While finding a place with my second roommate candidate, I needed to store my stuff for about a month.

I booked my first storage service a week ahead of time. The day before, I got a call from the warehouse: the historic rainfall had damaged their storage units. They couldn't offer the storage service till after my lease expired. So I had to cancel my order.

Then I booked my second storage service. When I called to schedule the drop-off and pick-up of the storage unit, the customer service representative told me we would need a permit from the City of San Francisco. How long would that take? 7 business days. I did not have 7 business days before my lease expired. So I had to cancel my order, again!

Then I booked my third storage service, U-Box. I asked my friend to help me load my stuff onto the U-Haul van, drive to the U-Haul location, and unload it into the U-Box. Unfortunately, my friend doesn't have a driver's license, so months out of practice driving, we had to figure out how I could drive the U-Haul van. I managed, and we loaded the first batch of stuff.

When we came back with the second batch of stuff, the U-Haul employees told me they had closed U-Box services for the day. What? You're standing right there, can't you just watch as I load the stuff? Apparently not. Maliciously compliant, the U-Haul employees didn't care to break the rules for me.

So I had to plan to return the next day, without my friend's help (since my friend had work the next day). I planned what stuff I could load myself, and my friend and I donated the rest to the street.

That night, I planned my route, turn by turn, lane by lane. Since I would not have anyone to help me merge lanes, I optimized to never need to change lanes. I wrote out each step in clear detail on my phone, then I memorized it.

The next day, I managed myself. Still basically months out of practice driving, with the extra insurance policy on the van, I only got honked once. I played Furniture Tetris in the U-Box unit, and finessed all my stuff to fit.

In retrospect, I have other friends I could have called to help. Upside: I feel proud of my grit to get through. Downside: I should probably ask for help more.