Photo by dickuhne.

Lindsie and I finished work a week ago now. Where did we spend the week? In our condo, which still looks something like the one pictured above.

We’re taking a couple of days to visit my family in Powell River now, which is a welcome bit of downtime — our first since quitting, really. Though we do have a pickup full of boxes to unload here (thanks mom!) and I have a couple of books to edit (long story), so “downtime” is a bit of a stretch. More like uptime in a more peaceful setting. I’m looking at the field and barn in the sunshine outside my mom’s study as I type here.

When we planned this trip, we figured flying out two weeks after quitting our jobs would be fine. We’d spend a few days packing and taking care of details, then stroll around Vancouver for a week or so, lingering over cappuccinos in Italian cafes, maybe hitting the art gallery or going to see that 3D U2 show at the Imax.

No such luck.

A week later, we’ve got updated passports; visas to Thailand and Australia; an international driver’s license (me); online billing for all our utilities etc.; lots of Thai Baht; and freaking boxes everywhere. Everywhere. Aside from the chores, we’ve spent the week like a couple of moles in a little molehill. It’s amazing how much stuff you can pull out of a drawer. And we have plenty of drawers.

We fly out in eight days, and the to-do list is still on the long side:

• Finish packing
• Pick up U-Haul truck and get remaining stuff into storage
• Clean place and prep for new tenant
• Sort out cellphone contracts
• Deal with bank
• Visit my grandmother
• Edit books

Photo by TheMuuj.

There’s more, but that’s a taste of what remains to do.

Looking back on this, I’ve planned vacations over the last few years, and I’ve moved a few times in the last decade — but this is the first, and quite possibly the only, time I quit my job, rent out the place, move out, and take off on the trip of a lifetime. I’m keenly looking forward to those beaches in Thailand.

Lindsie and I timed the quit-pack-move-fly schedule in a pretty tight timeline, largely because the carrying costs of our place are high. Prices in Vancouver have been on a tear for the last few years, so the little condo we bought two years ago costs a pretty penny to keep. We figured we’d grab our final mid-month paycheque, get ready in a flash, and start collecting rent on the first. Good idea, but we definitely set ourselves up for some crazy weeks with no downtime.

So if you see me before I go, please don’t ask how the “downtime” is treating me. Hold all questions until I’m on a beach in Thailand and have had a good sleep.

And no, I’m not asking for sympathy. Still working your day job? You’ve got my sympathy, believe me. I loved mine in many ways, but am not missing it.

My advice to those following in my footsteps: If you can afford to hang out for a while before traveling, do it. Vancouver has never looked so beautiful as it is this month — and in those little moments when I relax for a second on the bus between my place and the travel clinic, I look out the window and think how nice it would be to just take a stroll out there.

(Thanks to Skellie and Photo Dropper for tips on using Flickr images in blog posts — awesome idea.)

(If you enjoyed this article, sign up to receive new articles live via RSS or email!)