Goodbye Canberra
Tuesday morning. Having a brief collapse in front of Madam’s laptop before Large Man drives me to the airport. The last little while has been… Interesting.
Yesterday went pretty well, all things considered. After discovering the night before that we hadn’t packed as much as I thought, I went into a brief doom spiral, but things worked out. Father In Law and Brother In Law did most of the heavy lifting (I married into a family of Big Folk) and left us to pack and do odd jobs (Madam took a load to the dump, and brought us all lunch). Five hours of fun later, everything was packed into the truck. FIL utilised higher mathematics and managed to pack the truck impressively well. Once they were away, Madam, Large Man and I moved her things into Mr David’s place until we were ready for collapse (Mr David’s place being up four flights of stairs). Large Man then left for a hot dinner date, so Madam and I staggered down to find something to eat. Recharged by a hearty laksa, we headed back and sorted her stuff until bedtime.
This morning, Large Man and I dropped Madam off at work. I’m still dealing with the big goodbye, and will be for some time, I think. Large Man and I then moved the last of Madam’s stuff, dropped my keys off with the agent and bought me some hay fever medication. Cos moving furniture at the height of the allergy season can cause a sensitive chap like me some discomfort (not to mention, blocked sinuses can make air travel all kinds of interesting).
So, in half an hour or so, we’ll head off to the airport. I’ll arrive in Melbourne about 1:30, Skybus to the city and arrange to meet FIL and the truck at the storage place in Huntingdale. Once we unload 90% of the stuff there, it’ll be off to the Best Man residence to drop off my personal stuff. Once that’s done I can shower and change (for the good of everyone around me) and go and see some choral folk this evening.
Tomorrow (and tomorrow, et cetera) I’ll be gently unpacking, contacting agents, hopefully filling in applications for houses and doing some useful admin tasks to make me a more useful Melbournian. Best Man and his lovely wife will be away next week for a few days, so I’ll be house / cat sitting for them.
How am I? Currently too busy wallowing in physical discomfort to be too emotional (hot, itchy, allergies still giving me grief despite drugs). Still, Melbourne awaits.t
No weeks. Not long at all.
It’s Saturday. Tonight, there will be a party. Tomorrow, Father In Law and Brother In Law arrive. Monday, we pack the truck and send them off. Tuesday, I fly to Melbourne. Doesn’t sound like a big deal at all, does it?
Sigh.
Large Man arrived Thursday night and has been a great help. He’s been a great moral support to Madam (read – gratuituous hug monster) and has been running errands and doing odd jobs around the house.
Yesterday was my last day at work in A Certain Department’s national office. I was a wee bit sad to go in the end; still, my former office is rapidly turning into a madhouse, so it’s probably a good thing I got to escape. The usual chaos of signing exit forms took up most of my day, so not much actual work was done in the end.
This morning, our lovely real estate agents showed the house. We were sure to be long gone (off buying party supplies). They didn’t cause too much chaos, but cupboards were open and lights were left on all over the house (on a bright and sunny morning, I might add). We’ll be better off when we don’t have to deal with these people any more.
This afternoon will be taken up with food and housework. Madam has a wedding to play at this afternoon – while she’s gone I’ll be caramelising onions, making tomato sauce and possibly roasting garlic. These are all long, slow jobs which won’t take too much attention, so I can keep packing and tinkering away. Actually, onions are mostly done and rather yummy looking.
Packing is mostly done. Still a lot of kitchen stuff to pack away, and some personal stuffs, but the end is in sight.
Time to go wake Madam up. More later, I’m sure.
Meet Madam’s New Companion
This is Dufus.
He will be Madam’s Companion while I’m living far away. He’s been living in my room for the last week or so, getting to know me and my internet habits and putting hugs in storage for when they’re needed.
If you get to meet Dufus, do give him lots of hugs, as Madam will need them in the months to come.
This announcement brought to you by the Department of Soppy Husbands.
Things I Will Miss – Spring in Canberra
At long last, Canberra is edging its way out of El Nino and spring looks vaguely like it should. Our much-neglected garden has sprung to life, and I became all wistful and had to try and take some photos. I’m no photographer, but my efforts at capturing the loveliness in our garden can be found here.
As much as Canberra frustrates me, I will miss the climate. The gorgeous springs and autumns, the sunny winter mornings (can you tell I don’t like summer?), the feeling of having the bush one step away…
Sigh. Madam and I have stuff we should be doing. More later, I suppose.
One week. Holy crap.
This is really happening, folks. Really, truly happening.
I keep getting wedding flashbacks – not only because of the hugeness of it all and the emotional impact of it, but because I’d be lost without Madam’s organisational skills. While there is still a lot of work to do, the logistics are figured out and I’ve got a lot less to be worried about. Here’s hoping I can keep vaguely as organised on my own, hey?
On the plus side, I’ve only got one week of work to go. I spoke to our HR people in Melbourne yesterday and confirmed all the necessary details. I even get to go on an induction course (something I never got in over four years in A Certain Department’s national office, incidentally). So, one of my biggest worries (that something major would be screwed up there) has been relieved.
We went to my last dancing lesson and social last night. It was nice to see people again, even if I wasn’t up to much actual dancing. I will keep it up, I promise – we’ll have to see how things work out for me in Melbourne.
This morning, Madam and I both had appointments with our hairdresser. We’ve both been seeing L for years now – she did Madam’s spectacular wedding hair (not to mention my interesting hair tattooing). She was sad to see me go, and I got a complementary hug with my haircut, which was very nice. She made me promise to stop by when I was in town again. Dammit, it’s nice to be well thought of. Who’da thunk it?
Mum is well. She saw her haematologist yesterday, and he was happy with her progress thus far. Her spleen has recovered well, and her blood tests are satisfactory, so she’ll stay on her treatment regime until further notice (well, probably forever to be honest). She’s looking into getting some help at home – subsidised by the Government, thank the Gods – and needs to take extra care if she gets sick at all. Still, she sounded happier when I spoke to her this morning. She’s out of pain and doing a lot better. She’s also glad to hear things are going well for us. Scratch another off my list of worries.
So yeah, I’m coming, Melbourne. I’m mostly ready to leave – ready to leave this town, at least.
Leaving Madam behind is a struggle in itself. My task for now is to get to my destination, find somewhere to live and make a home for us. Then, there’ll be the waiting. We’re better situated than we were last time we did the long distance thing; we’re earning enough that we can afford to visit. We have the next visit organised already (our big Christmas / New Year adventure) and we’ve booked tickets to see Cirque de Soleil next Easter, which will be fantastic, I’m sure. And we’ve both got friends looking out for us in the meantime.
I’m tired now, and there’s a big day of Stuff to look forward to tomorrow. Bedtime, I think.
Two weeks part two – The Impendingness
Tonight is, I suppose, the “real” date, as in two week’s time I’ll be in Melbourne (and probably moping around choir folk in need of hugs). Still, the weekend preceding will be a major enough event.
I had a rough day at work today. I managed to whip my training material into shape; well enough that I’m happy to hand them over, anyway, as well as covering my usual duties. Phone support was painful today, and I won’t miss that at all. Add the usual pain from moving (malfunctioning phones, furniture that won’t fit, unhappy coworkers) and everyone’s feeling especially enervated. Still, only eight more days of it (and the last day will be a write-off). I can live with it, I think.
I keep having Canberra Moments, when it occurs to me that I’m experiencing something special that I’ll miss – or that I loathe and I won’t miss at all. For example, the last couple of days have been typical wet and wild Canberra spring weather. I’ve enjoyed wandering through it (secure within my Rainbird jacket) but have been boggling at the sad, shivering things staggering about clutching tatty umbrellas with attitudes of despair. I want to grab them by the lapels and shout, “Why so sad? It’s rain, dammit! Do you remember it? Cheer up! It’s good, trust me!” but I doubt they’d appreciate the reminder of how lost they are.
The leaving of Canberra is a bittersweet thing. I’ll try to write more about it.
Necessary things keep being done. Notice has been given to the utilities, cleaners have been booked, odds and ends are being bought as required. I should be doing more, I’m sure.
I’m tired.
Two weeks. Eek.
Another Sunday night, another increase in the ambient chaos of the house, and I’m taking stock again.
We’ve gotten a lot done this weekend, though much of it isn’t visible. Mail redirection and changing of addresses has been sorted, the kitchen has been mostly cleared out and packed up (and weren’t there a couple of interesting surprises waiting for me? Yes, precious) and Madam has whipped the lounge room into shape. She went to visit Mr David tonight and now has keys for her new house. She also set up wireless internet for me to use in Melbourne (and as an alternative for us when we go travelling). This is good (not least because Mr & Mrs Best Man are still running on dialup at home).
Oh yes, we both voted in the local elections yesterday (next weekend will be too manic to think about queueing up with the Great Unwashed) and we got to try the latest electronic voting system. A note to anyone who ends up trying it – they aren’t touch screens, OK? If you stand there like a doofus tapping the screen, you’ll die of embarrasment, OK? I’m just saying. *blush*
Tomorrow I go to work in Belconnen. For the next two weeks, my office will be walking distance from home, which will be a relief.
I spoke to Mum tonight as well. She was sent home this morning with strict orders to rest until she sees her specialist on Friday. She’s doing a lot better and no longer in any pain – her white cell count has bounced back, so they’ll leave her on her new medication schedule until further notice. She was in good spirits and was glad to hear all our news. Her sister was in town for an unrelated visit, and has been taking care of her (Aunt is an retired nurse and no doubt took no crap from anyone at the hospital).
So, two weeks to go. Are we properly organised? I go between feeling confident and panicking. I should probably do a bit more pottering around the kitchen before bed. Night night, all.
