farewell friday

as is likely obvious from the fact that the last entry was farewell monday, it has been quite a busy week. even as i type this entry, there are four men back at my apartment, packing my meager belongings in preparation for pick-up by the movers on monday. the days have moved rapidly as i've furiously attempted to get my things in order to make the packing task move as efficiently and effortlessly as possible. still, even with that i feel for the movers having to pack all of that stuff. even though i purged quite a few items, i found myself wondering last night, if i had to pack all of it, would i have discarded even more items?

one thing that this move process has impressed upon me is the exponential growth in my fashion doll collection. it would not be an exaggeration to state that my collection has likely grown ten fold (maybe even more) in the last three years. that is both exhilarating and a little scary. i love pretty much each and every item, but the reality is, if it continues to grow at this rate, i'm going to need quite a bit of space to display it all. as it is, with my peripatetic lifestyle of late, i've not been able to unpack the entirety of the collection, and with the sheer magnitude of effort required to pack it all, i'm not sure i want to unpack it all until i know i'm in a location that i will remain at for a long period of time. i guess i'll have to take a sort of curator's perspective on my collection for now. some items will be on permanent display. some will be brought out for "temporary exhibits."

speaking of collection growth, i soon will be at the integrity toys convention in chicago (only a week away) where i will be taking home a minimum of twelve more dolls (the convention collection (9 dolls), which i've already purchased, plus the workshop doll, the centerpiece doll, and the convention doll. that's not even counting if they do a build a giftset again this year, the souvenir shop items, and room sales. please just tell me i'm not bound for an episode of hoarders.

anyway, that little side reflection was not intended to be the main focus of this blog entry. it's my last day at umass memorial. so how do i feel? well, i feel like i have on pretty much every day i've been employed at umass memorial (save the earliest days where everything was fresh and new). i have been through enough last days at jobs though to know that not feeling the auspicious nature of the day is more the norm than not. given that, after years of repetition, we tend to arrive at work almost by auto pilot, it shouldn't be surprising that our bodies don't register the impending change of which our minds are all too aware.

there was a nice farewell farewell reception with cake and beverages yesterday. i'd say at least a third of the department showed up. lots of well wishes and telling the same details over and over and yet doing my best to make it seem as if it's the first time i've answered the questions. even with that though, it's still not really registering that today is my last day.
 

i imagine that it might seem a little more real when i leave on tuesday, but since i will be headed to the aforementioned convention, i suspect that it will feel more like i am just going on a vacation rather than embarking on the first legs of my relocation journey. i might have to wait until i'm moving in to my temporary housing or even starting my first day of work at the new job for it to register fully.

one thing i can say for sure. with each day the excitement grows and the fear lessens. i'm getting to the point that i'm ready to move on and start a new chapter in life. let's hope for the best. i'll try to do my best to keep you all posted on how it goes.