a ship off the old colder

The doorbell rang at exactly 8:00am. I'd just finished my breakfast, and was dressed and ready for work when I opened the door to truck driver. “You're right on time,” I said, as we started loading the boxes.

Except it didn't happen like that. It was, instead, 7:10am. I in my dressing gown. Bronwyn in the lounge, meanwhile, still wrapping the iMac G5 box in brown paper—I'd been using the computer up till the last minute last night. Eleven other boxes and two suitcases were ready to load, however. A quick change (for me) and then the driver and I load boxes while Bronwyn tapes the address label on that last box. And you'd been able to picture it now, in the picture just to the right of this, had I gotten round to photographing the pile of boxes last night... shouldn't have waited for that last box. Soon all fourteen carefully numbered boxes are on the back of his (open) flat deck truck, I've parted with a diet of pounds, and it's gone. We're shipped.

1.284 cubic meters is one hang of a lot of gear, it turns out. Sure, we came over with 9 items and we're going back with just 14; only a moderate increase? Thing is, three of the old boxes could fit into some of the new ones... We've beefed up a little here. As for shipping so much more, I could explain it all in terms of the variable vs fixed shipping costs, but suffice it to say it comes down to “you may as well take it back!”

So we're past the biggest hurdle for leaving. The next one surely will be remaining motivated for another 3.2 weeks at work (2.2 for Bronwyn), which will seem particularly bizarre for the final two weeks where we will have even already moved out of the flat. Instead, we'll be staying down the road with... previous housemates Nick and Hayley! We really can't get enough of a good thing. And Nick and Hayley are moving into what I shall call “Schröedinger's flat” for defying all probabilities of London geography by being even closer to my work than the current 20 minute walk. Bring. It. On. I can handle it.

Change is in the air. It snowed here today, for the first time this winter...