The Move - An Update

For those of you who regularly check back here to see what's going on with the Hsu family or to get entertained (perhaps by seeing a funny video or perhaps by the sheer joy of throwing up into your own mouth because of something Rosie O'Donnell said), I apologize for my lack of posts, as of late.

Many of you know that Annie and I have been busy with a move and some of you might have even extended a helping hand (or a pair of helping biceps) in our move. I've been too busy to keep everyone up to date with blog posts though every day things are happening that make me say, 'oh, man. I totally have to blog about this!'

Here is my attempt to catch you up a little:

Annie and I have moved to San Ramon. (Yes, the kids got to come as well. Though we tried to leave them behind, their sense of direction is otherworldly.) We live in a 900 sq/ft, two-bedroom apartment and I just recently got the internet and my computer components up and working as it should. You'd think that trying to live simply would involve excluding computer usage, but the Computer and Internet have become as integral a part of our lives as has the remote control and microwave. (Both of which, we were sorely missing until replacements found their way into our quaint apartment.)

We will be living in the apartment until late November when our move into our "REAL" house happens.

Note to self: Hire movers. Do not attempt to move yourself again.

Note to hands and forearms: Why are you guys such wimps? You move a few hundred cardboard boxes and some heavy pieces of furniture and now you're all "raw" and "tired" and require extensive "stretching"? Wusses.

Lower back's note to self: I hate you.

Sorry. Back to the topic at hand...

So, as I said before, there have been some really great things that have happened during our move or during the period in which we planned our move; and there have been some really weird/bordering on terrible things that happened as well. Both categories of events are subsets of the larger category: "things for which to thank the Lord."

Here is an incomplete list of the good and the bad:
- Bad: When we went to find an Extended Stay type hotel to move into, we saw first hand how impossibly small a one-bedroom studio really is. Our plans were tossed back to square one.
- Good: Though our plans were torn asunder, God's plan was even better. We found the apartment we now live in and it cost nearly the same as the other option though it's leaps and bounds better. (Washer/dryer, covered car port, safe-for-kids environment, closer to the kids' school, two bedrooms, gated, more space, fancy upscale SoCal name, etc etc.)
- Bad: Ants. For some reason, as soon as we started packing things up for the move, the ants started invading. I don't know if it's because things have been overturned and disturbed or because the house was mad that we were leaving. I tend to lean toward the latter. Why? Because...
- Bad: A total of four light bulbs decided to give out in the last two weeks of our living at Valley Oaks Loop.
- Bad: Our AC unit decided to pour water into our furnace crawl space which subsequently led to...
- Bad: Our fire alarm triggering for the first time in eight years of vigilant monitoring.
- Bad: The batteries in one of the smoke detectors needed replacing.
- Bad: One of the window sensors for our alarm system went haywire.
- Bad: The remote for ceiling fan needed repair.
- Bad: We got locked out of the house with no place to go.
- Bad: All surrounding entrances to our neighborhood had been barricaded by police so we couldn't get back home for an hour.

It was like revenge or spite. Perhaps I watch too many horror movies.
But continuing with my previous thought, there were also a slew of great blessings that God bestowed upon us.
Like:
- Good: Our friends stepping up to help us move. Not one negative or complainy word was spoken! Truly gracious - thanks, guys. You know who you are!
- Good: Steve loaned us his flatbed truck that included a hydrolic lift. I drove it for a week. Man did that thing come in handy!
- Good: Babies born left and right! Michelle and Kerman had their second and Mayme and Steve had their first. Congratulations!
- Good: Mo and Carlo got hitched! How awesome is that?
- Good: VBS was a blast, Summer Camp was truly refreshing, and eight young people got baptized.

It doesn't take a genius to see that the good things far outweighed the bad things. We're very blessed. No question.