Barkeep, a round of goodbyes for everyone please

Well the weekend that passed was one of the best in a long time. We had our last potluck on Friday and it was a smashing success. Even Nick from last year made an appearance and I got my friend Chris to join in on the fun. We had a fabulous night. Lots to drink. Lots of pics. Lots of smiles. Lots of memories. I hadn't planned on going anywhere after the pot luck but I was somehow convinced (in my inebriated state) to go out to Vox. This was a good time but the music wasn't that great. Again the regular DJ wasn't there. I told him that this week coming up was my last week and he had to ensure that he ould be there to play the music I love. I think we have an agreement now. Anyway, Saturday morning I stumbled my way home.
During the day on Saturday I thought that there was a possibility that I wanted to make a last trip to Blue Sky but I wasn't sure. Then Alex and Matt told me that they were taking their co-teachers out and that after they would be making their way to Blue Sky. This was the only incentive I needed. I was going to go. So Saturday night, I made it to Blue Sky and I had everyone know that this was my last Blue Sky-er. I said my goodbyes and danced the night away. It had been a long time since I was able to go to Blue Sky and be out late and still be able to remember the night. This, luckily, happened for me this past Saturday. We stayed out very late and had an amazing time. I was, what they call, steady drunk. Not completely hammered but good drunk all night. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to the place that had been the home of so many drunken memories but it was my first round of goodbyes and I think I handled it well.
Yesterday (Monday), I reminded my kids of my departure and also got some stuff done. I had some shopping to do and I bought all the things I needed in preparation of going home. It was a good shopping day, especially for the fact that I handled all of my transactions in flawless Chinese. I got a nice hard case for my guitar, some new shoes and a carry-on bag.
Today, we got our last pay cheques and I started to cry when I gave my kids my address. Also, I said goodbye to my favourite corner restaurant and they were so surprised. Today was technically our last day but I'm gonna go in tomorrow because I want to say a good goodbye to my kids and also I have a few errands to run in the area. It hasn't fully sunken in for me but the realization is slowly coming in that I'm going home. 5 days till I'm in Beijing and 6 days till I'm in Canada.
Wow, what a roller coaster. This has truly been an adventure and a huge experience for me.

TTFN

Unexpected

Well, the weather here has been very un-Wuhan. Usually at this time of year, it's really hot and sticky. Let me rephrase, it's the kind of hot that makes you think you'll go mad and the kind of humidity that makes you want to cry. But not this year. Most of the past few days have been overcast but not very hot (still quite hot) and the humidity hasn't been that bad. The weather is very strange here.
In more 'unexpected' news, I'm really surprised at how quickly the days seem to be going by now. A few months ago, it seemed like these last two weeks would take forever to come, now that they are here, I'm begging time to slow down so that I could take it all in. It's all slowly sinking in for us that this life that we've been living for the past ten months will come to an end. We'll have to move on to our "real lives". Not to metion the fact that our "real lives" for most of us, are going to be very different than the lives we left 10 months ago. I'm looking at a new career and therefore need to prepare differently for school. Colin got accepted to a school and will be attending right away. Him and Lisa have a different place to live. Matty stix will also be going back to school. There's just so much going on.
This weekend, I'll be doing some packing. Mostly the stuff I won't use over the next week and Klaver and I will be sorting through my appartment to decide what stays and what goes for when he moves in. He's also been getting his stuff in his apartment ready to move into my apartment. So we've all been busy with things.
We started our oral exams yesterday and I've been taking some pictures of my kids and with my kids. My grade ones I'm not too broken up about but I will definitely miss my grade twos. I've put so much of myself in them and I've watched them grow over the past two years. I've invested alot and it will be very sad to let go. This week, I'll be giving out my award to the best kid in each class and then next week is our last week of school. Almost time to say goodbye.

TTFN

12 more days and counting.

The great shaving extravaganza!

So this is the before picture of the boys. Guy on the left is Colin. Guy in the middle at the back is Matt and guy on the right with the glasses is Klaver. This is what they all looked like with hair. In case you were wondering, the guy behind Klaver is Alex.


Here's them after. Now, they cut their hair a week ago but I only got the chance to get the pic yesterday. Our schedules never seemed to line up. Now, there's been a bit of growth. We had a few drinks that night.....so you know, that explains the look on the faces.

Here are the guys with Lisa. She's the reason why they did it.

Here they are just showing off. They're all really happy they did it. First, for the obvious reason and second, because now they don't have to worry about hair maintenance. They're so awsome these guys.

TTFN

15 days and counting.

Update, long overdue

We’re all getting excited about coming home and it’s slowly starting to sink in for me.
Week before last, I had been looking forward to going out on Friday night for a while. It finally came and it ended up sucking. I got to Vox and I was pretty drunk as it was. The music started out ok but I noticed right away that there was a different DJ. Then this guy started playing all kinds of crap. Not that the music itself was that bad. It’s the kind of stuff that you’d sit at home and listen to while you’re hanging out, but it’s not what I want to dance to. Lisa isn’t the biggest fan of Vox but she’ll come out from time to time and really enjoy herself. She agreed that the music was just not working this time. I spent a lot of time sitting around and I don’t usually do that. Anyway, at a very early hour, I decided that I had had enough and it was time to go. I saw the regular DJ on my way out and I scolded him for not doing his job. I also made it clear to him that I was leaving and it was his fault. We had a good laugh and Lisa and I headed home. During the night on Friday, the boys were on the other side of town talking and drinking. Then Colin mentioned that it was Lisa’s 7th anniversary off of chemo and they should do something to acknowledge it. Matt, Colin and Klaver to show their love in the sweetest possible way you could, they all got their heads shaved. It was probably the most amazingly odd yet noble gesture I had seen any of them perform. It was something that touched Lisa and I have to admit, it touched me too. That Saturday I pretty much stayed inside but then we had an idea to go back to that Aloha restaurant to have a good meal. Also, we wanted to celebrate Lisa’s anniversary someplace special. It was funny how everyone in our building decided to head out to this new restaurant on the same day at the same time. The cast that travelled with me was Matt, Alex, Colin and Lisa. Then Eileen, Lillis and Sara showed up. Then later on we spotted Maya with her boyfriend. It was pretty funny.
Sometime during that week last week, I got a good idea. We’re all handing out discs to each other filled with the pics taken over the past year. I decided not only to give out those discs but I also made a mini-movie to really express the memories over the past year. I was really nervous about everyone’s opinions because I put a lot of work into it. I handed them out and I got rave reviews. I was so happy. Everyone was happy with the goodbye gift I made.
This week not much happened but we had a meeting with Mr Ye on Wednesday about the final details of our contracts. We now know what we’re supposed to do with our receipts and what the last few days of school are going to be like. I plan on just riding the wave until the end and when it’s over, I hop on a plane and head on home. Next weekend I’m going to start some minor packing and then the week after that, Klaver will start to move his stuff in. Then soon after that, him and I will be in Beijing for one last thing. I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks. So much will happen so quickly and before I know it, I’ll be back home.

TTFN

16 days and counting.

Days gone by

Well the past few days were pretty eventful. Last week was a whirlwind and I don’t really remember much that happened during the week. However, it was children’s day on Friday and therefore we had that day off. Lisa heard that Vox had an indie music night on Thursdays and she figured that that Thursday would be a good time to go since we didn’t have school the next day. Anyway as Thursday went on I just felt crappier and crappier. It was pouring rain and there was very little you could do to escape it other than just stay inside. I had some errands to run so I was caught in the downpour on my way home. After being soaked to the bone almost the entire day, I was in no mood to go out. I opted to stay home and have a few drinks. Well Lisa knew she wanted to go and by the time she had a few drinks, she dragged me out with her. There were a couple songs that were ok but for the most part it was a dud for me. Even Lisa agreed that it wasn’t as good as the last time we went. Anyway we left there and came back home. On Friday I had my plans to go to Vox as I usually do. I had a pretty good time. Noone wanted to come with me but I know so many people there that it really doesn’t matter. I danced, I drank and I met even more people. I ended up having such a great time that I didn’t come home till late the next morning. Upon my return home, Maya told me that they were going to go to the zoo. At first I wasn’t going to go because I had been before and it was so heartbreaking to see some of the animals but I figured it was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together outside of the apartments before we have to leave. The gang included, Klaver, Matt, Alex, Klaver’s friend, Maya, Maya’s friend and myself. Anyway, we had a great day. We also managed to find a new part of town. Some of you may remember that the town of Wuhan is divided into 3 districts. Wuchang (where I live), Hankou (where most of the clubs are) and Hanyang (where the temple and the zoo is). In fact that is how Wuhan got it’s name. The Wu from Wuchang and the Han from Hanyang and Hankou. Hanyang is also known for having a quieter and cleaner atmosphere in general. It’s such a departure from the other two. Anyway, on the far side of Hanyang is the French District, which is actually just a pedestrian street but it is very beautiful and everything is written in French. We also happened to stumble across an excellent western restaurant. The owner is American and the menu that they offer is the only strictly western menu in Wuhan. Which I could vouch for because every western restaurant we go to in Wuhan still offers some Chinese dishes or drinks. This menu had nothing Chinese and everything that you could find at a local restaurant at home. The food was fantastic but considering the distance, it’s a very expensive cab ride. We all want to go again but we’re all on a tight budget until the end of the month. On Saturday night, we decided to stay in and play charades. Once again, charades while drunk is assured to be good times. So good, actually, that we were up till 5am. At that time I had to call it a night, the boys went out to do more. After not really getting much sleep over the long weekend, I ended up getting up at 2pm on Sunday. This eventually proved to be a problem because it wasn’t until a couple hours after that, that I realized I was supposed to go to Hankou to purchase the plane tickets for Klaver and I. Well, we couldn’t make it out there before they closed, so I call the travel agent and told her that I would be out there the next day. Yesterday at lunch I went out to Hankou and paid for my tickets home. So now I can breath a sigh of relief, knowing that I’m coming home and I have my tickets in hand. So that’s the update.

28 days and counting till I come home.

TTFN