Let me tell you about my weekend.
Catalina has made it clear that she does not like my sofa. I decided that when she came back to Canada we would go shopping for a replacement. Fortunately Costco had some nice comfortable reclining chairs for sale so I took her down there on Saturday to get an opinion on them. She liked them, so we went and bought them. The store would hold them for 24 hours while we got ready for them.
We walked back home and drove the car back. It is a lot harder to drive to Costco than to walk. With all the one-way streets, and traffic jams, it seems to take about the same time as walking. Catalina went in and brought one of the chairs out in a flat-bed cart. In the harsh light of day it was clear there was no way that the box would fit in any orifice of the car. This is going to be a problem.
We thought about phoning friends and seeing if they had a bigger car we could borrow. Eventually we got the idea of borrowing one of the flat-bed carts and rolling it home that way. We called and got permission for this, as long as we deposited a driver’s license. However, that would be something we would need to do on Sunday.
In the meantime we had put the sofa in Craigslist to see if anyone would take it off our hands. In the worst case scenario we could get someone to take it away for $50 to donate to a refugee family. But we did get someone and they were willing to come on Sunday afternoon with their moving truck.
On Sunday morning we walked back to Costco. We were able to get both chairs onto one cart and then started rolling. It actually went fairly quickly, although the hill on Smithe was a bit of a struggle.
When we got to the building though, it became clear that the boxes were too big for any of the doors. So we went to the loading dock in the back and struggled to get them up the short flight of stairs. After that, with the security guard’s help, and the loan of his rolling cart, we were able to get them into the elevator and into the apartment in two separate trips.
Afterwards we took the flat-bed cart back to Costco.
Now the problem was the sofa. It was a bigger problem than it should have been, because due to reasons, there was only one elevator working in the building. And it wasn’t the moving elevator. Heck, even getting the sofa out of the apartment was a struggle because of existing furniture in the way. It would only go through doors if it was on its end and rotated through. In other words, it couldn’t be done on the rolling cart.
And with only one elevator working, it was always packed with people.
Our first attempt to get it onto the small elevator didn’t work. It seemed to be a touch too big. Maybe if we took the small legs off? Well, they needed a Phillips screwdriver to do that, and the only one I had did not work well with the small holes. Eventually I was able to get two off with an eyeglass screwdriver, which was not enough. This was not my finest moment.
On the second attempt we got it on board by treating the elevator doors like a regular door and rotating it through when it briefly opened. All with an audience in the elevator, including a security guard.
After that, we got the sofa back to the loading dock and let the Craigslist guy pick it up.
The chairs were assembled. It was soon discovered that they needed more outlets to deal with all the features. So we had to go out and buy a powerbar for them. But then, everything was done. The chairs had their place. They reclined nicely. They are comfortable and I’ve even caught Catalina sleeping in them.
And all of this moving was done while my back is not in the best shape.