Move-In Day

Saturday was the actual moving day. Ryan woke me up early and I took the time to call my mom while we still had internet since we weren't sure how long it'd be to install internet at the new apartment. I had been all sentimental and weepy because while the new apartment is an upgrade, I love our old apartment with all its charm and its location and its neighborhood. It's Ryan and my first place, our newlywed apartment. And leaving it was also symbolic of leaving this chapter of our life behind, of being newlyweds and not yet parents.

Princess in the new house. (Not the first day, this
is after she's calmed down.)

We took the cats by auto-rickshaw to the new apartment. We'd asked a friend to take us but he had an
emergency with his mom and had to cancel. The cats were crying and freaking out as they'd never been in an auto before and hadn't left the last apartment since we got them at seven weeks old except to go to the vet. The vet's office was near our last apartment, so we'd just taken a cycle rickshaw. So they were screaming and crying the whole way. We'd put them in backpacks because we don't have a cat carrier, with the zippers fastened together so they couldn't wiggle free.

When we got here the plan was let the cats explore the new apartment to orient themselves, then lock them in the master bathroom with their litter box, food, water, and toys until the move was completed. However, as we let them explore we noticed some weak points.

First of all there was a window in the kitchen that did not close, so we couldn't just let them explore the area totally. Then we went to put them in the master bathroom and found that the window in their wouldn't close either! There was a broken hinge and we couldn't get it to line up to be latched shut. So then we went to the other bathroom (the new apartment is a 2 bedroom/2 bath. The old one was a 1 bedroom/1 bath and literally half the square footage.) However this one's window also didn't shut! It would close, but the latch was broken so it couldn't stay closed. So we decided to put them in the second bedroom, as we figured it had less furniture that needed to be moved into it compared to the master. So we set up their stuff in there... and then found out the door knob to it was broken so the door wouldn't stay shut! So the cats could easily just pull it open from the bottom with their paw!

Cats discovering that the ironwork on the window
makes a perfect ladder for bird viewing.

All in all we'd thought installing the cats would be a 15 minute job (ten minutes to let them orient, then five minutes setting them before we left.) However it was over half an hour before we ended up tying the window in the hall bathroom with string so it would hopefully stay shut and putting the kitties in there.

My father-in-law had been waiting downstairs for some time when we finished and then I got driven to my in-laws place and my part in any moving was done for a long time. I got installed on the couch and Ryan and his dad left to go meet friends who were helping at the old apartment. I chit-chatted with my mother-in-law for a few minutes, then she got up to do her chores and I read a book. She took a break a little while later and we had a snack, then she got up to start lunch and I went back to my book... and my eyes got heavy... After a half hour nap I woke up because I had a chill and asked for a sheet. It took a little while but I was able to nap again. This was all very good because I'd only been able to get 4 hours of sleep the night before between my sleeping disorder, the excitement/anxiety of moving, and having to get up early enough to get of out of the house in time to install the cats and all.

Meanwhile Ryan had met people helping us, our friend Shushant amongst them back at the house and they put the last minute packing together. We'd finished up the night before except small things like the bowls we'd kept out to eat cereal for breakfast and our bathroom things (actually I wanted to pack them but Ryan insisted on showering that morning, which set us back by 20 minutes, making the delay with the cats have our whole schedule off.) We also hadn't gotten to stuff like gathering the clothes pins off the line.

Vex relaxed pretty fast

The movers were late and arrived sometime after promised, which is to be expected in India. They
apparently grumbled a lot because our old apartment is an Indian third floor (American fourth floor) and the new apartment is an Indian second floor (American third.) So it's a lot of stairs to haul furniture up and down. Because of this at the new apartment I had told Ryan explicit instructions on certain stuff to move where, and well, it didn't happen. Ryan basically didn't want to rock the boat with the grumpy movers. Consequently we spent time re-moving furniture (well me directing him for the smaller stuff, then us having to wait until Monday when he had someone to help him again for him to do the bigger stuff) instead of unpacking the past few days.

After the moving was mainly finished (they hadn't been able to fit a few small items, like the microwave, so they decided they'd go back and get that later since we hadn't given the landlord of the old place back his keys yet) Ryan, his dad, Shushant and two others who were helping us came over and ate a late lunch at Ryan's parents place, making me wake from my nap.

Then we went home to release the crackens. Okay, kittens. Vex ran out immediately, his body slinking low the floor from stress. I looked in the bathroom and couldn't see Princess!! I freaked out she'd escaped out the window. However Ryan insisted she was in the (covered) litter box. I didn't hear any kicking noises though, so I didn't think she was using it... and she wasn't. But she was in there, cowering in the back. I left the bathroom door open so she could come out and went and sat down in the second bedroom across the hall...

Vex cuddling my baby bump.
Yep, adorableness.

However after some time she still hadn't emerged so I went back and opened up the litter box and took her out. She clung to me in terror. She stayed in my arms for a couple minutes then squirmed out and made a beeline back to the bathroom and the litter box. Poor terrified baby! I left her there for a while while Ryan was moving around doing more moving stuff. We had an electrician there setting up our inverter (power back up system for the house, since India has so many power cuts.)

After some time, Princess slinked out, belly nearly touching the ground and ears out. She ran into the room where I was and started sniffing and exploring.

A guy came over to move the geyser. A geyser is a small hot water heater hooked up to certain faucets/shower heads in an apartment. In the new apartment there hadn't been a geyser anywhere and we'd negotiated to get one added to one of the bathrooms. So basically we were to have hot water in the master bathroom. However, instead it was added to the hall bathroom so we had to get someone to move it.

During all this the cats were exploring and we were trying to keep an eye on them so they didn't get near one of the open windows. They were both less afraid, but Vex was doing a much better job adjusting.

Princess relaxing and snuggling, 5 days post move. She's
adjusting.

After the repair/installation guys left Ryan had to go get some food for then and the morning, and then
we made the bed to go to sleep. At this point the kittens were really starting to get more comfortable. Vex began rolling around, purring and playful. His body language was happy and I think he'd done the math in his head and realized he had twice the square footage of territory now. Princess wasn't so relaxed or confident but she was happy to see the bed made up, and I think the familiarity of the bed made her relax and she snuggled up to us and slept...

Until 4:30 in the morning when she woke us up with frantic yowling and full fledged panic. I think she woke up and was like "WHERE AM I?" We eventually calmed her down and got her (and us) to sleep again.

And that was move-in day.