"How To Fit 4 Tons of Shit Into a 2 Ton Bag"
lori
Submitted this review about
Ori Van Lines Inc.
Review made Live: 2/15/2009 3:20:00 PM
I've been struggling to find the perfect title to describe our moving day:
"4 Smiling Faces and Positive Attitudes Prevent 2 Cardiac Arrests"
"I Have Seen the Face of God and His Name is Ori"
"How To Fit 4 Tons of Shit Into a 2 Ton Bag"
"Do You Think If We Just Dove off the Roof and Put Ourselves Out of Our Misery the Pickers Would Just Step Over Us?"
We hadn't moved in 9 years. My husband and I are hopeless packrats and serious collectors. "One's a find, two's a pair, three's a collection" -XXXwords to live by, words that may kill you come moving day.
I'd been packing and donating and throwing out for weeks. I could see the light at the end of a tunnel and it was a large moving van, bearing down on me. We were up all night still packing before our 4-man crew from Ori Van Lines arrived.
Incidentally, my first estimate from the office called for 2 trucks. TWO TRUCKS! Sweet Lord. Cannot happen. Having access to the new place, we started moving some stuff ourselves. After whittling and whining and donating enough to clothe an entire third world country, I called ORI again and updated our move for one truck and 4 men.
Our crew arrived fresh, on time, with the energy and positive attitudes you'd expect. My husband and I were sleep-deprived, panicky, scared and defeated; not all our stuff was in boxes and we simply were Not Ready, in caps, no matter how hard we had tried to be. We were Losers, Miserable Clients about to ruin the day of some nice young men.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. One guy went over the paperwork, took a tour of our place, agreed it was mostly ready but observed the need to continue boxing. He never stopped smiling; he spoke calmly, like a vet does to a sick puppy, all reassurance and professionalism. "This is fine. Keep going with the boxes. You're 99% there."
Heirlooms. 100 year old antiques and china, glass, pottery. Two armoires, furniture and books sufficient for 2 homes, delicate collectibles out the wazoo. Neurotic? Me, worried? You bet you. But not for long.
Suddenly, bounding up the 42 steps to our walkup was the remaining three crew: The Crew was wiry and 145 pounds apiece. Nick was The Horse, a Herculean specimen whose display I'd witness in due time.
Bursting through the apartment door, the crew announced, "Good Morning! This is a Great Day. You're about to have the best moving experience ever!"
Within 10 minutes of being exposed to and massaged by these happy attitudes, my husband and I were transformed. We stole a moment together and almost cried. "We're going to be okay."
We have a bulky video cabinet that when empty probably weighs over 150 pounds. It was full of about 100 VHS tapes I'd not removed and boxed up yet. Nick said, "Don't. I got it." He wrapped some tape around it, bent his knees, picked it up, threw it on his shoulder and walked out the door. I thought my husband would faint. I just mumbled, "I have seen the face of God and he just walked out the door with my video cabinet."
Let's be clear. I've had professional movers before. They used hump straps and gizmos on their backs.
Start to finish, including travel; the job was finished in 6.25 hours. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the stuff of Fishes and Loaves
Besides treating our furniture, collectibles and gobs of stuff like the most precious cargo on earth, they brought peace, joy, and saved our miserable souls. Jesus isn't just in church on Sundays. Sometimes he's driving a moving truck.
