Betwixt and Between

Have I used that title before? It's one of my favoritest phrases.

I swear I haven't fallen off the side of the Earth. There have been so many things I wanted to write about but writing eats up hours of my time because I'm a perfectionist, and much as I love communicating with whomever is reading and my Higher Self, I'm still unpacking and sorting, trying to get 8 hours of work in every day, and running all the errands that come with fitting yourself into a new place in a new life in a new city. I make a LOT of U-turns, but fortunately they're allowed at just about any intersection in San Diego. Another couple days, then I'll be settled and I can give a real update.

Real quick though (because I'm a writer and this is what happens when I start!): I ended up in the condo in Bonsall. It was my second choice, but thoughts of the Escondido house faded fast when I realized this is definitely where I was meant to be. I'm not disappointed. The location rocks and when I think about it, I got everything in this place that I asked the Universe for down to the details (except central A/C and heat - and in fairness I didn't specifically ask for that, I kind of assumed, so I guess that's a cosmic joke on me). It's a little further out, but not too far. It's so QUIET at night (not even bug sounds!) but that's okay. I take any excuse to drive around because the geography is AMAZING in this area. I can't wait to post pictures.

The first week when I moved in the weather was much like Hell (read: Phoenix), but then the Universe relented and it's been everything San Diego is known for since. I actually have to put on a sweatshirt at night. It's JULY people! A sweatshirt in JULY. I'm not complaining! I'm just amazed! It's warm during the day. Last week it was so perfect (highs of mid-70s all week) that I never turned on the A/C units, but this week has been at 80° in the afternoon, and the chinnies get uncomfortable so I turn one on for them.

Ok, if I don't stop here I'll write for hours then be mad because I'll be working until 5am again tomorrow. Soon though, I swear. I have so much to tell. It's piling up in my head. I'm gonna have to start wearing hats to hold it together.

Until then...

Do Not Use Crown Royal Moving of Brooklyn NY

I am posting this narrative of my experience with Crown Royal Moving, located at 56 48th Street in Brooklyn, NY, web site at http://movingroyal.com, because I HOPE it will help someone else NOT be scammed by this company.

I will be filing complaints against them with several federal and local organizations, plus as many web sites as I can find that report bad movers.

I would like to point out that the loading and delivery crews were polite (with the exception of Eric Lucci once he found out I would not easily agree to their inflated price), and there were only two broken things on the truck, both of which were minor.

My belongings were delivered promptly, but only after I had no choice but to finish paying their inflated price because the owner (Vili) would not honor the BINDING PRICE ESTIMATE with the NOT TO EXCEED AGREEMENT that was promised to me. I don't think my review or my filed complaints should reflect on the individuals that drove the truck, or that loaded/unloaded. My grievances are solely with the owner of the company, Vili, and the managers involved with estimating and managing my move (Paul Towber and Eric Lucci).

Here is what I'm posting for others to read about this company on the scammer lists:

Order #W664077
NYDOT # T37074 - NYDOT # 1230294
ICC MC # 486301
Move Out Date: May 30, 2008

I received an original estimate from Paul Towber for 6000 lbs. He said the cost to move CROSS COUNTRY would be $3500. I found that hard to believe since the other moving companies I'd received estimates from ranged from $5000 - $7000. Paul said Crown Royal Moving could provide the move cheaper because they were the actual freight company, not a middle man that gave estimates, then found a freight company like them to move the load.

I told Paul that if he would provide a NOT TO EXCEED agreement, then I would go with Crown Royal Moving instead of a trusted name like United Van Lines or North American (both of which I had much higher estimates from). He wrote on the Crown Royal estimate, in his own handwriting, that the estimated price was a BINDING PRICE and NOT TO EXCEED $3500. I asked if he was sure that would hold up since it was only handwritten on the document and he said it would. The document does actually have "Binding Estimate of Cost" printed across the top. He said if I had any trouble, I was to give him a call.

Moving day came and the truck was four hours late in arriving. Due to this they did not finish loading my things until 11pm at night. Once they had everything on the truck, Eric Lucci, who was the Sales Manager in charge of the loading crew, told me I had exceeded the allowed space and therefore the price would go up. I told him Paul had given me a NOT TO EXCEED agreement written on the estimate, and I showed him the paperwork. He said he could not honor that price or the Not to Exceed promise, and my only choices were to sign the paper agreeing to pay the inflated price of $5250 or they would unload all my things from the truck back into the house. I argued about the legality of a binding price, but he said since it was so late at night, he couldn't do anything about getting it approved with the owner - either I had to sign the agreement for $5250 or they would unload my things. I signed under duress. Eric told me to call the owner when I got to California and straighten it out.

I called the owner (I think his name was Vili) once I had found a place to deliver my things. Vili was very rude about the price and would not honor the Not To Exceed Agreement. I called Paul and he told me he would talk to Vili but Paul didn't call back. I finally called again since the driver of the truck was calling me repeatedly asking for an address, but Paul would no longer answer my calls.

Vili insisted I either pay him $2500, which was the remainder of the $5250 price, or he would unload my things into a storage unit until I did pay him, and then I would owe the storage cost plus a second moving cost, or if I never paid any of it then I would just lose all my stuff.

Obviously I had no choice and ended up releasing the funds to him on my credit card.

I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN. I was unable to sue them in small claims court for the difference between the $3500 estimate with a Not To Exceed Agreement, and the Final Cost of $5250 because I would've had to file in NY and attend court there, and I couldn't afford to fly back to represent myself or hire a lawyer on my behalf.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Please contact me for scanned copies of the paperwork to prove my story.

The Wild Ride of Mr. Wilbur

Yesterday morning I was roused rather rudely and suddenly by Mom's urgent exclamation: "Trayce! Wilbur's out!" My consciousness has never slammed back into my body so fast. I was instantly awake. A glance at the blue cat carrier showed the door still closed and locked, but indeed my fuzzy rat was not in there. I saw how he had chewed through the plastic between the ventilation holes in the side of the travel cage, making a big enough escape route for his tiny, squishy self. This is one of the reasons I feel so under the gun to get into a place - it's like playing against the clock. They need to be back in their regular escape-proof cages.

Katy and I have had to catch Wilbur before and unfortunately he is the smallest, fastest ball of fur I have. He wasn't hard to spot on the dark carpet (he's all white). It's good that hotels don't have a lot of furniture, but he ran under every piece just the same. Even with two of us trying to corner him he slipped past, careening over our laps and wriggling through our hands several times. They say white men can't jump, but lemme tell you, white chinchillas can. Straight up into your face. I'm still the smarter animal though.

When I realized I wasn't going to catch the little brat with my hands, and throwing my sweatshirt over him didn't even work, I tried the oats. Wilbur loves rolled oats, the kind you make oatmeal out of. I buy the organic ones at Whole Foods and put a pinch into each of their bowls when I feed them at night. As soon as he receives his food, Wilbur hunkers over his bowl until every oat piece is gone. It's an intense concentration, the kind only an addict has, and I had no qualms about using it against him.

I put some in his dish, rattled it a bit, and set it on the floor. Mom was very busy stuffing pillows around the chair he was under to block him in when he hopped out behind her back to sniff around. I literally picked him up and effectively ended his romp.

Score:
Humans - 1
Fuzzy Brats - 0

I had cardboard and packing tape in my car from the move, so I used that to cover the hole in the cage. Cardboard is even easier to chew through than plastic, but only if he can get a grip on the edge. So far this has kept him in, but I know I'm only buying time, and there's not too much for sale. I noticed Edwyn started the same project on his cage, so we fixed that up too to discourage any further escape attempts. We also locked all the cages in the bathroom yesterday while we were out looking at apartments. So far so good.

Things are getting better. Probably because I adjusted my attitude. Wanna change your life? Change your mind. I found a house in Escondido I like although I have no idea how I'll afford it every month if they approve me. I found a good Plan B place too in Bonsall with lots of storage and a garage so I can sort through all this crap I dragged across the country and get rid of more of it. I've found more organic grocery stores, which is encouraging, and I think as soon as the Jeep is cleared of all the stuff rattling around in the back, driving will become a lot easier too.

I'm trying to focus on the success I've already had of people chasing me to be their tenant too. I stopped and ran across the road the other day to get a number from a For Rent sign, and an older couple actually turned their car around and pulled over to ask if I was looking for a place to live. I said I was, but their property wasn't available until October, so I thanked them for asking and we went our separate ways. Another guy with a house I viewed called and wanted me to be his tenant. It was a beautiful serene place on top of a hill with a well-tended zen garden, but I knew he wasn't too thrilled about my animals and I didn't like that the electric for all three tenants was on one bill and would be split according to what he thought was fair.

So I still don't have an address, but I hope the house comes through and if it doesn't, I have a backup place. If that rents in the meantime I guess I'll still be looking but hopefully this will all fall together today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Falling Off A Cliff, Part II

We left for SD on Wednesday morning, both Mom and I driving our respective cars because she's hauling some furniture down here for me. We only went about 400 miles the first day and we stopped in Needles, CA for the night. Fortunately Mom had the foresight to call and remind me to fill up the tank before crossing into CA. I couldn't believe the difference in the gas prices! I was bitching about it being almost $4 in NJ, and it stuck around the $3.80/gallon range coming across, but once we went over that state line the price skipped 4s altogether and zoomed up to $5.29 per gallon for the "cheap" stuff! That was my first "uh oh." I held out hope that it was that high because of the remote location and luckily, it is actually a little cheaper in the bigger cities, but not by much: $4.59/gal on average here. And even so, the smog over this city is positively gross. I don't know why people think the pollution is less than L.A. It looks just as bad or worse to me.

They stop everyone at the state line to ask if you have any plants, fruits, vegetables, or animals in the car. I remember them doing that in Arizona too when we moved there. I knew the chinchillas were allowed in CA, but I wasn't sure about the lizards so I didn't mention Spunky and I hid Geco's cage in my suitcase just in case. Turns out they only ask you and they don't really check anything so there was no problem there, but I have to wonder what the point is of stopping everyone to ask if you're not going to do anything to enforce the rules? I'm grateful they don't, but it seems a bit pointless, doesn't it?

We snuck the animals into the hotel again even tho it's a pet-friendly hotel. "Friendly" usually only extends to dogs and cats, because that's what most people are comfortable with. When you mention you have an 8-pound iguana and 4 chinchillas (and a gecko, altho she's the least of my worries), they get a funny look on their faces and the bill hits the roof because they charge per animal.

So I've reached the geographic goal, but I'm terribly disappointed with San Diego. Disappointed enough to want to run back where I came from crying, even though that would be one big ass crow I'd have to consume. Seriously. I called the moving company to see if they could take my shit off the truck, but it's too late. This is a good reason to avoid expectation like the plague, folks. Most times the reality will not live up to the fantasy you've created in your head. I know this from too much experience, and STILL I have some kind of special talent for fucking myself anyway. It's also a good reason to visit the places you think you want to live before you lay out several grand on moving there. I mean, DUH.

I'm trying to stop resisting it. I'm trying to just go with the flow. Be here now. Live in the moment. I hear all the right things in my head, but my heart ain't buying it yet.

When I can manage to step outside my own drama for 10 seconds, I know I suck royally at transitions plus I'm under the gun to find housing which is a lot of pressure and I'm frustrated because I don't know the area yet. So that part of my brain is all "give it a chance, it'll work out fine in the end." However, there is another part of me that truly hates, deep down, everything this kind of place represents with its big box retailers, six-lane roads, rude drivers, and too much unconscious population. THAT part of me is horrified that I'm going to have to participate in this kind of suburban living. That stuff is way more prominent here than back in Midland Park. It totally rubs me the wrong way, and I'm not sure there's enough environmental consciousness, holistic healing, and spiritual practice in SD to counter that. I hope I'm wrong. Right now even the rude, harried, northeast seems more evolved. AAAGGGGHHHH. More evolved than me maybe. C'mon Trayce, are you the Coyote or the Road Runner? I know it's just my perception. I need to quit my bitching. I asked for this. I traveled 3000 miles to be here. Other people would sell their soul to be here. I made it happen. It's mine, now I need to own it. I suck no matter which way I turn today.

This brings to mind a plaque for the wall I saw the other day: Faith makes things possible, not easy. I'm glad I didn't have to buy it to remember it.

I'll get over myself once I find a place to hide out and observe for awhile. I'm just feeling exposed and stupid and bewildered and out of sorts. This must be what animals feel like when they get transported to an unfamiliar area and "let go." I wonder if an actual physical death feels this overwhelming?

Tonight I'm thankful that:

• the temperature here is as awesome as expected;
• Midas made my brakes right for no charge under warranty and they gave me a free oil change;
• I made it safely all the way across the country with six animals;
• I am not alone here right now; and
• I found one house I could see myself living in even if it's out of my price range.

Meep meep. :)

Moment of Insanity

I've reached San Diego. Well, technically Carlsbad, where we'll be staying until Sunday because if I don't have something rented by Sunday, well, I don't even want to go there, but it will be expensive.

My first impression is that this area is very much like where we lived in Phoenix. And I was not sad to leave Phoenix. Somehow I thought San Diego would be more like the East coast (a lot of small communities squished together) but with more laid-back people.

What the fuck was I thinking?

No no, it will definitely get better. I'm just freaked out is all. I've seen like five minutes of the place and it was during rush hour. I don't give the best first impression myself, so I need to give SD a break. I'm sure I'll find somewhere cool.

But seriously, what the fuck was I thinking?