Well, Dan and I finally made the move to Jersey -- and it's exit 144 off the Garden State Parkway for all of you who speak 'New Jersey-ian'.
Friday I took off work to begin the enormous task of packing. I know, don't be jealous. It is truly amazing to me how much stuff we actually had. The kitchen alone took 3-4 hours to pack! Thank god my mom came up and helped. She definitely provided me the focus that I needed so I wouldn't get distracted with Guitar Hero!! (which was really difficult!) Of course if it had still been just Dan living there, it would have taken about 15 minutes in the kitchen b/c lord knows he wouldn't have had measuring cups, mixing bowls, canned goods, spices, etc.
We rented a truck on Friday night. It was a 24-footer and Dan kept saying it was too big. I told him just to wait and see how much stuff we actually have. Needless to say (as usual) I was right. Okay, okay, I won't brag about being right anymore, but just wanted to note that I was the one who was right.
We got up bright and early Saturday morning to begin the tedious task of loading everything we own into one huge truck. Like I said earlier, it still amazes me how much crap -- I mean, things -- we had! My sister Angie and her boyfriend Jimmy came over to help as did Zach. Thank god for them! These young guys can really do some heavy lifting! Dan's Dad came up a little while later on and had the fun job of making sure everything was secure in the truck while we were throwing things in it. Finally after we had pretty much everything in the cars, the caravan was ready to head up the road. Dan's mom met us at the condo before we left and rode up to NJ as well.
After 3 - 3 1/2 hours in the car, we finally arrived. The drive wasn't too bad but of course we were all exhausted from all the hard work we did in Baltimore! We pulled the moving truck up and started unloading right away. Everyone knew if we stopped now to sit down we would never be able to get started again. The unloading was much quicker than the loading, but of course most stuff ended up just going straight down to the basement -- 'we can deal with that later and decide where it goes later' mentality had set in. Dan's parents left to head home around 8 or 9 and I was exhausted! We finally sat down and Dan's friend Tom came over and went to grab some food with us. I was starved to death! After stuffing ourselves we came home and all crashed -- it would be another early morning tomorrow!
Sunday came and I woke up at 6:30am. I'd open my eyes and think 'oh! that chair can go there' or 'I think I want to put the spices in that cabinet'. Meanwhile, Dan snored away. I got up and my dad was awake so we snuck out to grab some breakfast while Zach and Dan slept. When we got back they were awake and it was time to go back to work! Finally around 2:00pm we decided to hit the road to head back down to Maryland. We all had to work the next day and were wiped out.
Did I mention how exhausted I was after that weekend?!?!
In just the short time we've been in Jersey, we've already learned the following:
Lesson 1 on NJ: No trucks on the Garden State Parkway. Not that there was a problem, but I really don't think you are supposed to have huge trucks on it. Probably b/c of the really low clearances on some of the underpasses. OOPS!
Lesson 2 on NJ: EZPASS is a MUST!!!
About Us
- Sheri and Dan
- Well, I've avoided filling out this 'About Me' section for as long as I could and I still don't have much to say :-) But I did decide to change the title of this part to 'About Us' b/c lord knows Dan and I are in this together! The purpose of this blog is to try to document everything Dan and I are going through with adjusting to our move to New Jersey. I entertain myself with each blog entry, so I hope you enjoy it as well! I am going to try my best to keep it updated but if that goes anything like me keeping a diary, entries won't happen very often.
Been there, done that -- Restaurants we've visited in NYC
- 2/17 Peter Luger's - Talk about Porterhouse! That is the only steak they serve here. It was excellent! CASH ONLY though.
- 2/16 Blue Hill Restaurant - went with Dan's parents and their friend Irene who works for Blue Hill. Food was amazing! So fresh and wonderful!
- 1/26 - Dylan Prime - met up with a friend of Dan's from training and his girlfriend. All the food was excellent! Desserts included 'Pie'tinis and 'Cake'tinis which were alcoholic drinks that tasted like dessert - what more can one ask for...
- 12/15 Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in Grand Central Station - great atmosphere but I've had better steaks
Lessons on New Jersey
- 1) No trucks on the Garden State Parkway. Not that there was a problem, but I really don't think you are supposed to have huge trucks on it; probably b/c of the really low clearances on some of the underpasses. OOPS!
- 2) EZPASS is a MUST!!!
- 3) NEVER go to IKEA on a weekend!
- 4) People around here don't expect you to say excuse me, so it's alright if you just kind of push them out of the way. (Oh man, wait till I take this lesson back to Baltimore with me)
- 5) (actually this is a lesson on the whole area in general) Just act like you know where you are going and act like you own that piece of sidewalk you are on! Otherwise, people might try to run you down. I think I already knew this one, but being up there only emphasized its importance.
- 6) Don't be scared of not knowing where you are going. Odds are there are people around that are much more clueless than you.
- 7) Always have a train schedule handy so you can make it to the train on time!
- 8) Don't buy a car in NJ because they don't come with turn signals and the brake lights are faulty
- 9) When people are waiting for the train they tend to group together in certain areas - this means that the train doors are most likely to open where they are standing
- 10) While waiting for the 7:34am train, there is a train that comes through around 7:25. This train FLIES by and does not stop. Turn your back and get away from the track or you will be blown away.
- 11) My train that leaves Penn Station at 5:50pm almost always departs from Gate 3 or 4. Its amazing and its pretty funny to see everyone gathered around that gate waiting for the same train every single work day.
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