Time Crunch

Doug hit the ground running in AD and has been settling in and learning new things every day. He has been busy working. I didn't know this, but, they work a 6 day work week over there. With the time difference it does make sense. If I am posting this at around 12:00 noon, it is about 11:00pm over there. Fridays are the weekends... interesting.

He just got the offer package and everything seems to be pretty reasonable. There are a few tweaks that he wanted to make, but not much.

It sounds like he will sign on to the project before the end of the year, which workd out great. When he was talking to the tax specialists, they told him that it would be to his advantage to sign on early. Evidently there is some"rule" that stated we could only be back in the states for 31 days per year if he signs on after the new year starts.

This means my time line has gotten moved up. So... I guess I will now be tentatively be going back with him on the 4th of January, instead of the end of January.

All that means if more stress in getting the house ready for sale and everything sold. ARGH!!!!

I have a notebook full of lists of things that need done.

I am ruthlessly purging "stuff" from the closets and my crafts.

I am exhausted and frustrated that it seems that I have not made any hea way... but I know I have. The garbage pile has to be some ndicator of how things are going as well as how many boxes of "stuff" have been freecycled.

Well, I am off to purge my closets...

Stuff, Stuff and more Stuff

I still can't believe how much "stuff" a person can accumulate in such a short while.

I am feeling totally overwhelmed at getting rid of "stuff".

Today i donated 2 boxes of stuff and got rid of a huge bag of stuff and there is still more stuff. Argh!!!

It is interesting how when you start to go through things you soon realize that emotional and sentimental attachments are unjustified. The things you think are so precious are really just stuff.

Doug and I had a talk before he left, and the general conclusion is that if we had a fire and lost everything, we really could start over.

You know, I don't think it is so much the "thing" it is the clutter that is driving me nuts.

When we have gone on vacation, I don't miss all the stuff we have. I kind of relish the living in a minimalistic environment. There is a sort of freedom to it. You loose the attachment to thing.

when we come back from UAE, am I still going to have an emotional attachment to the things that I put in storage? Some things, yes, others definitely not. that will be very interesting.

Leaving on a Jet Plane... and OUch!!!

Well, Doug leaves Sunday for Abu Dhabi. Since he is meeting up with the Company VP in Denver his flight is longer than my B-I-L Jim's flight. I think it ends up being 27 hours or something, including layovers.

Doug will be gone for 4 weeks, back through the 4th of January and then in AD for the next 4 weeks. At that point he will come back and (I think) help with the rest of the moving stuff.

Today he got the POA and Living will done (ack!) Now I have real power (semi evil laugh). Just kidding... This is mainly so I am able to sell the house and anything I need to while he is gone.

I have already started to get rid of a lot of things. I am amazed at how much junk a person can accumulate when you have a basement. I have gotten rid of a bunch of junk, but I have so much more to go through... then there are all of those "precious memory things".

Monday I am renting a storage unit and starting to put things I want to keep in there.

You know, of all the times Doug and I have "tried" to move, for a better job opportunity, nothing ever fell into place. This time I am so convinced that that this is the right move. It seems every time we have mentioned that something is going to be for sale, people have just come oput of the wood work and said "I want it"

Just a little while ago, we had people come over to look at the shopsmith and he wants it (just needs to convince his wife), and we just sold the pool table, exercise bike and power washer. My assistant manager wants to buy my car when it is time to sell. Every door seems to be opening up for us.

Oh... the OUch... I got my first shot today. It was the Hep A/B combo. It stung like crazy when I got it and then my arm went kind of numb for about a half hour. Surprisingly, it isn't as sore as I thought it would be.

When Doug gets back in December I go for the rest... That one I know hurts.

Winds Of Change

Every once in a while a wind will blow in and totally throw you for a loop.

That happened to me about 10 days ago. Hubby came home and asked "So how does the United Arab Emirates sound?"

Not totally thinking he was serious, I said "interesting".

First I must say, we had talked about moving... we want to downsize our house. It is just way to big for us. With a son who is 19 and getting ready to go into the Army, it will seem huge.

We had talked about moving into a condo (locally) or moving to another state here in the US.

However, nothing prepared me for the roller coasted ride that I have embarked upon.

Last Friday, he had an interview with the gentleman who is the "regional Director" (or something like that). That interview went extremely well. Since hubby comes highly recommended for this project, it seems like this was just a formality. Monday he had a call from someone state side (I forget how he is connected- I think upper management). Yesterday he had a visit from the head of security for his company. This gentleman told him that he had heard it was a "done deal" and was there to offer assistance in any way he needed it.

So the long and short of it is this... Early next year we will be moving to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

At this point I have only told the important people in my life. This move went over like a lead balloon with my Dad and Step-Mom. My sister, I think is a bit apprehensive for me. My best friend is in shock and my other 2 good friends are... well 1 is excited and the other is mad at me. When I told my boss at work, he was like... "Oh Wow", My assistant manager is excited since her husband is from Egypt. They are going to Egypt for 3 weeks in April and, and she said she will definitely come visit me since his uncle lives in Abu Dhabi.

Being a planner I have already joined many expatriate forums and groups on-line. I need to know what I am in for.

To be honest with you, I am looking forward to this. I love adventure, and this is certainly that.

So what do I feel the biggest challenges will be for me?

1. Making new friends. I am an introvert at heart. It takes me a while to get to know people and become comfortable with them. (I think this move will be good for me. I will definately be out of my comfort zone and be forced to make changes I otherwise would not).
2. Food. I am a Pizza, Chocolate and Beer kind of girl. Since in UAE, you are not allowed to have alcohol in your home without a license, this is going to be hard yet good for me. I am also apprehensive about trying new foods, e.g. we have a restaurant here in town that is an English cooking restaurant... I still have not tried the steak and Kidney pie... The steak sounds good... the kidney... well...
   
3. Medical care. I have an awesome Doctor here state side, finding a new one will be dificult to say the least.
4. We have decided to liquidated the whole house... Yep, that means sell everything except for the "special things". Then sell the house. (All of this will need to be accomplished by mid January at the latest.)
5. My son... While he has lost significant amounts of weight, he still has not reached his goal yet. Ideally by the time I move over to UAE, he will be in boot camp. If he makes his weight goal... If not, then he will need to find an apartment, or a room to rent.

Stay tuned for more updates on this wild adventure...

Lori