known ruling that one who lives in Israel is obligated to hang mezuzot immediately, due to the mitzvah to settle the land. Who knew???

Fun Times

I like to maintain the pretense that this blog is anonymous, so I'm not posting details about my job here.

However, today was the first day of my new job, and I really enjoyed it. Negligible commute, friendly people, and interesting work. It makes me very happy.

We moved!

I hope that excuses the long silences.

Some bullet points (unformatted, because I'm typing this on my phone):
*Packing is much easier and more pleasant with background music
*Our movers were awesome, if slightly terrifying. They were incredibly kind and cheer, and manged to be both ruthlessly efficient and completely patient at the same time. We also had them pack our most fragile items, and thank G-d I only saw how they packed them after it was all over. One glass dish broke. That's it. When I next sit down at the computer, I want to add a photo of the worst example of their packing, exactly as the box appeared when I opened it. Suffice it to say that there was plenty of room for the stuff to rattle around, and yet even the unwrapped lightbulb remained unbroken. I can only conclude that this is the tiniest portion of their Divine Reward for the cheerful soothing help they give people who are moving. 
*Packing is bad, but unpacking is worse. At least until there is a clear underlying order, at which point unpacking is just hard, but no longer impossible. Thank you, Husbinator. 
*BSM got a library card! 
*We haven't filed any other paperwork indicating that we've moved. No wait, we canceled our internet at the old house, and out our names on the internet and electricity in the new place. We have yet to cancel electricity, water-- Never mind. This is freaking me out again. We will get to it. Very, very soon. 
*The community here seems great for us. 
*I'm starting work on August 26! Training to be a patent attorney. 
*Further posts to follow... Eventually. 
:)