Friends, thanks again for your support as Janice and I moved on relatively short notice. After a few weeks in which we hunted for a new apartment, sold or donated various items, and packed, our relocation was tiring but not as difficult as it could have been.
Janice had to work on Friday, 24 February 2012, so I dealt with the professional movers from Gentle Giant, which we had used before. They efficiently loaded our furniture, numerous boxes of books, electronics, and bags of clothing from the duplex in Needham Heights, Massachusetts, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. I definitely couldn’t do it all myself (or even with friends and family) anymore.
I then met the movers at our new townhouse in Waltham, Mass., where they had to contend with more stairs as they worked from about 11:00 to 4:00 p.m. Of course, it was the one day in an unseasonably mild February when it snowed and rained. I met Janice for an early dinner at Stone Hearth Pizza, and we got soaked bringing a few carloads of odds and ends north that evening.
The next day, Janice’s parents, her youngest sister Melinda, and Melinda’s son Joshua came from Upstate New York to help set up our kitchen and clean out the old place. Janice and I sold a few more items, such as our refrigerator and carpets, and we junked our old TV and entertainment center (we finally got a flat-screen and a new stand for it).
Josh was disappointed that he couldn’t play with more of my toys, but most were still packed in my now-crowded study because it also had much of the contents of the basement space we gave up. Janice’s folks also brought barbeque (sloppy Joes) and funny cake.
We got the kitchen, master bedroom, and much of the living/dining room set up. Janice and I later checked the Needham site one last time and returned unused boxesto U-Haul. We also discovered that our unit is in a dead zone for cell phone service because of surrounding buildings. Once our land line is up, that’s not a problem, but it was while we were waiting to meet people!
Janice had a shorter commute to work yesterday, while I waited for a technician from Verizon to reinstall our FiOS (telephone, cable television, and Internet) service. (We’re still trying to get our DVD and VHS players and Wii to work.) Fortunately, I had enough boxes to deal with that I hardly noticed their absence, even during the Oscars. I’m glad that The Artist won the Academy Award for Best Picture, since it’s the one nominee that I had seen.
We still have a lot of unpacking to do, mainly for the two offices. Having more bathrooms is nice, as is a more modern space with a patio. I’ll have to get used to parking again in a crowded lot and to my new routes to work. I hope our higher rent and incidental expenses — I still need to get to a hardware store, buy more bookcases, and find outdoor storage for snow shovels — will be offset by more reliable maintenance.
Friends and fellow role-players, by now, you’ve probably seen that I’ll have to move within the next month. While I’ve gotten accustomed to having a three-bedroom townhouse with a full basement and yard for the past nine years, the time has come to downsize my possessions a bit again.
Here’s a list of items for sale. Gaming books start at $4 apiece. If you’re not in the Boston area but are interested in some of these items, let me know as soon as possible. I may be able to snailmail them to you! Thanks again…
-Seas of Blood: Fantasy on the High Seas (multiple books)
-Shadowforce Archer (Spycraft)
-Silver Age Sentinels (superheroes)
-Skull & Bones
-Star Wars RPG (pre-Saga edition): Revised Core Rulebook, Galaxy Tiles, Hero’s Guide, Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, Rebellion Era Sourcebook, Ultimate Alien Anthology
-Swashbuckling Adventures (7th Sea)
-Sword & Sorcery: Forbidden Kingdoms (steampunk)
-Sword & Sorcery: Glades of Death (wilderness)
Pathfinder (a.k.a. “D&D3.75”; Paul holding, along with long box of Batman/Nightwing comics, Dragon magazines, box of large minis, Pathfinder Book of the Damned 3, and Book of Riddles):
-Bonus Bestiary
-Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings
-Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Pathfinder Society Field Guide
-Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms
-Basic Action Super Heroes Ultimate Edition, BASH! Sci-Fi Edition
-DC Universe boxed set, Daily Planet Guide to Gotham, and Gotham City Sourcebook
-Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
-FATE 3e Diaspora (“hard” science fiction)
-Amazing Engine: For Faerie, Queen, and Country (steampunk)
-Fudge, 10th anniversary edition
-Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Grindhouse Edition boxed set and Vornheim City Guide (weird fantasy)
-Lord of the Rings RPG (Decipher version): Core Roleplaying Book, Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Maps of Middle Earth, Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic
-Serenity RPG, Six Shooters and Spaceships, other sourcebooks
Gene's Worlds 