RELOCATION

standing on the platform
(6:41)
waiting for my train...
well not quite
but almost
i am in an internet 'salon'(?)
in yongsan station
with half an hour to spare
before i board a train to the south coast...
the move was bad
just about as stressful as it could have been
up most of sunday night
trawling through a scary quantity of personal effects
stuff family fireseed has accumulated over the last six years
no sooner would a camera fit through the eye of a needle...
the shipping guys turn up at eight am
and get to work boxing things up
terrifying amounts of packaging arrive
reinforced cardboard boxes
packing tape
paper for wrapping the crockery
indestructible-looking tin cans for food items
felt-tip markers for describing the contents
'kit-ware'
among the chaos and the heat and the sweaty packers
mr jung the boss
stands unruffled
in his dapper clothes
holding his clipboard
and chatting politely in english
as the boxes pile up
mr jung itemises their contents on his inventory
asks me to write down their insurance value
i wrack my brains
i can't even think in pounds
let alone in dollars...
i'm just thinking
mrs f and i arrived in sk with six boxes
we leave with...eighty-three!
of course this time we are transporting a mini library
of h's books and a few toys
but i'm still scratching my head
wondering how on earth
we have acquired this ridiculous amount of stuff...
suddenly all hell lets loose
the blokey we've hired
to transport our suitcases and other things
to mum-in-law's house
is throwing a wobbly
there is a whole lot more stuff than he expected
and he is refusing to do it for the agreed price
he wants more cash
now mrs f is the one throwing a wobbly
van man tells her to sling a hook and find someone else
prepared to do it cheaper
he storms out
after a lengthy phone argument
and some frantic ringing round other van-hire companies
van man is back with a 'told you so' look on his face
muttering under his breath
his team start piling stuff
out of our fourth-floor window
onto a ladder platform
and down to his truck
suddenly there is a scream of pain
as mrs f catches her little finger in the door
she is in agony and in tears
as she heads off for the hospital
a startled hannah bursts into tears too
van man has had enough and bails out
telling mum to get in his van
for the trip across town to gaebong
that leaves me and our little t
alone in the house
with a load of unwanted furniture
that van man has just left behind
three frames removed from the balcony window
which weigh about half a ton
and a pile of heavy packing paper
that the packers seem to have forgotten
i go round the house with a dustpan n brush
i go down on my hands n knees and scrub for victory
i just wanna get out of here
hannah sobs for mummy
mrs f finally reappears with her pinky in a plaster splint
one of the neighbours helps us to lug the remaining stuff
down the stairs and outside
luckily she is willing to take most of it herself
we carelessly abandon a pile of rubbish bags and plastic
at the side of the road
like the bad neighbours who leave the garbage out on the wrong day
or just dump it
a taxi ride at snail's pace
through the monday evening rush-hour traffic
deposits us grimy but intact at mum-in-law's place
oh i have never slept so soundly, my seeds...