Where Did All The Time Go?
It’s hard to believe that I have three weeks left at my job in Calgary. It seems like I was resigning just yesterday- not a month ago.
In the past four weeks I have strived to stay ‘present’ at my job. There is so much to do and we’re so far behind that I stress out about getting caught up before I leave. I know, I’m crazy. I gave my notice due to poor health and here I am, still worrying about things not being as they should be. I have, however, stopped working so much overtime. I force myself to stay at home- which is not the most comfortable place in the world right now- until the last possible minute. It’s been hard. Most of the time I succeed.
Aside from slowly calming down and work and not killing myself over my job, I’ve been prepping my apartment. As soon as I told my landlord that I was moving he told me to clean everything so he could start showing it. So, after 6 fun-filled and somewhat sleepless nights in New York City, I came home to clean my apartment from ceiling to floor. I spent hours scrubbing and packing. I pulled my fridge and stove away from the walls and mopped behind them. Never, in my life, have I ever done that. Seriously. Never. I was beyond exausted when I was finished. However my landlord expected the place to look the same way it did when I moved in, even though I am still living there. He said my futon/sofa was dirty and asked if I was keeping it. When I said no, he said he would get rid of it for me. I thought he meant after I moved out. He didn’t. He threw it away a couple of days ago when I was out of town. So, I have zero furniture in my living room.
Living in an apartment that is 80% empty is weird. I’m paranoid about making a mess, as I don’t know when he’ll show up. I refuse to use my oven because I have no desire to clean it out again. I sit on my bed to read, surf the net or watch a movie, and I scrub the bathroom everytime I use it. This may not seem odd to you, but I am by no means a clean freak. When I was a teenager and my best friend was over, I’d go downstairs to fix us a snack and come back to find her cleaning my room. Nicole was the clean freak, not me. In fact, my roommate in my 20′s was also a clean freak.
Epiphany: As I write this, I realize that my best friends and former boyfriends were all clean freaks. Wow. I not a total slob, I swear. I like order. I just don’t enjoy cleaning.
As time slips by and I prepare to leave my job and my apartment I’m left to wonder about what the future has in store for me. Travel is a big part of my future, but with the estate (where my travel money is tied up) is still up in the air, I need to make plans for that limbo period. At the present my plans include a move to Vancouver. It’s something I’ve talked about for years. As far as I’m concerned, now is a great time to finally do it.
My Vancouver plans consist of renting a small apartment, focusing on my writing and blogs and possibly a ‘fun’ type job to supplement my income for a short period of time. With TBEX11 planned for Vancouver next June, I definitely want to be there. How my travel plans will be affect, I’m not sure. At this point I’m thinking of shorter trips that last for a month or two, rather than one bog one. At least for now.
As time progresses, plans evolve and change. I still plan on going to Asia after Christmas, but for 3 months rather than 6 months or longer, and I’m okay with that.
My trips will be in shorter spurts, but its still travel. I’m still exploring and discovering things about the world around me and about myself. In my mind, that’s what travel is about.


12. Jul, 2010 















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