Day 3 - the storm is coming.

May 31

Getting nervous now! Tomorrow is my last full day in Toronto. I pick up the rental van on Monday and drive up to Ottawa where I will try to sneak 15 big boxes, a queen size bed and a couch into the basement of my parents place, past my dad's watchful eye. Should be interesting.

Today consisted of running errands - first to Walmart where they're having a sale on storage bins. How did they know? Picked up 4 HUGE bins at bargain prices. Other stops included: The Bay, MEC, Eaton Centre etc... Also stopped by the Crumpler store on Queen to pick up a gift for Sandra. Would you know it, I messed up and bought the wrong one. Luckily, my roommate was good enough to drive me back down for the exchange. Crisis averted. Back home now, rounding up the last of my belongings in the Manor ... I have been avoiding the kitchen for the last week. I guess I can't avoid it any longer ...

Day 2 - 4.18am

These early mornings are starting to get bothersome. Kinda reminds me of the old MBA days when you would run for months on 4 hours of sleep each night! I tried to call the CIBC VISA office to change the mailing address on my VISA card. The office isn't open until 7.00am. Slackers.

I did manage to book my flight to London with Zoom Air, leaving June 11th at 5.35pm from Ottawa and arriving at 6.55am in Gatwick! I've flown into Gatwick only once. Not the prettiest airport that I've been to, but it'll do the trick. Zoom Air is good as they let me fly one-way without penalty. Air Canada and BA will gladly sell me a one-way ticket, but the cost is about the same as a return ticket! I decided on the 'premium' seat which gives me a bit more leg room and a bit more baggage allowance. Speaking of baggage, what's crazy is that Zoom Air allows sportings goods for FREE (a word that I love to hear). I think I'll bring my golf clubs and stuff as much extra stuff as I can into the pockets.

My roommate and I were going to go to our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, but it started to rain as we left the Manor, so we decided to detour to the local Portuguese restaurant that we had been meaning to try for a very long time. I had been before, but only for the BBQ take out. He had the roast chicken dinner and I ordered the baby roast pork dinner. What came to the table were these HUGE platters of food - an generous portion of protein and an insane amount of starch (potatoes AND rice). I was kicking myself that we didn't try it sooner! Despite my best efforts, I had to take a doggie bag home.

After the carb overload, I caught up with my sleep in the afternoon with a refreshing power nap!

Up again an hour later and back at it. Sorting, cleaning, packing. Repeat.

Day 1 - for real now.

May 29

First day without a care in the world. Feels great! Actually, it felt great for the first hour or so, and then I started 'working' again, this time on my exit strategy for TO. I was suppose to go downtown today to sort through some stuff, but I think I'll do that tomorrow. Sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.

Thanks to the generosity of my fellow (now ex)co-workers I've been able to complete the purchase of a much NEEDED new camera - the Olympus 850SW (pictured right). Yes, this will be my 7th camera. And that's a problem ...how? It's awesome.

I'm planning a garage sale for Saturday. It will be my first one - ever. I'm dreading haggling over a $0.25 difference with the old ladies in the neighborhood. My roomate thinks that I'll be a natural. I'll be trying to sell stuff for $5 when it's only worth $2 ...

PM: Had a good visit with the neighbours upstairs. I've been at Dewson Manor for nearly 5 years now (wow!) and they have been great neighbours throughout.
I'm back downstairs now and back to the grind - sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.

Day 1 ... or is it Day 0?

Hello friends,

Well, it's 5.30am now and I'm wide awake! I thought I'd be able to sleep in on my FIRST day as an unemployed person (!) but no such luck. I woke up to the chirping birds outside my window and the morning sun pushing it's way past my blinds.

What has been very difficult over the last few weeks is saying goodbye (or rather, "see you later") to my dear friends in TO. As I have said, I plan to return home at least a few times a year, and with email and cheap long distance, you won't be getting rid of me that easily!

Now that I'm up, I might as well make myself useful - so I've set up this blog to help us keep connected. In typical Wayne Norman fashion, this will be our 'virtual' fire-side chat! I'll try not to bore you ....JkL

==============================

Let me start with the end - that is, my last day at work. Yesterday began at 4am. Another early morning. I woke up with a million things to do running through my head and a jumble of emotions fighting for attention. Despite the VERY early wake up, I still managed to be late leaving the house for work! The day was a chance to clear up a few files, and to get around the floor to have a quick chat and to say goodbye to everyone. My friends ME and RG took me out to lunch at my new favorite Thai place - Ivory Thailand on Church. I had been there three times in the last 2 weeks and had no problems going back again. By the time I finished making my rounds in the afternoon, it was 5pm and I still had alot of stuff to clear off my computer and my desk. It wasn't until 7.30pm that I officially finished up my last day at SB, and thus, ending 10 years in my little corner of the world.

After work, my roommate JS, and friends JR, JC and JK took me out for pints and good eats at the Rhino Restaurant (Queen West, Near Dufferin). It was great to be back in that part of town as I had frequented the area, and the Rhino, when my martial arts class was located down there.
I arrived early and enjoyed a refreshing pint, a burger and a quiet corner while I started making my list of things to do before I left. I was quite pleased with myself that the list wasn't as long as I thought it would be. A sure sign that I've forgotten alot of stuff ...

It wasn't long before the gang arrived and after some quick pleasantries, the parade of questions soon started. I hadn't seen JC and JK for quite some time, so they had a million questions about leaving my job and the move to London. I evaded them as long as I could by stuffing my face with the burger, but they were patient and just waited me out. I eventually finished my burger and couldn't put them off any longer ... in all seriousness, it was great catching up - hearing about JS's ATV (mis)adventures, JR's valiant attempt to rescue some stray cats, JC's home reno stories, and JK's stories of fixing JC's home reno attempts ...

After the witty banter, I was back home at the Manor by 11pm and in bed 30 minutes later ...