Dear Mom, Blame Sassy

When I was a teenager I remember reading an article in Sassy magazine (yes I'm dating myself) about American expatriates and from what I can recall about the article the expatriates weren't living in the most glamorous of countries. However, Sassy magazine had this uncanny ability to pique my interest in a variety of topics on a monthly basis and even though I had no idea what the word meant at the time I was instantly intrigued by the concept of expatriating.

I couldn't tell you why the article resonated with me the way it but I guess it spoke to something deep seated in my subconsciousness or perhaps spoke to my search for belonging as weird as that may sound. Maybe it was fate that I read that article or maybe it was sheer coincidence but what I do know is that I'm absolutely thrilled that 17 years later (wow) I'm going to have the opportunity to fulfill my dream of expatriating.

Sunday Pulse Check #4

Days til Paris: 21

Wow only 21 days until Paris and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about my move. Yes I'm still very excited about moving and my excitement levels will continue to grow over the next 21 days. However, for the most part I just feel like there is a lot to get done which I guess is to be expected. I'm confident that it will all get done but I kind of wish I could hire someone to do it all for me.

I did purchase a rolling duffel bag by Timberland today and if I am to believe what I've read about this bag it is one of the lightest rolling drop bottom duffel bags around. That means I can pack even more shoes and handbags than I had originally anticipated. I also managed to save about $100 because I found it on sale. Cha-ching!!

Lastly, thanks to a some information provided to me by Opal I've decided that I am going to purchase an annual travel insurance policy which will provide medical coverage and trip cancellation/interruption coverage should anything unforeseen happen to me when traveling outside of France and it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg either. Yippie!!

One of Those Days

My official last day of work is September 14th but after a recent turn of events and nasty-gram emails that I received from a colleague I'm seriously considering throwing in the towel today. I was literallythisclose to resigning today. What's 3 extra weeks pay really in the grand scheme of things when my sanity and emotional health are at stake? Part of my decision to move to France is so I can remove myself from the rat race and the politicking and all the other nasty things that take place in most corporate environments.

The irony of it all is that I supposedly work for a company that does things better than everyone else and we instruct others on how to get their "hows" right and yet our "hows" are completely wrong. Each day I have to remind myself that I have x-1 days left to make the 8 hours bearable and while it's a small comfort but I won't be completely happy until that number is equal to zero.