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Jan112006
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Another Moving Day |
With the U-Haul truck still in our driveway after yesterday’s empty-the-garage operation, there was obviously more moving to be done. Dad and I left the house in the truck at about 11 this morning. With renovation at what will be Dad’s new Metairie office, we had a place to move the contents of the old Mid-City office. So we did that today. The Russell Building, where the old Mid-City office is, the first one he opened, was flooded with about five feet of water. Luckily, the clinic occupied the second floor, which received no water damage. Dad had been to the office previously to retrieve some things, but most of the office’s contents remained, including all the furniture. Since there was no electricity in the deserted building, the elevator and lights didn’t work. Having no electric light in a windowless office was a significant inconvenience. Dad bought a lantern and we had a few flashlights on hard, but it was still quite dark. Having no elevator was also unfortunate, as all the furniture and dozens of file boxes had to be carried down a narrow stairwell with only the help of a hand truck. We were lucky, however, with the climate inside. It was cool and not unpleasant and there was no prevailing smell. Before we could start loading the truck, Dad had to force a door on the ground level, which was nailed shut. I started by emptying the contents of the desks into a couple boxes. Eventually I got around to the Hydrocollator, which was full of rather rancid water. I wasn’t able to drain it with a hose because the drain was clogged and I didn’t feel like sticking my arm in that water so I had dad help me tip it over into the tub in the bathroom, which was considerably quicker than my usual routine. Not long after that, Don arrived. He helped with some things, sort of. He provided more melodrama than assistance, quite honestly. Eventually we got around to the furniture. We started with the six treatment tables. It was quite an ordeal getting them down the steps. Once we got the hang of it, we were out of tables. We also used the hand truck to more a couple of desks and a metal bookshelf. We also carried down about a dozen various chairs. By around three we had the 20 foot truck loaded. We drove out to the new office in Metairie off Veterans. This was my first time seeing the inside of what will be the new clinic. It’s certainly the nicest facility we’ll have. Unloading the truck was considerably easier and quicker than the loading part. There were lights in the new place and there were no stairs to worry about. We put the treatment tables in various rooms but most of the stuff was put in one large room to the left. I guess we’ll sort it all out next week. We were finished sometime just before five. Having gone without any food all day, I insisted on a stop and McDonalds. We did stop but they just closed so I was out of luck. We took the transit lane across the river as traffic was pretty had on the highway. We drove the truck back to U-Haul. Mom met us there to take us home. I don’t remember really doing anything after getting home, as I was rather tired anyway. I do remember a bit of unrest in the house because Dad couldn’t find his car keys. The next day Dad found them in the truck.