A New Journey

Today a new day in my vocational journey started.

Good start.  8am-4:30pm.  Meetings.  Introductions.  Visits.  Questions.  Organizing.  More introductions.  More visits.

Good people: coworkers and residents.

Affirmation.  Encouragement.  Confidence.  Meaning.  Fulfillment.

Lunch alone.  My choice.  My heart burns with pain.

Walked to and from work.  Crescent Park.  Beautiful.  Snowy.  -20.

Lonely.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a Sinner!

Driving Home

I love my new dashboard!

 

I left Saskatoon early this morning, around 7am, headed for my new home: Moose Jaw.  I arrived here around 10am, just in time to meet the internet/phone guy at my apartment.  By noon my connection was up and running.  Customer service in this country is amazing.

I left Saskatoon at the perfect time - in the dark - and I arrived in Moose Jaw also at the perfect time - broad, sunny daylight.  I hope this is a metaphor applicable to my life also, a movement from dark to light.

While driving, I saw the landscape transform.  First, my dasboard (and of course my headlights!) provided all the light, but then inklings of light appeared in the horizon ahead of me.  The sky all around me changed colours from black to dark blue and then to light blue and white.  And the various shades of blue were accompanied by dark reds, oranges, and yellows.

The prairies have a stark beauty to them.  Solitude.  Serenity.  Simplicity.  Silence.  Open.  Immense.   And yet, they also communicate an equally searching, if not troubling, quality.  Loneliness.  Longing.  Emptiness.  Struggle.  Overwhelming.  If I make these images analogous to my heart, I definitely fit more in the second set of descriptions.  At least now.  Hopefully Joy will find me here.

New Wheels

I decided for the gas model and not the diesel.

2008 VW Jetta Inline

80,000 Kms

Dark Grey

I drove it around town all day long today.

Am loving it.

Ate dinner at a Brazilian restaurant here in town.  Excellent food.  But more group-friendly.  Some restaurants have that feeling.

Yesterday's dinner experience was exactly the opposite.  Very average Pakistani food (admittedly, I'm comparing it to Al Watan!).  Great atmosphere for all.

Tomorrow I head for Moose Jaw.

Testdriving

I test drove two more cars today.  Both of them dark grey, gas, Inline models, with similar mileage.

One of them is for sale at the VW dealer, whereas the other is at a small mom-and-pop second hand auto dealer (the kind I tend to stay away from).

This time though, things may be different.  I wasn't impressed with the staff at the VW dealer in this city. Hard salesman.

So, it's either yesterday's diesel, or today's gas model from the second hand dealer.  I will sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

So Long Vancouver

At around 7am this morning I returned my Modo car to the 10th and Cambie parking lot, and then met my parents at my apartment.  I taped shut my plant boxes, walked around my apartment one last time, took a few pictures, gathered my belongings and packed the van, headed to the airport for my flight to Saskatoon.

My flight left shortly before noon.  I was in relatively good spirits, thankful that my parents took time to see me off.  Again, as I said a few days ago, what a privilege to be surrounded by family in times like these.

Upon my arrival in Sasakatoon I rented a van, loaded it with my belongings, and headed to the Best Western.  Much to my dismay, the base of 5 of the 9 planters that I brought along with me were broken into dozens of pieces.  I shoul've taken the time to pack them better but "thought they'd be ok".  Argh.

Late afternoon I set out on my search for a car.  Before coming here, I did a good amount of research for buying a VW Jetta in Saskatchewan.  I actually decided to fly into Saskatoon because this city has the most cars for sale.

I test drove a light blue 2008 diesel, with about 80,000 clicks.  Lots of scratches in the exterior, but man, what a nice drive.

Tomorrow I'm going to the VW dealer, to check out some other options.

A new development on subletting my apartment: late yesterday, my friends Ruth and Marty contacted me regarding renting the place.  After a few back and forth conversations with them and the landlord, we all came to agreement.  Praise God!  They will sublet my place for the next 2 years.

Milano, Fútbol, And A Sendoff

I'm going to miss Milano, my favourite coffee shop in the city.  I have a good number of memories of coming here alone or with others, before or after futbol, to read or write or think or all three.

This morning I went there one last time.

In the afternoon I played soccer with my fútbol friends.  Eight people came, including a few new players.  Just enough players to get a decent game going.

In the evening these same friends had a sendoff for me.

While I'm really not in a mood to celebrate anything nowadays, I'm grateful for their efforts in making my sendoff special.

The most important lesson I've learned from these great friends of mine is how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life: a good game of soccer, a glass of wine, a weekend get-together, a night of board games, a good movie, and on goes the list.

I sometimes get frustrated because the depth of conversations is not always to my liking, particularly when it comes to matters of the Divine and Providence.  On this matter our views digress, sometimes substantially, and that has been a challenge for me, having grown up and always lived around others with similar viewpoints.  Perhaps that's part of the reason God brought these wonderful souls into my life: to teach me tolerance, grace, to take me out of my theological shell, and ultimately, to grow my faith in Him.

So, I'm thankful for these great friends.  Their company has been a gift to me, over and over again.

Thank you Lord.  May they be on the receiving end of your Love, Grace, and Peace, always.

More Meals

More goodbye meals with friends.

For lunch I met James and Rosanna at our favourite lunch spot, Al Watan.  Unfortunately the pictures below don't reveal the extent of the feast that we enjoyed at the hands of Khalid.  He always treats us like royalty: thank you Khalid!  May God bless you!

James has been encouraging to speak to in the last few weeks.  Although we don't talk that often, I always get a supportive word or two from him.  I gave him a good number of my books that I don't watn to haul with me to Saskatchewan.  I also gave him a few plants to take care of.  We both have a strong sense of creation-care.

I'm going to miss James, and I'm going to miss Khalid too.  His hospitality is unequaled in Vancouver.

Earlier this week I got an email from some ex-coworkers, wanting to get together for dinner.  I hadn't seen most of them in 2-3 years, actually, so I was quite happy to meet up with them.  Gonnie, Fred and I met at Kalamata, near Granville St.

After dinner I went home and did some more packing.

M-Day

Today was the day when all the pondering, planning, and packing translated into action.  Sometime after 11 in the morning the movers came and without much fanfare began loading the container destined for the prairies.

I must've been visibly affected by the whole endeavour because at one point the crew foreman asked me how I was doing, he thought I was being very pensive.  Of course he was right, I was pensive.  Eleven years in one place; deciding to move in a relatively short timespan; the pain of leaving loved ones behind; the unknown of a new city, not to mention the risk of starting a new job.  These factors are all weighing on me.

I'm amazed at how easy some people find the whole moving business.  One of my friends, who lived in Tokyo and New York over the past 15 years and recently returned to the Lower Mainland, thought it strange that I used the word grieving to describe the process I'm in the middle of.  In her view the focus ought to be on what's ahead of me (the challenge, the next step, the way forward), not on what lay behind me (the memories, the experiences).

Perhaps I'm not as much an optimist as I thought, but at the same time, it seems strange to me to not mourn a move such as this one.  It seems to indicate a lack of attachment to place, for one, and this is something that I - even with all my complaints against my city - cannot stay clear of.  I have attachment to place, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

By 2pm the container was packed and gone.  The only items left were a suitcase of personal belongings, which I will take with me to Saskatoon.  I also still have my bike, a chair, and my phone, all of which I hope to sell in the next week or so.

I was unable to sublet my apartment.  This means that last night was the last time I slept in my apartment on 10th.

Lord, thank you for all the experiences - good and bad - of my stay here.  Bless the next person/s who will call this place their home.  Amen.

Family Help

I'm spending the majority of my days taking apart, sorting, labeling, and packing my belongings into boxes of various sizes.

Mom and dad have been such a blessing, comforting me each step of the way, encouraging me, prompting me, offering to help me wherever and whenever needed.

Last week Saturday mom came over and helped me pack.  Today also, she came.

This is a lesson for me, that when push comes to shove, when the road gets tough, it's family that provides the main support.  Family's been my lifeline.

This is a revelation of sorts, because for the past 5 years or so I've been strengthening ties with friends, thinking that they'd be the ones who'd be with me in times such as these, but no, it's been all family.

This is not a knock on friends: they have their lives to live, jobs to go to (I don't), and bills to pay.  But this is a statement on the importance of family, and particularly parents, when things are tough.

I hope that I can one day return the favour, even in a minutely significant way.

Bless my family Oh God.  Keep them safe in your loving hands.  Amen.

Tomorrow around 9am the moving trucks will come and haul my stuff away.  I don't expect to see my stuff again until around the 25th of the month.

In terms of my 30+ plants, it was really hard to do, but I decided to give most of them away, to family and friends.  I'm keeping 9 plants, and will be taking them with me on the plane.  At first mom thought this was a silly idea - and maybe it is - but seeing how attached I was to them she relented and supported me.

Start Date

I emailed a proposed start date of February 25th for my new job.

This means that I will in all likelihood fly out somewhere around the 20th or so.

I've been in touch with various moving companies.  It seems that the cost of moving will be in the $3,000-$3,500 range.

I've also begun packing.  My God, what a horrible burden, to put one's life into suitcases and boxes.  Have Mercy on me!

The thought of leaving pains me not only because of leaving family and friends behind, but also because I'll be leaving my wonderful apartment behind.

I think I found a nice apartment in my new city, but I don't think it'll be anywhere near as good as the place I've called home for the past 11 years.