Moving out, moving in

Well, after 2 1/2 years of moving back to Canada, I've finally moved out of the family home and into a place of my own. It was a long time to be at home - much longer than expected - but I felt I had to finish school and pay my parents back before I could justify moving out.

Moving out was hard, and not for logistical reasons. My parents were not at all happy with my decision - likely they felt hurt that I chose not to live with them. I think it was the hardest for my dad, who kept pouting and trying to come up with excuses to keep me at home. His latest is that it is more environmentally sound if I stay at home - smart guy, he's appealing to issues that I care about! It was hard to leave them, and I do feel guilty - but I am happier and feel much more free.

I am pretty much moved in now. Just yesterday I had my piano moved, which turned out to be a harrowing experience. FYI, do not pick the cheapest mover when moving a piano, especially when there is no elevator in your apartment building! There were three guys: one young guy who was very inexperienced, an older guy who wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and the driver, who - thank god! - knew his stuff, but was just a little string bean of a man. I was a little worried when the driver started instructing the other two - shouldn't they already know how to do this? His impatient tone and sighs of exasperation were not instilling any confidence in me! It was obvious that he was the only who had done this before.

As they were pulling and pushing my poor piano up the first flight of stairs, it occurred to me that these movers - a kid, a guy who is a bit soft in the head, and one skinny guy - might not be able to move it up. I was terrified that the piano was going to slide down the stairs and kill one of them. Luckily, one of the building residents, Dave from #7, stopped to watch and ended up helping them. With every heave, I held my breath and braced for the worst! And then, at the very top of the second flight of stairs, Dave pulled at a slight angle, and the piano started to tip towards the banister! I had the horrifying vision of it falling over the edge, destroying everything in its path, smashing into the ground, creating a huge gaping hole, and breaking into a huge pile of wood, strings, and piano guts. Thankfully, they were able to straighten it and they moved it without any incident into the apartment. I was really shaken up and had to sit down after that! Why oh why did I not choose the violin as my instrument?