Prepping for the move to Taiwan

In four days I depart for a new life in Taipei, Taiwan.

That's such a grand statement. I'm sure that when you read/hear it all kinds of exciting things come to mind - exotic food, crazy traffic, voices speaking in a different tongue, golden temples, steamy and smelly hot springs, thieving chittering macaques, and so on. However, when I read/hear that statement all that comes to mind is lists. Lists of lists. Things to do before I leave.

I'm in that pre-departure frenzy where I'm trying to make sure I'm completely prepared for such a big adventure, as well as say goodbye to all of my friends and family. My time is not my own right now. And that means not one second is available to dream about the exciting things to come.

Oh, boo hoo, you say. Yes, I understand that I am damned lucky to have such problems. Really damned lucky, considering the year that I've had. I will keep the whingeing to a minimum.

 I managed to complete one huge, really unpleasant task today: I dug up and scanned the documents required for my Taiwanese work visa. Tomorrow I have to root around in my storage locker to see if I can find my Royal Roads University diploma. If I can't find it, I guess I'll have to make a trek to the campus to see if there's any way to get a copy before I leave. I don't even want to think about that. /shudder/

This afternoon/evening provides a bit of play time. I'm meeting besties Anita and Michael and we're heading downtown to get our minds messed up on "Cloud Atlas." Afterwards we will decamp to a restaurant that serves good food so we can try to figure out what the hell happened in the movie. The sad part is that this will probably be my last visit with them until the spring.

I don't know how the rest of the week will unfold. But, somehow bills will get paid, services will be cancelled, and I will manage to cause my mother a complete breakdown by not packing until the day - or day before - I depart.

Expected next post: Taipei!