Today 6 packers turned up and really started to blitz the place. One thing that has happened in this move that hasn't happened in previous moves, is that everyday, furniture has been moved out so by the end of the day, we can see real progress and space occuring. Usually the boxes are all pushed into the least inconvenient space and loaded into a container all in one go. This time is different.
Because the visa process in Brazil is so long and tortuous, the shippers won't actually ship the goods until the visa is in hand. It seems that you can't clear the goods until you have the visa and so if the shipment arrives and the necessary paperwork isn't in place then the goods sit on the dockside incurring demurrage charges and the longer it sits, the more chance there is of theft and damage. So here's the thing, I am leaving next week, the visa process is started but won't be finished until probably the beginning of February, which means that the goods won't be loaded and shipped until after then. Now add on a 24 day sea voyage and a clearance process of at least another week or maybe two. Realistically, that means that I won't be seeing anything in that container for about two months at the earliest.
Just think about that. Not having access to anything for over two months. It means that one of the main tasks of my organisation is to make sure that I have absolutely everything I need in the right place. Clothes - well that is easy - just go and buy some more, personal stuff a bit harder but usually manageable but papers! I can't imagine the IRS accepting the excuse, "I'm sorry I can't file my 2009 tax returns because the paperwork is stuck on a ship somewhere between here and Sao Paulo".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment