There was a skidding sound of paws on a polished wood floor followed by a thump. Then a brown and gold shape streaked from the main room to the bedroom. Rinse, repeat.
I leaned back against the kitchen wall and lifted the remains of the 2 litre soda bottle to my lips, waiting.
After a few more minutes the cycle seemed to break and my cat appeared beside me.
"MEOW!"
** There is nothing here! NOTHING! **
Then she was off for another lap around the apartment that had just been emptied by the movers in the first stage of shipping my belongings to Japan.
This had been my first experience with a moving company that packed as well as shipped. Normally, not boxing up everything yourself adds a ridiculous amount to the moving cost but it seemed for a journey over these distances, the company wanted to do it themselves and basically threw it in for free.
I had stood watching while one of the movers painstakingly wrapped my plastic water bottle in three layers of paper before gently placing it in a box before deciding I wasn't going to understand this process and retreating to the basement. Down here, I had put all the items the movers weren't to touch: my suitcase for the next 2-3 months, a few items I was donating to a charity thrift shop and my cat. Said feline had decided to take no chances and had curled up actually in the suitcase as a rather pointed hint.
Despite the simplicity of my instructions to the movers ("please take everything"), I was still asked a few of bizarre questions:
"Is this bookcase coming? And all the things on it?"
No dude, that's just my hand luggage. The mind boggles.
Now, however, they were gone and all I had left was a suitcase. Tallis came back from her mad sprint and sat at my feet.
"Meow."
** Our life used to be so much cooler than this. **
I picked her up and submitted to having my face washed. Possibly she was remembering the last time our house was emptied; an event that preceded a bunch of car rides and a three hour flight up from Florida to Canada.
"Basically," I told her. "However bad you think this is going to be...? You're out. Waaaaay out."
I leaned back against the kitchen wall and lifted the remains of the 2 litre soda bottle to my lips, waiting.
After a few more minutes the cycle seemed to break and my cat appeared beside me.
"MEOW!"
** There is nothing here! NOTHING! **
Then she was off for another lap around the apartment that had just been emptied by the movers in the first stage of shipping my belongings to Japan.
This had been my first experience with a moving company that packed as well as shipped. Normally, not boxing up everything yourself adds a ridiculous amount to the moving cost but it seemed for a journey over these distances, the company wanted to do it themselves and basically threw it in for free.
I had stood watching while one of the movers painstakingly wrapped my plastic water bottle in three layers of paper before gently placing it in a box before deciding I wasn't going to understand this process and retreating to the basement. Down here, I had put all the items the movers weren't to touch: my suitcase for the next 2-3 months, a few items I was donating to a charity thrift shop and my cat. Said feline had decided to take no chances and had curled up actually in the suitcase as a rather pointed hint.
Despite the simplicity of my instructions to the movers ("please take everything"), I was still asked a few of bizarre questions:
"Is this bookcase coming? And all the things on it?"
No dude, that's just my hand luggage. The mind boggles.
Now, however, they were gone and all I had left was a suitcase. Tallis came back from her mad sprint and sat at my feet.
"Meow."
** Our life used to be so much cooler than this. **
I picked her up and submitted to having my face washed. Possibly she was remembering the last time our house was emptied; an event that preceded a bunch of car rides and a three hour flight up from Florida to Canada.
"Basically," I told her. "However bad you think this is going to be...? You're out. Waaaaay out."