Well, HUGE news, the boxes were picked up yesterday morning right on time. I'm still in happy shock about it. The back story has been quite interesting. We have been working with this fast talking, East Coast accent, Miami living guy named Howard who is our Shipping Broker. Back in April when we started the process of shipping our things over to Germany we did some research and figured that we had to use someone in the know as many of the cargo airlines don't work directly with customers so in comes Howard. In the beginning he was very friendly and talkative - boy could that guy TALK!! A typical salesman for sure.
We were quite busy with other things in April so we "locked in our price" (I know it is a sales gimmick but it also set my mind at ease knowing we had someone in the know working on our behalf) Then I didn't hear another thing from him once he got our deposit until I had to reach out to him 3 or 4 times in June trying to get him to return my calls or emails. At first we thought we were ripped off but the deposit was quite small and we paid with visa so we were covered. We just couldn't figure it out.
After a bit he finally gets back to us, much less verbose, much more down to business but the business part was still just a bunch of run around and not a lot of facts. At this point we are getting a little worried but we figured, well we still have time.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and I'm daily calling or emailing Howard demanding forms that we need to fill out, demanding an actual quote on our updated shipment, demanding to know where we actually will be picking up our boxes in Berlin, demanding to know just the most basic facts. Last Friday we get what we think we need to box up our things which took us all weekend and a lot of effort but we did it.
So on Monday I call Howard again reminding him that we need shipping labels, insurance to cover ALL OF OUR BELONGINGS and some other MAJOR details for this shipment. No answer. No email. Then, in the afternoon I get a call from a guy named Albert from the same company who tells me he will send the shipping labels and more info and that the truck will be by to pick up our boxes at 9:30 on Wednesday. YAY!! I immediately call Marty and we let out a collective sigh of relief. Wow, we shouldn't have doubted Howard. he came through.
Tuesday I wake up at 2am and stay awake the rest of the night/morning panicked that this is all a ploy to steal our things. I look up reviews of Howard's company and more shocking that the couple negative (and a couple positive to be fair) reviews was that there were only FOUR reviews for a company that has been in existence for 4+ years.
I call Howard in the morning, he is very verbose again and at a time where I just don't have the time to listen to him drone on. I tell him that we still need to know where to pick up our boxes in Berlin. We still definitely need our insurance certificate before we will let go of our boxes (which contain all of Marty's expensive video editing equipment, computers, screens, etc not to mention all of our favorite clothing, shoes, etc.) Later in the morning I get a call from a guy who says his name is Albert (the guy I had talked to the day before) and I literally laughed out loud and said "that is funny because this sounds a lot like Howard trying not to sound like Howard!" The guy didn't reply. Remember I have spent hours listening to Howard talk. I know his voice. I have only spoken to "Albert" once the day before but unless they employ two different Alberts it was most definitely Howard trying to act like Albert. But why?? All day/night
Tuesday I am a complete ball of stress coupled with the fact that I had slept only a few hours I was miserable to be around. Stress was seeping from my pores, my eyes and unfortunately for my family my mouth. I was SO stressed. 5PM we call Howard and remind him that we will not let our boxes go without our insurance certificate. "Oh, of course. I'll have it to you first thing in the morning" Marty mentions some customs form that we have been told we need. Howard's reply "I'm not sure what you are talking about" This is HIS business. What the heck?
Wednesday morning Marty and I are nervously trying to figure out an alternative plan to ship our boxes (72 hours before we are actually flying out ourselves. ) Again, not a pretty scene. Call Howard at 7am and it goes directly to voice mail. 8am call again and directly to voice mail. Seriously panicked. What do I do if the courier comes and we haven't received an insurance certificate? Then Howard calls around 8:45. "Karrie, Karrie, don't worry. I'm sending you the insurance certificate right now" Marty gets it minutes later, verifies that it is at least a legit company (we joked the night before that Howard was going to send us an insurance certificate that he wrote with a crayon!! haha) Marty registers it and then within 20 minutes Scott, the nicest courier , arrives to load up our boxes. I know I looked a bit like a deer in the headlights when he showed up. His first question was "is this the Marty Riemer that is the DJ?" I say yes and he goes on to say he is the biggest Marty and Jodi fan. He proceeds to VERY carefully load our boxes into his mini van. He then notices how freaked out I was about it and then he shows me the order for him to pick up our boxes on his phone "so you don't think I'm just some random guy" Then he gives me a big hug and wishes us well in Germany. THEN, an hour or so later he calls me just to let me know that our boxes arrived at the shipping center and everything was good to go!! What a nice guy. I can only hope that everyone who touches our boxes uses even half as much care as Scott did!!
In addition the kids were picked up by one of our favorite family friends, Semi, who took them along with her two young kids to Seattle Center for a day of wading pool, Dicks Burgers and then a movie.
SO SO thankful for this turn of events which has allowed me to actually breathe peacefully and get so much done for the first time in days.
I got so much done that I actually had time to play a game of Clue with the kids.Things are looking up. Again, it will be a miracle if our boxes actually show up in Berlin and an even bigger miracle if the computer screens and equipment are not damaged. Here's to hoping!!
Benjamin's first top baby tooth. It has been dangling for days. Wonder if the tooth fairy will pay up in Euros or dollars? 
