Natali Del Conte

My movers promised to deliver to my house at 7 a.m. today so I got up early and waited. And waited. And waited. Two hours later I heard back from them and they gave me some song and dance about why they were late. Long story short, they finally arrived at 2:15 p.m. Most of my furniture is damaged (as most of you warned me about) but I could hardly care at this point. I’ll add it to the claim. Meanwhile, I am just so happy to see my clothes, shoes, scarves, hats, purses, Cutco knives, and red KitchenAid stand mixer! Tonight I am a normal person who can pour herself a glass of wine into a real wine glass! Hallelujah!

One of my biggest regrets in all of this is that my mom went home yesterday morning. I was hoping that my things would be delivered while she was here because my mom really knows how to make everything look nice and organized. She is a bit anal when it comes to that actually but anal helps when you are getting settled. To be clear, I don’t only miss my mama for the slave labor factor. I miss her for a lot of reasons. She cried when she left me yesterday. She gave me a big teary-eyed hug when she got on the elevator and said, “I just want my baby home!”

Well I’m not a baby but I will be coming home soon. But not yet. For now I have to be a big girl and organize my own house.

Thanks for reading about the trials and tribulations of my move. I will try to make this the last rant.

That’s right, still no furniture. My movers promised me that they would be making a delivery today at 3:30 p.m. I got off of work early. I waited. And waited. And waited. No one came. No one called. After an hour and a half of panic I finally heard from the driver who said he had problems with the truck this morning and was running behind in Brooklyn. He said he would be three to four hours late. Then the dispatcher called and said he isn’t coming tonight after all but promised he will be here first thing in the morning. Hang on while I hold my breath.

This is the worst experience I have ever had with any type of business. I am completely at the mercy of people who could care less that I am a single woman stranded and alone with no possessions in New York City. I am passed the point of being mad or outraged. I mostly feel hurt and dismayed that people will just strand other people like this. So I will take it up the you-know-what on this one for yet another night. I ate a box of cookies and am drinking wine straight from the bottle like an alcoholic because I have no wine glasses. Or any glasses for that matter. Or cups or plates or pots or pans or silverware…

Is anyone else in the New York City area experiencing a data outage on their AT&T phone? I certainly hope so because AT&T told me that a city-wide data outage is the reason that my brand new iPhone is not working properly. I can make and receive calls and SMS but I cannot get to my email, maps, or browser. Why does nothing in my life work these days?

I need the mapping function because I have been using mobile mapping to help me figure out New York City. It has been such a huge help and I can’t imagine being without it now.

I am really hoping that there is in fact an outage and that it will start working soon because if it doesn’t, it might just mean that I have some other faulty situation that I have to deal with by spending another hour on the phone with AT&T in order to solve. They were certainly nice enough but I just need something to go smoothly for me this week. Really, anything. My movers have still not even left California so I have at least another 8 days to wait for my delivery. I won’t get started on that rant or I might not stop anytime soon.

Please iPhone, just start being the wonder gadget everyone says you are. I need the universe to throw me a bone. I need my world, delivered.

Update: The network is working now. And no, it wasn’t user error. I called AT&T just to be sure. Finally! Something works for me!

I am trying my best not to lose it. My movers picked up my possessions on Monday, January 14 which is 8 days ago. The contracted delivery date was today at 5 p.m. I called to confirm delivery for the FIFTH time this morning only to find out for the first time that the van has not left California yet. So I am sitting in my empty apartment trying to figure out just where I am going to sleep for the next eight days while some jerk drives my entire life across the country.

My mom just called the moving company to brow beat them but so far they can’t offer any kind of compensation. Oh but they will be compensating! I’ll be filing a claim for all of my expenses for the next eight days and they’ll also have to deal with my mother every day until they get here, which is punishment enough, let me tell you. The worst part is that the claims company won’t even speak to me until they receive my claim in writing via US Postal Mail. US Postal Mail!? What year is this!? If any of the people involved in this snafu were in front of me in person, they would get a serious kick in the shins from my Michael Kors boots! So the employees of Gold Star Van Lines and Anthem Claim Management had better steer clear of me in person until they show up with my bed, desk, kitchenware, and collection of shoes!

Meanwhile, my mom and I will take a field trip to Crate and Barrel on Broadway to figure out how to live in this empty apartment for a week. Breathe, Natali, breathe…

I just finished watching a 60 Minutes news piece about the use of rape in Congo. Watch it here but be warned that it is graphic and jarring.

When I was studying for my gender certificate in graduate school, I read story after story of men who committed sexual crimes to exert their power during a time in their lives when they felt a lack of power themselves. When young boys sexually abuse other children, it is usually because they themselves have been sexually abused or somehow subjugated. With that in mind, I still cannot fathom that there are men in any community who would go as far as to rape a 3 year-old. How is that even possible? What are the driving forces behind this terrible use of power and where do we stop the domino effect?

This story mentions an organization called Women for Women. We can also learn more from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s page on Congo featuring a travel journal by Angelina Jolie. Both of these sites are great places to start but they don’t stop the dominoes. They only help pick them up once they have already fallen. The Congo needs rape prevention and better punishment of rape perpetrators. It needs attention. I am not well researched when it comes to the civil war in the Congo but if any of my readers are, please post Web sites that point us all in the right direction.

When my dad dropped me off at the airport on Saturday to come to CES, he broke the news that his bid to buy an airplane was accepted and that he would soon be the proud owner of a Piper Comanche 260 C. My pops is a baller!

It is so great to see your parents live out their dreams. As adults, we don’t always make our dreams a priority like we should. Last year I got to see my dad live out his dream of playing baseball on a major league field last year when he was selected to play in the All Star Fantasy League during the All Star Game in San Francisco. I made a movie of his experience, which you can find here. It is a little cheesy but I’m proud of it. This year, I get to watch my dad pilot his very own plane, which has been a dream of his since before I was born!

I am excited to have a family plane, although it is too small for my dad to pop over to New York to see me so my time in it will be limited. Nevertheless, it is a pretty sweet ride. Here are the deets: It has a variable pitch prop that allows adjustment to the pitch or bite of air while in flight like changing gears in a car. It has retractable landing gear and 260 horse power, many of the latest instrument avionics to get the aircraft within 250 feet of a programmed runway on auto pilot, a cruising speed of 185 piles per hour, a new one-piece windshield, storm radar scope, 6 seats, and a new engine with only 650 hours on it. My dad is notorious for taking forever to make decisions about big purchases so I know this is a good plane if he pulled the trigger.

I have to go pack up my room and get ready to leave CES. It has been fun but I feel like I ran a marathon. Working with Cnet here was amazing. I’m so glad I took this job, I can’t wait to get settled in New York and start making more great news shows! But I’ll blog about that later. This post is for my pops. I’m proud of you, Daddy!

Last night someone said to me, “Oh my gosh Natali, you’re really done with San Francisco.” It knocked the wind out of me.

I had just sold my TV and coffee table on Craigslist and was looking at a very naked living room so the timing of that sentence could not have been worse. Do I really want to leave San Francisco? Will I will join the Tony Bennett club and leave my heart here or will I (heart) New York just as much?

I am not about to change my mind. I wrote a very big deposit check for my New York apartment, I canceled my Dish Network. I am going. But these days leading up to the move have me in limbo with nothing but time to contemplate what I will leave behind.

As much as I try not to be, I am pensive. My heart is breaking slowly for this city as I leave it. Part of me wants to rip off the Band-AID and just go already but I have to wait. CES and MacWorld beckon, afterall. So while I wait for my much-anticipated move date, I will do my best to enjoy the things that I know I will miss about this place, such as:

• The Golden Gate Bridge
• Mexican food
• Being so close to my family
• Specialty’s cookies
• Having a car, although not necessarily my car
• Running to the Hoppers’ Hands
• Long walks with my book club girls
• Ambiance
• Froyo
• My supper club

While I’m at it, here are a few things that I will not miss:

• Waiting for San Francisco’s free city-wide Wi-Fi network to come to fruition
• Being called a Marina Girl
• Getting my car ticketed or towed over parking
• The Triangle
• Muni

I’m sure I’ll come up with a more exhaustive list as I get to packing but starting it was therapeutic. I know New York is a great place. I know this is the right move for me. I could not be more excited about my new show and my new job. But I would be remiss not to take pause and give this city a proper ode after all it has given to me.

Don’t forget me, San Francisco. I’ll be home soon.

The promo for my new show at Cnet is live! Click here to watch it!

Today was my first official day at Cnet. I have to say, getting here was such a relief! I have known about the possibility of taking this job since early October. That is three months of anticipation and it was killing me! Finally we’re off and running! Now if my new MacBook Pro would just get here on the quick! It has been over a year since I worked regularly on a PC and I feel a bit like an ape. My muscle memory doesn’t do PC keystrokes well but I’m learning. Kind of like riding a bike. But not.

I’m not in New York yet. I’m squatting in the San Francisco office until we head off to CES in Las Vegas on Saturday. Ugh. Vegas. I lived there for a year and a half. Not super eager to get back, I’ve gotta say. But I am eager to get to CES. And, truth be told, I will likely end up sneaking off at some point to play $3 Black Jack at the Suncoast. I really hate the strip.

I am going to sneak out early to go for a run in Crissy Field while it is still in my backyard. I hope I don’t have to dodge too many submarines. That is what I call the people who only surface to exercise in January when they make New Years Resolutions. Noobs. If that is you, don’t be a submarine. Stick with it this year! I believe in you!

Happy 2008 Everyone!