pager-withdrawal

It's been a week since I finished work. I've adjusted now, but let me tell you it was really hard to hand over my pager and keys. I held on to the pager until 4:50 pm on the last day. The keys I kept until Saturday because I had to go back in the next day to clear off my hard drive and cart home all my personal belongings that have accumulated over the last 5+ years. It's not that I love the pager all that much, but there's an element of control in it - like things will fall apart if I'm not there. And that is of course absolutely not true, my replacement is great and the unit has survived on weekends and holidays without me, but still.

I spent this week running errands and having lunches and dinners with various people whom I wanted to see before I leave. Still haven't gotten a digital camera yet, but I've got it narrowed down. I also picked up my passport and work visa which has been sitting at the travel agency for two weeks. Things are slowly getting packed up and put into boxes in my parents' garage.

Reality is starting to sink in.

some of the details

I have only a few more weeks of work left. My last day is August 18th and Annie, the person replacing me while I'm gone, started last week. She's the social worker for another section of the hospital so she already knows a lot about the hospital and the patient population we serve. So it is just a matter of showing her the stuff that is particular to my job which is in obstetrics, gynacology and the Level 2 Neonatal Intensive care unit. Annie is great and I know that everything will be in good hands while I'm gone. Actually, to be honest, I'm a bit worried that they might like her more than me.

As I'm showing her around, I realise how many loose ends there are at work that I need to tie up before I go. I'm going to miss the people I work with. As stressful as my job can get, it is interesting and if given the choice of all the social work positions at St. Michael's Hospital I would always pick mine. One of my managers seems convinced that I'm going to fall in love with a sheep farmer and decide to move to New Zealand permanently. She says that you never can predict what will happen, but for now my plan is to return to work at the beginning of May 2007.

I leave Toronto on September 10th and fly to Vancouver to see some friends for a week. Then I fly to Sydney, Australia where I have some friends and family. Eventually I'll make it to New Zealand.

Between Aug 18th and Sept 10th I will try to tie up all the loose ends in the rest of my life. For those who are curious about those sorts of things, I can stay in my current home until August 31st or thereabouts. For the last six months I have been renting a room in a house near Eglinton and Mt. Pleasant. Dihan, the owner and my current roommate, has graciously offered to let me stay past that date if I need to. I have rented a parking spot at an apartment building down the street only until the 31st, so that may be the determining factor. I may spend the time at my parents' or my sister's or with friends. Anything I'm not taking with me, including my car, will be going into storage at my parents' place up north. Most of my belongings are already in boxes in their garage - I just kept out the stuff I needed for the last six months. I have some last minute things like arranging an eye doctor's appointment and getting a supply of contact lenses and a spare pair of glasses. And, of course, saying goodbye to people. And packing. That will be a challenge - how to pack for eight months.