Marooned

Well, thanks to Wilma, the boat show is postponed until next Thursday. We spent the whole day loading everything up into storage, only to find out we have an entire week to spare. Good thing I didn't get our utilities turned off! So now we are sitting in a very empty apartment. We still have a few bare essentials- a bed, lights, computer, couch, and most of our cooking utensils. We might go back and drag our TV out of storage too. Ned will probably go back to work tomorrow, which will help out our financial situation. I'm wishing I still had my job too, because staying home all day in an empty apartment just sounds depressing! I'll probably end up at Barnes and Noble most of the day or something like that. Anyhow, not much else to write. Later.

Plot Twist

Well Hurricane Wilma decided she wanted to pay a visit to Ft. Lauderdale this week too, so now all the plans are up in the air. We got in touch with Murray- he doesn't even know what's going on with the boat show. He said that there are rumors floating around everywhere, but this afternoon there will hopefully be an official press release detailing what will happen. There's a few options: The show could be delayed, the show could go on as planned, or the show could be canceled. Prospects of the show going on as planned aren't so great since it's supposed to start tomorrow and Ft. Lauderdale is still pretty much out of commision. So we're hoping for a delay.

Meanwhile, we have about 85% of our apartment packed up. Once we found out about the boat show, we put the packing on hold and Ned went to work for a half day to pick up some extra $. Tomorrow morning we'll get everything into storage, and then when we leave depends on the show. As I mentioned before, we have to be down in FL next weekend anyways for a friend's wedding. And we planned on visiting my cousin for a little while before that. So we'll be heading down this week no matter what. Just don't know quite when.

It's depressing being in an apartment filled with boxes. It's no longer home. Just seeing the messy emptiness is stressful. I think I'm going to head to Barnes & Noble for the afternoon.

Fleeting Glimpses of Autumn

The southern fall seems to have reverted back to summer for a while. Back to the 70/80's and sunshine. We had about a 2 week taste of fall-- cold, rain, and coziness. We spiced up the apartment with some Indian Corn and a pumpkin, and made apple crisp and hot cider. Mmmm. But that might be about the only taste of fall we get, because soon we'll be outta here. In less than 2 weeks, we have to be moved out and on our way down to Ft. Lauderdale. Stress! We haven't even started packing and Ned's working 12+ hour days everyday.

I've been thinking about Plattsburgh lately. My hometown up in NY. Not really missing it- definitely would NOT want to move back there. But thinking about falls and winters up there. Cold, beautiful wonders. Mostly I've been thinking about roots. How the seasons brought stability. Every year we did the same things, for the most part. Every fall we'd go to Rulf's Orchard and go on a hayride and pick out a pumpkin. Every fall weekend was filled with my swimmeets, and every winter weekend was spent watching the Cardinal hockey games. Life was predictable. And pretty much since I graduated high school, it has been anything but. One year of college in Philadelphia. Three years at IWU, but that was interrupted by 6 months in Australia. Then SC for a year, then NC for a year. Then New Zealand for 7 months, then back to NC for 6 more months. And now....?

Part of me misses that stability. I'm sick of packing and I hate goodbyes. I'd love to be home for the holidays and have a place to decorate for Christmas. I don't even know what country I'll be in this Christmas! But don't get me wrong. I look forward to the adventure ahead. But for now, it's time to pack...

Florida and Beyond

So here's the scoop! We talked to Murray this week and he told us to send him our resumes, and he would get them out to people. He also told us about one of the world's largest boat shows in Ft. Lauderdale at the end of this month. He is going to be there, and he invited us to meet up with him down there, and he will take us around, introduce us to people and try to get us a job! Most of the boats head out for the winter right from the show, so we might leave straight from there! It is highly possible that a month from now we will be on a boat, heading down into the Caribbean, and possibly beyond. Wow!

It is crazy because the boat show happens to be the same week our lease runs out, and the same week that we have to be down in FL for a friend's wedding anyways. Perfect timing- God's timing? :) So we are handing in our 30 day notice to our apartment, officially taking that step of faith, and venturing off into the unknown. We don't exactly have a back-up plan, so that is a little scary! But I think God likes it when we step out in faith and take those risks. We do have 3 people that have offered to let us come live with them for a while, so that is at least comforting.

The adventure continues to unfold...