Not A Smooth Move: Part 2

The morning came quickly and we loaded up the van with the few remaining items from the university apartment. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a local McCafe along the way. Yesterday, it was dry and partly sunny for a good part of the day; today, it was rainy all day. Driving the moving van was easy after yesterday's running around (it was a Toyota HIACE Diesel). We unloaded the items at the apartment, ate our breakfast, and made a quick check of everything before heading back. We spotted a gas station nearby that was three cents a litre cheaper than one near the rental place, so I filled up the van there. With all the driving we did the day before, the van only used about 10.4 litres, costing me only about AU$14 to fill up. (For rental cars in Australia, the standard practice is you get the car with a full tank of petrol and return it full -- unlike in the States, where you get the tank at any level and have to return it at least at that same level.) We also checked out the small selection of groceries at the station, since our food situation was a bit more improvised than we had hoped, but the prices were typical for a convenience store, so we passed.

We returned the van a little earlier than 8 a.m., and walked the familiar route back to the old apartment. The real exhaustion finally set in. We did it. We completed a full apartment move in another country -- and this was only a couple of months after completing our international move! Overall, the move has taken about five days, including the time spent furniture shopping.

The rest of the day was low-key. Michelle got ahead on some of her work. I did some reading, then walked into town for a big lunch and some groceries. Thankfully, the rain was negligible during my walk. After reading a bit more back at the apartment, I took a long nap.

Early tomorrow morning I'm heading to the new apartment for the television delivery, and will remain there until I can confirm the electricity is hooked up. I'll probably pass time putting some of the furniture together. (Michelle and her friend, Laura, got a decent start on furniture assembly yesterday.) If we get power well before the end of the day, I'll head to the university to turn in the keys to the old place, and then we are done! Or, if the power is not on until after 5 p.m., then I'll turn the keys in to one of the senior residents at the old place. Absolute worse case scenario, if the power is not turned on tomorrow, then we spend yet another night in the ghetto.