Oh b'ys...

Currently stuffing Rubbermaid totes full of EVERYTHING...

Lessons learned from packing:

• Invest in many, many space bags (my new duvet is as small as a folded pair of jeans!) 
• When duct tape gets catches your hair, it puts up a very time consuming battle (hair is now in a ponytail away from said tape)
• Stopping to collect yourself is not a good idea - you'll look at what's left to do and turn to walk in the opposite direction...while you have the energy and drive, KEEP MOVING!
• Wash things before you intend to pack (*waits for clothes to dry while staring at an empty tote*)
• Tom Waits continues to be appropriate in every instance and occasion, even packing your life into small blue plasticy containers (and many, many donation/recycle/garbage bags)
• Speaking of - recycling and donating is always good karma. Do it.
• Although it seems never ending, keep going - it HAS to be done, no one else is going to do it for you!

I'm off to gain strength from knock-off raisin bran, then back at it...  I'd say I'm about 1/3 of the way there. :D

Progress??

My days in Toronto are dwindling.

Between visits with those I love and care for, last minute purchases, and the insanity that is packing, I'm quickly running out of time.  I've been checking off "to do's on The List, but have also been adding more.  I've also been checking off purchases/items that I need to pack, but again - adding more...

I've also been trying to get my fill of my favourite foods and drinks.  Sushi, Thai, Indian, fast food (in small amounts), specialty coffee, smoothies, etc...all things that I will likely be making myself once I'm in Iqaluit, or might not see again until my vacation next fall.  My attempts at creating it myself will taste okay, or maybe even GOOD, but they won't be excellent - they won't be Ali's, or the Thai House...  This move will introduce me to a lot of new foods, and hopefully clear out a few negative food additions that I have (excessive amounts of Pepsi anyone?).  Apparently there are few places to eat in Iqaluit that have a fair reputation - glad to know that I can eat out (as a treat) once in a while. :)

In other news, my flights have been confirmed!:

• Westjet, leaving Toronto for Halifax: October 27th - leave @ 3:00pm EST, arrive at 5:58pm EST (this is so I can visit family and friends at home before I go north).
• Westjet, leaving Halifax for Ottawa (stopover in Toronto): November 6th - leave @ 9:00am EST, arrive in Toronto @ 10:23am EST, leave Toronto @ 12:00pm EST, arrive in Ottawa @ 1:00pm EST.
• First Air, leaving Ottawa for Iqaluit: November 7th - leave @ 9:05am EST, arrive 12:15pm EST. 

I really thought that once my flights were booked, I'd start feeling the excitement.  Not so...  Mind you, little rays of excitement are starting to peek through the haze, but the fog is still so thick that I can't really feel the warmth of it...  I'll be sending off two rubbermaid totes via Canada Post tomorrow, and am picking through the rest of my stuff tonight and tomorrow - maybe then I'll feel a little more organized and on top of things.

It's all part of the process - I will get through the stress and anxiety, and will be all the better for it.  Look at the reward that's lighting up the tunnel, after all - it's finally 'my turn' to see the northern half of my country.  I have so many experiences ahead of me...I'm incredibly lucky....

Thanks for tagging along :)

Luggage: Revisited

I just found out that I won't be travelling to Ottawa with Air Canada, it will be with WestJet...

Recalculating... 

- 50lb large (24x16x16.5 inches) rubbermaid tub from Toronto to Iqaluit: $150
- 3, 70lb (overweight) rubbermaid tubs on WestJet: $220
- 3, 70lb rubbermaid tubs on First Air: $50
TOTAL: $420 

This means that I can send one more box of stuff up!

- 25lb medium (24x16x12.5 inches) rubbermaid tub from Toronto to Iqaluit: $76

TOTALLING: $496 

More stuff!* :D 

(* not really - just less panic to get everything I need up there)

And the Days Go By

Time is flying.  I have a week and a half before I'm in Nova Scotia, and still so much to do.  I have to book my flight, I have to finish purging and packing...I have to say my goodbyes to all my Ontario cronies.  It'll be hard, but it's all part of the process...I will see them all again.

I passed my physical on Friday!  It was somewhat frustrating, as the nurse had assured me that the appointment is booked for half an hour (so I told work I'd go over my lunch break).  THREE AND A HALF HOURS after I left work, I returned.  The doctor was a resident, so maybe it can be chalked up to inexperience, but....oi.  Needless to say, she was very thorough. ;)

Oh what else have I been up to... I packed a little tonight - started stuffing vacuum space bags with various clothes, my duvet; started packing things into the rubbermaid tub that's going via Canada Post (turntable, records, desk lamp, whatever else I can stuff in), and picked out some more clothes to donate.  All thats really left for clothes are what I wear to work, and a few non-work shirts.  Once I'm there and have money comin', I'm intending on ordering some tshirts and sweaters from Old Navy - I'll be down to veeeery little clothing when I get there.

Speaking of money..........oh the stress.  I've got luggage to pay for, a box to ship, a flight to buy (to NS), more items to pick up once I'm in Nova Scotia (food, toiletries, scarves, toques), a little cash to live on when I get there, plus I should be buying Christmas gifts for family (so I don't have to buy and ship later, saving me big $$)...  If I can't afford Christmas presents now, I will at least get my Stepmom's birthday present (mid-November) so it's ready and waiting for her.  I can start buying Christmas things once I start getting paid - not much time left, considering I should be shipping anything from IQ by the first week of December (just to be at a paranoid level of 'safe').

I have to get used to this - the need to really consider everything from how I'll get clothes that fit to how to go about the logistics of Christmas (and how long it will take for everything to deliver on top of it).  It's all part of 'northern time'...something that I expect will be worth it to live on the top of the world.


22 Days!

Progress...I think.

The preperation adventure continues!

I did a looooot of shopping on the weekend.  9 hours on Saturday, 6 on Sunday, and 4 on Monday (Thanksgiving Day in Canada, but the Eaton Centre was open...seems kind of odd to me, but right now I'll take it!).  Doesn't mean I SPENT much, but dang it I worked hard for the deals I got.

I had no success in the boots department, so I caved and ordered a pair online.  I ordered ladies Sorel Tivoli's in size 12, and hoped for the best.  The order was placed Monday night, and I received them today - Wednesday - morning... 36 hours for delivery!  A new friend on Twitter told me to relish the quick delivery while I have it - post to the north can take upwards of two weeks.

Anyway, these are what will keep my tootsies warm when I arrive in IQ:

They fit very well, and are veeeery warm. :)

The parka situation, well....  I went from absolute panic that I couldn't find a Canada Goose Parka to fit me to deep concern that I'd get up there without a coat and regret it, to absolute relief that I don't have to pack the dang thing, or carry it around on the plane.  I'm going to take my Columbia ski coat with me, and have a parka made for me once I arrive and find someone who's work I like.

It actually passed my mind whether I could make one myself, but... I can sew, but I can't sew a frikkin' parka (yet)!  I'll stick to polar fleece neck tubes/scarves/etc. for now. ;)

I've bought a few rubbermaid totes to pack things in - one will be transporting my turntable and receiver (plus whatever else I can stuff in it) to Iqaluit via Canada Post.  My manager has told me that I can send it right to the store, so I think I'll send it around the 22nd...should make it there before I do.  Should.

I've begun crossing things off on my 'The List' tab that are purchased, packed, or completed.  Slowly but surely this carnival is coming together!

Next up, the physical.  The whole kit-and-caboodle with NWCo is dependant on me getting approval from a doctor that I can make it in the position I've been offered.  I should know by Friday afternoon whether flights will be booked and things will finally be set in stone.

Wish me luck - good strong healthy luck!

Luggage/Shipping!

This is what I've come up with thus far...


I  could do the following:

- 50lb large rubbermaid tub from Toronto to Iqaluit: $143
- 2, 70lb large rubbermaid tubs on Air Canada: $170
- 2, 70lb large rubbermaid tubs on First Air: No Charge
TOTAL: $313

OR, I could take:

- 3 overweight pieces of luggage on Air Canada and First Air: $395

Sooooooo:

Potentially (if my calculations are right - lord knows) I could do 3 overweight pieces on the flights plus ship 50lbs from Toronto to Iqaluit for a total of $538. Would only cost ME (after NWCo reimburses me) $38. Also, if I check into the Air Canada flights online or at a kiosk, I save $10 on the 3rd piece...

This leaves me with a grand total of $528, costing me a whopping 28 smackers. My turntable gets to go north, my clothes, various toiletries/foodstuffs...whatever else I can pack in... :D

I think I've done well for a Friday night ;)

Lists...

Oh the lists...


I have scraps of paper lying everywhere, about a dozen emails to myself (whenever I think of something and don't have paper handy), and have asked at least 4 people to "remind me to ___________" or "don't let me forget - I need to ____________".  Thanks to those who are co-operating with a very anxious/stressed/worried/starting-to-become-excited ME.

The worst bit about it all is that I can't focus on anything else - all I can think of is what I need to do, what I'm forgetting, what I want to buy vs. what I really NEED to buy... *sigh* Let's hope I make it there with my sanity intact.

Passed my security check, faxed in my banking info, and now I just wait for my physical results on the 21st.  Then I get my flights booked, and its 100% REAL (not from concentrate........'cause I can't.  See what I did there??). 
... 

Total nerd.  If you stick around, you'll get used to it.

I got the call.

Monday, October 3rd at 4:55pm, I got the call.

I'm moving to Iqaluit, Nunavut.  After 6 months of applying, researching, waiting, calling, pleading, nagging - it's finally my turn.

IQALUIT!

Looks like I'll be arriving approximately November 7th.  A whole month away, but mere days when you consider everything I have to do!  Check out the 'Moving North...' tab to see where I've come, and the tab titled 'The List' to see what I've got to do in the coming weeks (feel free to comment on the list page if you think I might've forgotten something).  ;)

And so my adventure begins!  I'll try to update as much as I can while I go through this process (after all, I've gained SO much from other Nunavut Bloggers.  I'd really like to contribute to the wealth of information for future Quallunaat (non-Inuit folks) who want to become Iqalummiut (residents of Iqaluit)/Nunamiut (resident of Nunavut)!  I'll do my best!).

Sure hope I used those translations correctly...... ;)