live blogging (almost) unpacking an interstate move

The best part of moving in is unpacking the backpack you’ve been living out of for a month. Opening drawers is a far better way of accessing your clothes than unzipping pockets.
The next best thing about moving in is finally being able to do a few loads of laundry and then letting it sit out on the line in the sun all day.
Another very nice thing about moving in is reminding yourself that you can a) reassemble Ikea furniture, and b) assemble complicated home audio-video set ups all on your own. With judicious use of Tshirts for moving large, heavy thing and walks to the cafe for recuperative afternoon teas.
I have also been struck by the kindness of people. Not just strangers, but all sorts of people. Before we left Melbourne (which, I should note, we did only last week, only three weeks after our decision to follow The Squeeze’s job offer north to the land of winter-days-that-feel-like-Melbourne-spring) I had a series of emails from friends (and strangers) offering to do me favours – hook me up with work, hook me up with DJing gigs, help me find a place to live, host us while we looked for a house of our own, etc etc etc. These people have all been so wonderful – there’ve literally been dozens coming out of the woodwork, offering advice on transitional accommodation, teaching gigs, new town tidbits (where to live? Where to dance? Where to shop?) and even just dropping a line or calling or emailing or just stopping by to say ‘welcome!’
At this rate Sydney is going to win friendliest city. I’d remembered it being a bit faster and ruder than Brisbane or Melbourne, but it’s actually still Australian-type friendly – just faster. The real estate agents have been polite and helpful (!!! no wai! WAI!!1!1!), there are Brunswick type people (Malta, Greece and Italy were all well represented this week – Charlie, Nick and Maria, respectively), though there wasn’t quite enough interest from passers by in the removals truck on Tuesday. If this was Brunswick at least half a dozen little men would have wandered out to have a stare and to offer advice. I guess it was the rain kept them away.
I have spent the last three days unpacking like mad – kitchen first, followed by books. Mostly to clear away the book box ramparts keeping us from the couch, our beds and making dinner. Today I have reassembled a desk, a bed and a stereo cabinet. Yesterday I built five book cases. On the first day I was so tired when The Squeeze came home from work (he had to start straight away, or he’d be here carrying heavy things) I could only lie pathetically on the couch while he made dinner in our lovely new kitchen. Then I went to ‘just have a lie down’ at about 7.30, before ending up passing out – dead to the world – about an hour later. But last night I was able to stay up til at least 9.30! Partly because the internet was finally unpacked and reassembled. I think it’s an Ikea product – took an inordinate amount of screwing about.
Speaking of which, because we found a house on the first day looking (true! direct from the airport and everything!), we were able to use our hire car to do some Large Object Shopping. We’d been staying with a variety of friends and family of friends during that week (a big shout out to the Frase’s Ps and to my Ps’ buddies), so had visited no fewer than four different shopping centers. In part because the outer suburbs don’t seem to have strip shopping here (just malls). But also because we ended up going to a (blurgh) Ikea to buy a new cupboard. It was crowded and just as horrible as usual – we didn’t enjoy it one bit. Though I did see a rug I quite fancy (could be Strib, though it wasn’t as brightly coloured as that one in the picture… could be Gedser), we didn’t find a cupboard (though I guess wardrobe is a more accurate term) and we didn’t buy one single thing. Luckily we’d been to a Big W just the day before (at the far superior… Burwood? shopping centre – we recommend that centre. It had a wall of windows to the outside world in the food court, and you could see a pretty sandstone shrine while you ate your fairly decent salad), so we didn’t end up buying a rubbish bin or a broom or a stupid animal-shaped dustpan and brush from Ikea. Instead we bought ordinary, dull as dishwater ones from Big W. But it was useful having a car for a week while we looked at houses. It was easier to get around (especially when it rained), we could buy those Large Objects – jumbo sized laundry detergent and bottles of juice, brooms, etc and it gave us a quicker way to explore a large city.
Overall, we Approve of Sydney. It is, unfortunately, a bit hilly and the streets are a bit narrow for bikes. They have hardly any bike lanes, and the few bike riders we have seen seem a bit dumb – they don’t drive too safe. The car drivers are utterly clueless when it comes to driving safely with bikes, and we suspect there’ll be less biking in our future… though I hope not. The Squeeze likes to commute by bike and I like the independence and freeness of it.
Remind me to post photos – our house is sweet. I am especially in love with our kitchen and bathroom – new! Cleanable! Sweet!