West gone East

Monday 16 March 2009. Our last morning in Vancouver was a blur. Shelley came to pick us up and take us to the airport. Between wrangling dog, boy, bags, and sorting out who went with Shelley and who went in the cab, I don't think I even said goodbye to Marcia. Not the exit I was expecting, but such is life.


The flight was mostly good. Nate's TV screen was working this time, so he was mostly distracted by Treehouse and Discovery Kids. We didn't lose any bags this time and Snoopy was reunited with us before the first bags started coming out.


Tuesday morning we brought the 21st century into the Ginn homestead. The internet got connected together with out new phone line.

Nate is all about his nana. and Patty and I might as well disappear. Nana has become his default go-to person when he needs something or when he doesn't get his way.


We've been to see 11 houses now, of which maybe a couple have possibilities. One of them is especially nice, but I'm not so sure about it's location yet. Our realtor tells us there will be lots more houses on the market come the end of March break. Hurry up and end already March break!


Thursday and Patty's office is all set up and ready to go. We've got a wireless network in the house now. Suddenly the back room is tech central and the house has gone from zero computers to three.

Friday now and I'm starting to realize that we are not here on vacation this time. For the most part it still feels like we're on vacation, but then I'll get an email or Facebook message from someone in Vancouver and it doesn't feel so much like a vacation. The enormity of what we've done is slowly starting to seep into my conscience, but it will take some time to process. I do miss my friends though, even if they don't feel that far away on the internet. I have always thought my friends were amazing people, but the emails and messages I've gotten since moving have really reinforced this. Sometimes the smallest things make all the difference, and it's nice to know that my friends feel the same way and have taken the time to let me know.

And finally, a short word on old Halifax houses. There are lots of them. Some of them are alright, some of them are very fine, and then there are those that are just crying out for love and attention. Stepping into one of those houses always makes me wonder how they got to such a state. It's a little sad. It can also be dangerous because I want to be that person who showers it with love and attention. I know I can't afford it, but it never stops me or Patty from seeing the potential and imagining what it would be like if it just got a chance.

all done

So the movers have come and gone, we are almost all packed up and tomorrow we get on a plane to Halifax.

Oddly enough, it is snowing today in Vancouver...an ominous sign of things to come perhaps?

I was hoping to say more on this last post from Vancouver,but my brain is all but shot after days of packing. I am exhausted, physically and emotionally and I haven't even had time to really say goodbye to anyone.

I hate goodbyes, so it is probably just as well.

I'll be offline for a bit...but hope to start posting again soon.

I am probably wrong, but this is going to be the last move I ever make. I have famously told Patty that she better like the house she buys in Halifax, because it is the house I am going to die in.

Thanks for the last 10 years Vancouver, I hope to come visit again.

Sure you can make plans...

...just don't expect them all to work out.

We had all sorts of plans for our last few months in Vancouver. We were going to do some touristy things, see some places we haven't been to, and revisit some old favourites we haven't had much time for in the last few years. Patty and I were going to go eat at some of the restaurants we knew we were going to miss, and while we did get out for a date one evening, the rest of our plans have mostly been just that. Plans.

Other things happened. We got sick. Nate got sick. We lost a week of daycare because Kristi's little girl got sick. There is a lot of sick going around here right now.

And of course we're also packing. Packing and also throwing birthday parties and going away parties. At this very moment the kitchen is full of cupcakes, and there are still more in the oven.

We've been busy, so this blog hasn't been seeing much action. Neither has my flickr photostream. I'm now three months behind in my pictures, and I fear that number will just keep getting bigger. Well, at least for the next few months anyway.

Some of the stuff that's happened in the last few weeks:

• Patty and I went out for a dinner date one Friday evening. Our friend Jack very kindly offered to sit for us, and we took ourselves off to Salt tasting Room for a very enjoyable evening.
• Nate turned three. He went to daycare that day and had a great time at Kidzone then work up from his nap not so happy. It got a lot worse before it got better, but by late Friday morning he decided he had had enough and pronounced himself well. I didn't quite believe him, but he was true to his word. Quite a neat trick.
• We threw an almost kid-free birthday party for Nate on the evening of the 28th. Really it was mostly for us to say goodbye to friends and give aways bottles of alcohol. But Nate didn't seem to mind, he got presents and he got to eat cake.
• And on Sunday Nate will get to go eat more cake when he gets his kid-friendly birthday party at the Roundhouse.
• In other news, by brother is halfway through his tour in Afghanistan. It seems like it's gone by fairly fast, but I'm sure that mostly because we've been busy with other things here.
• We thought we found the house for us, but it's already under offer and we're waiting to see how that goes. There will be other houses, and the whole process will be much easier once we are in Halifax.

So we are down to our last 12 days in Vancouver. I'm sure I won't get to do everything I had planned to do before we leave, but it's not really that important. I have had a great time here in Vancouver, and those touristy things, they'll keep for when we come visit.

Last orders

Friday 13 February 2009. I worked my last shift at 3010 Main Street. It's been almost 4 years since I started my job with JJ Bean. What originally started as a short-term gig between jobs, turned into the second longest job I've ever held.

I've been trying to write about those 4 years for a few days now, but I'm failing miserably, so I'm just going to list some highlights.

• I started about 3 months after the store open. By the time I left, I was the only one left from the original crew.
  
• In the time I was there, I worked with five different managers.
  
• At the time there were 4 JJ Bean stores, now there are 7.
  
• We didn't have a son when I started, Nate is almost 3 now.
  
• I learned new things about myself, like I'm a much more social person than I ever thought I was.
  
• For most of the time I worked there, I was the oldest person on staff.
• I met so many people, and some of those people have become good friends.
  
• Working in the neighbourhood I live in, has connected me to this neighbourhood and made me feel part of a larger community.  
  
• I got to work with some amazing people. In many ways they are like family to me, and I will miss them terribly when we move.
  

When it finally came time to leave, I found I didn't want to at all.  

My thanks to all the people who made this the best job I have ever had.

A summary of the last few weeks

• We sold our place at last! The closing date is set for March 17. We’ve already booked our flight to Halifax for March 16. My last day at the café is Friday 13 February, I picked the date especially! I’m excited and sad all at the same time, I will miss the café, my co-workers, and I will miss this neighbourhood.

• We celebrated the Chinese New Year by having some friends over for a hot pot dinner. This of course required a trip down to Chinatown for groceries. I think Nate had a great time looking at all the stuff down there, and I hope we get to go again before we leave Vancouver. At the last moment we realized that our hot pot had been packed away and stored at Steve’s house, but we were able to improvise with a couple of large pots which we reheated on the stove every now and then.

• We took Nate to Monster Jam on Saturday evening. After a week of build-up he woke up that morning with a sore throat and fever. But he was adamant that he was going to see the monster trucks. So we went and got to see the first half of the show before he threw up. The poor little guy has been quite sick since then.

• Nate just woke up from his nap this afternoon and told us he wanted to put his soother in the garbage. After a quick examination, Patty informed him that there was nothing wrong with it. Nate then informed us that he wanted to throw all his soothers in the garbage and he didn’t want to sleep with them anymore. ‘Bye bye sookie’ he said, as I took the soother downstairs and stashed it away in a cupboard just in case. I suspect he might be a little delirious from his fever or something. But who knows…it might just actually be that he’s decided he doesn’t need one anymore. Only time will tell.

Generosity

I forgot my wallet when I left the house the other day. I managed to scrounge up enough money from my tip cup to buy Nate a cookie at the café, but that was about all I was going to be buying for that outing.

On the way home Nate insisted we stop off at the pet store to get a treat for Snoopy. I reminded him that I did not have any money on me, but he was adamant, so I obliged him.

After playing fetch the ball with a member of the staff, Nate picked out a chew stick and said “I get this for Snoopy.”

What follows is the rest of our conversation:

Me: We can’t get that today Nate, I don’t have my wallet so I can’t pay for it.

Nate: But I want to get this for Snoopy.

Me: I know and that’s really nice of you, but I don’t have money to pay for it.

Nate: I have some money dad, it’s OK.

Me: I don’t think that’s going to be enough (as he fished a quarter out of his pocket)

Nate: It’s alright dad, we can go home and get some more money from my piggy bank and then we can buy Snoopy a treat!

At that point there was a collective ‘Awwwwwww!’ from everyone who was within earshot.

The first entry for 2009

I had intended to write a summary of the year past, a review of the highs and lows of 2008, for my first entry for 2009. As I sat down to gather my thoughts, it became obvious to me that I had far more lows than highs. This has probably more to do with my make-up than the year that was 2008. Nevertheless, I became overwhelmed by it all and gave up, despaired by the task at hand and the state of the world.

It got me thinking about why we wish people a happy new year. Are we just so relieved to have got through another year that this is cause for celebration? Or is it a misguided or naïve hope that the changing of a number on the calendar will bring better things with it? I wonder if people on the Gaza Strip were wishing each other a happy new year?

Time will roll on, and most of us will do what we can to hang on for the ride. There will always be things happening around us that are beyond our sphere of influence. But maybe it's enough to do what we can to make things better in that sphere. Perhaps if there were more of these small spheres of good everywhere, they'd eventually overlap and become bigger. I realize I may be sounding naïve here, and uncharacteristically optimistic. Who knows, things could just get better!

Happy new year!