Sabbatical

What is the one question that people who first meet you are likely to ask? "What do you do?" would be my guess and starting today, well... I'm not "doing" anything. I was chatting with a friend on Friday and was telling her that I was now unemployed and she thought that didn't sound very good. "Call it a sabbatical" she recommended. Sure. A sabbatical sounds good.

Except that I am not taking a year off, and do not have the objective of traveling the world or writing a book (although one day, I might write a book, I just haven't found the topic yet). I'm taking some time off to figure out what I'm going to do next. Maybe I should call it an extended spa day for my career, after which I hope to feel rejuvenated and ready to embark on a great adventure.

This week is however a bit different. I'm on vacation this week. I'm not thinking career plans, not spending lots of time researching and networking, I'm resting. I needed a vacation, haven't taken any time off since April and that includes Victoria Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Canada Day. I think I took a day in replacement of one of the three holidays to move. Or pack. Not really to rest. The move has also been really exhausting, mentally and physically. Thank goodness I had some help, because I came pretty close to suffering from boxeritis, where the sight of an unpacked box is giving you nausea.

I have a few modest plans for the week. I reactivated my membership at the Y and have an appointment with a trainer on Thursday to get a program. I have a 5 à 7 with colleagues to celebrate (?) my departure. Everyone was on vacation last week. I am meeting with a lady from FEM International where I will be volunteering a few hours of my time in the next few months. On Wednesday, I will help mom and dad prepare Annie's apartment, so she at least has a bed to sleep in when she arrives Friday. And I have meals to cook. I promised Brendan that I would cook dinner more often, because he gets home so late from work and if nothing is ready, we end up eating dinner really late.

Nothing ambitious, just enough stuff to keep me busy, but also give me enough time to read, go for walks (maybe to the library to get a card so I can start borrowing more reading material), and prepare for week 1 of my sabbatical.

Little boxes, on the hillside...

Little boxes everywhere in the apartment that is. Yikes! I know it might seem a bit early to start packing, but there is a lot to pack and nothing is going to happen during the week. So early packing it is. Books are packed, so are the DVDs, CDs, some of the dishes, decorative stuff... Today, I am going through my clothes and sorting out what I want to keep and what will end up in the Salvation Army bins at the corner of Guy and Saint-Antoine, joining the shoes and booties that I already dropped off on Monday. There will not be much to give out I'm afraid, I already went though this exercise less than a year ago when I left Vancouver.

Slowly but surely, things are sorting themselves out. I visit the notary on Wednesday to sign all the paperwork that will confirm my ownership of the duplex. That means that next weekend, Brendan and I are already busy prepping the place (a bit of painting and cleaning) before moving in. His stuff is in storage at U-Haul, we'll take care of getting all his things back next Sunday. My stuff is partly in Montreal (moving date is August 14) and part in Vancouver, being picked up as I write this. No idea when the things from Vancouver will make it in town, my guess is around the 8th. At least, that is what I am hoping. Then, we also need to coordinate deliveries, a mattress and bedspring from The Bay, appliances from Sears for the unit upstairs (Annie gets brand new kitchen appliances!!), and possibly a sofa and dining room chairs from Structube.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a nice sofa that does not cost $2,000? Let me tell you about that. We initially started by visiting IKEA, thinking maybe one of their models would suit us and not break the bank. Well, unless you really like the style of their Ektorp line (I already have a two-place Ektorp sofa bed), IKEA has nothing to offer. Most sofas other than the 100 variations on Ektorp are leather or really square. Not my thing. We then visited another few places, Mobilia on Maisonneuve (so, so), The Bay (expensive) and had a look at what Sears had to offer when we went shopping for appliances (ugly). Finally, last night, as we were walking back from work (Brendan was shopping downtown and came to pick me up), we stopped by a tiny Structube store on Sainte-Catherine. Not a huge selection, but it did include a nice, dark brown, three-seater and very comfortable sofa. For less than $1,000. Score! We also liked the style of one of their dining room chairs. I have a dining room set, it's pretty modern and right now Marc has it at his place (and offered to buy it). I have an old, oval table from my parents (it's a loan) that can easily sit 8 and will be perfect for the dining room. I just needed proper chairs.

Brendan is planning to buy a flat-screen TV in the fall, so our place is really going to start looking quite sharp.

We just have to get there first.

Little boxes...