October 22, 2010

the move

the following events took place over the past month ...

i knew i was going to jeddah ... at first they wanted to me join after eid ... then we pushed it until october 1st ... i had to be ready to start in october ... meaning i had to have found a place and moved in by then ... so i went to jeddah a week before ... the plan was to go look for an apartment ... then come back to riyadh and take everything and leave for good ... i don't know anyone in jeddah and i don't know jeddah so i needed help with finding a house ... i made that clear to my boss ... thankfully he came through in a big way ... i flew in to jeddah ... he sent someone to pick me up at the airport ... then he drove me to the apartment they had found me ... i was not crazy about the area at all ... but it was very close to work ... i mean very close ... also the apartment and the building were actually really nice ... so it balanced out ... i made a downpayment so as to reserve it ... then went to work for a couple of hours just to visit with the boss and check out the new place i would be working in ... after that it was back to riyadh ... so i came and left on the same day ... it was a huge relief for me to find an apartment so easily ... i was actually worried about that ... and so back to riyadh ... i packed everything ... took apart what needed to be taken apart ... bed and closet and what not ... and was ready to move ... i hired a dyna to move all my stuff ... shipped my car ... and it was off to jeddah again ... and this is where it gets interesting ... i arrived in jeddah on a wednesday ... i was exhausted ... all the back and forth and packing and lifting and moving and flying and driving had worn me out ... all i wanted to do was sleep ... then that at night at 1:30 am i received a call from a strange number ... i answered ... it was the police ... telling me they had towed my car ... why ... there is a report out on your car ... the rental company that owns it has reported it missing ... but wait ... i'm the owner ... what are you talking about ... well you have to go to riyadh and get us a paper from the police so we can release your car ... but i'm the owner ... sorry ... wait man i am in jeddah i can't go back to riyadh ... the guy finally got annoyed with my incessant pleas and told me listen i have to work to do bye and hung up in my face ... like i said i was exhausted but that woke me up ... i sat there for a few minutes ... with a blank stare ... unable to comprehend what had just happened ... but i soon succumbed to my weariness and fell asleep again ... when i woke up i thought maybe it was a dream ... checked my phone and sure enough i had received a call at 1:30 am ... fuck ... later on that day i received an sms from the shipping company telling me my car had arrived in jeddah ... i was like hmmm ... so i went to their office hoping that my car really was there ... but as it turned out no ... it had been towed ... the man at their office gave me a number to call ... it was the same number that called me ... so i called and talked to the officer ... he was much more helpful than the last guy ... he sympathized with me and told me look i understand but we cannot release your car until you bring us the paper ... but check your system i am the owner ... there's a mistake ... sorry you have to bring us the paper ... ok ... so i had to go back to riyadh ... i called a friend who let me stay the night with him ... the next morning we went to the police station to get the paper ... as it turned out the car which had been reported was plate TUA5734 ... but when the geniuses entered it in the system they entered TUA5731 ... which is my car ... so it was all cleared up in a matter of minutes ... and it was off to the small town of 3shaira where my car was ... this is a small town outside of al-taif ... i arrived there just as the sun was setting ... got my car from the police station ... and drove it to jeddah ... that was kind of fun ... basically you pass through taif then makkah then jeddah ... got lost for a bit in makkah ... before going home i picked up some food ... got home ... ate it ... and slept ... the move was now done ... well there was the unpacking ... and hiring a carpenter to come put my stuff together ... also cleaning the apartment ... but that's all minor things which i could take care of later ... my move was now officially done ...
and here we are two weeks later ... unpacking is complete ... my stuff has been put together ... the apartment has been cleaned ... i still want to buy a few things ... mainly a sofa ... waiting for the salary ... but for the most part the move is complete ...

6 comments:

Dreamer said...

You still have to provide pictures of the new apt and neigbourhood :p

I felt exhuasted just reading your "move" post...I can't imagine what it was like...yalla mabroooooook :)

Jundi said...

i will do you one better .. i will post a cribs style video of the apartment .. as for the neighborhood its crap .. my riyadh neighborhood was soooooo much better .. so no pictures :P

Jundi said...

but u have to wait for me to finish fixing the place up .. one month tops ..

Dreamer said...

yeeeeey :p but hey you have to at least put some effort into interior design. Lighting is VERY important...I suggest you invest in some nice floor and side lamps..oh and drapes..cannot emphasize them enough...and the most important thing...RUGS!! Buy some authentic persian rugs...I garantee they will turn your life around.

Just kidding...if you arrange the furniture bikoon ktir mnih :p

Jundi said...

im telling you min hala2 i will not appear in the video .. you will hear my voice as i take you on a tour of the place using my phone camera :D

Dreamer said...

DAAAMMNNN I was hoping you would :S

Btw I undeleted my blog, visit me sometime...I serve the best coffee you can drink online :p the link is in my profile...