The Move Moves On

Here're a few updates on the progress this week on our move from UK to Houston:

1. Wife soloed (solod? solo-d? drove by herself...) in Prius, did great, loves the car. Well done, Sweetie.

2. Discovered that this coming week 4-8 August is the major kick-off, "on-boarding" meetings for my new project in Houston. Too bad I can't make it. Would have been nice to feel like part of the team. Gives me solid indication of how (un)important I am to the whole process. I did receive some of the pre-reading: 64 Powerpoint slides. Egad. Maybe I'm glad that I'm NOT going to the meetings.

3. Finished all required tasks at work. Still plan to put in an appearance on Wednesday next week when they're cleaning the apartment, but I feel good about having brought closure to everything.


4. Had my going-away luncheon at wonderful Italian restaurant in Bagshot: Belvedere Restaurant. Lobster with black tagliatelle pasta, lemon sole with seafood sauce, chocolate cake. We had about 12 people there. My boss said nice things about me. They gave me two beautiful golf shirts from Wentworth Country Club -- one of the most upscale golf clubs in England. I had managed to wrangle a couple invitations to play there during my time here. Pretty cool to have been there and have the shirts to prove it.

5. Discovered that UK charities won't take electrical items like: TVs, VCRs, satellite boxes, irons, telephones, table fans. Seems that if someone should be hurt by a malfunction of one of these really dangerous devices, the charity is liable to be sued. Oh, but you CAN sell these things on eBay and people can buy them. I asked what I thought were pretty reasonable questions when talking to 1/2 dozen charities about this. For example,

"Why don't you just call this person whose house just burned to the ground and tell him that you'll leave a TV on the curb (or kerb) at 10PM tonight. If it's not there in the morning, well, you won't lose any sleep over it?"

"If you can sell it on eBay without worrying about liability, why don't you sell it to the needy person for a pence (or penny)? Even if you have to loan him the pence?"

"Why don't you have the person sign something saying, 'I know a telephone is a dangerous device, but I'm taking this anyway and if it explodes, I won't sue Charity XYZ.'?"

6. Found out that my old acoustic guitar that Dad gave me a long long time ago, is actually a Gibson L0 (I think) made in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1965. It's worth as much as $1000 as a vintage guitar. Cool. Thanks, Dad.

7. Email storm blowing concerning loss of our sofa. When I arrived six years ago the movers could not get my American sofa up the stairs to my English apartment. In UK often the arms of a sofa are detachable, making it significantly shorter and able to get around the narrow stairways and tight corners English builders seem so fond of. Since mine was one piece, the movers said, "Sorry. We'll have to store this for you until you leave."

I said "OK", figuring I'd be here a couple years and that would be it. Well, now it's six years later. Came time to get the sofa out of storage and guess what? The storage company had reorganized their warehouse and lost my sofa. I went so far as to send them a picture of my matching love seat (which would and did make it up the stairs).

Storage company writes my moving company, "Can't find it. Will take a couple weeks to track it down."

Moving company replies, "Wrong answer. We're packing a sea shipment at the apartment on Tuesday at 11:30. Have the couch there or else."

I'm sitting back and loving it.

8. Heard from US corporate relocation person at long last. I reported in one of my posts, I think, that the Company now estimates what it should cost you for 30 days of interim living and pays you that in a lump sum ... and you have to live with it or dig into your own pocket. I now know what our number is: less than I hoped, better than I expected.

9. Got pre-approved for a home mortgage. Six-point-something 30-year fixed assuming 20% down payment.

10. Heard from a Company-approved Houston real estate agent, who then passed me to a second real estate agent, who gave us some ideas about what we're up against in Houston housing market. (a) Live close to work; pay more; live in an older home or in a town house. (b) Commute for about an hour a day each way, live in a big, recently built house with a yard and a dog ... and a swimming pool ... in a country club ... on a golf course ... near a lake for boating and fishing ... and alligator wrestling.

11. Talked with good buddy of mine who used to live in Houston. He verified everything the real estate agent said. He also said that my Northern California view of a townhouse doesn't match Texas reality. He said he "downsized" while he was in Houston moving from a 3000 square-foot house to a 3300 (not a typo) sq-ft patio home. He loved it: bigger house, no yard work in 90F and 90% humidity. He may have a point and I'm going to let the agent show us some townhomes.

12. Company-approved agent wrote with selection of two short-term apartments to use for interim living. Both eat up more than 1/2 our lumpsum per diem. No eating, no driving the car, I guess. They look pretty acceptable actually and we'll pull the trigger on that Monday.

13. Completed inventory of all items in flat. Tried to do it with video camera, but gave up. Eventual spreadsheet had about 250 entries, 200 of which were items over $50 -- which was what I was required to provide moving company.

14. Snuck off and played golf today with a couple buddies from my Saturday morning golf crowd. One of the guys had won a long drive contest and so we all got a free round of golf. Weather was cool and blustery, but it only rained for one hole, so (for England) it was great weather.

Coming up:

Last golf game with my Saturday posse tomorrow.

BBQ hosted by one of the golf gang after the game.

Finalize sale of Jaguar on Sunday.

Move to hotel.

Drive an hour or so to see a friend of ours from Kazakhstan who now lives in UK and has just had a baby. Have "Sunday roast" with them and drive back to hotel.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet.