What a mess it has been to move our phone line and internet connection.

We started by calling KPN to inform them we would be moving on September 17. We received a confirmation that our phone line would be transfered on September 29! We called to say the date wasn’t correct and so we received a new confirmation of the corrected date.

We first received a letter saying that (because it’s a new house) some work still had to be done. Later, it was confirmed that all the necessary preparations had been done.

In the mean time, we had cancelled our old internet provider per September 17th and subscribed to a new provider per that same date. However, our new provider called to inform us the request could not be processed until the new phone line would be active. That would be, for all we knew, on September 17th. From then it would take up to 5 weeks to get the ADSL working!

So we called KPN to try to move the activation date forward. We called four times that day. We were told it wasn’t possible, because we had already changed the date once (which was their fault, not ours). We were told there was nothing we could do, not even request a new phone line. The KPN woman even hung up on us! So we called again, and got someone else, who put us on hold… forever. So we called again and got someone on the line who actually helped and moved the date forward. We even got a confirmation letter with the new date: September 9th. It cost us more than an hour calling to an expensive service number, but hey, we got a result.

September 10: we’re disconnected! The phone is offline. Luckily, the internet connection still works! However, our new phone line isn’t working… So we call KPN (with a mobile phone of course). They cannot seem to find a record of us being connected on September 9th. They even deny the confirmation letter we got! So they did disconnect our old line, but they cannot connect our new line. When we ask them to reconnect our old line, they say we will be called back about that. That never happens…

On September 18th, the day after we moved, we still don’t have a working telephone line. So we call KPN and they tell us they cannot give us an activation date! However, we will be called back about it within four working hours. Four working hours later, it is the next Monday, September 21st. We are called back and told that we will be called back the next day. The next day we are called back and told that we will be connected the next day! Then, on Wednesday, September 23rd, our phone line finally works!

So, our new internet provider had told us the request for the new ADSL connection could not be processed until the phone line would be active. We had told them that would be September 9th, after we had received that confirmation letter from the KPN. It wasn’t to be… The provider tried to request the ADSL connection after Septemer 9th, although they had said they couldn’t do that if the line wasn’t active and although earlier they could perfectly well see the status of the phone line. So the request failed because the phone line wasn’t active yet, and the request was cancelled. Yes, cancelled. But they didn’t tell us. Not until we called them on September 23rd to inform them that our phone line was active. So we had to request a new subscription. By phone of course, but not the number we were calling at the moment. We asked if they could put an “URGENT” on the request, but for that we had to call yet another number. Well, after some more calls in the following weeks, we finally got the installation package last week with a letter saying that our internet connection should work on October 13th. But boy, are we lucky or what? When we installed the modem yesterday, the connection worked immediately! How about that?

While Irene stayed at the old place, I already went to our new house, because the very same day, the kitchen would be installed. A case of Bad Planning ™, I fear, although not entirely our own fault.

Around noon, the movers arrived at our new house, after they had picked up a lift to hoist the 40-or-so boxes with books (and much more) to the second floor.

It was a very busy day, but the movers were great, very careful and tidy, and they worked very hard, the entire day, until about 6 pm. But in the evening, we could sleep in our own bed in our new house. We’d moved!

Ten months after construction was started it’s finally finished now. Although, it’s not quite finished yet, there are still some things that have to be done, but that will have to wait till after the holidays. But at least, in the mean time, we can start painting, cleaning, et cetera. We plan to move on September 17th.

Coincidently, this picture was taken exactly one year ago today, before they started building. So what do you think, does the house look like the drawing back then?

As I wrote a while ago, we have been searching for a new house. In fact, we have sold our old house, we have moved to another house, and we have bought a new house.

Let me explain…

Initially, somewhere around November last year, we were thinking about moving to a new (existing) house. We decided to put our house up for sale, because we thought it might take about half a year to sell it.

We had been looking at a number of (existing) houses, when we received a leaflet about a project of new (yet to be built) houses. We both immediately fell in love with these houses, so shortly after we had taken an option on one of them.

At that time they told us construction of the houses probably wouln’t start until May, because at least 50 % of the houses has to be sold first. This was in January.

The day after, we heard from our own estate agent, there were people interested in buying our house. So, a bit of a dilemma: should we sell our house now and try to find something (temporary) for about a year, until the new house would be built, or turn down this offer for our old house and wait a year, hoping there will be other offers.

We decided to go for this offer and sell our house per May 1st. However, this meant we had to find another home quickly. Of course, because it would be only temporary, for a year or two, we decided to look for a rental house.

April 25th we moved and a few days later we had officially sold our house!

So, here we are, in our home-for-a-year. And it’s nice! Of course, we haven’t spent much time or money, but we have tried to make it a bit our own, although it’s not our own.

In the mean time, we are still busy with our next new home! A couple of weeks ago, we (finally) signed the contract for the new house, after we heard construction will probably start by the beginning of October. Although we are still the only ones who have signed, the new (!) building contractor decided he did want to start building, hoping that ‘seeing is buying’. Of course, we were thrilled to hear that, the good news we’ve been waiting for ever since January.

Right now, we are in the process of getting the mortgage and life insurance. For the insurance, we will have to undergo a thorough medical examination; you wouldn’t believe the things they want to know! We are both pretty healthy, but this questionnaire sort of scared us!

Well, we are very much looking forward to seeing the house being built. I will keep you up to date with some pictures, now and again. For us, the next steps will be to think about the extra work we want done (electrics, etc.) and to go shopping for a kitchen and bathroom. So that’s the fun stuff! I’ll keep you posted.

Anyway, just the other day, I found out that since my weblog has been moved to WordPress, all internal links on my weblog are broken. All links still point to cpbotha.net. I plan to fix them all, but please be patient with me.

On inspection, everything was found to be ok, and I was even able to sell my carpets for a couple hundred euros.

By the way, I did sell my two couches in the past weeks. I didn’t get as much for them as I had wanted, but anything is better than nothing…

Anyway, almost all my stuff fitted in there, like a large desk, two beds, several closets and a load of boxes. I’m not moving much furniture, because we already have a completely furnished house in Zeeland. I’ve been able to sell my dining room table and chairs, a side table and a couple of other things. However, I’m still stuck with my two couches – nobody seems to want those.

I’m drifting away. As I was saying, almost everything fitted in the van. We also loaded up my own car, and so we drove to Zeeland with two cars. The packing took a couple of hours. Luckily, unpacking was a lot quicker (with a lot of help from the neighbours!).

We decided to return the van and pick up the rest of the stuff this morning. We didn’t want to drive back to Rotterdam yesterday, and sleep in an empty house… and there was enough to do here! So, early this morning we drove back and returned the van. Then we completely filled Irenes car (and my motorbike) with the remaining stuff and left the empty house… *SNIF*

So, this afternoon all my stuff was finally moved to Zeeland.
Now, unpacking begins. And rearranging! If you would see the mess here, you would believe that that will still take quite some time!

Well, I’ll be busy packing at home, because I am planning to move sometime next week. I am moving to Zeeland, in the southwest of the Netherlands. My wife already lives there, so, since I am now no longer bound to Delft, because of my job, I can finally move in with her…

In the last few weeks, we have been busy painting and cleaning.
Then on Tuesday the new carpet was laid, on Wednesday and Thursday evening I’ve been packing my things, and yesterday evening friends came by with a Landcruiser and trailer wagon!

First of all, we went to pick up some furniture from my future sister-in-law.
I could buy from them a dining table plus chairs, a side table, a cupboard, a tv table, a linen cupboard, and some small things. There’s nothing wrong with the stuff, but they’re moving in a few weeks and just want to buy something new. Well, ok. Fine with me!

Then we went to pick up my boxes, bed, mattresses, and cupboards, and luckily, it all fitted in the trailer wagon.
We have been unloading until about midnight. These large cupboards are always a pain to get up or down the stairs in a flat! But we succeeded, without all too much damage.

Unfortunately, I’m still missing a few things. I still need a couch, an extra bed, a fridge, microwave, and curtains!

Update: Today, we started unpacking the boxes. In the afternoon, we went shopping and I bought a fridge and microwave at the BCC, and 47 metres of material for the curtains at the Kwantum. Next Saturday, the fridge and microwave will be delivered, so hopefully, the sleeping room curtains will also be finished by then – and I will finally be able to move permanently!

The only question is, will my TU Delft / Infopact internet connection also have been moved by then? Frankly, I doubt it…