Timelies! Movers are coming by in a half hour to give me an estimate. I've already gotten two estimates, and am in sticker shock about the cost of a cross-country move.

I'm starting to wonder how much hassle a U-Haul would be.

The production of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" I saw last night turned out to be the Joseph Papp rock-opera version (it won a Tony in 1972). Much fun, and the costuming and staging seemed very Buffista to me.

It's snowing here, Theo. A few minutes ago, the snow was sort of a slushy rain, but it's back to snow, now.

We didn't get any sissy rain. Nothing but snow, and it's still coming.

Anne, I checked with my aunt about the disreputable movers. It was Father and Son, although they also operate under the name All In the Family, down south (I think with a Florida office). Be extra researchy, okay--BBB, State's attorney office, etc. Also, if any of the companies claim affliliation with a larger company, check the larger one to make sure they're still in good standing.

I can't even imagine the cost to move like you are, as I moved (literally) a half mile and almost keeled from the cost of it. Do you have a lot of stuff you want to keep--do you know what I mean? Maybe U-Haul wouldn't be the worst way. You might even be able to hire movers just to pack and unpack your U-Haul.

The play sounds fun!

Figuring out the cost of the furniture you'd have to replace may put the move costs into perspective. Especially because you're beyond the post-college Random Furniture phase of life.

The third bid I got was much more reasonable (but not suspiciously so), and the person who put it together spent a lot more time looking at my stuff than the other people. I'm going to have to sit down and compare the bid line by line to make sure that I'm comparing apples and apples.

Theo, that's a good way of putting things into perspective cost-wise.

Gronk. Coffee maker being slow.

Snot Monster may be advancing.

Send Help.

I need to return phone calls, but I don't feel like it. I hate making phone calls!

Anne, that sounds like a good sign, but reading all the fine print is a must. Have you looked at insurance? The insurance they provide automatically is akin to no insurance at all, so extra is really a must. Or - I wonder would your homeowners still cover a move? Might be worth checking into.

When I moved cross country, the cost of a one way U-Haul was damn close to the cost of the movers. Without, you know, movers included. Not to mention gas.

I took the opportunity of the move to be as ruthless as I possibly could in culling my crap - and I thought I'd been pretty good on my prior, in-city move. God rid of sooo much stuff. Then, later when I got all my shit out of storage, about half of it I didn't even remember saving and couldn't imagine why I'd kept the shit I did. My calculations on replacement cost have been revised somewhat since then. Now it's more a matter of is it special, is it exactly the whatever that I want, rather than a strict what will this cost to replace. Most of my cookware, for example, went bye-bye this last move other than the really good quality stuff, and I'm slowly replacing the stuff I still need with better quality stuff than what I tossed.

Anne, that sounds like a good sign, but reading all the fine print is a must.

Absolutely. I'm going to sit down with the various bids and go through them line-by-line.

I have a sinking feeling that I have a lot to do today, but I can't quite figure out what it is. Housework is somewhere in there. Maybe.