Dog Day

Leo and Dexter this morning in England

We've been in Toronto since Monday and today we begin our drive to Winnipeg. We collected our lovely new Tahoe yesterday (I swear to God that we bought it before we found it it was a sponsor of the new American X-Factor TV show) and we're almost good to go. Just one thing left... Picking up the dogs. They are flying right now and I can't wait to cuddle with them again, safe and sound.

We got to stay in a fantastic condo in the heart of Toronto thanks to a good friend who vacated it for us for the duration. I don't know what we have done to deserve such good friends, but we seem to have plenty of them all over the world. We have many friends in Toronto and we got to see a fair chunk of them, you'd almost think we're on holiday. But we're not. For the first time in my life we are not visitors to Canada.

Today we need to rush around and get stuff for the dogs: carpet and dog beds for the back of the car, food and water bowls, food, snacks, toys. Then we'll clear out of the apartment, have lunch with friends and then pick up Leo and Dexter. I know they'll be fine, but I just won't be really relaxed until I see that with my own eyes. Then we start our drive west for 22 hours... If there's free Wi-Fi on the way, I'll try blogging updates.

Meanwhile you can check out this blog post about my doggies by Animal Couriers.

The dogs' trip begins!

Mickey

LondGone

Just like explosive diarrhoea  after a long bout of constipation, here comes an explosion of pictures now that I finally got a memory card reader to unload pictures from our cameras (some photos are still lost in my accidentally packed iPhone which I hope to get back in a couple of weeks).

Well, maybe I could've gone for a less disgusting metaphor. Like a rainstorm after a long dry spell or... Whatever, who cares. Pictures time.

These are actually left over from our trip to Israel in April-May, but it's cute, so it goes in anyway.

Blake loves suitcases!

It's always a pleasure to discover Blake has been playing with the camera.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Blake has decided to repaint parts of my study while the packers were stealing our life and sticking it into boxes. Here is the damning proof.

It's beautiful art, but it kinda had to go, don't you think?

Boxes, boxes, boxes. I can't wait to unpack and go through all of them in Winnipeg... Ugh.

Our truck, which Blake adored staring at. By the end of the day it was fully packed. You couldn't even squeeze in a box of tictacs.

Poor Leo and Dexter were exiled to the back yard for most of the day as the door to the house had to remain open most of the time.

Blake couldn't be exiled into the back yard so I was doomed to keep running out after him instead of making sure that, oh I don't know, my iPhone doesn't get into a box and sent away. Stuff like that. Yeah, I'm still bitter about it.

Our wonderful skip. We filled it up twice, which is a lot of crap that we didn't send off in boxes over to Winnipeg. Could've probably filled it up a third time if we planned things better....

My brainy Janey helping us pack and fold. ♥ A bunch of friends dropped in during the day and made it a bit more fun to rip out every remaining trace of ourselves from what was our home for the last nine years and stick it either in a suitcase or the trash.

Our lovely friend Mariana (holding Blake in the above picture) dropped in to cook us a goodbye lunch. By then we had barely any plates left so we improvised with what we had and it turned out to be one of the most fun dinner parties we ever had - simply because it was so unexpected and a great way to say goodbye one more time. We even got to use some paper cups left over from Blake's first birthday!

Pavel the Marvel (Marianna's brother) took apart out bed and the last day was spent on the mattress alone. Well, not for me anyway. I napped for a couple of hours on the carpet in my room as I found it - for some reason - very difficult to go to sleep.

Floor cuddles with Yoe are the best!

CSI Finchley

In the evening, when packing should've gone into overdrive more friends came over. Instead of hugging and sending them away we had yet another dinner party, moments before the dinning room table was taken away. We had pizza and it was delicious.

As morning got closer more and more stuff was removed from the house by Pavel who did a great job. He even saved us by removing lots of trash we didn't put in the skip in time before it was removed (lots and lots of trash). It was a race against time to empty the entire house before we left it in the morning. The house was mostly emptied, but mostly does not equal completely.

We ended up knowingly over-packing our suitcases with the knowledge that we will have to pay extra. We were immigrating across the ocean, not going on some holiday in Spain. I had to leave my lovely Nando's sauce bottles behind only to find out you can get them in Canada too. Joy! At the last hour before the taxi arrived I started just grabbing things and throwing them away without giving it too much thought. Any single socks or items of clothes we would never wear again and probably even some we might've : it all had to go.

And then that was it. The house was suddenly completely empty once all of our suitcases were in the taxi and Blake was strapped into his car seat which was also coming with us. This was no longer our home. Our dogs weren't there any more or any of our stuff. But it still felt like home, carrying with it nine years of memories both good and bad. Sheer joy side by side with unbearable stress. Sweet moments of happiness side by side with painful loss. We left Kato behind, our first Great Dane, his ashes scattered in the park only a few steps away from our doorway.

We left a bit late and were worried we were going to miss our plane, but fortunately we didn't. We needed a porter to help us with all the suitcases and we got a moron who dropped them repeatedly (I hope my X-Box survived the torture). When we got on-board Blake fell asleep and even when he woke up he behaved perfectly. Let me put it this way: I managed to watch three full movies and a TV show without interruption (Thor - OK action movie, Meet Dave - barely watch-able Eddie Murphy comedy and The Adjustment Bureau which had an original concept - mind numbingly stupid, but original).

We arrived in Toronto and I got my work visa.

And that was the end of our time in London, UK. Even now I have to keep reminding myself of that fact. While it has sank in that we were leaving the UK for good, it still hasn't sank in that we have actually done it already.

More about our time in Toronto later. Now we wait for our new car to be shipped from Winnipeg and our dogs to arrive from England and then embark on our adventure driving to Winnipeg from Toronto. So it's not over yet...

--Mickey

Last Few Hours

This morning I rushed to the supermarket to buy some dog food to give to the people who were taking the dogs. Leo eats very badly when away from home and I wanted to tempt him with some yummy tripe. When I got home the guy with the van was already here so I had to rush and get all the dogs stuff and then the dogs. Poor puppies got so excited, thinking we were all going for a car trip together, but then they were put in small-ish cages and were taken away without us. We were so worried! I almost cried. 

Well, I cried, OK? I  thought to myself: what if something goes wrong and this was the last time I saw Leo?

Later we got a phone call to say they were OK and then an e-mail with many photos. They weren't super happy, but they weren't miserable either, sniffing around and checking their new temporary hangout. I won't be really relaxed until we are reunited with them, healthy and happy, on Saturday in Toronto before we drive on to Winnipeg.

Here are the pictures. They were taken shortly after the dogs arrived at the kennels.

We were silly and we had the skip removed yesterday only to realize we still had so much junk to get rid off. Thankfully our pal Pavel the Marvel and his magical van came to the rescue. The last couple of days were spent getting rid of stuff and by now the house is practically empty. Even our bed is gone and we're spending the last night on a mattress - that is assuming we'll get any time left to sleep. It's ten twenty and we still have a lot to do. 

Around lunch time my pals Kenric and Janey dropped in, even though I've just seen them for dinner on Friday and also a surprise visit from my friend Louise. Pavel's sister Mariana came to cook for us a delicious goodbye meal and it was great fun: we had almost no plates left so we used a mixture of random plates, mostly ones belonging to Blake and we managed.

In the evening Sally, Paul and Yoe dropped, more dear friends. Even though the wise thing was to give them a big hug and send them on their way, we instead ordered pizza and ate it like pigs because by then we had even less plates and cutlery. It was great fun, especially with Blake who got to give lots of kisses and cuddles and play many games with many cute girls. Now they're gone, all of them. I'd be sad, but I'm still waaay too busy. I'll be sad tomorrow.

Lots of great new photos, but that'll have to wait until I get a card reader for our Sony Cameras.

Tomorrow is the last morning in London...

Back to work now!

--Mickey

4-2 Days... The End is Near!

* Not sure what happened to the pictures in some of the earlier posts below this one. Thank you Blogspot!

Anyway, we're getting nearer to the big date. It's now Saturday evening. Tomorrow the dogs will be taken away at midday and will join us in Toronto next Saturday. We'll start packing like crazy as soon as the dogs are gone, say goodbye to some friends who will pop over, throw away the rest of the rubbish and have our friend take the last remaining bits of furniture and... That's it. Early Monday morning we're gone for good. Goodbye London! Goodbye Queen lady! Goodbye William and Kate! Goodbye Big Ben! Goodbye something or other.

Tonight I'll be taking the dogs out in London for the last time. We were very lucky to have a fantastic big park less than a minute walk from our front door. I take the dogs there every day after midnight and let them run free as there's no one else there that late. It's a shame I won't be able to do it in Winnipeg. We'll adjust. The dogs have no idea what's waiting for them, but that's for the best I suppose. They are hardier than I give them credit for and they've both survived worse. Regardless, being reunited with them next week, healthy and happy, will be such a relief.

The house is so empty and depressing now and I can't wait to get out of here. The hard part of saying goodbye to our home is behind us because this is certainly not our home any longer. Having a home waiting for us in Winnipeg, a home we already know and love, makes it all a tiny bit easier.

Last night we went to my favourite Japanese restaurant in London, Daruma San, with a few friends. I don't have too many friends in London, but those I do have are great friends and I realized how much I am going to miss them. In this day and age it's easier to stay in touch, but commenting on each other's Facebook status isn't quite the same as hanging out together. I will also miss Daruma San, the only restaurant I know that makes consistently perfect Ika Nigiri sushi that is slimy and melts in your mouth rather than the usual rubbery stuff you get anywhere else. Oh, and they make a great udon noodle salad. Oh God, I think I'm going to cry this is just so terrible. I'm going to cry into a pillow now. Bye!

Mickey

Days 7-5: Pack Up Your Life

I didn't write the last couple of days because I didn't have time to breath. Well, I had time to breath, but just about it. After taking everything from the attic and getting the skip emptied we needed to throw away lots of crap. The more crap we throw away the less crap we send over across the ocean to Winnipeg to sort out there. Well travelled crap is still crap.

We worked until late yesterday to get as much as possible ready. We needed to throw away everything we don't want to go to Winnipeg and make sure the stuff we need on our trip doesn't accidentaly get boxed and sent off in a boat. You know, like our passports. 

In the morning the packers came and started boxing everything. They went in and our and the door was left open a lot of the time so I had to lock the poor doggies in the back yard (with breakfast and water). They stood by the glass door and looked in, begging to come in. I eventually took their beds outside and they lay down to rest.

One of the packers asked me if we're waiting for my wife to come down. My reflex reply was "I don't have a wife, I have a husband, but yes." Years ago I would've avoided it, even by lying. But I decided a long time ago to stop cutting corners and this was it. I'm not going to pretend Miron is anything but my husband now that I have a son because what lesson will that teach him? We felt that they were a bit rude and cold throughout the day and if it's because we're a gay couple, so be it. I think they were just a bit lazy and rude for no reason other than being a bit lazy and rude, but who cares. 

Blake was very excited by the removal truck and kept running outside through the open door and insisting on being outside all the time, which meant I had to supervise him instead of giving the removers instructions. He got very agitated every time I chased him down the street and took him home and it was "one of those days" with lots of screams and tantrums. On top of it I walked into my former study to find Blake with a thick red marker after using the carpet, the walls,the shelves, the windowsill, the door and himself as canvas. As if we weren't stressed enough we (mostly Miron) now had to furiously clean the stains as best as we could. We're lucky as this doesn't happen often, but the thought "why on earth did I decide to have a kid" did cross my mind. Blake answered it for me with a kiss... Little devil.

Halfway through packing I realized I can't find my iPhone. I looked all over for it and then I realized that it must have been packed by mistake. Oh joy! I was gutted about it, but at least I was glad to see that Blake's iPod was accounted for on my desk. For a while anyway, it also disappeared as it was also accidentally packed. At least Blake himself wasn't accidentally packed and shipped to Winnipeg ahead of us. We bought Blake a new iPod on Amazon which will be here by Friday. There is no way I'm flying to Toronto for hours and driving to Winnipeg for days without an iPod to distract him. His current one was getting a bit old anyway with increasingly short battery life.

Another thing that bothered us was the realization that we sent over probably too many things. Many books and things we could've thrown out if we started sorting things out earlier. But we also know we had tons of stuff on our minds (and still do). Regardless, once the movers left for good we felt a bit crap. It turns out that packing up your entire life in one day is as much fun as trying to remove your eyeball out of your eye socket using nothing but toothpicks.

And then it dawned on me. It wasn't the fact that we sent too much stuff over or the fact that I won't see my iPhone for almost a month. It was the fact that this morning we woke up in our home and now it's an empty ghost house with lots of empty walls and floors. It's no longer our home. I was going on and on recently about how the fact that we were moving hasn't sunk in yet. Well, it sunk. Like the goddamn Titanic. 

After the movers left I went with Blake to pick up some dinner and I felt like crying. I'm not regretting the decision to move. I left several homes in the past both as a child and as an adult and moved into new homes. With time the old home becomes just that, your old home. You get settled in the new place and make it your own. As long as I'll be there with my family it's home. But it's still a bit of a shock.

No pictures since I have no iPhone, but I do have my Sony cameras and I will get a USB card reader tomorrow. For now, I need to get used to this empty somebody-else's house.

Mickey

8 Days

12D vision! (3DX4)

Today I finished taking everything out of the attic with the exception of pictures and suitcases which will come down on Tuesday, so that was very satisfying. On the other hand I plugged the entire hallway with boxes and bags, so there is still lots of work to be done. Then again, what else is new?

What I did learn this weekend is that when you go up and down a ladder many many times carrying heavy things you better wear shoes. My legs aren't as exhausted as I feared they'll be, no jelly wobbly limbs, but my right foot on the other hand feels a bit weird and sore. Well, I emptied the attic and got a free life lesson in the process. Great bargain!

We met friends for lunch who then came to our home to pick a few useful things we won't be taking with us. Then I threw away some things into the skip. We need to order a new skip tomorrow as we're pretty much out of space. We also have to pop out and take care of lots of little things in preparation for the big move. We'll also be getting the small boxes tomorrow so proper packing can finally start. Lots of alsos.

I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of my of stuffed toys from years ago in one of the suitcases and I let Blake play with them. At the beginning of our relationship Miron and I (well, mostly me) collected soft toys from everywhere we went. At some point there were too many of them and they were just collecting dust, so they went into the suitcase in the attic. Now there's a kid hanging around who can appreciate them the way they deserve to be! So they're all coming with us to Winnipeg.

This is it. Tomorrow the countdown of the last week begins. The milk I bought a couple of days ago will outlive our time in the UK. The big move is really just around the corner.

And tonight it finally sank in, I think. I realized that this is it. It's happening and it's happening soon. We already have a home waiting for us on the other side, but I am still nervous about the trip via Toronto, especially where the dogs are concerned. Doesn't matter. It's going to happen and I just have to be ready!

Holy crackers, it's really happening.

Mickey

9 Days, This Time for Real!

Today I removed more things from the attic and then when I could barely walk anymore I decided I was done for the day. Then I realized we don't have much more time left so I was actually not done for the day at all and I carried on taking more and more stuff. I should have kept count of the times I went up and down the ladder.

I said before that I looked forward to this because thinking about doing it was worse then actually doing it. Well, I was wrong. very wrong. 

Some of the bags I took down contained old blankets that belonged to Kato. Leo was very excited to rediscover the smell of his older brother who's been gone for over two years now. He sniffed the blankets and wagged his tail as he was shoving bags around with his nose to find more Kato smells.

It made him very happy.

I distracted Blake with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathons, but since I was taking things down for hours eventually he got bored and decided to join me. Since I was too busy to take him to the park today instead I let him go up and down the ladder as many times as he wanted. With me waiting upstairs and Miron waiting downstairs Blake rocked the ladder back and forth. He was quite good at not getting hurt, but he nearly caused me a minor heart attack when he decided to clap his hands in the middle of climbing the ladder to congratulate himself on his awesomeness.

I took almost everything entirely by myself. A few items I handed down to Miron and a few items Blake decided to throw down the hatch on his own accord, one of which was a bin basket which bounced unharmed off my noggin.

A lot of energy that could have been used on taking more stuff down was spent on entertaining Blake, but he loved the attic and had a great time and at the end of the day that is all that matters. I can just go to hell - which I would if I could walk!

Yesterday

Today

I kept pushing myself more and more, knowing that what I won't take down today will still wait for me tomorrow when I have to finish with the attic and start packing. So I went on and on with short little breaks for lunch, Facebook and breathing. I would also occasionally wash my dark dusty hands even though I knew they'd get all smudgy and dusty again in seconds. I just found it all to be a bit too yucky (that's a scientific term).

Regardless, when I finally called it a day and looked at what I achieved I was quite pleased with myself and I was like "way to go, dude!". You can see the before and after pics. I estimate about two hours of work left at the attic which isn't too bad. I look forward to climbing down from the attic and shutting it for the very last time. That day would become a national holiday because I really did come to hate that attic over the last few days. Since we're moving from the UK to Canada I'm not yet sure national holiday of which country.

Here you can see the partial stack of boxes that made its way from the attic, to my study and into the living room where the carpet has been rolled away. I left the TV exposed so Blake could watch cartoons and play games with me (which means force me to play a racing game for his viewing pleasure).

Don't let the boxes deceive you: all of this needs to be repacked since these are not proper shipping boxes and not everything there is going. Some things needs to be thrown away or donated.

There are boxes and things everywhere and the dogs are quite confused. When we pack suitcases they realize we're about to leave and they get upset, but this was something they never encountered before. The attic contained stuff from the last nine years, long before either one of the doggies were even born, offering a huge variety of smells for them to explore. Exciting!

The skip outside of our house was half-empty up until today. Now it was so full I had to flatten all the big cardboard boxes and then jump on them. I was wearing only swimming trunks and shoes, I was a filthy mess and I was jumping up and down like a rabid monkey on heat. My neighbours are going to miss me.

And this is what used to be my study. It's full of boxes and my laptop is set up in the dinning room. So I guess I'm already done with that room. It's now officially a sorting room.

I think I actually lost some weight doing all that work. I also got utterly and totally covered in dust and God knows what else, I really don't want to know. Every time I washed my hands I marvelled at the "tan lines" at my wrists. 

My legs (and Blake's) obviously got the worst of it.  Even after a bath and aggressive scrubbing they are still a bit grey. I think the dust has been tattooed into my feet...

Blake also got some dust on him and wore it much better than me.

I had a nice big bath with Blake with lots of scrubbing and then we ordered in some Chinese food. Then to treat myself for all of my hard work I then sat down in front of the computer to work on my game design document assignment. After carrying down boxes, furniture and electronics all day long, typing away at the computer felt like a vacation!

More fun fun fun tomorrow!

Mickey

8 Days? Well, Not Quite.

This is a bit awkward. My awesome 10 days countdown has hit a little snag. I got it wrong! It's actually 10 days from now. Oh, well. It happens to everyone. Yes, it does. Now drop it.

I decided to get started with the attic today. The carpet in the living room has been steamed and rolled (could have saved time by steam-rolling it, but it didn't occur to me at the time) so there was room to start putting boxes and other stuff in. Blake, with his new found love for physical adventure, decided to follow me on the big long ladder to the attic. I watched with pride and terror as he was climbing up all the way to the attic without breaking even one neck! That's my boy!

Part of the mess - and this is after some work. You can see some floor!

Blake wandered around the crowded attic as I started sorting out what goes down first. I took down many boxes, but also some furniture, toys and other rubbish. Some of the furniture is nice, but even the rusty kitchen table and chairs set that we threw out to the skip outside the house was picked up by someone who thought it was nice enough. I kept taking things down since we don't really have much time left. On the one hand I could see more space clearing up in the attic, but on the other hand there was still so much more to take down. 

Eventually I decided enough was enough and took a break. I took Blake out in the afternoon to the park where I ran after him and played with him even though I could barely stand on my feet. So we took a break sitting under a tree and I told him his favourite story "Blake and the Balloons" (I might share it here at some later point, it's an amazing story about Blake and some balloons). On the way home we stopped at our local Tesco supermarket branch and Blake got to go on the Bob the Builder ride.

Then I transformed into a T-Rex and Blake rode on my back as I ran through the street biting people's heads off. It was a great bonding experience. Then I taught Blake the importance of friendship. We laughed heartily as we watched the emergency vehicles arrive with flashing lights and blaring sirens.

OK, so basically it was another busy, but not very exciting day. You can actually be very busy and very bored at the same time, depending on the task at hand. Can we get this over with? I'm bored with being bored in London. I am so looking forward to being bored in Winnipeg.

Mickey

9 Days

Today I took Blake to the park as I have been doing every day for a while when it hasn't been raining. He has developed a new craving for running around and trying out everything in sight. It's an interesting change because up until recently he was only interested in the toddler swing. He'd be happy to swing for ten minutes and then go home.

Blake swinging, a long long time ago. Like at least a hundred years ago.

Now he often refuses to get on the toddler swing altogether and even when he does he gets bored since he is not in control. He prefers going on the slides. He started out with the small slide and a week later decided to upgrade to the big slide. It was a bit scary for me to see him scale the ladder on his own and I kept close enough to catch him, but he didn't even stumble. He also had no problems climbing down. I was quite impressed, but mostly because I still can't quite digest the fact that he is no longer a baby. He was sliding like an expert. No, seriously. I bet he'll kick your kid's ass at sliding.

Big boys' slide!

Today Blake homed in on the big boys' swing on his own, so I helped him get on and he was so excited and happy as you can see in the picture and videos. The fact that there was no support behind his back was scary and thrilling and he was a tiny bit nervous, but loved it and kept asking to get back on the big boys' swing. He then got a bit too comfortable and started experimenting with letting go of the swing... Or possibly he was just trying to give me a heart attack at the age of 33. Who knows.

Big boys' swing!

One peculiar thing he started doing in the playground was scream and run away any time other children got near him. I was a bit worried until I realized he was just being silly or even just a little bit of a snob, not wanting to mingle with all those dirty loud children. To be honest, some of those kids make me want to run away and scream. Blake also has a similar reaction to pigeons, craws and butterflies. At least he's totally fearless with big dogs. Well, not sure that's a good thing either. OH NEVER MIND, NEXT ITEM.

Rocking it!

We received quite a few boxes today and I was looking forward to starting to pack, but they were all huge and I think that if I filled one of them with books it will be too heavy to lift. So we'll see. My fingers are itching to pack just because I'm dreading it so much and want it to be over already.

With everything that is going on I am also working on a little freelance gig writing a game design document. Probably my last freelance assignment for a while since I have a full time job waiting for me in Winnipeg. It'll be quite interesting to be a working parent again. I was very lucky to spend over three years with Blake as a full time parent for the most part (I did teach part-time for two years), but I think it'll be good for both of us to spend some time apart. Oh, who am I kidding?! I'm going to miss him so much. I'll be one of those obnoxious people with hundreds of pictures of their kid all over their desk.

Since finishing watching The Shield I've started watching X-Files from the beginning. I only watched the first couple of years (nearly 20 years ago!) and not very regularly so I decided to just watch the whole nine years plus two movies back to back. It's going to take a while!

The dogs will be picked up a day before we leave London and will join us in Toronto a few days later. Dexter is a sturdy youngster, it's Leo we're worried about. The silly pooch has a stupid nervous habit of licking and biting his paws until they bleed and I had to bandage them several times over the last few weeks. He is extra nervous as he can sense that something is going on. I am fairly sure that he will survive the trip intact, but I still worry. It's going to be quite a shock to see the house empty and then the two of them being taken away from the house in someone else's car without us. Oh well, it has to be done.

That's about it. More fun and excitement awaits me tomorrow. Oh, can someone just please kill and resuscitate me when we're in Winnipeg already?

Mickey

10 Days

2002. Notice the crumbly old garage on the side. This is just before we moved in.

A more recent picture thanks to Google Maps showing our side extension and our two former cars. 

Ten days to go before set on the greatest adventure of our lives as a family and it still doesn't quite sink in. We're going to pack up and fly to Toronto where we will meet the dogs who fly in a few days later and then drive for several days to Winnipeg. Only ten days to go and it still hasn't sank in yet. I take Blake to the park every day, I walk down the same familiar streets, pop into the same shops, eat at the same restaurants. Our neighbourhood is immensely boring and lacking in interesting shops and restaurants, but it is our neighbourhood and I know it intimately, every nook and cranny. I can't convince my brain that I'm leaving all of this for good.

I'm sitting in our home, which technically isn't our home anymore and I am telling myself that in two weeks we will all be gone and other people will call this place home. I even know where I am going: we already got to stay in our new Winnipeg home for two whole weeks and settle in a bit. Yet it really doesn't sink in. No sinking whatsoever. I bet that when we will leave home for the last time to the airport it's going to feel like the many times in which we flew to Toronto on holiday. 

So it's all going to hit me later. Maybe a day after we entered Canada, maybe a month later, but it will. Whatever, I'll deal with it. The easy part will be getting to terms that I can't get some obscure supermarket products or eat at certain restaurants. The more difficult part will be accepting the fact that many of my dear friends will no longer be able to drop by at a short notice to share a meal, watch a movie or just hang out. 

I will also miss the bridge on the way to the main street. It goes over an exposed section of the London Underground train tracks and all the neighbourhood kids love stopping there and wave to the train drivers in the hope of getting a whistle in return (which annoys the people living in the houses with yards facing the tracks, but I'm not losing much sleep over it).

We sold our Toyota on e-Bay a few days ago so we're somewhat grounded. The London Underground is a broken system, but it does allow me to travel around town as neccesary and I can walk to the local post office, bank, supermakets, park, etc. The sell of the car was actually quite exciting. No bids until the very last minute and then a quick little bid war in the last thirty seconds. We sold our other car earlier this year which went after one bid for the asking price, so this was more fun. It was a great rush and I almost wished we had more cars to sell. 

Tomorrow we'll be getting lots of folded boxes so the real packing can start and to be honest I am looking forward to it because there is a lot to do and I will feel better once things start getting done, because thinking about doing it all is worse than actually doing it. We had friends over for lunch on Sunday which is probably going to be our last home cooked meal with friends here in London as after tomorrow it's all going to (finally) become too messy to entertain people here. Well, more messy than usual. We do have two crazy Great Danes and a three year old lean, mean mess producing machine.

With this comes the realization that a lot of things we are doing here for the last time. I still hasn't been the last time I took Blake to our local park, but that day is not far off. I have seen my last movie at the cinema in the UK (Final Destination 5 and I absolutely loved it). I took Blake to the local swimming pool for the last time. Since we no longer have a car we will no longer engage in any car-related activities which rules out many things (going to the supermarket, visiting friends out of town, illegal street racing).

At least we made our house repellent to straight folks as the people who ended up buying it are another gay couple. Though they are your generic vanilla flavour gay couple without any emotionally unstable giant dogs or cute children. I also don't think either one of them is writing a blog. I know, shock!

But we won't hold it against them.

Mickey

Hello Again!

Stephen King has described his writing once as "diarrhoea of the keyboard". In that case I'm going through severe keyboard constipation. I've tried writing several posts over the last couple of weeks. I'd write a paragraph, get stuck, erase, start over, give up. Rinse and repeat. I tried writing about selling our second car on e-Bay yesterday (we sold our other car on e-Bay earlier this year) and hopefully I'll get around to it soon. I'm barely getting through this post and it'll be a miracle if it get posted!

With just a little over two weeks before we make the huge move across the pond we surely aren't bored and still have plenty to do. I guess I can't really expect my brain to be on normal mode. It's still not quite sinking in that we're leaving London for good, but it's possible that my brain is a few steps ahead of me and already freaking out a bit.

So for now I'll cheat and stick this video with a lovely song by Michael "Schmoyoho" Gregory, "Hello Again". It captures the way I feel about leaving good friends behind. I've done it 14 years ago with friends and family in Israel and now I'm leaving behind a handful of very dear friends here in the UK.

Hopefully I'll catch up with my brain and start writing regularly again. There's surely lots of ground to cover!

Phew, this post is over and just in time. I ran out of words.

--Mickey