We moved in!!! We moved in to the place! We got to the apartment and moved everything in and we're here and it's the best!!!!
Customs was a hell of an adventure! We had to speak to the booth officer about the two vehicles and our purpose in Canada. Then we had to park and go into the actual border office to file for our paperwork. My dad had some mild disagreement with the customs officer, so his bag was pulled from the car and searched while Max and I discussed our paperwork with another officer. The goal was to file for a student permit for Max, and get my work permit from that paperwork. We were worried it would be too early for his student documents since his program doesn't start until September, but were going to give it a try anyway. Since we'll be exiting and reentering the country several times between now and then, refiling for paperwork won't be too much of an issue.
Turns out our worries came to pass, and since we didn't have any documentation of a common law marriage, we were both issued a visitors permit. In August when we reenter after the wedding, he'll be able to get his student permit and then I'll hopefully either have a promise of a job, but I'll get my work permit either way with our marriage license.
With our paperwork in tow, we proceeded through the border and into southern Vancouver!!! It's unimaginably gorgeous and the air is amazing! The weather should top out around 85 degrees F, which is just insane to two Texas natives. There's still folks in the city who think a 90 degree day is unbearable. We wound our way along highway 99 through the southern suburbs of the city. There are rivers and ocean views and mountains on the border. So far it seems like the perfect city!
We navigated our way to the apartment building, we're in a set of four that all open on a courtyard with entrances to our underground parking. We're steps from one of the rail stations. The train system is TransLink, with multiple stops just downtown, several of them in reasonable walking distance from the place. There's Starbucks, Tim Hortons, grocery stores, London Drug, and amazing restaurants all in a 10 minute radius!!!
We talked to the concierge about where to park our car and the U-Haul while we waited for the movers and Jake to arrive. Jake arrived from VFS really quickly and walked us up to the place. The views are to die for. We face east across the city and can see all the way to the mountains. We have floor to ceiling windows along the whole wall with several window sections that open to let in the air. There's no central air since the city is usually so cool. It made for a warm afternoon of moving. We unpacked Max's car and brought everything upstairs. Jake left to go back to classes. The movers weren't coming until later, so the rest of us went out for lunch. There was a cute place called Moxie's just across the street so we headed there.
Hurried on our way back so we wouldn't miss the movers. Of course, we did miss the movers. The initial booking with the movers was from noon to three. We found out we had to book the freight elevator, which could only be done from nine to noon or from one to four. Since we would still be in border crossing at nine, we opted for the one to four slot. When I called the movers back, they assured me that they had adjusted the reservation and would be at the apartment at one pm to move us in. Yet I had voice mails to tell me they arrived at noon, waited for an hour, and left. :| ... Through a series of phone calls which went better than I could have ever imagined, we were told the movers would be back in 10 minutes and that we would still have three hours. The elevator, however, was still only reserved until four pm.
Those movers who showed up were powerful wizards wielding only the most impressive skills. We had to station ourselves across the tower, dads helping to unload the U-Haul, Max operating the elevator to get the movers up and down, and myself in the apartment to direct the boxes and furniture. It was almost 1:45 when we started, so everyone was on a time crunch. The apartment was slightly smaller than I had anticipated, so there was some delicate negotiating of furniture which needed to happen. The boxes quickly filled up every single inch of space. The queen bed we took from Max's parents barely squeezed into the main bedroom. Thankfully we still had room for our nice dressers and a floor lamp on the far side of the bed.
Couches. Oh boy. We have two couches now, one a full-sized, and one an odd shaped love seat. The smaller couch belongs to my dad's family. It was his mom's, and then he took it after he left home, and then he gifted it to me when I got my first apartment. I had it recovered in a darling blue and white plaid. It looks like a wimpy little couch. Many a friend has tried to lift it. Yet it is a pure beast. It's made of solid steel (ok, solid wood) and has the most framing I've ever seen in a couch. It isn't a hideaway bed, but might as well have been since it weighs so much. The movers handled this one beautifully. They brought it up first, however, which means it had to stand on end in the corner of the living room so they could bring the other couch and the rest of the living room furniture in. This brings us to the other couch. It's eight feet long with a tall back and deep seating. Our walls are about 8 1/2 feet tall... Then you take door frames, entry hallways, and light fixtures into account. We were all whispering silent prayers that this couch would magically appear in the apartment. The movers made it into the elevator with the couch. The movers made it all the way down the hallway with the couch. The movers needed us to disassemble the automatic closing latch on the door. Then the incredibly talented pair of movers from heaven brought that couch into the apartment and placed it in the living room like the true champions they are. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
The security guard came around at 4:00 pm on the dot. We had the last mattress in the elevator, and the only other piece was the big dresser. Thankfully he let us hurry up with the dresser while he did the ending inspection of the hallway to make sure we hadn't put holes into any of the walls.
It was a long day. That I know for sure. When the movers left, we all sat down on different parts of furniture and released a synchronized exhale. We had made it. We had arrived and unpacked and everything fit in the apartment. We didn't know how to get back to the front door through the forest of boxes, but at least all those boxes were in the confines of the apartment.
After everyone regained consciousness, we regretfully resigned to the fact that we still had a few obligations. We mustered up the energy and made our way downstairs. We had to return the darned U-Haul and then find some type of food. The U-Haul return location was just outside of downtown, so it didn't take too long. We said goodbye to Genghis and hurried into the car where seats that have suspension and doors that actually close. We managed to find a really good pizza place a few blocks away. Fatih's pizza is right in the middle of several other pizza places but smelled the best! They sell pizza by the HUGE slice. Two slices and a drink for only $4.50, which is one of the cheapest places we've seen around so far. The pizza was excellent and we sat outside on the patio to enjoy the breeze and the views.
It's been a good day.
