There were also a couple of small things broken or wrong with the place when I moved in, most notably that there was a part missing from the microwave that made the turntable not turn. That got fixed yesterday only a day or so after I’d reported the problem, which leads me to believe that the maintenance people are going to be on top of things. It wasn’t any big deal, and was the sort of thing that I expect when I’m the first occupant of an apartment, but it was nice to have it fixed in a timely fashion. They also gave me a couple of quotes from an Allstate agent for renter’s insurance, and a nice silver keychain with the “Apartments at American Tobacco” logo on it. Snazzy.

As always, TROSA was nothing short of amazing. When we’d finished, the other two crews who’d been waiting were still going. I donated my old washer and dryer to TROSA, since the new apartment has really nice new ones, and I got an amazing work crew for a phenomenal price. I will always continue to use and recommend them for moves of any size. Their workers are fast, professional, kind, and careful. Their prices are more than reasonable and go to a very good cause.

Betsy spent the afternoon cleaning up the old apartment — once again, there is no way I could have made this move without her help — and I took over from her in the evening. I am absolutely ecstatic to be rid of that dump, and there is no love lost between me and the former apartment.

Today we went shopping for various accouterments for the apartment, including some really nice stuff for the bathroom and kitchen, and an alarm clock that I can read from across the spacious bedroom without my glasses on. She cooked me dinner — homemade lasagna! — with some new pots and pans I got. There were some fireworks from a Durham Bulls victory, and we had a wonderful evening with one of our dearest friends, my first guest in my new home.

To put it bluntly, I absolutely adore this apartment. It feels like a home to me, something I haven’t had in quite some time. It’s not without its flaws — the trains can be kind of noisy at times, and while the windows are very tall I wish they were wider so I could get a better view of the downtown skyline — but I suspect I’m going to be very happy here for quite some time. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

I’ll keep everyone posted throughout the week!

So, if all goes according to plan I will have the lease signed on Monday and will be moving in on Friday, August 1st. Here’s hoping!

We all knew this was a possible obstacle from the very beginning. The apartment management was very up front with me about what could happen, and I was notified as soon as they knew of the pushback. They’re also being extremely accommodating, as they said they would, and are reimbursing me for the inconvenience by cutting some additional concessions on my rent. At the end of the day, we can all hope that nothing will go wrong with any situation we find ourselves in, so guarantees to make good where possible are worth a great deal.

I called TROSA to re-schedule the movers, and to utilize their short-term storage. They’re going to pick the stuff up from the old apartment on June 30th — which I’ll then have to go through and clean, but it shouldn’t be a big deal — and will be dropping it off at the new place on the First of June. My cat and I are going to get a hotel room for the night because I don’t want to think about how traumatic it would be to board him.

Many thanks again go out to Ally and the HallKeen team for their quick response to the rapidly changing situation and going out of their way to both stay true to their word and ensure that the residents have to suffer the minimum number of inconveniences.

Don’t stop crossing appendages, though; I may need all the luck I can get!