Day 8 of 40 Six options

Today I’ve spent a couple of hours informing several companies and organizations which need to know my new address (so they can still sent me their bills). I informed most of them by making a phone call, others by sending an e-mail and a few (very modern ones) helped me via their digital front office.  The latter seems the most convenient, like for example the one of my hometown. When you cannot find what you are looking for, there’s someone to help you in a chat session. The digital front office of my bank seemed a little less cooperative because it pointed out that I should first inform the Chamber of Commerce. However, with opening another tab of my internet browser that turned out easy as well.

From the approximately fifteen phone calls I’ve made, there was only one organization that had their phone answered by a living human being instead of an automatic responding system. I can see the advantages of such systems, really. Imagine being an operator and having to say again and again the same thing to people who ask again and again the same kind of questions. But what I don’t like at all is when I have to pay for calling their number only to hear after an endless list of options that the waiting time is more than say 10 minutes, but that all the information is also on their website. As if I didn’t look up their website already. Or worse, when it’s my internet provider that I call because I have no connection to the internet. Anyhow, they are doing the best they can. That’s why 9 out of 10 operating systems inform you that for the purpose of investigating their customer’s satisfaction by interviewing you after you finished where you called for. Press 1 when you want to participate, and press 2 when you don’t want to participate. I’ve pressed a lot of 2’s today.

Most systems give you 6 options divided in either their products or services. Option 0 is often when you decide that none of the options says what you were looking for and that you need a human to help you further.

It kind of resembles the variety of websites we have here that try to help you out when you don’t know what party to vote for. There were elections today here in Holland. The (internet) programs guide you through several questions about important political issues. For example about euthanasia, soft drugs legalization, mortgage interest (deductable or not), etc. In the end the program gives you some graph or list with parties that represent the same kind of ideas. It would be more reliable if all the websites come up with the same advice for you, but that could also depend on your own mood when answering the questions. So, when you want to vote eventually and still don’t know which party to vote for, which is not unlikely when you think about the election campaigns, press 0 to talk personally to the political leader… 

Day 7 of 40 Dissecting

The general rule when moving from a rental house is that you remove everything that is not part of the house and repair what is necessary. When you won’t do it, there’s a good chance that the agency does not return your deposit (worth one month rent). But doing that while you still want to be able to find everything between and in the cardboard boxes means, again, careful planning.

Although I am not much of a planner, the idea of what has to be done is in my head. Today I did some little chores, like removing various things in my study. A magnet strip which was glued to the wall (meaning I have to repaint that part now), pictures from the walls and removing the screws. While working there  painstakingly, thus putting the different parts in small plastic bags and stick them on the object they belong to, I was thinking about the dissecting class we’ll have coming Friday. After many hours studying the brain in full colored textbooks it is time to move to the real work. There’s one huge difference of course: a dissected brain cannot be rebuild and my home hopefully can.

Day 6 of 40 Octave

Yesterday I got a friendly reminder in e-mail from the professor of the Machine Learning course about the programming assignment which was due today. So, I started late last night to work with the program (that’s called Octave by the way) and that was too late. The first exercise I submitted was good but the second one, about implementing code to plot data kept showing an empty window instead of a nice graph. Today I had another lecture about neuroanatomy and I decided to give the ML assignment another go after I came home. There are 58,000 people enrolled in this course (Worldwide) and the discussion forum was endless. Although I found some helpful treads in the forum, my trials were again not fruitful and then I realized that I have quite a lot going on at the moment. It is so much easier not to feel stressed when things are going smooth. That makes me feel strong.

However, I could not let go the assignment and was struggling against the deadline instead of going to the grocery shop and prepare dinner. Again and again I kept checking and changing the lines of code. I am just not a computer programmer yet, despite the little experience I have from working on my website. In the meanwhile my eldest and youngest daughter were removing the laminate floor in the attic AND did the grocery shopping AND prepared a delicious meal (again!).

When we drove together to the condolence reception later,  I declared to them with my voice still hoarse from the cold that I wouldn’t put all my cards on ML because that is just an octave too high at the moment. 

Day 5 of 40 Bob

Yet another productive (and very hot) day in the backyard. The children were taking their oldest granny out for a belated birthday lunch, so I started on my own. First a couple of wheelbarrows with sand from the front to the back of the house. Then dismantling the framework of the trampoline some further. I changed my ‘normal’ old boots for garden boots in a huge male size because where I was working there was a huge chance to slip into the green puddle. No! I did not slip, the boots were just in case. It will take a little effort still but I am determined to leave not a single trace of the crater here.

It is really not a bad job to do with such lovely weather. I have a nice sun tan now as well as worked out. Time flies when you’re having fun and before long it was three o’clock and my mom arrived to take the promised tour in the new house. We chatted a little before we took off and unexpected all the kids dropped by too. I took the chance to have a few extra hands on lifting and detaching the framework and now that job is done too. Tonight we brought back the trailer and wheelbarrow. Me still in my working clothes, covered not only with mud but smear too because of the framework. I couldn’t help wondering if the man from the trailer might have confused me with Bob the Builder, while he was laying at my feet to unplug the trailer from the car. Normally when men are at my feet like that... nevermind, it must have been the hot sun burning my head all day long. 

Well, tomorrow I will dress up more feminine again. School in the daytime and in the evening I will go to the condolence for my uncle. 

Day 4 of 40 Love can move Mountains

Tons and tons of small pebbles (I called that gravel yesterday) and tons of bricks, the garden table, two deckchairs, 5 garden chairs, two potted Hydrangeas, one potted Fall Aster, the cover and elastic band from the trampoline, that’s what we moved today. Me and two of my wonderful kids. My son as he had promised, despite having a very short night, and my youngest daughter before she had to go to work.  In the new house was one of my middle daughters stripping almost all the wallpaper with her friend plus they helped to unload the trailer full of bricks. Mind you, it was extremely hot for a September day, we were soaked and covered with dirt but the spirit was good and I had a great day.

The kid next door in the new house welcomed us by giving a hand to unload the trailer. A good friend who lives in my new neighborhood came to see the house. My neighbor here in the old house will help tomorrow to fill the crater which emerged from under the trampoline. Another neighbor will teach me how to plaster the walls in the new house. My mom promised to repair the glass bead strings from the curtain for the backdoor. And my eldest middle daughter is coming over Monday again to help with whatever I’ll ask her. My brother will help out with connecting the washing machine and dishwasher and probably much more. My ex husband is pulling some strings when I want to borrow trailers, vans, wheelbarrows and more. And helps me in a lot of other ways, like the good friend he is. So many wonderful people and the best of all are my offspring. Today I really feel blessed. I also feel that I will enjoy a long shower. The rest, like a lovely massage for my overstrained  muscles, and a manicure for all my broken nails, well, I will make that up for now, probably while I am sound  asleep.

Just started

Uncovering Frogland, the big green puddle

Experts in how to transport goods safe (and experts in many other things as well)

Afterwards a little grocery shopping and why bother to go by bike when there's enough parkingspace? 

Day 3 of 40 Naked

Today I borrowed a small trailer and a wheelbarrow to move things from my backyard. By things I mean approximately 15 wheelbarrows full of gravel, a huge trampoline, a couple of iron fences, glass elements, a couple of plants, things I have stalled in the shred and some garden furniture. I’ll have got help from my son and in the meanwhile one of my daughters and two of her friends will continue stripping the wallpaper in the new house.

We will only work tomorrow afternoon because we all have other plans for the night. Therefore I prepared as much as I could already this afternoon. The result: the only recognizable element in the backyard as it was is the small statue of Venus of Milo. The rest looks very naked and unfamiliar. 

Day 2 of 40 Time's on my side

I don’t feel too stressed so far. Neither by difficulty to get hold of the superintendent of the new house for the necessary inspection and things I want them to fix (I have called several times today and at last sent him an email today). Nor by the cold I have now which must be caused by the terrible climate control at college. Or am I fooling myself and is this cold a sign that I might be slightly overloaded at the moment?  I don’t know. I don’t want to act like a sissy. However, to be on the safe side, and because I hardly slept last night, I took a day off from school today. They would rather miss me there than being exposed to my endless sneezing and coughing. Luckily I have almost 40 days left for this moving job and a weekend ahead.