Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I Will Laugh Every Time I Sit On the Couch

I'm quickly learning that NYC furnishings and decor are not a reflection of one's taste, necessarily. But rather, a reflection of one's resourcefulness.

I think I'm pretty decent at the game (90% of our Utah home furnishings were Deseret Industries, black paint and sandpaper, after all), but New York - you sly devil with your public transportation, narrow hallways and sixth-floor walkups - you are a trickier opponent.

Perhaps we hit a new low, but I'm not ashamed to admit it as we're now the proud owners of two free couches, a great unit of shelves and another evening of hilarity to add to our arsenal.

I noticed a few free couches on Craiglist that were actually in pretty decent condition and -remarkable! - the owner lived just 1.5 blocks away. We went by after work, affirmed that they were in relatively good condition and did not reek of an identifiable (or worse, unidentifiable) odor and hauled them - in a comical blend of total white trash and Banana Republic business casual - down 10th Avenue to their temporary crash pad (we're moving to our real place on Saturday).

The loveseat made the trip without a hitch. But the larger couch proved to be a little much for my quivering forearms so there were a lot of pauses and readjustments between my bursts of laughter at the situation in general.

The whole ordeal hit a real high when a group of guys walked by and one said to the others, "pivot... pivot..." Hands-down my favorite Friends quote of all time. I was ready to throw the quote out at the opportune time, but thank you, random stranger, for beating me to the punch.

My forearms held in there until we got to the front door of our apartment and our uber-narrow hallway which posed a new threat - nowhere to tilt. Noah maneuvered and tilted with the best of them, the opposite end of the couch thudding against our across-the-hall neighbor's door while I tried my best to stifle my laughter. I could hear our neighbor shuffling around his kitchen (entryway, dining room, it's all one room, really) and I desperately fought off the ensuing church-giggle, knowing our paper-thin walls would have made it sound like I was standing right beside him. I didn't want him getting curious about the commotion and flinging open the door just in time to see my head literally pressed against his door trying to shift the couch just one... more... inch.

Finally, I decided it wisest to let the heretofore stranger neighbor in on our couch conquest and ask him if we could swing the couch into his doorway to allow for that extra inch of tilt. To which he kindly obliged.

And now we have two couches standing upright in what used to be the only walking room in the apartment (for, where else would you have me put them?) and we also know our neighbor. So, win-win.

9 comments:

Ashley said...

So who was white trash and who was BR casual? I'd hate to make assumptions, but I do want to have the full picture as I'm imagining the scene :)

allyn said...

okay-you were walking down the street carrying a couch? i would not be able to keep a straight face either.
you are, indeed, resourceful.

Amy said...

This is hilarious! And all that work just to move them out again in a few days?! :) Your Guatemala trip looked so awesome.. It was fun to see all the pictures!

Jessica said...

Thanks for the congrats! It was fun getting your post on our blog. We are so happy for you guys, too- your NY adventure sounds like a blast. Its been a lot of fun reading the updates :)

Whitney said...

before i got to the random guys on the street saying pivot, pivot, (which by the way is hilarious) i was totally going to make reference to that! you know how much i love friends. and that episode is hilarious! i think you guys just pulled the perfect episode there except you made it into the apartment! good job ross and rachel! love these stories.

Jaci said...

The Friends episode was on the tip of my tongue as well. PIVOT!!!!! Are you Friends fanatics too?
Glad you found the couches. Good times! A memory you will never forget.
We are wondering what you Rileys are doing out in NY anyways? Maybe we missed that blog post. Do you mind sharing your stellar job descriptions? Allison, you better be a writer! I love reading your posts.
Jaci

Dani said...

you guys are only 2 hours away! next time we come up to NYC let's meet up!

Ash and Dev said...

I love that Friends episode and I've always waited for the opportune time to throw it out there, too bad someone ruined it for you. I remember laughing really hard at that scene which is almost how much I laughed at this post. Great times!

Quinn and Linds said...

I love it Ali! My favorite line has to be white trash and BR Casual; I can just picture it!! I am so sad I will not have the privilege of being your first visitor :( Mark my words though...we will make our way out to see you soon. There is just not enough Riley in our lives anymore.