Getting ready and wrapping things up

Everything feels much, much closer today. I think this is in large part to Greece being just over a week away (!) and knowing that when I get back it's all going to just fly by - there are only 4 weeks from when I get back until my last day.

As I believe I've mentioned, a friend gave me his old iPhone, to use as an ipod, after my old ipod was stolen (he had upgraded to the current gen of the iphone). Sadly for me, he's an idiot and went swimming in the ocean with his phone in his pocket, which means he needs his old one back. 

I really, really don't like to travel without my iPod so there's no time to spare. I ordered one today, it should be delivered no later than next Monday. I got a refurb, current gen 64 gig.

As long as I was shopping, I also, finally, applied for the health insurance I'll need next year. And then I scheduled all my remaining days off (I have 16 to burn). Between that, buying boxes and getting ready for farewell party #1, it feels very much like I'm wrapping up everything on my to do list.

Looking at my list of items to purchase, I'm down to just the computer, the phone and a suit. And the Euorail pass, but that can wait, if it needs to, until I'm in-country. That's .... shocking, actually. It doesn't feel like I've been chunking through my list, but there it is.

This weekend I also went shopping for a trunk, but Target won't have them in until later in the summer, probably mid-July, as people start their back to school shopping. Unfortunately for me, the tax holiday won't occur until after I leave, but that really just means I don't have to wait to go shopping. The use of a trunk to ship oversees is still an item of some debate, in my family, but I really think it's the way to go: it'll get the vast majority of my stuff there without my having to schlep it through airports or pay fees for extra bags (I don't have any 'free bags' so one will be bad enough, two would be terrible). It has been suggested I plan to live as a 'poor student'. My retort is: what student, poor or otherwise, do you know who went to school with one checked bag and one carry-on?? Impossible!

Still, yes, I'll be taking the bare minimum, and am curious to see how that translates into packing. 

I'd really like to get all my sweaters packed up this week, to get a sense of how heavy they are, and how large a bundle I'm looking at. That, some pants and stuff like giant shampoo bottles are what I plan to ship in advance.

After experimenting with that, I think a trial-run of packing for Greece is probably in order, to see whether carry-on will work as planned, and, if not, to pre-pay for checking my bag. Either way, I'll check-in this week for the EasyJet portion of the trip.

Then, on Friday, it's girls' night / drink my wine! And then ... packing begins in earnest.

9 days to Greece

23 days of work

30 days off

53 days till last day

55 days till departure

Shopping

Last night I went to Aveda for my semi-annual purchase. Except, since I'll be out of the country in December, it's actually my annual purchase. Except, since I'll be out of the country in April / May / June ...


As a general rule, I schedule my purchases around the double rewards points offers. These happen the 1st weekend in December, Mother's Day weekend and for roughly 90 days around your birthday (you get a cert for 1 day of double points, not 90 days of double points). 


I went a little nutty with the purchases, which is crazy. It's not like they won't have shampoo, conditioner, lotions, and hair product in Germany ... I'm thinking this behavior may be related to growing anxiety / nerves.  


In other news: next Friday is the 2nd of three scheduled going away events. The first was a small lunch with what ended up being just a couple of people from work. This next one is a girl's night at my place, and looks like it'll end up being 7 - 10 people. Then, after I'm back from Greece, there's a scheduled happy hour with work people. Finally, there'll be my last day party.


I hadn't really thought about it, but one of my cohort's fb posts, earlier this week, mentioned a dwindling number of lunches, so clearly I'm not the only one quietly stressing. Or not-so-quietly, I suppose.


I ordered my camera, for Greece. I thought it was on the way / had been shipped, but a quick check of my email shows that the SD card is on its way, not the camera. Sigh. Regardless, this is what I'm getting:

It's a Sony-Cyber-shot 16.2-Megapixel Zoom Digital Camera-Black-DSCHX9V/B, a slightly up-market and, I think, somewhat newer version of the camera I bought before my trip to China last year, which was later stolen. One of the things I loved about that camera was the really great panorama shots it took, and which I'll be taking on this, too. It also, apparently, offers 3D panorama. I'm ... not so excited about that. The other think I loved was the way it made many of the pics look, to me, like movie stills. Hopefully that still happens.


I also bought, at a website's recommendation, a book:
How to Shit Around the World

The title amuses me, and the advice (what to eat & drink, where, to have a prayer of maintaining intestinal regularity) is supposed to be straight forward and usable. I read the intro last night, and have high hopes. 


Departure: 58 days
Last day: 56
Leave for Greece: 12 days
Girls' Night: 7 days

Counting down

‎16 days: Greece; 55 days: goodbye apartment; 60 days: last day of work; 62 days: goodbye Orlando

Countdowns and Greece and Insurance, Oh My!

Greece is in 29 days! Greece is in 29 days! Exciting!


Also, my last day is in 73 days, I'll be working 35 more days, and, no, I still haven't bought my plane ticket. But! My bank account information finally came through, which means I can buy my health insurance.


Speaking of insurance, I was talking with a co-worker who lived abroad for a couple of years (she went to Russia as a missionary!), and she said she wasn't able to keep her insurance - she had to transfer ownership of her car to her mother. While I didn't really think I'd have similar issues, I decided that, if I did, I want to know now so I can make plans to sell the car.


And so, I called USAA. Man they're awesome. Yes, I can keep my insurance. I will designate a custodian (need to provide name, DOB, whether they're a US citizen, FL licence #) and provide the garaging info. I'll also change the annual miles driven, drop my rental car reimbursement and towing coverage and raise my deductables. Overall, I know my rates will drop some, and expect they'll drop at least $100 per 6-month period.


I also found out about renter's insurance. Even without lowering my coverage (currently $32,000), moving to Hanover and putting my stuff in storage here will save me around $80 per 6-month. Since I'm getting rid of a LOT of stuff, I expect my savings will be close to double that. Woohoo!


AND there is a toll-free number I'll be able to call while in Germany, and apparently there are call centers in Britain & the US, and there is an adjustment office in Frankfurt, so I'll have no trouble getting in touch, should I need to. 


The one thing they don't seem to offer is health insurance, so it looks like I'll still be going through the recommended company. Probably. 


I'm also starting to look at storage. I've pretty much given up on Pods, I think. I think it makes more sense for me to pay the lower storage costs (and get the free moving truck) at a U-Store location, and just figure it out when I come back to the States. I'm still not sure how much space I'll need: I'm getting rid of all my bookshelves, and books, and CDs, and dining room table & chairs, and bed, and chest, hopefully the recliner. So I'll be left with kitchen stuff, school stuff, the couches & coffee tables, the cedar chest ... knick-knacks, dishes, pictures (in frames), maybe the shadow-boxes, the TV, maybe the stereo, the table lamps, bathroom towels, spare pillows .... and that's about it, right? hmmmmm. 

Visits!

Yay! It's finally the time when my brother & sister are coming to visit! John arrives tonight ( in about 5 hours), Beth arrives before dawn tomorrow. I imagine I'll be slightly less enthusiastic at her actual arrival, glad though I'll be to see her. AND tomorrow I'm off, going to Universal. AND I'm leaving early today. Yaaay all around!

Assuming I do leave early, as planned (I'm bad at that), I'm going to bake a cake this afternoon. And do a load of laundry. And run the dishwasher. And do a small bit more of tidying and taking out trash, but otherwise, I'm ready! Except for buying raisins. I need to buy raisins ...

We had a cool front come through yesterday, which means it'll be well under 90 the entire time they're here, which is a big break for them. 60 degrees to 90+ is rather abrupt ... as Floridians may recall from this past Feb. Too much too soon, etc. Anyway, I'm hopeful the weather will be ideal for our purposes.

Following their visit, it'll be time to officially start the divesting of excess worldly goods. Ideally this would be via a yard sale, but more likely it'll be via Craig's list. And in 2 weeks I go to visit John. And a month after that it's off to Greece, then give notice and then it's alllll over. Crazy. Also in there, right in my last week here, John will (at least in theory) be back down here with his girlfriend doing Disney. I expect I'll see them, though I will, by then, be homeless.

Oh! And the weekend after I go see John it's Memorial Day! So I get 3 3-day weekends this month! Sweet!

I was realizing that it'll be 90 more days of employment on Mother's Day. That feels like it should be meaningful or ironic or something, but I've so far failed to figure out why, so perhaps it just ... is.

I continue to obsess over the plane ticket, despite having decided I'm not buying until after my current credit card bill closes, so the end of May at the earliest.

Currently, I can fly for $704, but will arrive late enough to need a hotel room AND will spent nearly 20 hours in transit. Alternately I can spend $1140, spend 12 hours in transit and arrive in time to go to where ever it is I'll be living and move in. It is making me crazy, actually. Hopefully a less time-consuming and better arrival-time option will open up in the $700 range sometime in the next 3 weeks.

The visits, though, absolutely are starting to feel a bit rushed & crammed in, as I approach the end of my time here. Which is true! They probably wouldn't be coming, or at least not now if I weren't leaving, and didn't complain about no visits for 2 & 3 years.