The Final Week

The Final Week Before Departure

We knew we had a lot to do BUT, like marriage and having children, nothing can quite prepare you for it. Take your pick from our Top Seven Stressful Moments:

1. Buying an electric cooker for the flat only to be told by the kitchen fitter that there was no electric supply. SO go out and buy a gas cooker that day and fit it in Sandra’s mini (wouldn’t fit in the Jag much to Phil’s disgust).
2. Nearly having several double hernias lifting fridge freezers, boxes, bags and crates of every description down our stairs then up the stairs of the flat. Sandra’s neck giving out for the last week (probably due to wrestling an IKEA sofa up the stairs to the flat!).
3. Trying to communicate with utility providers on the phone or by email and getting a straight or helpful answer from anyone.
4. Selling two cars to car dealers at the very last minute (Mini at 8.30am and the Jag at 12.30 on the day before we left). Although they didn’t pay a particularly good price there was some satisfaction gleaned from not always answering their questions completely e.g. Question: Does the car have a CD multi changer Answer 1 from Phil: Yes Completely Truthful Answer: Yes but it hasn’t worked for 4 years
5. Needing to send stuff out to PNG by freight and finding a company that could do this. When the van arrived the man refused to carry the items down to the van (this being 1 day before departure). Luckily Jason (Toby’s mate) lifted all items to the van whilst the lazy bastard stood by taking photos of the stairs, presumably so he could complain. It will be interesting to see which complaint has most impact (his or ours). The items did go but whether they get there only time will tell.
6. Trying to clean the house whilst moving out, renting out and living there at the same time all on the last day. We did it but with only JUST enough time.
   

Top Three Embarrassing Moments (so far):

1. Being told that one of our 3 suitcases was 3 kilos overweight and we had to redistribute it into the other 2 cases. All cases were bursting at the seams so we had to move a couple of boxes from one into suitcase and substitute with items of Sandra’s underwear. All at check-in whilst people were waiting behind us. Phil did get a bit stressy at this point and insisted on throwing away a pair of shoes which seemed to be the difference between getting checked in and not getting checked in!
2. Not just being offered Qantas pyjamas but Sandra accepting and putting them on! (Evidently noone had ever offered her pyjamas before so it was a new experience - she got too hot later in the flight so took them off anyway).
   
3. Sandra bringing her own big socks for the plane. When we looked on the floor there was still an old plaster stuck on the outside (very classy!)