Even Limbo Has to End Sometime

Or purgatory, the waiting game, whatever you want to call it. And my time of waiting is FINALLY up!

Look at what my horoscope said for the month of August:

Dramatic financial changes are in the stars for you this month Libra...You are finally on the path to financial success...if you can keep up your plan. You’ll soon see that you have such a loving and supportive network of friends and family. Many people fail to appreciate what they have right in front of them, yet you will see everything for what it’s worth this month.

See?

Tomorrow is my last full day in America. Thursday I fly away to Abu Dhabi at long last. I mean, seriously. When I started chronicling this adventure it was 2010. JULY 2010. Now I'm making final decisions on what stays and what goes. A life in 100 pounds or fewer. And...I forget what this post was going to say, except farewell for several weeks. I probably won't have a regular internet connection for a few months. But I'll write all about it in the meantime, then catch you up.

Miscellaneous Bits

Today is Misc Day. Well, today and tomorrow. (What can I say? I have a lot of misc.) I have the house to myself, the house is clean - time to bring out the bits and pieces and strew them all over the living room.

like this, only more and with fewer guns - but more glitter

Today (and tomorrow - don't get all schedule-y on me now) I'm also going to scan all my random scraps of paper. Then I'll have them on file and won't be toting a bag of balled up notes to Abu Dhabi. Which is handy, as I'll quite likely be toting a bag of old journals to Abu Dhabi. Sigh. I just don't know if I want to leave them behind again.

I probably will, though.

~*~

You may have noticed (you know, the three of you who actually skim this blog on occasion) that it's been awhile since I wrote any practical TEFL-related posts. Would you care to know why?

You would?

Really?

Great. Because I happen to have nothing but time. And no one else to talk to (look, I told you the house was empty!), and hello! I'm procrastinating!

Fact is, since I got my paperwork back from the UAE Embassy, I have pretty much lost my focus. 

Not that you should be surprised by this. One of the things I know I'll be good at in the UAE is the vagueness of time over there. I'll do my very best to be on time to everything (and often end up being early - at least until I get all acclimated-like), but I'm not bothered if other people are late, if there are interruptions, etc. Time spent getting (and missing) trains and metros and buses has taught me to always bring something to do. And to just let it go. You'll get there when you get there, life will continue, NOTHING I had planned in my day is of life-or-death importance. 

Not even packing. 

Yet.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Practical information sharing. And not doing it. 

Well, I guess I really just have nothing to share. The essentials are now covered. It took 5 weeks to get all my papers processed, but that was back in February/March. Since then I've quit my crap job to keep house & nanny for my sister, watched a lot of tv, and given away another couple of boxes of stuff. And I've researched the nonessentials. 

You know, stuff like where to shop, how to order a venti soya latte, which phone I really want, juicers, and decor for my so-far-nonexistent flat. 

Also, I've gabbed endlessly on facebook with other new LTs. To the point that I even irritate myself just for clicking the link. I mean, I love those people (some of them - sorry guys, I don't universally adore my co-workers, and I know some of you find me tedious...not my readers, I hope!) and am happy to answer their questions when I can. And, I mean, I convinced some of them to join twitter! 

.....yeah, that actually was a self-referential link...colour me shame-faced.

And that's it. It's been a busy busy couple of aimless months for me. But by golly, I am going to purge the miscellany. Right now!

Next week: Arabic lessons!

Greedy

So, I'm packing, right? Well sort of. I was packing yesterday. Today I'm thinking about it.

And I have begun to realise that I'm perhaps a little greedy. I have a few dresses I should give away, and several (SEVERAL) pairs of shoes that probably won't get much wear at all. And a number of books I'm sentimentally attached to, even though I can download them on my nook. And then there are the journals, the CDs (yes, I know, who still has CDs?) and the misc.

Oh, the misc!

I packed one suitcase yesterday, all beautiful and nowhere near full (it's a big suitcase. Too big, perhaps.) And then I tried to pick it up. It was too heavy.

I am determined to get my worldly belongings into 2 suitcases and a carry-on, and I honestly don't see it being too much of a problem, but...the weight limit is getting me!

Journals are heavy.






And I suppose I should give my sister that LBD she likes. A couple of others, too. Right. Now I have to unpack!

The In-Between Times

'Tis the season. The season of not much happening. Paperwork is collected, job is ended, and now I sit. I do things like clean the house, chat online ALL DAY LONG, and watch telly. I do little things, put off doing big things, and wait.

It's boring.

I'm boring.

This existence is boring.

I am so ready to move on. Like, yesterday.

So, during these in-between times, I am answering questions from other and trying to motivate myself to go through the last little bits of my belongings. I'm going to give away most of my clothes, a few more of my books (turns out I only actually have a few left), and some misc.

And I'll need to find a way to convey all my journals to the UAE. I have a lot of them, and I'm not too keen on leaving them all in the US for a few years or so. No doubt if I brought fewer pairs of shoes....but let's not even rest our minds on that possibility for a moment! My shoes are too much fun to leave behind, even if they're not practical.




Why am I blogging tonight, again? Oh. Practical: a look at the infamous Al Gharbia (or, Life in the Actual Desert):

Also, I need to look into some other form of banking. My little teachers credit union in Pasadena TX isn't cutting it anymore. They don't do international transfers? What? So I'm thinking either HSBC (with whom I didn't have the best relationship in the UK) or Barclays (which I believe had the best commercials).

I don't know if I have enough money right now to open a multi-currency account, but I'm going to see what I can do. It seems the best solution, really.

On Packing (Chapter the Second)

I did it. I emptied out my closet. I have a basket of clothes to give away, a smaller basket of clothes currently in use, and a loosely-packed suitcase of clothes going to Abu Dhabi with me. And I gave away one purse and a few pairs of shoes.

I tried to decide between two *very similar* pairs of brown heels, but to no avail. I really like them both.And one pair I've only worn once or twice since buying them. So that leaves me about 10 pairs of shoes to pack. I think I need to get that number down further, or add another piece of checked luggage. And I really don't want to do that. I reallywant to get in under the luggage limit.

Sigh.

Sure, some shoes should be an obvious donation: the knee-high black boots, the tap shoes, the truly awesome gold glitter Dorothy shoes... but the less practical shoes are the pairs I love best.

In addition to the impractical shoes, I have 2 pairs of flip-flops, a pair of sandals, a pair of ballet flats (with sequins in order to alleviate the sensible-ness) and, sigh, a pair of Crocs. Those are the shoes I wear to work now. They may stay behind, as they are aggressively practical, with no whimsy allowed. (I admit they are comfy though. Even for a retail job.) Also a pair of running shoes and a cute pair of knock-off Chucks.

Other than the terrible shoe dilemma, I have a narrow bookshelf of journals, some stuff that needs to go into a scrapbook (I need a scrapbook), my computer, a few toiletries, and some miscellany. I think I can cull my small book collection to five without too much angst.

Put like that, this packing thing shouldn't be so hard. Ask me next week, though, and I bet I'll be about an inch further along the packing trail than I am now. And there's still the issue of putting stuff on memory sticks, ipods, nooks. And backing up my computer, which I'm not totally clear on. AND downloading a VPN.

And solving once and for all the shoe dilemma.

Maybe next week.

One Day.

Well, so I completed my paperwork. The part I could do, at least. I made copies, had them notarized (at a bank - that's where the notaries are!), and had them stamped by the SC Secretary of State. The copies cost 50 cents, the notary was free, the seal from the Secretary of State cost $2 each. I have only 2 documents that need to be authenticated: my teaching certificate and my Masters degree. This makes everything easier...and cheaper.

By noon (inclusive of about 2.5 hours chasing from one government building to another before I discovered I just needed to go to a bank to find a notary) I was done. I went to the post office, got a money order for $16 to authenticate my documents at the State Department, and paid to have everything overnighted (both there and back) to DC.

It may take 3 weeks for the State Department to process my request and send my bits of paper back...so that I can send them to DC again, this time to the UAE Embassy. This mailing back and forth will take a bit of time, but I should have everything in order by the end of March. And really, the first half of my authentication process only took one day.

That is pretty stellar, and quite an improvement from the several weeks horror stories I heard from last year's applicants. One of the perks of living in a state capital.

***

Later this week I am actually going to start packing. I have 2 suitcases. They are the ones I bought when I moved to the UK (speaking of which, I turn green with envy each time I read the Teach Away discussion threads created for UK/Ireland applicants. I want to meet up with everyone in London too! /whinge) and are pretty massive. Also they're excellent for packing. And wheeling through airports. Well, wheeling up to the check-in desk, at least. Sturdy too. And I have stuff that I'm pretty determined to take with me that I shan't be needing before I go (my boots - which I really won't need until Christmastime, when I plan to go to London - a few bits of clothes that don't currently fit but which I love too much to give up, personal records), so why not store it away in my luggage?

But that's for later. For now, it's all about the paperwork.

Also reading books.

And studying Arabic a bit.

And detoxing.

And going to the gym.

And doing facebooky stuff.

On Packing.

No, I'm not packing yet. But I am always (yes, always) packing in my mind. Every single time (again - yes, every single time) I pick something up or put something away or, more likely, don't put something away, I think, would I pack this?

I don't even have to have a destination in mind.

It's just how I work: that which I really value, those few Things I think I can't live without, is what would come with me if I had to pack tonight. Destination: unknown. Suitcases: two. No excess baggage charges allowed. What would I take?

Would the container gardening book make it into my luggage? It didn't last time. How about that second laptop I still haven't sorted out? Or those belly-dancing scarves replete with coins to jingle while I practice? More to the point, which shoes will make the cut???


This article on CNN discusses this conundrum. And while not everyone is as into simplicity of living as I am, for those of us planning to move overseas, simplicity is your friend. You really don't need to bring those Le Creuset pots with you.















*image from realsimple.com*