Beer and Budgeting

Moving in is expensive. It's all the initial costs that add up. Furniture, kitchenware, appliances, cleaning tools, tool tools, bedsheets, clothes, start-up groceries...the list goes on. I started using an online personal financing tool again recently to track my expenses. A few days after our lovely Ikea trip, it sent me alerts saying "In the past 30 days, you spent $1083.56 on Home Furnishings. Usually you spend $0." Sorta gives you an idea of how much we spent (although a portion of that was for our couch, which my roommates reimbursed me for).

We spent somewhat liberally the first day. From then on we got stingier and stingier. By the third day of shopping, we were all exhausted (not just physically or mentally - financially exhausted).

The following week we decided to check out the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain. This was probably one of our most worthwhile excursions to date. Not only was the tour free, but each visitor received a complimentary 7oz Sam Adams glass to take home - after they filled it with three of their specialty brews. We also found out about their upcoming Octoberfest festival at the brewery and decided to check it out. For $15, you received a 20 oz beer mug with your first fill-up along with admission to the event. It was basically what you would imagine Octoberfest to be like - lots of beer and drunk white people. They even had a German band! But here's where the Asian in us kicked in. Here's the deal: each person comes in the door with a complimentary mug. Probably a good 60% of the people there were belligerent past inhibition. Some were so drunk that they left their mugs behind. Having just moved in, we were in need of more dishware. See where I'm going with this? Don't judge us. We saw an opportunity and took it. Rather, we took six. Here's a picture of Tim with our loot for the night:

Advice for today? Hit up local breweries for glassware.

Our next stop? Harvard dining halls. Hellooooo silverware!

Let it Ride

One of my favorite views of the city so far can be seen from the middle of Charles River just west of the locks separating the river from Boston Harbor (or as they call it, the Bahston Hahbah). On my fifth day here, we decided to check out one of Boston's dragonboat clubs. I'll admit, my technique and form are rusty from lack of practice. In all honesty, though, the main reason I paddled poorly was because I wasn't focused in the boat. Throughout practice, my eyes kept wandering off of the front rows and onto the environment around me. They say Boston is best explored on foot, but dragonboat practice provided a brand new perspective. Today's advice: if you get a chance, explore a city by water. After all, 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Think of all the views you'll be missing if you just stay on land.

Ikea Madness

One of our first stops, of course, was Ikea. Who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture? This is one question we should have asked ourselves prior to making our way over there. My biggest oversight was that classes start in early September for Harvard, MIT, BU, and BC. And who loves cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture more than frugal college students?

My friend Matt recently moved to Philadelphia for grad school. He spent the last couple weeks at home furnishing his apartment in his mind. If you asked him what coffee table he was planning to get, he was able to tell you the color and price of the model he wanted, the relative cost compared to similar models, and how many were in stock at his location. During the last few days before he made the move, he constantly checked the Ikea website to make sure his products were still in stock. If they were out, he'd figure out when they would have more. He had Ikea shopping down to a science.

I thought his strategy was ridiculous - even amusing - until I arrived at Boston's Ikea. Out of the three products we had picked out for the living/dining room, only one was available. Out of the three pieces of furniture I had picked out for my bedroom, none were available. All the cheaper items (products that I would have happily taken as alternatives) were sold out. The bottom line is that I ended up paying significantly more to furnish my place just because I didn't plan ahead. Lesson learned: check inventory and availability before going to Ikea.

That last bit of advice is just common sense. But this next anecdote is something I never really considered until my trip to Ikea. I didn't sleep too well the night before I left for Boston. I got a call at 2AM and couldn't fall back asleep until around 5:30. Overall, I got about 3 hours of sleep. My first night in Boston was no better. The boys and I finally decided to hit the sack around 2AM. Since we didn't have any furniture in the house, we laid out a sleeping bag and shared it (don't judge us - the hardwood floor around us wasn't clean yet). It was probably a combination of excitement, uncomfortableness, and ambient snoring that left me unable to fall asleep until 5AM. Waking up at 7:30 the next morning to go fetch the moving truck wasn't too thrilling. When it came to picking out a mattress at Ikea the next day, it was incredibly hard to choose. Every single mattress on display felt infinitely better than the hard ground from the night before. And running off such little sleep in the past two nights didn't help. I couldn't choose. All of the mattresses felt wonderful. Weight-watchers and nutritionists warn us not to go to the grocery store when you're hungry. I am warning you not to shop for mattresses when you're sleepy.

Last bit of advice. Think twice before buying that solar powered lamp that Ikea sells. It seems like a cool concept, but it's really not practical. They recommend that you leave it in direct sunlight for 9 to 12 hours (more than 12 hours in cloudy weather) for 4 hours of use. Even then, the lamp will start out at an adequate brightness but dims over time. The only "perk" is that for every one that Ikea sells, they will give one to UNICEF to distribute to children in developing countries. My roommate Vincent picked up a couple for $20 each but is unsatisfied with the brightness and plans on returning them. This sparks the question: for every solar lamp that is returned to Ikea, will they take one away from a child in need?

Challenge Number One - U-Haul

My last 7 days in California were spent well. Each day, I was fortunate to hang out with family and close friends. I guess I can insert my first bit of advice here - make sure you use the hell out of the "moving" excuse. People who typically flake out will come see you. And, if you're lucky, you can get a few free meals out of it.

Packed as my schedule was, I was never too tired to make my way out to the city just to meet up for food or a jam session. I kept busy and enjoyed it.

Two days before my departure date, I decided that it would be prudent to book a moving truck ahead of time. So I called up U-Haul. At that moment I had no idea how much I would soon regret making that call.

The first few tries were frustrating enough. After waiting an average of 10 minutes on hold per call, the U-Haul office in Cambridge picked up but were unable to hear me. Finally I called their 800 number and asked about availability. The operator I spoke with said that the pickup time and location that I wanted were both available, so I went ahead and booked through him.

Not long afterwards, I received a confirmation email verifying the pickup time and location - with the wrong pickup time and location. Plus they spelled my last name "BAENT" instead of "CHENG". As if I haven't had enough name mixups with U-Haul (try Mu-Hua on Outlook's spellcheck). I called the 800 number to clarify. Another twenty minutes on hold. They told me that the order already went through and that I would have to call the regional office in Cambridge to change anything. So I called. I waited fifty minutes on hold before reaching an operator. Again, the person on the other line couldn't hear me, so she hung up. Fifty minutes wasted. I spent the next two hours calling number after number on different phone lines until I finally got someone who could hear me. The operator admitted that the 800 number doesn't have up to date booking information and that the Cambridge branch had been fully booked for a month. A month. That means the 800 number is giving out stale information that all their customers will base their booking plans on. Not very efficient, right? The operator agreed, but refused to compensate me in any way. *click*

Luckily, I had a computer nearby and checked out Penske's rates. Their rental costs were comparable to U-Haul's, so I decided to give them a try. My phone call with them lasted three minutes, with no hold time. I asked about availability and made sure they had trucks available at the nearest location. They confirmed. I went online and booked in two minutes. The confirmation email looked fine, so I called U-Haul back (10 minutes on hold again) and cancelled my reservation. What I accomplished in 3 hours with U-Haul (2 of those 3 hours on hold) I did in 5 minutes with Penske.

Lessons learned:

- Book your moving truck early - especially if your move-in date coincides with the start of a college semester.

- Do not use U-Haul. And if you do, don't trust information given to you through the 800 number.