no offer

For those of you who don't already know, the offer on the house fell through. I would tell you why, but it is quite boring actually.

I have to say that it isn't because of our Realtor. I have never had a Realtor before, so I can't compare, but I think that she is doing an amazing job. Her name is Barbara Massone (view LinkedIn Profile). She just moved to the Upstate from Boston. She is still fairly new to the area, but she has already learned her way around and is working really hard to sell our house. In fact, it was her persistence that persuaded me to use her as our Realtor.

Anyway, we just had 4 more showings last week... so, for you that pray, please pray that someone comes along that loves our house and wants to buy it!

Later!

Moving On

I have successfully completed another stint in the world of the mover. I worked completely locally this time, which means that I didn't get to make quite as much money, but I was able to be at home every night, which was really good. What isn't so good is that I have walked away from this summer with a few more aches and pains than I have had in the past.

On my last day there I had something nice happen. Just a little bit of a complement from my boss. He pulls me in the office, grabs a piece of paper and a pen, and says, "Matt, how much could I offer you to get you to break that contract with that school?"

Now, I would never break a contract, once it was signed, and I would never try to work at a moving company year round again... I have been there, and it wasn't pretty, but it was flattering.

It was also reassuring that all of those aches and pains were worth it. You see, as I go into a new work environment, one of my goals is to be a salt and a light. And I have come to believe that salt and light doesn't come from your mouth and it most definitely doesn't come from trying to impose your morals onto those around you. Salt and light emanates from your actions and your attitudes. And going into a job being the best worker that you can be will shine as a light in this dark world. Especially in a world full of people who want to milk the clock, hide from the boss, and do just enough to get by.

But I am moving on now. I am headed back to school to be a teacher once again. The gears are having to shift in my mind because before I know it, I will be standing in front of a bunch of children. These children will also be in desperate need of salt and light, so the work will go on.

It will be a different kind of work, but the command is still the same, "...work heartily, as if you are working for Christ himself..."

Mover for life.

I have come to accept the fact that I will never be able to escape two fields. The teaching field and the moving field. I am not talking about destiny, I think I might be talking about a life sentence.

Anyway, since I have been doomed to summerly servitude, moving people's sleeper sofas and refrigerators, I decided to make a T-shirt. (I would just go out and start my own company, if I could afford the insurance.)

Here is the emblem that I created.

And here is what it looks like on the back of a T-shirt.



I would like to change the little tag line, but I couldn't think of anything quippy enough. I thought about, "Taking the pain out of the moving process" or "Movers that help not hurt" or something like that. But I haven't decided yet.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to drop them in the comments section, or to give me a quick e-mail. To see all of my other stuff just click here.

Fragile?

I know that I have mentioned this before, but one of the things that I really enjoy about being a mover, is all of the different ways that one can spell fragile.


Notice in this next one that it is the same handwriting, but two different spellings.

Moving Travels

I have a new link on the sidebar. It is a link to my Google Maps with a non-extensive list of locations that I have been to as a household mover. They are all places that I have driven my truck to at one time or another.

Check it out.

mover quote

"They could train baboons to do this job."

Actually, I first heard this quote while working in a large distribution center, loading trailers. One of the guys that worked there used to say that at least once a day. His name was Dave Barney. He usually said it in a way that let you know he was mocking the whole lot of us, but there was always a hint of anger around the edges, just to make sure that you knew that he meant it.

A few years later I hear this same quote again at a moving company. One of the drivers that I used to work with sporadically would say this every once in awhile. (He had several other statements that would flow out of his mouth, but I won't get into that right now.) The quote would normally show itself shortly after a discussion on the right way to pick up a sleeper-sofa. If you didn't pick it up right away, sure enough you would hear it. Even though he wanted you to know that his years of experience had taught him the right way to move things, he also wanted to let you know that it wasn't rocket science.

Movers are for the most part a proud group. They are proud of what they do and they feel that you could probably learn a trick or two from them. Whenever I work with a mover, I will always probe their mind for ideas when I am trying to move something into a place that seems formidable. Most of the time I will pick up a new trick.

The new ideas that I have learned are usually followed by this thought, "...Baboons probably could have figured that out. I mean really, roosters can learn to press buttons, and Pavlov's dog will salivate with the ringing of a bell. Surely even a baboon could have figured this out given enough time and bananas." When I venture to speak my feelings on the baboon's abilities as a mover, it is usually greeted with a hearty round of agreement from all of the other movers present.

Every once in awhile I get a little bit of a reminder as to how true this really is. Here is a little example that I thought all of my readers might enjoy.

This box was packed in Kentucky, by a Kentuckian. (For a moment I thought it was French...)

I fell.

I fell down today.

Normally that wouldn't be such a big deal, but I landed on a wardrobe bar. (Pictured to the right.) When I stood up, I didn't think that I had hurt myself that bad, but then I started seeing drops of blood all over everything in my truck. After I bled down the hallway in the office where I work, I soon realized that the office staff had come to the consensus that I needed to have it looked at.

I fought against it for awhile, but when I couldn't get it to stop bleeding, I knew that I had to go. So, my 8-year-old son may have gotten stitches at a younger age, but now we are both part of the stitches club. I even got stitched up in the same room that he did.

Unfortunately I also had to get a tetanus shot. (Yes, that is how you spell tetanus! Look it up if you don't believe me!) The shot was rather painful, especially for a guy who doesn't like shots, and they say that my arm is going to be really sore for the next few days.

Mostly I am posting about this because I am a blogger. And bloggers think about blogging at all times and in all situations. We also keep our camera phones with us so we can illustrate all of these situations. So, I couldn't wait to post the pre-stitched photos. Here they are: Gash Picture #1 and
Gash Picture #2

The Lawn Mower Man

(It is a "moving" story...)

I was in Jacksonville, MS. I was almost done unloading a 10,000 lb. shipment (which is a story in itself), when my boss calls me. He tells me that there is another driver that has an overflow. (For you non-truck drivers, an overflow is when everything that is supposed to fit on the truck, doesn't fit.)

The other driver had relayed to my boss that there were just a few items left over, nothing that one person couldn't get by himself. He also said that everything was moved to the garage. Sounded easy.

And it would have been easy if this other driver had actually been telling the truth.

I didn't arrive at the residence, which was way down near the coast, not too far from New Orleans, until about ten at night. Now remember, I had already unloaded an entire shipment of stuff, then I had spent nearly five hours driving to this location. To be completely honest, I was pretty tired before I had even arrived, but I kept telling myself that it was just a little bit of stuff. Nothing too difficult for a mover like me!

So, like I said, I pulled in about ten that night. Oh sure, everything was in the garage, but it was a three car garage! And it was full! There were a couple of dressers and an entertainment center, two entire lawn furniture sets, several pieces of exercise equipment, etc., etc., tons of stuff! I couldn't even begin to tell you how much stuff was there. The picture that I have here barely does it justice. All I can say is that it ended up being 4,500 lbs. worth. (That is about a half a truck load.)

I couldn't believe it. Right after I pulled up to the house, the owner came out and said, "Well, I gotta get to bed. Good luck. See you later."

Umm, yeah. Sure. I'll get all of this up here.

So, I started working. One piece at time I moved all of that stuff up there. I called upon all of my many moving skills to tote, drag, and roll everything up that ramp. Until...

It was about one in the morning. I had been ignoring it the entire time, glancing at it out of the corner of my eye, but ineveitably I had to deal with it. It wasn't a little riding mower, it was one of the big ones -- heavy duty stuff here. I thought that I could push it up the ramp. I have done that before with much smaller mowers. Didn't work. Then I thought that I might be able to pull it up the ramp, so I tied a strap onto it and I was able to get it about half way up, but then I had visions of it rolling back down the ramp and crashing through the back of the garage. I quickly rolled it back down.

Then I said to myself, "I am smart guy. I know geometry, calculus, advanced mathematics... I can figure this out." I stood there for about 10 minutes, and right before I dozed off in that standing position, the solution hit me.

I want you to know that I am posting this video, knowing that I will be made fun of for this. Please take into consideration that I had been awake since about 5:50 that morning, and it was now about 1:30 the next morning. I tied two straps onto the mower, and as I tightened the straps, it gradually pulled the mower up the ramp.




All I can say is that the mower made it up there. After it was in the truck, I quickly strapped it off and drove to the nearest hotel.

free time

With my job right now I have lots of time at home. I didn't think that it would be that way, but it does seem to be working out for the good.

Now, I need to tell you, when I work... I WORK. Being a mover isn't easy business. Carrying hide-a-beds, taking refridgerators upstairs, and dragging pianos around to the back of a house is all part of a days work. There have been many, many times that I have found myself on the heavy end of a long, large dresser -- full of clothes, mind you -- wondering how I was going to make it up this long flight of stairs without crushing myself.

Then, when I am between moves, I am driving...
    ...and driving
        ...and driving
              ...and ...

I have gotten really good at spending time on the road. I listen to books on tape, sermons, etc.

When I am off of work, though, I am really off. That is one thing that you don't get when you are a teacher. When you are a teacher, you are never off the clock. You are a teacher 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even when you aren't doning anything that is directly related to your subjects or your students, the teacher mindset is always there. Always hovering at the back of your consciousness.

As a mover, I don't even have to think about my job. Sometimes, I don't even think about it when I am there! I have always said, you can teach monkeys to do what I do. (You might be able to say that about teachers too, but regardless of popular opinion, that isn't the case.) Taking stuff on and off of a truck without dropping it, isn't rocket science. Give me some well-trained gorillas, and I can get the job done.

The only problem that I am having with my downtime is that I tend to be lazy. Just like yesterday, I didn't have to work, so I basically didn't do anything at all. I could have been working on the yard, or reading some of my books, or studying for my next Counseling Class lesson... but instead, I just sat around and did as little as possible.

I think that I am going to have to come up with a way to manage this extra free time. I need to set some goals or something. If I don't, I am going to end up like a bump on a log.

the hat

I failed to mention in my last post that the skin grows back hat that I am wearing in the picture was purchased from my cafepress store. My dad beat me to it. He was the first person to buy something from my store. He bought one of the hats a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway. Feel free to visit my store. Everything in it has some meaning to something in my life. Swing on by and pick up a hat.

Later.

skin grows back

Yes, that is really what that hat says.

It is a mover's quote. I picked it up after hearing it on several different occasions from several different movers. The quote is referring to how a mover will keep his hands between the wall and the piece of furniture that he is holding to protect both the furniture and the wall. If you bump up against something, the furniture will be protected and the wall will be protected, even if your hand isn't. That is OK though, because... you guessed it... skin grows back.

I have to be honest, I really love this quote. I like passing it along to other movers. I like to tell them how to keep their hand in the right spot. After they crack their knuckles on the edge of a door or something, I like to say, "Hey, don't worry. Skin grows back."

I really enjoy saying it around non-movers as well. I like to watch the expression on their face when I explain to a non-mover the meaning of the saying. Most people give a little cringe and say, "oh... ow." I love that.

This little phrase has started to take on a deeper meaning for me though. I know that sounds silly, but it really has. I have started to think of this statement during times of difficulty.

You see, I believe that as a husband and a father, my role will many times put me in the position of the hand. I am to be there between the world and my family, to protect them as much as possible. When the need arises, I am to take the brunt of things. I am to stay strong and firm in my faith. I am to be unwavering.

But that is OK, because as you know... skin grows back.

Who ya gonna call?

Well, on Thursday, we moved 49,000 pounds of stuff.

You heard me right. 49,000 pounds!

But we did it in one day, granted it was a long day, but we kept it in one day. This guy had 1500 boxes, and most of them weighed over 75 pounds each. He was running a business out of his basement. He was doing something with mugs and other glass ware. But we moved it all!

Oh Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! When you need something moved, you know who to call!








My back hurts.

drinking a pop

So, I am standing there the other day, taking a break, and sipping on my diet Mountain Dew...

...and my employee (Paul) says,



"Typical fat man, drinking a pop."



I think that I am paying him too much. What do you think?

Mover Wisdom

"Skin grows back."

This little bit of wisdom is usually quoted while carrying a large dresser through a narrow hallway, or through a doorway, or while slightly stumbling down steps. It means that when you carry something, keep your hand around the corners that might bump into a wall. Instead of damaging this nice piece of mahogany furniture, you will only peel the skin off of your knuckles. The furniture is kept whole, and the skin, well... it grows back.

sticky

Well, we did our first move of the year.

I was a little excited about this move. I am usually excited about moving anyway. It gives me a chance to do something besides school, or school-related work. It also gives me a chance to lose a little weight. But I was specifically excited about this one because it was a youth pastor.

But I was sorely disappointed.

During the course of my moving career, I have done some fairly interesting moves. And I have also done some really nasty moves. I am not talking about messy, or stuff that is out of place, I am talking about dirty.

The move today was that way. Things were just plain old dirty. Not taken care of. I don't want to be judgmental, but how you take care of your home says a lot about who you are as a person. My perception of this youth pastor was affected by the condition of his things.

Our things do not belong to us. They are God's things, and we are simply stewards of His possessions. So it really isn't about how we take care of our stuff, it is about how we take care of God's stuff.

I think that I am probably just tired of doing these kind of moves. They absolutely disgust me. I walk away from them feeling like I am covered in a thin layer of disgustingness. When all of a person's furniture is sticky, that just isn't right.

Mostly, I feel sorry for the children in these situations. There has been more than one move that I have done where there are small children living in this kind of filth. And I just know that these kids are going to grow up to be the same way.

And I will probably have to move their sticky furniture.