Minor Crash, No Injuries

"Lift with your legs, not your back."
"You don't think I'm trying to do that? My body just keeps defaulting to my back."

In less than a year, I have moved someone else from New York City to San Francisco, and then from San Francisco to Los Angeles, packing and unpacking all of his stuff by myself.

San Francisco was Murphy's Law run amok.

San Francisco Public Works was improving the street in front of my client's building, so a moving truck could not park in front of the building from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays, and the many movers I called did not work nights. (Moving truck and movers sold separately.)

I secured a permit from the city to park the trailer containing my client's stuff in front of his building on a Friday night, and scheduled movers to move his stuff in on Saturday morning. To prevent stealing overnight, I found a lock that fit the trailer, and someone local to receive the lock and lock the container upon drop-off, as I could not be present. (I could not visit my client's new home until move-in day, and thus could not scout the building/area.)

On Friday night, the driver delivering the trailer informed me that he could not drop it off because the street in front of my client's building is too narrow – the trailer would block traffic.

New plan: With the help of two TaskRabbits, I rent a U-Haul, drive to a freight terminal in Oakland, transfer all of my client's stuff from the trailer in which it sits to the U-Haul, drive to his building in San Francisco, and move his stuff in.

As I arrived at the freight terminal, the TaskRabbits I hired informed me that their car broke down in Sausalito and that they regretfully could not help me.

New plan: I transfer all of my client's stuff from the trailer in which it sits to the U-Haul by myself, and cobble together moving help in San Francisco.

The freight terminal would not release my client's stuff to me. My client had to sign for access in person.

I waited two hours for my client to drive up from Palo Alto. Together, in the dark, we transferred his stuff from the trailer in which it sat to the U-Haul.

My client's building was a walk-up. Six flights of stairs.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ticketed the U-Haul for obstructing early morning street cleaning.

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