Today while I was at work the movers came and packed up our whole lives in to way too many boxes.
This is what I came home to.
I actually think we need to keep moving every few years, just to make sure we keep weeding things out and don’t get overrun by possessions.
I’m trying to go as minimal as possible on our trip, I’m only bringing a backpack so it’ll just be the bare essentials.
And my hair straightener, obviously.
Things have been a little crazy around here lately, because we’ve been quietly planning a big change.
But everything is basically official so it’s time to let the cat out of the bag.
We’re moving! To Australia! I am so excited, most of the time I’m too excited to sit still, because we’re doing some traveling on the way, and this trip has been my dream for as long as I can remember.
But it’s also been a lot of work, and a part of me is sad to be going now, when I finally am starting to feel at home in California.
So as excited as I am, and as much as I can’t wait to get going, for tonight I’m going to have a little cry in the corner and wish that choosing something didn’t always have to mean not choosing something else.
The reason we went to Toronto a few weeks ago was because my best friend Amanda was getting married. I don’t really believe in love at first site, but she is the closest thing to that I’ve ever experienced.
The second we met, at a party in the penthouse of a Honolulu apartment building thrown by friends of Swedish boy she was dating, we loved each other immediately, and were inseparable from that moment on.
She is one of those people who is really good at everything, her hand writing looks like calligraphy, and she is a former gymnast, and current model with a degree in Biology, she bakes amazing cakes, and she gets up at 4 am to watch Manchester United play soccer. You almost want to hate her, but you can’t because she is so kind, quirky and fun to be around.
We don’t get to see each other that often anymore, since we live across the country from each other, but I was able to go to her wedding and be a bridesmaid, and it was so much fun. Weddings are always kind of bitter sweet because you get to see someone you love at their happiest, but it’s also a time of change, and being around so many family and friends that you don’t know reminds you that as much as you love that person, you are just a small part of each others lives.
The good news is, even though we didn’t get to spend as much time together as I would have liked (which is true at ALL weddings) her family was so amazing and fun that I had a blast partying with them. They have another family wedding in October and I am considering crashing it, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.
I am sitting at work waiting everrrr sooooo patientlyyyy for 5 o’ clock to get here. My sister is coming to spend the weekend with me and I’m so excited.
She’s never really been here before, she came out to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer with me in September, but we were pretty much walking and suffering the entire time so it wasn’t an all around fun experience.
I’m taking her to AsiaSF for supper tonight, I’ve been wanting to go there for ages but the boy is not keen on the idea, I can’t imagine why.
We have lots of big plans, and the weather is supposed to be nice, plus I’m taking the day off to cavort around the bay with her tomorrow.
I’m lucky because even though we live far apart I get to see her pretty often, but it’s usually with my whole family all together.
I was thinking about it, and I’m pretty sure the last time we did something just the two of us was when I flew to Calgary to hang out with her for my 18th birthday, so this is long overdue.
So now I just have to make it to 5 o’ clock. Did I mention I was waiting patiently?
Most of the things we did in New York were pretty surreal, I’ve wanted to go there all my life, and it was neat standing in front of places that I’ve seen millions of times in photos and movies.
The most surreal thing was the 9/11 memorial. It’s such a beautiful, peaceful spot now with the water flowing and spraying in the wind, and people gathered silently around looking at the memorials and taking pictures. It’s very hard to picture it as the site of such a horrible thing.
I really tried to just stand there quietly and take it all in, and tried to imagine how it must have felt to be there that day, going from feeling safe and secure, in a familiar place you go to every single day, to horrible pain, terror and uncertainty in a split second.
I’m sure you can’t fully appreciate what it was truly like if you weren’t there, but I’m glad I was finally able to visit the site and see all of the names. Watching so much coverage of the attacks on the news, it almost felt like watching a movie, even though I knew it was actually happening. Being there in person reminds you that those were real people who died that day, somebody’s family, somebody’s friends. It could have been any of us.
And seeing the pools in the shadow of the new World Trade Center 1 tower reminds you that people are resilient, and that even if they’ll never forget, they will always rebuild.
Our time in New York is going so fast, only two more days and we’re off to Toronto. It’s been such a busy, fun week though.
I worked from our Manhattan office today, it was really nice to finally meet a bunch of people in person that I’ve been talking to every day for months.
Also, I found a place that makes really good lemon drops so I’m pretty much all set.
I actually can’t believe it even as I’m typing this, but we are leaving for New York tomorrow. Also I haven’t even started packing, so right on schedule then.
Some of the things I want to see are:
Statue of Liberty : This one is pretty obvious, I think it’ll be pretty neat to see in person after seeing so many images of it all my life. Or maybe it’ll be super underwhelming and actually be like 10 feet tall, like the Mona Lisa is apparently very tiny and unimpressive.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: I’m really excited to visit The Met, and my mom is a painter, so it’ll be really fun to go see it with her.
9/11 Memorial: I remember exactly what I was doing when I found out about the attack on the World Trade Center. I was sitting on the bathroom vanity doing my makeup, and I heard my dad yelling from upstairs.
Central Park: I’ve always wanted to visit Central Park, especially Belvedere Castle. Even though it’s just going to be one big snowball, it’ll still be awesome to see. Actually I’m pretty excited about the snow, it’s been too long.
The Plaza hotel: I’ve wanted to visit the Plaza for so long that I can’t even remember when it started. I suspect that it was when I was about 9 years old, when I started reading The Babysitter’s Club books my Ann M. Martin. Stacey was my favourite character, and her favourite book was Eloise, a story about a young girl that lived in the Plaza hotel. I’ve never even read Eloise, I guess I just assumed that if Stacey liked it, it was probably amazing. It probably is.
And tons of other things. I know it’s all super touristy stuff, I’m also just excited to creep around and do some exploring, but I want to have a list just in case we do have some free time, we won’t waste it trying to think of what we want to do.
We’re going to be staying with a friend in Brooklyn for most of our visit, and I’ll be working out of our Manhattan office, or as is more likely, getting lost on the subway and crying on a street corner.
I’d love to hear any suggestions that anybody has for fun places to visit, or great restaurants!
Can’t believe my baby brother is 17 years old today. It seems like just yesterday he woke me up by throwing a bucket of cold water on my bed and my older sister and I dragged him into the bathroom and gave him a swirly. He is a lot bigger than me now, but I’m pretty sure we could still take him.
It makes me sad that I can’t be there to celebrate but hopefully I’ll get to see him soon.
Love this. I feel this way all the time, one day I hope to close the gap.
For someone who puts so much emphasis on forward motion, I’m really terrible at saying goodbye to the present.
No matter how many times I tell myself it’s for the best, or at least you had the amount of time with that person that you did, or maybe you won’t see each other all the time but it’s not goodbye forever, it doesn’t seem to help.
Because the truth is, you do make choices, whether you’d like to admit it or not, and those choices lead you towards new things, but also, away from other things.
And that’s OK, it’s good even, because the alternative is being so terrified of what you might lose that you forfeit everything you stand to gain and that you stay in the same place forever and are always the one left behind.
It’s normal to be sad, and to be scared that what’s to come won’t be as good as what came before.
Just be grateful that you had the chance to experience something that was so hard to say goodbye to. Keep moving forward, because really, what choice do you have?
loveliness. 