Last night these two Irish guys delivered my armoire. The thing was HUGE, and came fully assembled inside of a giant refrigerator-sized box along with some styrofoam padding.
They could not get it up the front stairs and around the corner to the door because it was so tall. So we tried the back door, up a wood flight of stairs, completely over the top of a three-foot banister railing and through the kitchen door. Brian had to help. It was an amazing feat.
At that point it was stuck in the kitchen so we set about ripping it from the box. It emerged as though from an egg, beautiful and huge and shiny. The kitchen was soon a mess of cardboard, styrofoam, and other detrius. The Irishmen placed the armoire on a blanket and carefully slid it through the hall and at last to the living room. I gave them water and tipped them. It was extraordinary. I was very worried that it wouldn’t fit in the apartment and I would have to cry.
I am always amazed at the way movers and deliverymen are never bulked up (in my experience). They usually look pretty lean, but solid, and then manage to lift incredibly heavy objects. I imagine that the idea that bulk = strength is largely untrue, and that one can be extremely strong without the giant arms and shoulders, as long as your core and your back are in excellent shape.
So we cleaned up the kitchen and arranged the living room and set everything up in the armoire. It looks like a real living room now, and I think is laid out very well. I definitely wanted avoid wasting any space. Brian suggested placing the armoire in a corner, which did wonders for the look of the space. Also the addition of the rug totally warmed up the room.
As we were working on putting everything in place, I said “I guess this means we can never move,” and Brian said he had been thinking the same thing.
That’s odd, because all the delivery guys I’ve ever seen are huge slabs of meat. Of course, I live in Chicago, where the slab-of-meat physique is a lot more common.
Also, size DOES equal strength, though in a tricky way. A big man is always stronger than a small man, even if the small man is more fit and muscular; but he may not know how to use his strength, and so can appear weaker. All else being equal, a big man is going to be stronger than a small man (that’s why there are weight classes in boxing; a flyweight might be a hundred times better as a fighter than a super-heavyweight, but if the latter lands one solid punch, the flyweight is history). But a small man who’s used to using his muscles can certainly appear stronger than a big man who isn’t. Have you ever heard the analogy about the baseball coach who has two runners, both of whom have the same time to first but one of whom has bad form? He picks the guy with bad form as his starter, because you can correct his bad form and he’ll beat the guy with good form and the same time. This illustrates my point, which I now forget what it was.
Anyway, yay for your new apartment! I hope to be able to see it this summer.
Oh I se what you mean. I guess my point is that a smaller-looking guy might be underestimated as to his strength, and I always seem to end up with scrappy little guys carrying my furniture around easily on their backs.
My fitness coach at the gym, a woman, is about average size and not at all bulky, but yesterday I saw her easily lifting 65 pounds on the arm press machine. I can barely do 20. So it’s all about training those muscles, not neccessarily making them bigger.
Yes, I do hope you can see our place this summer too! Coolio.
I imagine that the idea that bulk = strength is largely untrue, and that one can be extremely strong without the giant arms and shoulders, as long as your core and your back are in excellent shape.
Hey, baby, wanna test the strength of my core? Hoo-yeah!
irish men
it may also be due to the fact that the irish men were most likely students who are only over for the summer on student visas (which a lot of irish people do) and havent had a chance to build their muscles yet!
Re: irish men
Maybe! The furniture company is Irish-owned I think though. But you could still be right about that.
Long time no see! I hope you’re well. 🙂
Re: irish men
Mention the Irish and we all come out of the woodwork ! Good physique is a product of excessive Guinness consumption, I promise 😉
Good luck in your new abode, I hope it provides you both with many happy memories.
Re: irish men
Thanks Neil 🙂
My fiance is a blue-eyed redhead, definitely Irish-American like me. I really hope we can visit our ancestral home one day, I think that is next on our list when we travel abroad again.