You Get Used to Things

You get used to things. At work, four times a year, the logistics of changing out the show happen remarkably smoothly. Pretty much impossible to move things are shipped in and out and the whole space is transformed. Often walls are built and torn down, thousands of square feet of wall are repainted. Later today I'll be going down to a nightclub that will be transformed in a window of two hours. I'll set up my photo-booth which means running a bunch of cables and rigging lights while a set is being built around me ad-hoc, props and decorations are moved in to the rest of the space, sound gear is set up. It all gets done and everyone attending later tonight will take it all for granted. It's just magic.

I say this because the people who live above and below me (yes, both, the Keepers of the All Knowing Trash-Heap expanded into the apartment above a couple months ago.) Yesterday a 40' shipping container on a flatbed was parked out front and today I am witnessing what happens when people who are not so used to logistics move on their own. For example, the deck of the flatbed is about 5' up, but there is no ramp. Things are being packed at random. Friends are helping so there will be no memory of what what put in what when it comes to unpacking. Nothing seems to be labelled. There has been a lot of yelling. Their punting-dog has been barking at everyone. Very little is actually being moved so far so it appears that despite the forethought it must have taken to rent the shipping container and get a permit to park it for a week (there are City of Vancouver no-parking signs up for the container), the idea of packing anything before it arrived was not part of the process. I can't imagine how getting a permit to park for a week is cheaper than getting movers for a day. It's fascinating seeing people operate under a completely different paradigm than I have gotten used to.