Boxes, boxes, boxes!They were all around us like a cardboard maze before we left our home in Randall Library. Once we surpassed the 650 mark, I stopped counting them because it was somewhat overwhelming. Everyone in the library was great about volunteering to help us box up the collection, but there was minimal space to work, so we weren’t able to utilize all the offers.The pictures above were taken around midnight before the movers arrived the following Tuesday morning.We awoke to rain as I predicted, but the moving crew was ready to go. Boy did that bunch of guys work hard! The boxes arrived at the back CMC entrance like bullets. Since I had mapped out the room earlier, we were able to direct each numbered box to its proper place as they arrived. It was quite an adventure, but we had fun and laughed a lot during the semi-chaos. The movers made our jobs so much easier because everything was in the right location around the room.Before I knew it, they were gone to tackle their next space. The following pictures depict our new home before the books arrived:

After the boxes were all unloaded, we began the task of unboxing.What a wild time that was!We played the radio, drank a lot of caffeine, listened to the football games, and tried to joke around a lot to stay positive.That’s me with my trusty rubber mallet in the second picture.My friend Mike Gilmore was snapping my bad side, so I had to threaten him a little to keep him in line.His job as move coordinator was phenomenal!Without his guidance, we would have all been hanging from the rafters.Thanks Mike J. Our library co-workers were a big help with bringing loads on the golf cart, helping break down boxes, hanging pictures, etc.It rained pretty much all week long, but at least the hurricane in the Atlantic decided to go elsewhere for once.The hours were long, but the company was fun, so it almost didn’t seem like work (some might disagree with me).I was just so appreciative of how everything came together.

On Monday morning, we were ready for our first visitors.By Wednesday, the students started arriving, and I think they were surprised at what we had accomplished.The compliments and smiles made it all worthwhile.Yea, we had joint pain, new bruises, and were pretty worn out, but we had tackled the job head on.It paid off in the end.I snapped a snooze session off the clock below.If I wind up missing….you’ll know who to blame.

Look at us now!!!

We look forward to helping lots of students.In the last two days (9/15 – 9/16), we’ve already had over 120 visitors!Hope to see you soon.