The weekend was a lot more complicated than even I thought it would be.

Despite the promise of free beer and pizza, only one of my friends arrived on Saturday morning to help us move all of our possessions from the old place into the truck. Ancient bibliophile that I am, I have an inordinate amount of books – I donated around 120 to the Lansdale library – in addition to the heavy sectional couch and loveseat set and ungainly things like bookshelves. My friend, bless him, busted his behind along with me to get things onto the truck as promptly as possible. Even so, it was evening by the time we arrived at our new place. Another friend of mine was able to come by towards the end of the evening, but as she has severe arthritis in both knees, I felt terrible asking too much of her. So the rented truck and about a third of our remaining possessions sat in the lot overnight.

Sunday morning was an extra-credit trip for my wife to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and after seeing some exhibits and taking on the famous stairs both of us were exhausted. So it was at this point that I broke down and called a service. Two strapping young men arrived and not only emptied the truck but helped us get the more fiddly bits of furniture assembled. So while the apartment is in serious disarray, we have finally officially moved.

I’ve learned two things over the course of the weekend. The first is that hiring professional movers is the way to go. The guys that helped us were courteous, prompt, skilled, and willing to help with just about anything. I’m sure my friends would be as well, but with so many of them being in so many different places, it’s silly of me to expect they can simply arrive when summoned.

The other is that I’m past the point I should be buying furniture from Ikea. At least, if I expect to be moving it.

There are still things to do – our new bedframe was delivered to the old address – and items to pick up – we need new desk chairs and waste bins. But the hard part is over. And my commute to and from work, ideally, will now be much shorter.