A Moving Experience

An inaanak was moving house. I volunteered to organize their belongings. They were both occupied earning a living and their only yaya was busy with their baby girl. Now I was into the moving job, not just planning weddings, I thought.

That Thursday morning, I went to their soon-to-be former home with a couple of my own househelp ready to pack. I surveyed their area – married for barely three years and already so much stuff accumulated. Many of the items were unused wedding gifts in their original boxes, while others were personal purchases. Breakables, a heavy dresser, a much heavier bed, a three-storey apartment... I move furniture every time, it’s my therapy but I had to be realistic here. I thought we needed professional movers so, I let my fingers do the walking...

I probably called six companies to compare prices. They offered full service. That’s packing, moving and unpacking. All said they had to survey the apartment first to know the volume of stuff to be moved. They measured them either per piece or per cubic meter. I set the appointment that afternoon – my inaanak’s lease was expiring in a couple of days. Three companies couldn’t send people that afternoon; one company didn’t show up while two surveyors managed to come. That trimmed down my choices to two. Their estimates were almost the same and each haggled to underbid the other. Of course, the contract went to the lowest bidder. We agreed to move on a Saturday. Better that the couple would be home so I could now sit and direct.

A day before the scheduled move, the elderly mother of my inaanak called to say that the eighth of day of the month was not a good time to change home. It was the last quarter of the month and the new moon phase was going to be on the 11th. So we changed our plans of the date to the 11th. Then came another frantic call that there was going to be a solar eclipse on the 11th... not a good time to move either. So how about the 12th? I was scheduled to go on a medical checkup. They were faced with a dilemma. It was out of that dilemma of tradition and superstition versus convenience. The latter won. "Our fate is in our hands," they concluded. No new moon could influence their luck. Besides, the eighth is always a good day, they tried to convince themselves, the stroke of eight goes up.

That Saturday, I was there promptly at 8. The movers arrived on the dot with boxes, packing tapes, corrugated boards and bubble wraps. There were five packers and an additional six movers. Two trucks were on standby. We were an organized lot.

In the middle of the organized chaos, one packer lifted the bubble wrap high that he hit a chandelier breaking three glasses. As the contract stipulated they were liable for damages caused by negligence, so immediately, this packer was sent out to find the right replacements. But the job went on with four professional packers and four others that were not.

When the last item was wrapped and all the boxes were labeled carefully, we were ready to haul. A supervisor was beside the truck counting the boxes being hoisted. I assigned one of our people to make our own inventory for check and balance. Then, we were ready to roll.

* * *

As the family took a last nostalgic look at the house they called home for almost three years, I frantically looked for the stuff that should be brought inside the house first. Was the Statue of the Holy Family safely in the car? Where was the rice? The salt? The water? Sugar – para sweet, they joked. All these were packed beautifully in a basket for their new house.

Arriving and unloading, we re-checked our inventory as the boxes were brought down from the trucks. We went on the reverse now. Everything we packed we unpacked again. Because the boxes were properly labeled, the movers knew exactly where to put them down. They positioned the furniture where we wanted them. Some of the furniture that needed disassembling, they assembled again. The books were set in the bookshelf as the movers saw it in the apartment, including the little candles that would adorn the house. The plates, they carefully arranged in the cupboards, the pots and pans in the kitchen cabinet. When all the boxes were emptied, the haulers cleaned up their trash and left after a hard day’s work. All in all, the move was done in 14 hours and 32 minutes.

I remember that years ago I went through hauling furniture from Manila to Zamboanga City to bring to Tawi-Tawi. If not for Beng of the Sakaluran clan of Zamboanga, I’d never have gotten them intact and on time to my favorite island. When indecisions arose, the reverse was undertaken. The furniture was shipped back to Zamboanga. Unable to find a warehouse to accommodate them, my cousin Raul stored them in his ice plant inside giant walk-in freezers. The sight of antique beds, lamps, chairs inside freezers was hilarious.

* * *

My story makes relocating seem so easy. It is not. If you are thinking of moving, heed my advice as I am now a self-proclaimed expert. Plan ahead. We used movers because we didn’t have time to pack the stuff ourselves, and we ended up spending for it. Finalize your dates, keeping in mind tradition and superstition. Clear your schedule. Relocating is a big job. Find yourselves some volunteers. You will need them to carry stuff for you if you don’t get expert movers. It may be practical to hire a lipat bahay at least. Within the metropolis, they range from P1,500 to P2,000 depending on the number of people you need. Assign trusted people to help you check your stuff. One can never be too careful. Prepare for contingencies. You never know what emergency may arise. Have enough water, food, snack items for you and your movers. As I mentioned earlier...it could be a very long day. And when the day is over, you’ll need a full body massage.