Planning for a move that is both too fast and too slow...

So... as Kes said in her last post, we've started pulling our things together for the move.

As with every move by everyone in every era of history, we have more to move than we thought. Having lived for the last two years (well, almost - 22 months) in a furnished apartment, we don't really have that much to move, but of course, we certainly have more than the four suitcases we moved here with.

In addition, we have decided to "play permanent" in the next place. This doesn't mean that we would take any money from anyone for a bet regarding where we will be living in 5 years - we don't really have a clue. It only means that we're tired of the "camping" lifestyle, and we will move all or most of the stuff we've got in storage in Rothesay, NB across the Atlantic to join us in Malta. (Kes's parents, needless to say, are thrilled that we might vacate the 40% of their attic we are currently occupying!)

Actually, that last thought (playing permanent instead of camping) is definitely something we've learned out of our time here in Ulsteinvik. We made the (seemingly logical) call that, because Kes didn't have a job yet, and we had a "good enough" place to live in at the moment, we would wait before finding a "long-term" place here in this area. For example, we reasoned, if Kes found a position in Ålesund (north of here), it would be dumb to have a place south of Ulsteinvik, from where we would both be commuting some distance, rather than just one of us. The way the geography works here , there are three directions (north - Ålesund, south - Fosnavåg & Runde, east - Ørsta & Volda) that all held some potential for employment. Therefore, we stayed in our one-bedroom apartment with none of our own furniture.

How wrong we were, but I don't think we could have known without the experience. We now believe that it is far better to jump in, find a place, make it our own, and stop thinking "conditionally" (if she finds work here, then... - if the shipyard has more work in a different area, then...). That way, we can settle in, stretch out, and feel at home, even if we later decide to move because of new conditions. I now believe that I would rather have moved twice or three times while we were here, if we were at least trying to make a home in each place, than do as we did, where we only ever had one foot fully on the ground in this apartment.

Anyway - I'm sure we'll learn whether the "jump in with both feet, no matter what" attitude works this time!

So - regarding packing - Kes is tremdously organized, and we now have suitcases all over the apartment, with dates on them (marked with duct tape and marker). The dates indicate which trip I'm supposed to bring that specific suitcase down with me, as I've got several trips planned during this interim period while I'm still here in Norway, but Kes is already in Malta.

I'll sign off, but you might be interested in a bit of a schedule going forward...

12-17 February - we both fly to Zurich, Switzerland for a long-planned trip to Lucerne to visit an old friend and experience Fasnacht. From Zurich, I fly home to Norway, while Kes flies on to Malta. She starts work the next day!

5-7 March - I visit Malta and bring Riker the cat down.

19-21 March - I travel to Belgium to referee a top-level domestic rugby match and receive coaching from a senior referee.

26 March - 5 April - I visit Malta because of the Norwegian Easter vacation - Norwegians get Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday as actual statutory holidays meaning that, with the use of only 3 vacation days, I can get 10 days off. So many people do this that it is simply assumed at our shipyard - those who work on crews or in shift work in fact MUST take those days off, because you really can't do much as, say, a crane operator if there's no one else at work.

30 April - 2 May - Kes and I meet in Sweden. I will be refereeing Sweden vs. Croatia in Enköping, which is about an hour west of Stockholm, on 1 May. This will be by far my most important game to date, and I'm really excited about it.

12-17 May - I will be travelling to Malta again - this time using a combination of "Kristihimmelfartsdag" ("Christ's heaven-going day" or Ascension Day, which is also a statutory holiday here) and the 17th of May, the Norwegian national day, thus using a single vacation day to secure five days away.

17 July - The one way ticket to Malta for me!

In reality, we will likely find some way to slip in a trip somewhere in early/mid-June, but that will be tough, because there aren't any convenient Norwegian holidays, and the boat will be very near delivery - we intend to deliver on 30 June.

Regardless, the next five months will be eventful!

Cheers,

Ashley