December 2006 Archives
Yesterday I was in Madison for Sarah's graduation. Can I tell you how old I feel now? I felt quite nostalgic being back on campus attending the graduation and hearing the old alma mater song. You could tell that all the parents and family were so proud of their graduate. The best part of the ceremony is when the grads walk across the stage to accept their diploma and the family in the crowd shouts out their support like they're at a football game. It's a hoot. Sorry Sarah, I know mine was pretty weak, but I did give a little "woo!" which I chuckled to myself immediately afterwards knowing how lame that sounded. But in my defense it would have been hard to be screaming and jumping up and down fisting the air while recording this momentous event. Congrats!!!
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind and as the months wind down I will be sad to leave this place I've called home for the past three and a half years. I'll be transferring to a new position within the company in Vancouver, Canada. I know - it's insane! It's sooooo far away... I'm not even sure how I'm going to move up there yet.
I'm really excited about this opportunity, but sad at the same time that I'll be leaving a lot of family and friends in Chicago. After all Chicago has been my second home while I was growing up spending my summer vacations here as a kid. And the fact that it's only a few hours drive away from my hometown of Green Bay makes it harder to leave knowing that I won't be able to see my family as often.
But in many ways I believe it is time for a change and that this was meant to be. It seems scary at first to move far from the familiar and everyone you know, but I'm looking forward to the new experiences - the people I'll meet, the friends I'll make, the experience of living and working in a foreign country... Canada may not be that foreign, but it is different. I've already begun to realize how many things I'm going to have to get used to like the accent, the currency, the metric system (this is when I wish the U.S. didn't have to be different from everyone else!), temperatures in celcius rather than fahrenheit, French and probably a million other things I don't even know.
It's funny now that I think about it. I've actually dreamt about this opportunity - living as an expat and picking up and starting all over again some place new. But making this decision wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. When I thought of turning down the offer and how much I might regret it - the choice was simple.
My start date has not been confirmed yet so I can't say for sure when I'll be leaving Chicago, but it may be around the end of January or early February. If anyone has friends in Vancouver who'd be willing to offer some tips or advice about the city, please let me know! And of course, you'll all have to come and visit me!
