I can't believe it. One week to go and we are outta here. It's so funny to think that for so long this seemed like some far-off dream and wasn't necessarily anything more than that, even as it aproached, but now that it's upon us - whoa! Two days from now I will be celebrating my last day of work, probably the only instance in a lifetime of working at places until they closed up shop, or leaving suddenly with little notice for bad reasons, that I have actually given notice to a job and am leaving on my own terms without any bad vibes or burnt bridges. I won't go so far as to say that it's bittersweet, but it has its moments. Especially those customers who I have seen and talked to every day for five years or more. Saying goodbye is tough sometimes and it feels good to know that I have impacted these people in such a way that my leaving affects them, at least to some degree. Of course, that's pretty much where it ends. Gotta keep moving.
Speaking of moving, we've gotten quite a bit done since the last update but there is still much to do. Last Thursday and Friday, I took several car loads of boxes out to Amanda's house, most of it boxes of vinyl. Damn those buggers are heavy. We also took a big metal trunk of family photos and tubs of Krissy's scrapbooks. Needless to say, I sure was sore for a few days after that. That pretty much killed off the boxes in the apartment though the stack is starting to grow once again. We also got a few more things moved to the storage unit, namely the coffee table, end tables, a clothes rack, the big stereo speakers, and a few small things. We also spent Sunday night going through all of our clothes and splitting up what we are going to bring on the trip and what we are going to take to storage. Those will be taken up to the unit in a day or two. I am still working on getting the Sidebar cleared out. It's getting there. I need to bring myself to take all the stuff off the walls. It's like a collage in there so that will be quite a bit of work in and of itself. The big thing, however, is the kitchen. We have done absolutely nothing to it except make it messier. It is my goal to have everything but the most necessary of items packed up and out by the end of the weekend. We also have a desk in the bedroom that needs to be moved out at some point and I need to dismantle my computer desk and take that and the chairs to the unit. Monday morning I am going to take the last of the stuff to Amanda's which will be a few more guitars and my recording gear and some hard drives. So much to do.
In between all that, there's the parties. Oh man, we had an epic throwdown at Camp Lichy last Saturday. We smoked a pork shoulder, some ribs, and a cajun turkey, and had lots of sides. And oh so much beer. We rocked out to tunes, played some cornhole, swung in hammocks, and just hung out with as many family and friends as we could gather in one spot. It was pretty epic sendoff. Tonight I have a farewell dinner with various current and former co-workers, at Rocco's. Looking very forward to that. This Friday is a farewell MUNCH, at Bugsy's in Old Town, and the weekend will be spent with yet another circle of friends, playing games and celebrating. The hardest part of this process is that we want to see everyone we can before we leave, and we are doing all we can to make that happen, but we also have so much stuff to do. It is overwhelming, at the very least. But fun.
On the trip front, every day it gets closer and closer to becoming fully booked. Parks Canada started allowing reservations last week so all of those campgrounds were booked late last week. Newfoundland provincial parks opened for reservations this week, but it's on a staggered schedule, so some were booked yesterday, one will be booked today, and a couple more will be booked on Friday. The downside of those parks is that you pay for the site when you actually get there. We were hoping to get as much of this trip paid for in advance as possible. This means that we need to do some extra budgeting. Not too big a deal, it just means more work.
One of the cool changes to the trip is that we will be staying at a hostel within the walled part of Quebec City, for three nights. That is going to be pretty awesome. I can't wait to hang out there. We've decided to get a CD or download something that will teach us at least a little bit of French before we get there. Folks there can speak English but at least attempting to communicate in French will probably go a long way towards not being viewed as ugly Americans. Or uglier. There is still a B&B that we need to book for our two days in Labrador. You can't book online so we need to pick up a calling card so that we can make the reservation. There is another B&B in Ramea that I am thinking about booking for one night in late August but I have to examine the budget a bit and make sure it can work. The only question mark on this trip at this time is one night in Edmunston NB, which occurs between Fredericton and Quebec City. I had originally wanted to get a camp site but, being towards the middle of September, campgrounds are closing up. So we might have to splurge for a hotel. I found a great one but, again, the budget must be consulted before we make a booking.
That's about it for now. That is enough. Oh, and I think I have decided against trying to pull off a farewell single to the Sidebar. There just isn't enough time and, honestly, I think six albums in three months is farewell enough. Of course I say that now and then next week I will have a seventh album. Yeah right...
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