Final Family Visits

Today we took the opportunity to visit my grandmother and one of our favorite aunt and uncles. It was great to see them. We were able to catch up on a great deal of topics in a very short period of time. I guess that's the advantage of knowing each other so well. I truly enjoyed the visits, but I couldn't help wonder when will be the next time we see each other. Hopefully sooner rather then later, but you never know.

Before I leave I have to make a point to spend some quality time with the family members we don't see too often. Only a handful of weeks left so I must get busy. Visiting Mom And Donna on Thursday and hope to have a visit from Dad. I need to make these visits and others like them a priority.

Visa Interview at French Consulate

Today Jill and I went to our "interviews" with the French Consulate in NYC. My appointment was at 11AM and Jill's was at 11:30AM. I thought we had private interviews. Come to find out it's a cattle call. At 11AM they open the doors and I go in, leaving Jill at the stoop of the Consulate building. I let a young couple with 2 very young kids go ahead of me. Good thing I did, I saw they had an 11 and an 11:30. I asked they guard if I could bring Jill with me. Fortunately, he agreed because from there it was painful and I couldn't envision Jill going through it alone.

We go upstairs were we are told to stand in line. The young couple ahead of us paved the way -- they were raked over the coals for 5+ minutes and then it smoothed out for them. We got to watch the whole process, good learning for us. We got there and they started the process. Two minutes in, they told us our paperwork was never received and we need to leave. We would have to schedule another appointment once we got our work visa approvals (which he had). Fortunately I had an e-mail with the work visa numbers. Ok,long and boring...

One hour later they find our paperwork and within 5 minutes we were done. Goes to show, the French are very flexible with the rules. In the end we got the visas.

Lessen learned, no matter what the agency tells you keep pushing them to have the actual details in hand.

Time to leave?

Jill and I were talking today about when will I officially go to France. Interesting question, one I haven't considered. It has always been September or 6-8 weeks. Now I'm talking about days. I guess I better start to think about it! Procrastination is not the way to approach this.

First lesson of the exercise -- don't put off to tomorrow things that should be done today.

Kids to school

Well today we brought our youngest to college. We are officially empty nesters. How did we get to this point?

It's a beautiful thing to see your children develop into adults. I couldn't be prouder of all 3 of them. So different, but with the same values. I wonder how they will deal with this assignment. We'll need them to watch out for each other and to keep reaching for their dreams. In two years I'm sure they will grow more independent, but I always hope they'll have time for mom & dad.

What to do with "my stuff"?

Well one of the big questions that lingers in my pre-departure thoughts is "what to do with my stuff". This means the things that Jill doesn't care for, such as the Playstation, the flat screen TV, my car and my golf clubs. I really would love to bring all of them with me. All of them are part of my relaxation routines.

The first, and most distressing, item is the car. I came up with the brilliant concept that we could sell my car to our middle son, Matt, for the price of what he sells his car for. Good idea, right? He needs a better car and this one came with little or no cost to me. Midway through the summer we decide to put a price on Matt's car. What ever he sells his car for will be the price he buys my car for (2007 Santa Fe). Sounds like a nice deal...

Talking with my brother, we learn our nephew's car is having problems. Man... Do I have a deal for him. We sell Tim Matt's car for the price he can get for his car. Unforeseeable to all, the car has to be scraped for $150. Therefore, I sell my very nice vehicle to Matt for $150.

In the end I'm happy for all. Tim got a nice vehicle, Matt got a great/safe vehicle and I don't have to manage the extra vehicle. Price wasn't as I expected - oh well. I hope that doesn't happen with my Playstation!

Opening comments

Welcome to my blogging adventure.

I have accepted an assignment in Paris and will leave in ~30 days? For a number of reasons my wife and I decided I should go first. My wife will come over after Christmas. Before she comes I need to get the apartment ready, bank accounts set and determine the lay of the land. Not to mention I have to work. The job will be primarily in Paris, but my job will have me/us spending considerable time around the Mediterranean Sea countries.

As we prepare for my move, I'm coming to realize there is a lot more to this then what I have been used to. I've traveled around the world for many years. I've been on the road for 12-15 days at a time. But now, it will be 2 or 3 months before I'm back in the U.S. I'm not sure what to take, how to get it there or when to start. And my French speaking skills are extremely limited.

Of course we complicate this by having the kids stay behind (2 in college, 1 pursuing a career). We both have older parents and family we are leaving behind. That's a topic for another time. For now I need to figure out how I get there while my wife stays home as an "empty nester".

I hope the readers of this blog will enjoy to read about this adventure and will provide advise on how to survive.