Garage Sale #2!

I sold more stuff today and it was a great day for it!  Karli came early to help set up and stayed with me all day.  It was godsent.  A second person is extremely helpful because it gets lonely and pee breaks are important.  I sold three bookcases, and even though I could have gotten more for them, I now have a much emptier house for it.  Just a couple more big things to sell and I have to pack up a couple of bins to storage stuff at my sister's house.  

And who wants a Ness update?  All of you, I'm sure.  She goes in for her titer test tomorrow which will hopefully result in good news so I can fill out some forms and book her quarantine.  I bought her a travel crate for her long journey and am trying to get her accustomed to it.  It is her own private den with her favorite blanket inside and her favorite toys standing guard.  I have found her inside several times taking a nap.  In a couple of months I will put the door on the crate and hope she doesn't freak out.  I am probably freaking out more than her.  

I am 80% to my first monetary goal.  Then I can relax a little bit.  

I become an expat on July 3rd

It is very official.  I am leaving.  I have my flight.  I leave July 3rd to enter NZ on July 5th.  Perhaps I should start writing my dates they way they do?  "3 July is when I leave".  That will always seem backwards to me. This will be my third consecutive Fourth of July I will miss.  Will they served BBQ on the flight and show video of fireworks?  Can I get rowdy from beer and sing all American songs I know on top of my lungs? 

This experience is becoming very real to me now.

RIP Grandma Pattison.  Thank you for being the motivation I needed to kick myself in the butt and get things going.  Life may last awhile but it is never too late to get started on your dreams and to see them bloom into full reality. 

Garage Sale #1

Well I prepped.  I stressed.  I sat.  I made almost $60.  It is $60 more than I had before but I didn't sell as much as I wanted.  Looks like I'll be doing this again next month.  A big thanks to Amanda and Leslie for helping me set up, sell, and take down my garage sale.

Things I learned from this experience.  I am really good at talking to strangers and making them laugh.    It was nice to just give things away to people.  I know I a lot of my neighbors and I got to talk to many of them.

Here's to hoping that the next sale will earn a bit more cash!

Rolling with the punches of life

Due to unfortunate circumstances I won't be able to attend my man-friends' brother's wedding in Poland this summer.  It also means we won't have a romantic getaway to Paris, or Greece, or Italy, or whatever warmer-than-SF location you can think of.  On the upside to this sadness, my summer expenses has decreased dramatically.

The new(er) plan:  Ship my beloved cat (who so bravely got TWO vaccinations today!) near the end of June then I would fly, one-way, to Christchurch in the beginning of July to start my new exciting life.

Things happen in life and sometimes you have to accept that you do not know the universe's full plan for you.  There is a lot ahead of me and I even though I might worry, I know it's all for the best.  I'm leaving a warm and loving community to build a new one.  A girl can never have too many friends, AMIRITE?

Things are happening in six months

Six months.  Barely.  Then EVERYTHING changes.

First stress point.  If you can believe it, is..... Ness and her rabies history.  I have no idea if she has had her initial vaccination when she was a kitten because I know nothing about her past.  She needs to have her initial vaccination six months before she leaves, which should have been two weeks ago.  ARG.  But if she already had it, she is in the clear and only needs a booster which I have lots of time to do.  This totally messes up my potential timeline of me shipping her off mid-June, going to Europe, then meeting her in NZ after quarantine.

I never thought it would be this stressful.  And I haven't even gotten to the saving enough money bit or selling off all my worldly possessions yet!  I have a long road ahead of me.  Prayers, cat advice, and donations of wine or money happily accepted.

First official step

Hey!  Look at this!!

It is totally official.  I'm going.  They didn't even ask for visa money!  More money I get to save!!  Things are going my way.  Now if only I can start selling my belongings....

Thanks Working Holiday Team!  I'll be seeing you soon!!

Little blessings that make a huge difference

First off I want to thank those individuals who have contributed to my NZ travel fund. Close friends, those I thought I'd never hear from again, coworkers/friends, people who support my dreams year after year, family. I can't thank you all enough. To slowly realize I am almost 1/5th of the way to my first monetary goal for my visa because of those who love me and my hard work of restraining myself from buying things... what an incredible feeling! I can totally make this!

And then there are the blessings that are right in front of your face that you don't realize. A friendly call to my sister to announce my news turned into long(ish) term storage space for my sentimental possessions I cannot take on my journey.

It is a good day and even when I start to hyperventilate a little bit knowing that I am leaving behind friends, family, a city, and a life that I have already created for myself to go live in a country I have never even visited, I can think about how this is the time in my life I can follow my heart.

Mid-June. I'm looking at you. I'm also looking at you email inbox, as I wait for my application for the visa to be approved.