T-Minus 6 Days: Packing Up

Would you believe it? With over a year of planning guiding it, our trip is now less than a week away, and we're still scrambling to get everything ready in time for the big day.

The past two weeks have been very, very full.

The move rang in the craziness. In just three days, Marita and I sorted every item in our apartment, packed it all in moving boxes, and still managed to eat three square meals in the minutes we could spare. Two days, two moving vehicles, and two helpful family members later, we had transported these boxes to secret government locations in Forest Grove, Oregon and Richland, Washington. (Thanks to Daniel for the heavy lifting, and Dad for the project management).



We rolled back into town just in time for me to finish my last week of work, which was busy, surprising and -- as usual -- well managed. Nights held no rest for the weary, as we socialized with soon-to-be-missed friends or cooked leftover food in an inadequately stocked kitchen. The last day of work was a real treat, with a party over lunch and lots of nice comments from the gang. A toast to Amnis, for some terrific years.



The buzz from my early retirement hadn't even peaked by the time we left for Forest Grove again, this time for a wedding with one of Marita's high school friends. Jenny and Brandon had a great ceremony and reception at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course, occasional host to such golf stars as Tiger Woods, whom we didn't see. I guess he wasn't invited. We slogged through traffic to make it back to Seattle the next day, for 12 hours of apartment cleaning and two nights of partying, pool, and putt-putt.



So where are we now? Forest Grove, where we're hanging out with Marita's parents for a few days while finishing our packing and getting our affairs in order. More on that in another post.



Whew. This eternal vacation thing is tough work.



[Endnotes:

Other recent achievements of note included applying to SERVAS (thanks, Caits, Darlene, and Rich), Marita taking the GRE (cheers, Girl), and blowing huge wads of cash at REI (huzzah for the annual dividend).]