First Try

We have made it to Geneva… I must say that I love business class. That is the way to fly; drinks, food, movies, music, and did I mention that I had legroom. Being 6’4”, legroom is very, very important on a long flight.

If you cannot already tell, this is my first attempt at “blogging”. I do not know where to begin, nor do I really know what to say. I never really thought I was that interesting until we (Little J and I) announced we were off to Doha, Qatar.

So with that said, I am supposed to be writing about our adventure (thus the name of the blog). The journey started with a couple firsts for me. This is my first trip to Frankfurt and also my first trip to Geneva. The Frankfurt airport is HUGE and I think I can safely say that I have stretched my legs after a long flight.

After we landed in Frankfurt the reality of our move to Doha has set in. We are committed to this and our new way of life for the next three years. Oh sure, we will visit, but it takes two days of travel to get back to Canada. That thought alone is pretty scary. I have been away from “home” (where my parents live) since I was 18, but I was always able to visit with a short drive. Doha, Qatar is about 20 trips worth of distance from “home” now. Freakin’ far eh? (Canadian content)

I am excited and amazed and pretty proud of us to make the choice to travel abroad to work and live. Like I said, reality is starting to sink in, but it really isn’t going to hit until we arrive in Doha.

Going...going...almost gone.

Wow. Talk about a whirlwind. After finishing off the house on Tuesday - which would not have been possible without the tirless help of M&D and some snacks from a friend - we carted a LOT to the hotel. And then we packed. And packed. And finally packed some more. I realized that there is no limit on how many times you can re-pack a suitcase and achieve the same result. There was some last minute eliminating in the end.

Wednesday was a whirlwind of shopping - we went to three malls - and I am confident that with my new lulu bag, work shoes and three pairs of capris, I can now leave confident that yes, I will have something to wear. I have the next three days of outfits planned and I even my change of clothes, etc ready for when we get to Frankfurt so that I can at least smell ok when I get to the office in Geneva. No promises that I will be coherent though...

Breakfast this morning was great and only teary at the airport. I actually got most of my tears out this morning in the hotel with just C.

We made it through with no excess weight fees (amazing!) but were surprised to learn that if you are in economy it is only one bag to Europe! Thank goodness for business class!

And now we are in the lounge, drinking coffee and Bailey's. :)

We are going to miss our family and friends immensely. It really hit home in the last few days - there are still people we didn't get to see but who still mean a lot to us. It will be hard to miss those "moments" - the daily, almost routine items that make up life. It will be harder still to miss the "events" - weddings, babies and maybe even some engagements and pregnancies. We know how much work it will be to stay in touch and while are committed to it, I have been through this before and know that there will be friendships that grow stronger and others that fade from time and distance.

Good-bye, Good Luck and please stay in touch!

T-2 Days

Today was a long day. Had to finish up some things at work and that took from about one to seven thirty, so by the time C and I made it back to the house and scarfed a quick dinner we were exhausted. We just sat and looked at the mess before grabbing a few things to take back to the hotel. It was better at the hotel as I was able to sort through what I had brought without the chaos of the house to suffocate me. Thank heaven for M&D - we wouldn't be this far without them. Tomorrow we should finish the house - pack away the stuff remaining, finish tidying the garage and then clean, clean and more clean. Have to fit in a lunch with the grandparents in there - but that's a good reason to stop for a bit. Locks are changed on Wednesday morning - so the crunch is on! But if I have things my way, we will be at the outlet mall on Wednesday and not much else. :)

It was hard to say goodbye to L today. With everything that has been going on, we have been in a solid state of denial about the whole leaving thing. I hope things work out for her and that is she able to get on the boat without too much hassle. It wouldn't be any fun to start out frazzled.

I don't want to have regrets about leaving, but I don't think I will ever be settled on how things were left at work. I wanted a bit more "completion" and to feel a bit more finalized. In my attempt to finalize things, I think I left the hand-over part too long and ultimately made myself look disorganized. If only they knew how much was wrapped in the last two weeks. Oh well. Hopefully things will sort themselves out - they usually do!

Later.