Getting all packed

I spent most of today, the Immaculate Conception holiday, relaxing (an a.m. jog in Parque O'Higgins, return to the park in the early afternoon to do some reading, then an afternoon nap). I also, however, started sorting and packing. My largest suitcase is now filled to 24 kg (its limit is 23 kg), and my 2nd largest suitcase is nearly full. I have 3 piles of clothes sitting around: (a) definitely pack; (b) pack only if space available; and (c) leave behind in Chile.

I've bagged up the best of the (c) clothes and will put them out by the street soon. Santiago has quite a few "dumpster divers" who are very serious about their work, so they'll probably be pleased with my donation. I'm reminded of my move-out in Norman, when I also put some reasonably good items out by the dumpster in the mid-afternoon only to find them gone an hr later.

This week will be short (only a 4-day workweek), plus I'm not officially "on the clock" (my last paid day was Nov 28th), so I'll take care of what I need to take care of and not be pressured for more. I have 3 goodbye parties this weekend: Friday with colleagues from work, Saturday with my church group, and Sunday also with the church group. Then Monday I'll spend cleaning and organizing, and Tuesday I'm off (AA flight departure at 10:20 pm Tuesday, arriving in Raleigh-Durham at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday).

After many moves over the past 7 years, I've got quite a bit of experience packing, saying goodbye, and looking forward to the next destination. I spent 3 months in Monterey, CA in 2003; I house-sat for the Karoly's in summer 2005; I lived on Barbados from 2005-2006; I house-sat for the Bluestein's in summer 2006; I lived in Austria from 2006-2007; and I moved to Santiago in late 2007. So since Feb 2003, that's 7 addresses in 5 years. Anyway, the point is that even though I have done this a lot, it doesn't get any easier. It's always bittersweet saying goodbye to new friends and not knowing the next rendevous point. The "grupo de jovenes" gave me a very nice goodbye party on Sunday (which was a total surprise; I thought we were going to eat something, haha!), and I was reminded of how hard the life of "vagrancy" is. Hopefully I'll put down some long roots in Annapolis and see what that feels like for a change!