The ship is in

So a little more than two months after we wrapped up our shopping spree in Ottawa, our ship finally came in on Wednesday. Literally.



This is exciting and all, but the ship being in is hardly enough. Depending on how much cargo they have to unload, where our crate is on the boat, weather, tide and who knows what else it could be days and days before we heard if our box had even made it onto the beach.

Except when we came home to lunch on Thursday, there it was.



And there was much rejoicing.



Except now we were faced with a new problem. In order to get all of our belongings up to Iqaluit safe and sound, TSC put so many nails in that box that Dracula wasn't getting out of it. Plus there was the matter of the metal bands used to secure it as well. We were told a simple claw hammer on the bands and the proper use of force would get the bands to pop. Alas, that was not the case. So after about 20 minutes or so of looking generally like idiots, a couple of neighbours took mercy on us. One brought over a pair of big ass cutters to snip the metal bands. Another came by with a crowbar to help wedge the box open. Finally, we got it open so we could see everything packed inside.



Which, as you can see, is quite a bit. The biggest pain in the ass was all the laminate flooring that had to be moved into the house. But finally, after more than an hour, we emptied the crate. And then we rested. Or at least Cathy did.



But just because it was all taken out of the box, doesn't mean it was all put away. There was a lot of stuff in that box, which means the house looked a bit...untidy.



The original plan was to just leave it alone for the evening. We were both beaten out getting the case open and dragging all that stuff inside. Trying to find homes for it that night all was out of the question. Absolutely.

So naturally when I ran out to get some Chinese food for supper, Cathy started putting some of the stuff away. She just can't abide a mess. Once she starts, well, I could have sat back and let her do her thing, but that would be wrong. So we ate and then squared away the groceries and the other odds and ends.

Now here's where things get a bit frustrating. Despite all of that stuff, Cathy began noticing some stuff seemed to be missing. So did I. Shampoo we bought wasn't there. My razor blades were no where to be found. Cathy couldn't find any of the mangoes she bought. We consulted the Costco receipt that came with the box and figured out there was quite a bit of stuff not there.

We figure a shopping cart of stuff went missing somewhere from the time we paid for it until it got here. Or more than $500 worth of stuff. Cathy and I started emailing and placing calls today to both TSC and Costco. As best we can figure at this point, Costco simply didn't have everything packaged and ready for TSC when they arrived to pick it up. No one is stepping up and accepting responsibility yet, of course. But that's the way it looks. We should know more on Monday.

I suspect Costco is probably going to offer a refund. I think we're going to counter with giving us our stuff, but they have to fly up here. I'm sure that's going to go over well, but I know Costco ships heavier and bulkier items to Iqaluit for free (like mattresses) for no charge. So I see no reason why they can't do this. However, we'll see if my logic prevails.

But at least we have most of it. At least we don't have to buy stuff from the local stores we knew was coming up on the sealift but needed now. And it's good that it all arrived safe and sound. We'll likely end up doing the same thing next year with our order, although hopefully with less drama over missing items.

Although now we have to get rid of the big bloody empty crate sitting in our driveway. sigh...

Last Five
1. Uniform - Bloc Party
2. A sailor's trade is a weary life - Anita Best and Pamela Morgan
3. Neon gumbo - Janelle Monae
4. All the young dudes - Mott the Hoople
5. Always on my mind - Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies*