OUR LIFE IN BOXES (PART DEUX)

Two hundred boxes made it across the Atlantic and were delivered to our door on Migdal Oz just a couple of days ago. The sight of boxes piled high and covering every square meter of our apartment is nothing short of overwhelming. I thought it would be a good idea to stay at the fully furnished apartment we rented until our container was delivered, for a couple more days until we get a chance to unpack a little, but after a month of being nomads, the idea of sleeping in our own bed sounds very alluring. We had shipped our stuff about 3 weeks before we traveled and stayed with my aunt in Miami for that time and then rented a temporary place in Modiin for 10 days. We decided it would be better to be uncomfortable for a month where we know our surroundings and feel "at home" rather than in a new place where we don't know how to move around, so we are lucky that after only 10 days of having made aliyah, our stuff has arrived and we can begin to build our new home and our new life with our own stuff. I am grateful for this, but still, the sight of 200 boxes invading our apartment is not a pleasant one.
I am maniac, obsessive, compulsive and un-diagnosed with every related disorder when it comes to having my house in order. "one day at a time" and "leat, leat" are not part of my vocabulary. I have unpacked all my prior moves in two days, so I figured now that I have two kids on board, I should extend the deadline a little. Erev Rosh Hashana (a week from now) I want every box, every piece of bubble wrap and packing material gone! We have been unpacking for 3 days straight and are down to about 15 boxes.

As one of the many surprises we have encountered here, we have been informed, after having purchased all of our appliances and having had them delivered, that the delivery guys do not install. This is a separate transaction that needs to be scheduled, so we now have 6 appliances sitting in our apartment boxed up (as if we don't have enough boxes) and have been calling for two days to schedule the installers, but have not been able to achieve what seems like such a simple task. Is it too much to ask for a little customer service? I guess the "the customer is always right" memo got lost in the mail on the way to Israel. Did I mention we have no refrigerator (we have been eating out breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks) and a pile of dirty clothes and nowhere to wash it? Grrrrr... There. I vented. I feel better.