Tag Archives: moving

Going out with a … bash

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I leave Tuesday morning at 6:20 in the morning. I have one bag packed. I have a lot of work to do Monday to ensure I can go dark for two days while I travel. I have a doctors appointment as well as several last minute errands. I should have spent today packing and getting ready. Instead I spent today helping my mother prep for a going-away/multi-birthday bash.

And tonight with good food, good wine and good company we celebrated, at Sones Cellars, not only my departure but a slew of big birthdays. 50. 21. 75. 30. It has been a very big year.

“Moving on, is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard”

Despite my complaints about packing, for me the hardest part of moving has always leaving behind awesome people. Colin & Carina. Peter & Jess. The Sones. The Munsons. Jean. June. The list is endless. But tonight’s party gave me a chance to spend a few minutes with each of them. Of course there were faces missing. There were people I would have liked to have seen one more time. And with so many people to talk to – I didn’t get to spend as much time with everyone as I would have liked. But nonetheless I got a chance to say goodbye and go out with a bash.

Thank you to all of the friends and family to came out tonight to lift a glass and celebrate: You will be sorely missed but not forgotten. Cheers to a new adventure!

And the packing nightmare continues…

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As I have mentioned before I hate packing. I stress about what to take for a long weekend let alone how to pack up my life. And today  is no exception. My room looks like a bomb has gone off. There is enough space for me to sit cross-legged on the floor and you can’t even see the bed. But it is actually progress and I knew it was going to get worse before it gets better.

Seeing as I leave in 5 days (and early in the morning) and my mother has been pressuring me for days, I went ahead and packed a bag today. Only to have panic truly set in. I still have my giant rolling duffle bags from college. They have served me well over countless cross continental adventures and two transatlantic moves. I don’t know if its the fact that I am older or I just have more stuff but I am seriously starting to doubt that two suitcases is going to be enough.

Mid-way through packing my first bag I realized that it was going to be an overweight bag and that 50 lbs wasn’t going to cut it. So I grabbed my computer and did my research. I am already going to pay for checking a second bag – I might as well just compound the hurt and pay for the extra weight. So I checked – all three airlines (although I should only have to pay twice) and now my bag is weighing in just shy of the 70 pound cut off.

But what really has me worried is that I feel like I have barely made a dent. Granted the suitcase I did pack has multiple pairs of shoes and a large portion of my toiletries. And we all know those are the heaviest items. But still… I haven’t event begun to pack up my clothing. I guess I will just have to overstuff my carry-ons.

How did I ever manage this in college? I don’t ever remember it being this hard. And I went to school in Boston. I had to pack all of my heavy winter clothing so I didn’t freeze to death. But then again my parents always made the fall trek out to Boston with me. And when I graduated my grandmother carried an extra bag back to California as well. But when I went to London for the year I did it alone. Granted I did manage to score free overweight bags on the way home when I got to the desk at Heathrow. Maybe the nice people at American airlines will take pity on me on Tuesday morning. I’ll try not to hold out too much hope for a miracle.

Basically the moral of this is: I have too many clothes. And shoes. And stuff. And I might have to pay for two overweight bags.

On that note I am going downstairs for a glass of wine – ok maybe my own bottle and a straw.

Welcome!

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Bienvenue! Welcome to Cuvee Appeal! This blog will be the chronicle of my adventures as I move to France to get a Masters in Wine Business Administration.

This adventure began with a whirlwind 5 weeks in early spring. I downloaded the application to prepare to speak with a wine maker who received her degree from Davis. After I downloaded the application I learned that I had to complete the application within two weeks! A late night interview, a sleepless night, and a few short weeks later I had been accepted to the INSEEC Bordeaux International Wine Institute.

It’s now the end of July and things are moving quickly. I have booked a plane ticket, tentatively leased an apartment – sight unseen, eep! – revamped my wardrobe (always important), bought a suit case, and completed the first stage of my visa application.

Now the waiting games begin…. I am waiting for approval to book an appointment at the French consulate in San Francisco and complete the visa process. Of course in typical bureaucratic fashion the process hasn’t been seamless and I am starting to worry. But fingers crossed all will work out in the end.

Then the real fun begins – the packing!!! Having previously moved across the continent and across the Atlantic I can testify that packing your entire life into two 50 pound bags and two carry-on’s isn’t fun. For me or – as she will testify – for my mother who is always the one who helps. Thanks in advance.

I’m looking forward to sharing the rest of the adventure with you! Sit back, sip that perfect glass of Pinot, and stay tuned!

A plus tard!